Focus on high-performing employees
Our employees and our ambition to become the most attractive employer in the industry are moving even further into focus with the “UNIQA 3.0 – Growing Impact” strategic programme. Faced with a challenging environment, we are focusing on talent development and a clear employer brand. The initiatives that were continued in 2025 are already showing measurable improvements in employee satisfaction.
Employee survey
In UNIQA 3.0, we defined the goal of becoming the best employer for high-performing employees. We measure progress on this journey using several indices, including first and foremost the Employee Experience Index and the Engagement Index. Since 2023, we have increased the Group-wide scores for both from 3.8 and 3.9 respectively to 4.1 out of 5 stars in each case. This brings us ever closer to our medium-term goal of achieving 4.5 out of 5 stars by 2028. Regular employee surveys enable us to systematically measure satisfaction and develop this further in a targeted manner.
Recruitment and employer branding
Our employer branding strategy continues to show some impressive successes. Around 80,000 applications were received across the Group in 2025 – 20 per cent more than in the previous year in Austria alone. The interviews conducted with numerous job seekers ultimately resulted in around 1,700 external hires and more than 230 internal transfers. The offer acceptance rate was an impressive 89 per cent. A share of 60 per cent replacement hires and 24 per cent new hires in Austria demonstrates our company’s dynamic development and innovative course.
These successes are also being recognised externally: for the fifth time in a row, we were awarded the silver Best Recruiters seal in 2025, putting us in third place in our industry.
Our initiatives have likewise met with significant approval internally: in the latest “Voice of Employee” survey carried out in November 2025, our new hires in Austria gave the recruitment process 4.6 out of 5 stars and the onboarding process 4.3 out of 5 stars.
In 2025, we also introduced the SuccessFactors recruitment tool in the regional offices to ensure a standardised experience for candidates. This makes open vacancies visible centrally and allows us to present ourselves more clearly as a unified employer.
New slogan “Better works for me”
With the new slogan “Better works for me” – a further development of our previous slogan #startyourbetter – we are translating our brand promise of “living better together” into the work context. “Better works for me” is directly linked to our corporate strategy and supports the goal of becoming the best employer for high-performing employees – with a clear focus on personal added value and ability to be deployed across the entire Group.
We also rely on internal communication initiatives, such as for the promotion of women. The topic of “careers in sales” represents a further focal area. Appearances at trade fairs, collaborations with colleges and universities and student visits to the head office round off the measures. The high level of employee and applicant satisfaction was confirmed once again with the Kununu “Top Company” seal of approval.
Roll-out for the “UNIQA University” learning platform
With the introduction of UNIQA University, we reached a key milestone in the further development of our learning culture in 2025. Under the motto “your space to grow”, the digital platform provides Group-wide access to a diverse range of learning opportunities that is clear, flexible and accessible at all times. It has been available to all Group employees since the beginning of 2026. This also includes the Austrian sales employees.
Ten newly established specialised faculties within UNIQA University combine specialist training and further education along strategic focal points and support implementation of the “UNIQA 3.0 – Growing Impact” strategy. For our employees, this means transparent development opportunities and learning content that is specifically geared towards their day-to-day work and the development of expertise that is relevant for the future.
Extensive training opportunities for sales
Sales training made a significant contribution to the sustainable qualification and future viability of our sales organisation in 2025. Overall, we supported 392 employees in their basic training and implemented 271 training modules, supplemented by numerous examination formats to ensure high quality and compliance standards.
We organised 70 courses, webinars and face-to-face training sessions for our internal sales team. A total of 163 participants completed the basic training programme and 70 successfully passed the customer service examination. These training programmes last between 12 and 18 months. One particular focus was on the development of our sales managers, with 31 training formats involving 63 training days and 32 individual coaching sessions held for this purpose. We set a new record for participation with 340 registrations.
Another milestone in 2025 involved consolidating the existing continuing education formats into the UNIQA Continuing Education Campus. Offering more than 120 training courses covering around 50 subject areas, this now provides targeted support for the professional and personal development of our approximately 1,600 sales employees.
Mentoring and shadowing
In June 2025, 24 mentoring pairs successfully completed their programme. The very positive feedback overall highlighted the cooperative exchange and dialogue and the practical support. In October, 23 new mentoring and reverse mentoring pairs started working together in an effort to promote exchange of knowledge between generations and enhance the participants’ personal and professional development. The programme offers structured processes and supplementary formats, such as coaching and EASI workshops.
Our shadowing format, which enables interested employees to accompany individual top managers for half a day, was held for the fourth time in 2025, with more than 450 employees taking advantage of this opportunity. With a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars, it is considered to be particularly rewarding and will therefore be continued in 2026.
Apprentices – the workforce of the future
Our apprenticeship training is consistently evolving towards digitalisation and innovation. In addition to traditional apprenticeships, we have also been training application developers since 2025. A total of 121 apprentices – around 100 of these in sales – are currently completing a practical dual training programme at UNIQA in Austria. Given demographic developments, this is of key strategic importance in our efforts to attract future employees to our company.
Leadership development
Top executive education
Around 80 top executives took part in an international “Learning Journey” in 2025 in cooperation with the IMD Business School. The focus was on customer centricity, AI, high-performing teams and global trends. The combination of in-depth specialist presentations by renowned professors with practical simulations and interactive formats not only strengthened international exchange and dialogue, but also fostered direct transfer of practical experience.
New “Lead with impact!” programme
Our new “Lead with impact!” leadership programme was launched in September 2025 for middle managers in Austria. It addresses key topics such as digitalisation, agile leadership, employee retention, diversity, AI, resilience and financial management. The programme offers a variable mix of free modules on areas of focus, new formats such as “Talk at 11:00”, individual coaching sessions and online learning. Focusing in particular on modern leadership, personal responsibility and sustainable corporate success, the programme will run until the end of 2026.
Digital and AI literacy
We likewise expanded our range of digital and AI-related learning formats in 2025. We registered a total of 1,079 participants on AI training courses. Building on this, the AI Ambassador programme also underwent further targeted development. There are now 22 AI Ambassadors acting as multipliers in the individual business lines, promoting the responsible use of AI and enabling employees to apply AI solutions in practice. A Group-wide AI and digital literacy programme roll-out has been underway since the beginning of 2026. AI roundtables also promote dialogue across the different business lines on specific use cases.
New ways of working
Innovative formats such as “Agile Coffee” and “Creativity Breaks” offer short and practical ideas for learning. Agile coaching and communities of practice strengthen collaboration, a culture of learning and feedback.
Diversity and inclusion as a strategic success factor
Diversity is a key success factor for us, from both an ethical and a financial perspective. Data from our day-to-day operations shows a clear correlation between inclusion in practice, higher commitment, longer employee tenure and lower levels of staff turnover and absenteeism. Specific dashboards help manage the topic of JEDI (justice, equity, diversity & inclusion). We received the “Diversity Leader 2025” award for this data-based business case.
Focal points in 2025 continued to be reducing the gender pay gap, promoting women in management positions, inclusion of people with disabilities and targeted generational management. We made significant progress in these areas again in the reporting year: the Group-wide gender pay gap was reduced from 3.5 per cent (basis: total target cash) in 2025 to 2.4 per cent. In Austria, the already very strong baseline of below one per cent was maintained. The proportion of women in senior roles reached 26.5 per cent in Austria in 2025 (2024: 25.6 per cent) and 47.4 per cent internationally (2024: 45.4 per cent).
With regard to the integration of people with disabilities, we were able to continue our established collaborations on various topics in Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Austria in 2025. A Key Inclusion Assessment provided a valuable assessment of the current situation in Austria, and a special representative for people with disabilities was also elected for the first time. Further measures are currently being planned. The “My unique Summer” international trainee programme and preparations for a cross-border mentoring programme to complement our existing mentoring programmes highlight the focus on increased exchange and dialogue between the generations.
Against discrimination and abuse of power
The safety of our employees – in particular psychological safety – is a top priority for us. A new Group-wide brochure not only explains the various aspects of discrimination and abuse of power, but also defines clear responsibilities and contact points within the company. Complaints are dealt with in a structured manner and the required actions are implemented without delay. This approach is supported by clear messages from the Management Board on the topic and through targeted employer branding measures.
Networks and initiatives
Various networks for employees actively drive our diversity agenda:
The women’s network organises panel discussions, webinars and events such as the Women’s Run.
The family network offers specific counselling services.
The LGBTQIA+ network organises community events.
Inclusion initiatives such as the co-operation with “Ich in O.K.”, the SummerMusicWeek at the Wiener Konzerthaus and the Vienna International Ballet Experience foster engagement with people with disabilities.
We also supported numerous initiatives and highlighted new priorities outside the company in 2025. Examples of these in Austria include involvement in the establishment of a crèche in Tyrol, Disability Confidence Day and the Queer Business Women network. In Czechia and Slovakia, we conducted the countries’ largest survey on families with over 2,000 respondents. This provided important insights and momentum for both our product design and our positioning as an attractive employer.
Further information on diversity management can be found in the Consolidated Corporate Governance Report.
Promoting health in the workplace
We offer a comprehensive health programme together with our Group company Mavie Work in order to provide sustainable support for our journey to becoming the best employer in the industry; this includes services ranging from advice and coaching to live sessions and individual check-ups. The aim is to incorporate the topic of health as an integral part of our corporate culture. This is to ensure the well-being of our employees and thereby also the satisfaction of our customers and our commercial success in the long term.