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Electronics giant Siemens lays a distinct emphasis on diversity in their workforce. We talk to Petra L. we from Corporate Personnel at the company's headquarters in Munich, Germany.
Founded over 150 years ago, Siemens is now one of the world's largest electrical engineering and electronics companies with interests in areas as wide-ranging as telecommunications, transportation and power. So how does an organisation which covers 190 countries get the best from a diverse workforce of more than 460,000 people?
Why is workforce diversity important to Siemens?
Diversity is an invaluable source of creativity, talent and experience. Consequently, recruiting, retaining and developing a diverse workforce can improve a company's competitiveness by increasing the potential for ideas and innovation. Varied perspectives mean better solutions, so we can derive benefits from workplace diversity at all levels on a country by country basis and in a global context. We believe that it's not just part of our general social responsibility, but a business imperative which will make us more effective and a global employer of choice. Therefore, diversity policy is part of our corporate strategy and is included in our Corporate Principles, Diversity Guidelines and Business Conduct Guidelines. These guidelines are globally valid and implement diversity as an integral part of our corporate culture worldwide.
How would an MBA hire experience the company's commitment to a diverse workforce?
Diversity isn't just something we pay lip service to, but is embedded in our corporate culture. It's part of the guiding principles of the company, which all our people are made aware of and it's an essential part of our management training programmes - we actively seek to help managers implement and sustain diversity in their own areas of operation and responsibility. New graduate hires becomes part of our mentoring programme, which helps them to develop inter-personal and other career skills with the guidance of an experienced manager. We've also instituted a number of targeted initiatives to tackle specific problems or challenges faced by sections of our workforce or to promote applications from under-represented groups. We heavily promote measures which support work/life balance, something that can be particularly important for individuals with family responsibilities. Consequently we offer possibilities for flexible working hours, tele-working and, for example in Germany, but also in other countries, have partnered with various childcare agencies to provide facilities for children.
"Diversity isnit just something we pay lip service to, but is embedded in our corporate culture. It's part of the guiding principles of the company."
Although women now make up around 27% of the total workforce, we're keen to attract even more of the brightest and best, particularly from the fields of business administration and engineering. In Germany we have gone about this by developing the YOLANTE (Young Ladies` Network of Technology) programme, a mentoring programme for ambitious young women from the technical sector and in a range of countries that includes the US, South Africa, Switzerland and Austria we run annual (Girl's Days) when employees are encouraged to bring female relatives into the workplace to get a feel for the types of opportunities the company could offer them in their future careers. We're also aware of the need to provide the right opportunities and environment for individuals who have disabilities. In Austria, for example, we have a model training programme which provides special training for the deaf and hard of hearing and also for the blind and partially sighted. Such measures mean that we've been highly successful in bringing people with disabilities into the company - over 6,000 in our German operations alone.
What sort of individual succeeds at Siemens?
When we are recruiting from business school or university, we look for committed and wellqualified people who can show initiative and an international mind-set. We need individuals who are results-oriented and natural entrepreneurs, who are able to motivate and inspire and who can work well both in teams and in their own personal networks. It's our aim to be attracting the very best people from around the globe, irrespective of their gender, nationality or ethnic background and that's why an effective diversity policy is so important to a company with the ambitions of Siemens.
Diversity at Siemens: Interview
By QS Contributor
Updated UpdatedElectronics giant Siemens lays a distinct emphasis on diversity in their workforce. We talk to Petra L. we from Corporate Personnel at the company's headquarters in Munich, Germany.
Founded over 150 years ago, Siemens is now one of the world's largest electrical engineering and electronics companies with interests in areas as wide-ranging as telecommunications, transportation and power. So how does an organisation which covers 190 countries get the best from a diverse workforce of more than 460,000 people?
Why is workforce diversity important to Siemens?
Diversity is an invaluable source of creativity, talent and experience. Consequently, recruiting, retaining and developing a diverse workforce can improve a company's competitiveness by increasing the potential for ideas and innovation. Varied perspectives mean better solutions, so we can derive benefits from workplace diversity at all levels on a country by country basis and in a global context. We believe that it's not just part of our general social responsibility, but a business imperative which will make us more effective and a global employer of choice. Therefore, diversity policy is part of our corporate strategy and is included in our Corporate Principles, Diversity Guidelines and Business Conduct Guidelines. These guidelines are globally valid and implement diversity as an integral part of our corporate culture worldwide.
How would an MBA hire experience the company's commitment to a diverse workforce?
Diversity isn't just something we pay lip service to, but is embedded in our corporate culture. It's part of the guiding principles of the company, which all our people are made aware of and it's an essential part of our management training programmes - we actively seek to help managers implement and sustain diversity in their own areas of operation and responsibility. New graduate hires becomes part of our mentoring programme, which helps them to develop inter-personal and other career skills with the guidance of an experienced manager. We've also instituted a number of targeted initiatives to tackle specific problems or challenges faced by sections of our workforce or to promote applications from under-represented groups. We heavily promote measures which support work/life balance, something that can be particularly important for individuals with family responsibilities. Consequently we offer possibilities for flexible working hours, tele-working and, for example in Germany, but also in other countries, have partnered with various childcare agencies to provide facilities for children.
"Diversity isnit just something we pay lip service to, but is embedded in our corporate culture. It's part of the guiding principles of the company."
Although women now make up around 27% of the total workforce, we're keen to attract even more of the brightest and best, particularly from the fields of business administration and engineering. In Germany we have gone about this by developing the YOLANTE (Young Ladies` Network of Technology) programme, a mentoring programme for ambitious young women from the technical sector and in a range of countries that includes the US, South Africa, Switzerland and Austria we run annual (Girl's Days) when employees are encouraged to bring female relatives into the workplace to get a feel for the types of opportunities the company could offer them in their future careers. We're also aware of the need to provide the right opportunities and environment for individuals who have disabilities. In Austria, for example, we have a model training programme which provides special training for the deaf and hard of hearing and also for the blind and partially sighted. Such measures mean that we've been highly successful in bringing people with disabilities into the company - over 6,000 in our German operations alone.
What sort of individual succeeds at Siemens?
When we are recruiting from business school or university, we look for committed and wellqualified people who can show initiative and an international mind-set. We need individuals who are results-oriented and natural entrepreneurs, who are able to motivate and inspire and who can work well both in teams and in their own personal networks. It's our aim to be attracting the very best people from around the globe, irrespective of their gender, nationality or ethnic background and that's why an effective diversity policy is so important to a company with the ambitions of Siemens.
Source: TopMBA Career Guide
This article was originally published in . It was last updated in
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