Fact 1: German SMEs prize their employees

One good indication that a company takes care of its people and takes a long term view of human resources is a high rate of interns: SMEs provide virtually 85 percent of all trainee posts in Germany, which means that they make a substantial contribution to ensuring the  low level of unemployment among young people in Germany. But these companies also score points with employees thanks to their strong results in terms of employer certification and rankings, and in employee surveys. A comprehensive study by the Institute for Leadership and Human Resource Management of the University of St. Gallen on human resource management in German SMEs produced the following, positive findings: