5. Working Conditions

TOPIC LEAD: CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER

Our target for 2027: We want to maintain an employee engagement score of ≥ 4.0 (2024: 4.1)

Jobs with decent working conditions are a basic premise for the development of individuals and society. They drive prosperity and provide a livelihood for people. Our employees are central to our success, and we are proud of our global and diverse workforce in our production sites and service centers.

With our engagement in providing good working conditions, we contribute to the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth. Our most direct impact concerns the working conditions of our more than 3’200 employees (FTE). Further impacts are along our supply chain, also with regard to human rights. We recognize our responsibility to exercise due diligence in collaboration with our business partners.

 

Our approach

We are committed to upholding fundamental international labor standards and strive to provide conditions that exceed the local industry average overall. To achieve this, we focus on three areas:

  • Dialog and relations
  • Terms and compensation
  • Organizational culture

The impacts on employees of suppliers, contractors, and outsourced activities are managed mainly through our supply chain due diligence approach.

Dialog and relations:

We acknowledge and support freedom of association as set out in our Code of Conduct. Open dialog with employees is a priority for Burckhardt Compression and is fostered in various ways. In addition to employee surveys and a continuous exchange with line managers, employees are informed online several times a year personally by members of the Executive Management about the state of the business and other matters, whereby questions are answered. Our online platform and mobile application BC Connect is an exchange platform accessible to all employees and allows them to receive, comment on, and write messages. Other dialog tools are used at local level in the form of collective bargaining and employee representation. 62% of Burckhardt Compression’s employees worldwide are covered by a collective agreement.

Among the most attractive employers in Switzerland

We rank as one of the most attractive Swiss employers in the mechanical and plant engineering sector 2024. This ranking is based on an independent survey of employees, and was carried out by data analyst Statista via an online access panel, combined with input from the readers of “Handelszeitung” and “Le Temps”. More than 1’500 employers with 200 or more employees in Switzerland were identified for the survey. Burckhardt Compression was placed an excellent 11th in its sector an a good 163rd rank over all sectors which means a top 11% ranking.

Employment terms and compensation:

We offer attractive terms and conditions of employment adapted to prevailing requirements on an ongoing basis. We benchmark our salaries against external salary surveys conducted by Willis Towers Watson and have an ongoing monitoring system in place to eliminate significant salary differences between equivalent positions. We have greatly expanded our flexibility in terms of staff working from home and have enhanced our infrastructure to enable our employees to work comfortabley from a variety of locations.

Organizational culture:

We believe that our well-established corporate culture forms the foundation of our competitiveness. A comprehensive program called “Values and Behaviors” ensures that employees in all Group locations and companies share and actively uphold the same corporate values and principles. The internal Code of Conduct is designed to set fundamental standards and principles for how employees should interact and behave with partners, stakeholders, and the environment. A global Speak Up channel operated by a third party is available to report violations of our standards, values, and behavioral guidelines.