Most Attractive Employer:
University of Hohenheim is Stuttgart's Number One  [17.11.21]

In the "Most Attractive Employers in the City" ranking by the business magazine Capital and the statistics portal Statista, the University of Hohenheim comes in first place.

The University of Hohenheim is the most attractive employer in the Stuttgart region: This was confirmed by local employees in an anonymous online survey conducted by the business magazine Capital and the statistics portal Statista. To determine the most attractive employers in 25 metropolitan areas, they surveyed a total of around 14,500 employees in April and May 2021. The award was given to employers who, in the opinion of the employees surveyed on site, are particularly committed to their region, assume their social responsibility, actively shape the business location, and are also recommended to others as an attractive employer. As in the previous year, the University of Hohenheim was among the most attractive employers in 2021 - and even landed in first place this year.


Nowadays, it is not only the employees’ tasks and the direct work environment that determine whether employees perceive an employer as attractive. Good career opportunities, but also the employers’ social and societal image as well as its influence on the business location play a role in the assessment.

That's why, for the "Most Attractive Employers in the City" ranking, respondents also assessed whether companies are active both economically and for charitable purposes in the region - and whether they act in a socially responsible manner toward their own employees and business partners.

For this purpose, the statistics portal Statista selected 3,200 employers from 25 metropolitan regions in Germany with staff sizes between 250 and 5,000 employees - and had the employees in the respective region vote. Around 14,500 employees living either in the respective cities or within a 25-kilometer radius took part in the survey in April and May 2021. They not only rated their own employer, but were also able to submit ratings for other local companies.

The ratings were separated into three groups: Those from the company’s employees, those from employees from the same industry, and those from employees from other industries. On a scale of 1 to 5, they rated employers in their region according to six criteria:

Stuttgart's most attractive employer: The University of Hohenheim was voted 1st on the popularity scale in an employee survey by Capital and Statista. | Image source: University of Hohenheim / Max Kovalenko

Stuttgart's most attractive employer: The University of Hohenheim was voted 1st on the popularity scale in an employee survey by Capital and Statista.
Image source: University of Hohenheim / Max Kovalenko

  • Image of the company as an employer in the region
  • Social responsibility towards their own staff and suppliers
  • Local work of the company for charitable purposes in the region
  • Active shaping of the business location by the company
  • Development and career opportunities
  • Recommendation of the company as an employer


As a result of top ratings, 25 institutions in each city made it onto the final list and can call themselves the "most attractive employers in the city."


Certificate “family-friendly university”

Employees and students at the University of Hohenheim appreciate, amongst other things, how family-friendly and bicycle-friendly it is: It is certified as a "family-friendly university."

The "audit familiengerechte hochschule" was initiated in 1998 by the non-profit Hertie Foundation. For years, the University of Hohenheim has focused on family-friendly personnel policies that take employees’ life phases into account. This includes family-friendly conditions for studying and working, childcare offers on the campus, and can even include assistance with caring for a relative.

The University of Hohenheim was a pioneer in this area and was the first university in Baden-Württemberg to receive the basic certificate from berufundfamilie Service GmbH back in 2004. In 2020, the University of Hohenheim was audited for the sixth time as a family-friendly university and is now the first university in Baden-Württemberg to bear a permanent certificate.


Sustainability as a central topic

The topic of sustainability plays a special role at the University of Hohenheim: Sustainability was already one of its central founding ideas and today links research, teaching, and studies as well as administration.

Sustainability is lived out at the university not least through the employees and through student groups, which are involved in many different sustainability activities. This includes the student group FRESH, which received an award from the UN for its commitment to global sustainable nutrition.


Certificate “bicycle-friendly employer”

In 2020, the University of Hohenheim was the first university in Baden-Württemberg to be awarded the ADFC seal of approval “bicycle-friendly employer" in silver for its special commitment to cycling culture. Whether new high-quality storage facilities, showers, a volunteer bicycle representative, rental bicycles, self-help workshop, and campaigns for employees and students: The University of Hohenheim has been promoting cycling for years.

The background is the University's mobility plan with short, medium, and long-term measures for better accessibility and more climate friendliness. It takes all means of transport into account.

One of the reasons for the popularity of the University of Hohenheim as an employer is probably its bicycle-friendliness. | Picture source: University of Hohenheim / Jan Winkler

One of the reasons for the popularity of the University of Hohenheim as an employer is probably its bicycle-friendliness.
Picture source: University of Hohenheim / Jan Winkler

Already certified since 2004: the family friendliness of the University of Hohenheim. In the photo: The children's festival as part of the annual Open Day. | Image source: University of Hohenheim / Boris Lehner

Already certified since 2004: the family friendliness of the University of Hohenheim. In the photo: The children's festival as part of the annual Open Day.
Image source: University of Hohenheim / Boris Lehner

Work together - take a break together on Germany's most beautiful university campus | Image source: University of Hohenheim / Max Kovalenko

Work together - take a break together on Germany's most beautiful university campus
Image source: University of Hohenheim / Max Kovalenko

Text: Stuhlemmer


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