Diverse staff
GRI 102-7, 102-8, 102-10, 102-22, 401-1, 405-1
A diverse but integrated personnel bring together complementary views, opinions and experiences, which in turn generate different approaches and solutions. Implenia has no doubt that one of its strengths depends on actively encouraging diversity and integration within its workforce. One of its goals for 2025 is to promote diversity and integration with in the company.
At the end of 2020, Implenia Group employed a total of 10,241 people from over 85 countries (including external temporary employees and agency workers).
The proportion of women once again went up year-on-year, and by the end of 2020 stood at 14.1% (excluding agency and temporary employees). The proportion of women at management level was 11.8%, which is a 1.6 percentage point improvement on the previous year. The central staff units have the highest proportion of women managers at 33%.
6.7% of all employees in 2020 worked part-time (excluding agency and temporary workers). 43% of these were men. The Division Real Estate and the Global Functions have the highest proportion of part-time posts, with 27% and 13% respectively. 92.1% of all employees have a permanent employment contract.
The 2020 employee fluctuation rate across the company came to 129.9% (excluding seasonal fluctuations), which is 3.6 percentage points higher than in the previous year. Implenia aims to reduce this figure gradually by 2025.
An analysis of the age structure shows that almost half our employees are between 30 and 50 years old. Over the past six years, the average age of Implenia’s workforce has fallen slightly.
Equal opportunities
GRI 405-1
Implenia has worked intensively for years to guarantee equal opportunities for women and men. Implenia is not satisfied that women only make up 14.1% of its workforce, so the Group is taking active steps to recruit more women to all categories of employment.
In 2020, for example, Implenia held a virtual round table for the Women Back to Business Programm run by the University of St. Gallen (HSG). This management training helps women to get back to work after a break, either returning to their old profession or switching career.
In November 2018 Implenia joined Advance, a broad-based Swiss-wide programme established by a group of well-known companies such as ABB, Credit Suisse and IKEA. The programme actively helps women advance their careers. One aim, for example, is to increase the proportion of women in management positions through skill-building workshops, mentoring and networking events.
Fair pay
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 2020 (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 employees define their own individual annual goals based on our Corporate Values of Excellence, Collaboration, Integrity, Agility and Sustainability. 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.
Mobile working
Implenia used the pandemic-driven temporary relocation to home offices at the start of 2020 as an opportunity to overhaul its rules for mobile working models. The rules clarify the conditions for mobile working and include not only working from home, but also work activities at other company locations, on the road, on business trips and when visiting customers.
The aim is for a sensible balance between remote working and being present in the office. For example, all swiss employees with at least a 60% contract can have two remote working days a week and employees in France can work on the move up to 55 days per year. As well as showing Implenia to be a flexible employer, this will help to reduce commuting, which in turn will be good for the environment and for employees’ work-life balance.
Advice and support
GRI 405-1
Implenia treats all employees equally, regardless of their gender, place of origin, colour, religion, sexual orientation or political views. The company follows the equality guidelines issued by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). These focus in particular on equal pay and preventing discrimination of any sort. Implenia regularly informs employees about compliance with the rules in publications like the CEO Newsletter.
In order to protect all employees from sexual harassment and discrimination, Implenia has set out clear rules in its Code of Conduct. It also maintains a compliance contact point as well as a contact centre for women, which provides employees with advice and support on any issues or problems and a place to report incidents in confidence.
Where in-house advisory and support services are not sufficient, Implenia offers employees the opportunity to access external agencies free of charge and in confidence. Consultants from external service provider ICAS offer professional help in cases of bullying or harassment, for example. They can also help employees at an early stage with any family problems, anxieties or psychological issues – before worries and problems start to have a negative effect on concentration and performance.
Communicating openly
Implenia provides a supportive working environment that enables employees to master the demanding jobs typical of the construction sector. The company nurtures a culture of open dialogue, in which important developments and decisions are communicated in a timely and transparent manner. The CEO regularly addresses employees directly in a newsletter, talking about developments within the company and in the operating environment.
Staff magazine “Impact”, which appears in four languages, is sent to all employees twice a year. Also available online at impact.implenia.com, the magazine contains information on the company’s current projects and initiatives, and always includes articles about sustainability. Employees can find all the information and documents relevant to them on the intranet. “Yammer”, the internal social network, allows employees to exchange knowledge, share content and talk to each other.
Implenia also puts on regular physical and virtual information events about topical subjects, and encourages dialogue through the use of digital discussion forums and personal exchanges with management. A group-wide “Leadership Forum” is held twice a year, where around 180 management personnel discuss topical strategic, operational and cultural matters.
With its “Young Generation” organisation, Implenia facilitates communication between management and the young, motivated workers who will shape the company’s future. Young employees from all regions and countries attend annual workshops to generate ideas that will help strengthen Implenia as a modern company and make a success of day-to-day business.
Roughly once a month, the CEO invites a small group of colleagues from different departments to talk informally and get to know each other at an event known as “Meet & Greet our CEO André”.
Individual development
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.
Management training
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.
Promotion of young talent
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.
As in previous years, in 2019 the Group also held employer branding events in German-speaking regions to introduce itself to future professionals. In Germany, for example, the Implenia Award for outstanding bachelor degree dissertations on construction-related themes was presented for the fourth time. After the prize is awarded, Implenia always keeps in touch with participants through a talent newsletter.
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 2020. Around 12,000 students from Swiss universities and colleges took part in the Universum Swiss Student Survey.
Implenia also did well in other employer rankings. The Best Recruiters ranking in Switzerland, for example, reflected how the company has improved its image: Implenia is now third in the construction / timber sector ranking, which is one place higher than in the previous year. And according to a study by “Wirtschaftswoche”, Implenia is also in the top 100 most attractive employers for young engineers and builders in Germany.
Vocational training
Implenia wants to position itself as the benchmark company for developing young talent in the construction industry. The company has always trained young professionals – to secure its own future and at the same time to fulfil its social responsibility. In 2020, around 300 apprentices were employed by Implenia in Switzerland in on-site or office-based roles, 96 of whom completed their training during the year. Around one third of these graduates of the apprenticeship scheme remained at the company.
Implenia doesn’t just offer its apprentices a training place, it also strengthens their professional and social skills by running regular apprentice projects: in 2020, for example, second-year apprentices built a wooden bridge, a barbecue area and a path in the municipality of Saas-Balen, Canton Valais.
Implenia Norway has awarded its “Mentor of the Year” and “Trainee of the Year” prizes since 2019 to reflect its appreciation of exceptional achievement in talent development. Since October 2019, Implenia Sweden has run its own training programme for on-site staff called “Blue Collar Worker”. Ten of the first twelve newly trained specialists were offered a job at the end of the programme.
The company also trains new construction professionals in Germany. Implenia Germany was recertified as an “Excellent Training Organisation” in both 2019 and 2020. Certification required all trainees to answer questions posed by an independent agency which then evaluated relevant performance indicators.
Health and safety
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 roughly 300 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.
Safety culture
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 2019 and 2020 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.
Health & Safety Award
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.
Accidents and absences
GRI 403-2
Thanks to its constant, consistent commitment to safety, Implenia managed to reduce the accident rate for 2020 to 53 accidents per thousand full-time employees. Every year, the whole Group has the aim of cutting the accident rate again. To do this, individual targets are defined for each business unit, and these are reviewed each year. Unfortunately, despite this positive trend, there were five fatal accidents on Implenia construction sites in 2020. Such tragic accidents must be avoided at all costs. Central to this effort are a constant awareness of risks and strict adherence to safety rules. ((Zahlen aktualisieren))
The number of non-occupational accidents also fell considerably in 2020 (-22,3%). Reduced leisure activities due to the Corona pandemic probably played a major role. Most non-occupational accidents happened during winter sports, on the roads outside work hours, or as a result of slips and trips in the home or garden.
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 2020. This figure has been stable in recent years (2018: 0.3%, 2019: 0.32%). The number of work-related absences fell slighthly from 10,702 days in 2019 to 10,664 in 2020. Employees were absent for more than 30 days due to illness or accident on 471 occasions.
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.
COVID-19
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.
WELL certification
Implenia will be moving into its new head office, known as “Implenia Connect”, in the Ambassador House building in Opfikon in 2021. The company is committed to the latest sustainability standards in the building and conversion work. Ambassador House is already LEED Platinum certified. Implenia is doing the tenant fit-out itself in line with the “WELL Building Standard”. WELL-certified buildings promote the health and well-being of employees through measures in ten areas based on scientific research: air, water, nourishment, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound insulation, materials, mind and community.