Attractive working environment

GRI 102-41

Implenia pays transparent, fair and competitive wages and salaries to its employees. Office-based functions at its Swiss locations are remunerated according to the requirements and responsibility of the specific job. Pay is based on collective agreements negotiated with the Group’s social partners. In Austria, too, pay is based on collective bargaining. Salaries are defined for each position and are gender-neutral. Where there are no collective agreements, Implenia complies with statutory minimum wage requirements. Around 80% of the Group-wide workforce worked under a collective agreement in 2021 (excluding external temporary employees and agency workers).

Despite gender-neutral compensation policies, in practice there are differences in salaries between men and women in comparable positions. The Human Resources department has been working for several years to eliminate unjustified wage differences. For example, the budget for salary increases is targeted to correct gender-based discrepancies.

In 2018, Implenia in Switzerland was audited by an external agency. The results showed that our efforts are bearing fruit: an earlier analysis from the year 2012 revealed a 3.8% average difference between male and female salaries, while the newer analysis showed this has halved to 1.9%. Implenia does well on this count by nationwide comparison: according to the Federal Office for Statistics the average wage gap in Switzerland is more than 11% (as of 2018). Of course it is still Implenia’s aim to eliminate the remaining discrepancy.

Implenia also adjusts wages individually on the basis of performance assessments and employee appraisal discussions. In addition to the employee’s contribution, the complexity and scope of their role, as well as local market conditions, are all factored into the calculation. As from 2021, all senior managers are required to define their own individual annual goals based on our corporate values of excellence, collaboration, agility, integrity and sustainability. Implenia is currently expanding this scheme with the aim that a large proportion of its employees will soon be defining annual targets in this way. In addition to their agreed basic salary, managers receive a variable salary component linked to the achievement of their goals. Approximately 40 senior managers receive an additional part of their salary in the form of shares.

Conditions of employment and social benefits at least meet the latest standards, and in some instances go far beyond the statutory requirements. For example, employees in Switzerland benefit from attractive pension arrangements, an extra week’s holiday and 16 weeks of maternity leave.

Employees in Germany enjoy attractive staff offers, training and development programmes in the form of specialist and regional courses, as well as numerous social benefits, including service anniversary bonuses or a company pension scheme. In all six countries in which Implenia operates, employees can obtain registered shares of Implenia at a discount rate.

Practically all permanent employees in Germany are members of the “2005 retirement and risk insurance plan” which provides added old-age insurance. In addition to old-age benefits, employer contributions cover the risk of disability and death.

All employees in Switzerland are insured by Implenia’s pension fund in accordance with statutory requirements. Implenia also runs the “Fondation Patronale” pension foundation, which has capital of CHF 11 million. The foundation was set up to mitigate the financial consequences of illness, disability and death by paying out pension benefits and voluntary inflation supplements, and by helping people who have been affected by restructuring measures.

In order to implement its innovation strategy, Implenia aims to attract highly talented people and instil in them a long-term enthusiasm for the company. The company thus offers a wide variety of training and development options for its employees, allowing them to build up their knowledge and skills and to progress within the company.

Employees are given the space for personal advancement and are encouraged to develop their professional careers, while the training and development programme itself is constantly being expanded. Furthermore, training courses are subject to constant quality control. In 2020 Implenia launched a new digital eCampus, initially in Germany and Switzerland. Employees can now register for training or start an eLearning course with a few clicks of the mouse.

Implenia wants to support all employees equally in their careers, and so in 2019 it tested a new standard for reviewing the organisation and its talents: the “Organisation Capabilities Review”. Following its successful introduction for managers, this will now be gradually applied to the whole organisation over the next few years.

Since 2016, Implenia has supported employees who have managerial responsibility through the leadership training program “Winning Performance”, which seeks to instil a shared understanding of management.

Winning Performance lasts a total of six days, over which participants are taught about various matters including leadership, communication and financial management. Informal events are held each evening with activities designed to help everyone get to know each other and to promote networking. In 2020, 58 executives took part in the program, which was shortened for security reasons in connection with the Corona pandemic.

Implenia prefers to fill vacant positions with the most suitable people from within its own ranks, and uses a systematic talent management process to help it do this. The growing shortage of skilled specialists within the industry means, however, that the company also has to recruit external talent. For example, Implenia offers graduates the opportunity to complete a 12-month trainee programme to prepare them for an office-based or technical career.

Implenia is seen as an attractive employer, not least because of its varied training offer. In a broad survey of engineering students, the Group was, as in the previous year, placed in the top quartile of the 100 most sought-after employers in the sector in 2021. Around 12,000 students from Swiss universities and colleges took part in the Universum Swiss Student Survey.

GRI 403-2

Implenia is determined to prevent accidents and work-related illness, which is why Health & Safety is the company’s top priority. Health & Safety is a standing item on the agenda of every Implenia Executive Committee meeting. In recent years the company has launched numerous initiatives and created structures to minimise risks on its construction sites. Almost 100% of the Group’s units have ISO 45001 certification.

Implenia has a well developed internal Health & Safety organisation with clearly defined responsibilities, regulations and processes. If any accidents do occur, they are systematically recorded and evaluated, with corrective measures taken wherever necessary. These measures are based on a compulsory discussion between the people involved and their line managers to clarify the causes of the accident.

An effective safety culture must include openness about mistakes. Everyone wants to avoid mistakes; but if they do happen, they should not be kept secret or played down. Mistakes need to be addressed if they are to be corrected and if lessons are to be learned.

The Code of Conduct obliges all employees without exception to comply with safety regulations. Implenia doesn’t just impose rules and regulations however; it also takes active steps to heighten its employees’ awareness of health and safety. This already starts in Switzerland, for example, during the induction week for the new trainees.

Regular meetings and workshops designed to identify risks, improve risk management and share experiences are embedded as part of normal working life. In the last years Implenia carried out various programmes and campaigns, most of them at local level and in the operational units. A “15-Minute Safety” internal training session is held at least once a month at all projects, for example.

At management level, the company uses leadership workshops to create an even greater awareness of the Group-wide safety culture. The guiding principle is: “safety at work is a management issue!”. Another vital component is the regular reporting that gives managers of the relevant operational units an overview of the latest accident rates and allows them to make forecasts. This proven system means that problems can be identified quickly so the necessary corrective measures can be taken.

Implenia is continuously strengthening its international collaboration on health and safety. A regular exchange of information within the Group-wide Health & Safety organisation helps different teams learn from each other, identify potential for improvements and exploit synergies. By sharing examples of best practice from different countries, all parts of the company can help bring safety up to the same high level across the Group.

Implenia’s annual Health & Safety Award celebrates outstanding achievements in the field of health and safety at work by a construction site, team or individual. The award is designed to motivate people to implement measures and increase their sense of responsibility. Implenia employees vote for the winner from a shortlist of proposals.

The 2020 Health & Safety Award was won by the team from Civil Engineering France that is working on the CERN project. Team members were awarded the “Golden Helmet” for the practical, safe system they use for securing loads. The fact that the same team also won the award in 2019 is an impressive testament to their great awareness of safety issues.

In 2020, 68% of absences in Switzerland were the result of illness, with another 17% down to accidents at work and 15% caused by non-work-related accidents. This ratio has not changed significantly in recent years. Implenia reported an absence rate of 0.32% for absences due to occupational accidents in 2021. This figure has been stable in recent years (2020: 0.32%). The number of work-related absences fell from 10,664 days in 2020 to 9,819 in 2021. 

When its employees have accidents or are sick, Implenia works with internal health managers on their rehabilitation and reintegration. In 2020 the team supported 189 such cases.

Implenia has taken numerous steps to inform and protect employees and subcontractors on its sites and in its offices. The Group has also set up a global taskforce and individual country task forces. It has set up a dedicated website where employees can find the latest rules as well as posters and leaflets in various languages for construction sites, and a contact form for anonymised suggestions for improvement. There is also an image gallery showing particularly effective protective measures taken by various Implenia offices and construction sites.

At the 2020 Health & Safety Awards, a “Silver Helmet” was awarded for successful measures to protect against the coronavirus. This went to the “Neues Technisches Rathaus Mannheim” project team at Buildings Deutschland. Workers on site benefited from an exemplary standard of protection thanks to rapid, well organised implementation of various precautions, such as additional wash stations for employees, regular disinfection and cleaning, as well as clear documentation of all the measures taken.