Attractive working environment

The great diversity of its staff is one of Implenia’s strengths. In order to promote diversity, equality and integration, Implenia defined these as corporate goals (see Sustainable Development Goals) and in 2023 introduced a global policy containing clear objectives and standards (see Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Directive).

Implenia aims to treat all employees equally, regardless of their gender, age, place of origin, skin colour, religion, sexual orientation, political views or disabilities. The company adheres to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its follow-up declaration, which put a particular focus on equal pay and preventing discrimination of any sort. 

Implenia employs many people from different backgrounds, all of whom contribute to our shared success. The company is aware that a workforce with diverse training, outlooks and values contributes significantly to the company's success. Implenia introduced bias training in 2024 in order to strengthen this philosophy among its managers and embed the added value of diversity in everyday working life.

The percentage of women employees at Implenia has been rising steadily for a number of years and in 2024 again slightly exceeded the previous year’s level at 23.8 percent (previous year: 23.4 percent). The proportion of women in management roles was 20.2 percent (previous year: 19 percent). In the IEC it was 25 percent and in the Board of Directors 28 percent. This progress is the result of long-standing efforts to promote equal opportunities for women and men. The significant increase in female staff and management from 2022 to 2023 was also partly due to the successful acquisition and integration of Wincasa. Implenia is not satisfied with the current percentage of female employees, and it is continuing to implement targeted measures to recruit more women across all job categories. A central step in this direction is the Women’s Network, which Implenia introduced in 2023. It initiates and organises events on a local and global level to actively promote diversity and equality.

At the end of 2023, Implenia also signed the UN Women Empowerment Principles. The WEP established by UN Women and the UN Global Compact are based on international labour and human rights standards and recognise that companies have an interest in and a responsibility for gender equality and for strengthening the role of women. The WEP are an important tool for businesses trying to implement the gender aspects of Agenda 2030 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (read more).

Implenia is also a member of Advance, a broad-based Swiss programme established by a group of well-known companies to actively help women advance their careers. One of its aims is to increase the proportion of women in management positions through skills-building workshops, mentoring and networking events. Implenia is also a sponsor of wipswiss, a network for women in the Swiss real estate industry. The organisation supports its members in areas such as career development, education and access to leadership positions.

And in Norway, Implenia is part of Diversitas nettverk, a network for diversity and gender balance in the construction industry. 

The employee turnover rate in 2024 increased slightly to 21.8 percent (18.9 in 2023). This is mainly due to including Wincasa into the calculation. Turnover is generally high at Implenia, as a project-based organisation, due to project phases, reductions and increases in personnel, and fixed-term contracts. Looking at voluntary turnover in isolation (excluding fixed-term contracts, retirement, etc.), the rate was 9.1 percent. In order to monitor attrition within different age groups more effectively, reporting methods were improved in 2024 so that measures can be taken to improve employee retention based on the resulting data.

In line with its sustainability goals, Implenia aims to improve employee satisfaction continuously up to the end of 2025 – through, among other things, modern, flexible and family-friendly working environments. In 2022, the company introduced a decentralised survey tool to check employee well-being and satisfaction in all areas and functions .

In Division Civil Engineering, the latest surveys show that employees consistently support the company’s strategic direction. They also confirm the positive and sustained impact of the “YOU MATTER!” campaign, thanks to which many employees receive regular recognition for their contributions. Given the many changes that have taken place in recent years, Implenia also uses this tool to monitor how different teams perceive the pace of change – and to take targeted action if necessary.

Regardless of pay guidelines, salaries of men and women in comparable positions still sometimes differ. The Human Resources Department is constantly working to eliminate unjustified pay differentials. For example, Implenia makes targeted use of the budget for salary increases to rebalance gender differences, and it conducts quantitative analyses during pay reviews to ensure that gender pay gaps are minimised or eliminated. 

In 2024, Implenia Switzerland had its wage equality analysed externally using “Logib”, the Swiss government’s respected analysis tool. Taking into account personal and location-specific circumstances, there was a gender wage gap of 2.5 percent in favour of men. This is good by national comparison (see Federal Statistical Office). 

Implenia plans to overhaul its remuneration practices in 2025 to ensure they comply with the requirements of the EU Pay Transparency Directive.

Since 2021, employees with a flexible salary component have been obliged to set their own individual goals each year, based on the company’s values. In addition to their agreed basic salary, these employees receive a variable salary component linked to the achievement of these personal goals. 

Since the beginning of 2023, compensation for members of the Implenia Executive Committee (IEC) has also been linked to the achievement of goals based on the company’s sustainability targets. These goals will only be achieved if all employees at every level of the organisation contribute to the effort. IEC members receive a percentage bonus on top of their salary if they make the required progress. Implenia sets targets for each IEC member individually in accordance with their area of influence.

All permanent employees have the opportunity to purchase Implenia registered shares on favourable terms after six months of employment at the company. 

Conditions of employment and social benefits meet the latest standards at the very least, 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 – two weeks longer than the statutory minimum. 

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, or by helping people who have been affected by restructuring measures.

In Germany, Implenia employees receive a company pension and anniversary bonuses. Nearly all permanent employees are members of the “2005 retirement and risk insurance plan” which provides added security in old age. In addition to old-age benefits, employer contributions cover the risk of disability and death. 

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In order to implement its strategy, Implenia wants to attract highly talented people and instil in them a long-term commitment to the company. It offers employees a wide variety of training and development opportunities, allowing them to build up their knowledge, skills and expertise to progress within the business. The training and development programme is constantly being expanded and adjusted to requirements. 

Training is coordinated, documented and carried out at Group, national and local levels. Specialist training is provided by experts from the operational units, augmented with the latest expertise from external specialists, manufacturers and suppliers. The success of the training programme is due in part to the fact that it addresses all levels of the hierarchy, reaching every employee from top management to project level.

In order to support all of its employees equally in their careers, and facilitate targeted succession planning, Implenia reviews the organisation, and the talent within it, in the annual “Organisation Capabilities Review”. This ensures a systematic approach and increases awareness of talented people and performances relevant to key roles within the organisation and to the company’s future needs.

Technical-commercial staff, who account for 60 percent of the workforce, undergo annual, systematic performance assessments. In 2024, these employees completed about 10,000 training hours on the digital learning platform (e-lessons only, classroom training is not yet logged systematically). These figures are not yet systematically recorded on a global level for on-site staff.

Implenia established the Sustainability Academy in 2022. Each segment of this digital training programme covers one of the Group’s sustainability goals, thus informing employees about the most important sustainability issues. Five modules have been released and are steadily being integrated into training plans and the onboarding process for new employees. Nearly 1,100 of the approximately one-hour training courses on environmental protection, CO₂ reduction, circular economy, sustainable planning and realisation and biodiversity were completed in 2024.

In order to achieve a consistent approach to management, Implenia uses various leadership programmes to develop managers in all its markets. An important pillar of this is the group-wide “WE LEAD” programme, which Implenia uses to train managers from all markets. It is based on the Executive MBA continuing education programme “emba X” devised by the ETH Zurich and the University of St. Gallen. WE LEAD consists of several modules on topics such as change management, leadership and collaboration.

WE LEAD communicates Implenia’s values and leadership principles, as well as promoting group-wide exchange between current and future leaders and managers. Since its introduction, it has delivered targeted training and education to a total of 450 current and future managers, helping to prepare them for responsible roles within the company. In May 2024, WE LEAD completed its second wave, which was specifically aimed at managers and high potential individuals, creating a strong pipeline of talent ready to take the business forward.

Implenia launched a new management training course called “Leading@Implenia” in 2024. This programme provides new leaders with the tools and skills they need to lead their teams in line with Implenia’s vision, mission, and leadership principles. Training includes three days of face-to-face sessions and up to 1.5 days of self-study and group work. 

Division Buildings piloted a mentoring programme in summer 2024 that was extended to the Division Civil Engineering in November. 

This programme focuses on:

• Promoting knowledge exchange between mentor and mentee
• Building hierarchy-neutral relationships
• Networking between managers and talents
• Supporting talent development
• Increasing motivation and satisfaction
• Strengthening a homogeneous, future-oriented management culture

Implenia also wants to be a leading company in the construction industry for promoting young talent. The company has always trained young professionals – to secure its own future and at the same time to fulfil its social responsibility. Around 300 young people were doing an apprenticeship in a commercial or technical field at Implenia in 2024.

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Health & Safety is right at the top of Implenia’s priorities – especially on construction sites. The topic is also a fixed item on the agenda of every Implenia Executive Committee meeting and of all meetings of the divisional management teams. In recent years the company has launched numerous initiatives and created various structures to minimise risks on its construction sites. Around  80 percent of all Implenia business units have ISO 45001 certification.

Implenia has a Health & Safety organisation with clearly defined responsibilities and processes. If accidents do occur, they are systematically recorded and investigated, and corrective measures are introduced. These measures are based on an obligatory discussion between the people involved and their line managers to clarify the causes of the accident.

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A good safety culture encompasses all the norms and values that define how people work and interact with each other safely. Implenia promotes a safety culture on many levels. This culture includes being constructive in response to errors, exchanging experiences and applying established models and concepts of work psychology. For many years, Implenia’s number one safety rule has been that everyone has the right – and duty – to stop work immediately if they feel a situation is unsafe.

The “How We Work” Code of Conduct obliges all employees without exception to comply with the Safety Rules. Based on the Implenia Code of Conduct for External Business Partners, this also applies to subcontractors operating on Implenia construction sites. Implenia also actively tries to heighten its employees’ awareness of health and safety. In Switzerland, for example, this already starts during the induction week for new trainees, where more than half of teaching time is devoted to health and safety at work.

Regular meetings and workshops designed to identify risks, improve the management of health and safety risks and share experiences are embedded into everyday working life. In past years, Implenia has 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 relevant operational units an overview of the latest safety performance. Annual goals set for senior managers and executives include site inspections that focus on health and safety. 

Implenia is continuously strengthening its international cooperation on health and safety. A constant 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 a uniform high level across the Group.

Implenia is a member of the "Health & Safety” working group of the European construction industry network encord, which allows it to exchange ideas with other companies.

Implenia’s annual Health & Safety Award recognises outstanding achievements in occupational health and safety by three teams or individuals across the Group. The award is designed to encourage development of active solutions and publicise good ideas throughout the Group.

The 2024 Health & Safety Award was won by the “Kabeldiagonale” project team in Berlin for its innovative and safe approach to cleaning pipes on tunnel construction sites (more information).

The third Group-wide Health & Safety Day was held in September 2024. Every employee in all the different countries and departments, on construction sites and in offices, took a break from their day-to-day work to discuss and learn about how they can make a personal contribution to reducing accidents and creating a healthy working environment. 

In 2024, the day focused on a team-level discussion about the topic of “Speak Up!”,  which centres on the need to call out unsafe situations and unacceptable conditions. Anyone can prevent accidents and even save lives by refusing to look away, pointing out infringements of the rules and dangerous situations, and taking appropriate action where necessary.

In addition to discussions on the main topic, numerous other activities were held across the Group, including workplace safety tours, health workshops, specialist lectures, and evacuation and emergency exercises.

Unfortunately, in 2024 three fatal accidents involving subcontractors and employees of a joint venture partner occurred on Implenia construction sites or in joint ventures led by Implenia. 

Days of absence due to occupational accidents rose slightly to 7,399 in 2024 (2023 6,722). The number of non-occupational accidents rose slightly between 2023 and 2024. Most accidents in people’s private lives happened when playing ball sports, on the roads, or as a result of slips and trips in the home or garden.

When its employees have serious accidents or are seriously ill, Implenia works with internal health managers on their rehabilitation and reintegration. In 2024 the team supported 232 such cases in Switzerland.

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