3.1 Social responsibility

SQS is characterised by its qualified and experienced auditors. This means that many of them will reach retirement age in the coming years. We see this demographic change as an opportunity to fundamentally analyse our role as an employer and adapt it where necessary. To this end, resources for organisational development and human resources were increased in autumn 2024 and a new HR strategy was adopted by the Executive Management in December.

The structural issues in HR are not only a result of demographic developments. Social issues and trends such as digitalisation, diversity and inclusion or Work-Life Blending give rise to challenges and obligations that require changes in various areas. Strengthening the HR department allows SQS to strategically and comprehensively tackle issues such as successful recruitment, ensuring knowledge transfer and employee satisfaction for a new generation of employees. Changes should be approached in a way that allows all employees to understand and participate in the change and to address concerns or potential conflicts as quickly and effectively as possible.

In doing so, we can rely on a proven normative basis: Our shared values and the way we treat each other and our customers and partners are set out in the Employee Regulations and the Code of Business Ethics.

We can also assume social responsibility beyond our organisation because we contribute with various services to greater health and safety at work or to family-friendly working conditions. However, our potential or actual social impact as a customer in the supply chains is not significant (see also «Materiality» in section 1.2).