What services does the IHK offer businesses? How do businesses rate the services of their IHK? Does compulsory membership make sense? Could the IHKs not also complete their tasks without compulsory membership? How is the membership fee calculated? Where does it say which services companies get from the IHKs in return for their fees? Who sets the fee amount? Why do IHK fees vary from region to region? Can the IHK reimburse companies using their reserves — and lower the fees?
Is it only the big fish who have a say in the IHKs? How is democracy ensured in the IHK? What influence do small and medium-sized IHK companies have? What do the IHKs do for smaller companies? Is it always the same people who steer the ship at the IHKs? What is the advantage of self-management? How does the IHK represent the interests of businesses? And last but not least: IHKs provide a solid education. For example, each year they organise more than , intermediate and final examinations.
This also benefits those who cannot provide training themselves but, for example, want to employ an office administrator. The IHKs do all of this independently — their motto: by business, for business. This is why it transferred responsibility for professional training to the IHK. They also organise the training more quickly, more appropriately and more cheaply than government institutions could.
This is not least due to the , women and men from the business community and vocational schools, who volunteer on around 28, IHK training committees. Anyone who knows the IHK and uses their services places great value on them! More than 70 per cent of companies are satisfied or very satisfied with their IHK.
For individual services — such as appointing experts or consultation on education and training — the satisfaction rates are at 90 per cent. The IHK organisation regularly analyses improvement opportunities based on this Emnid survey, but it also uses surveys carried out by IHK partners in the education, political and administration sectors, as well as mystery shopper operations. According to this study, the information obligations arising from the IHK by-laws only cost German businesses an average of eleven euros per year in bureaucratic costs.
