Employee retention
Employee retention is a strategic goal at u-blox, and we have a wide variety of measures in place to support it. For example, we implemented structural salary and benefits adjustments in different countries along with other corporate, functional, and site measures. Besides tracking key performance indicators showing our numbers of leavers, both voluntary and dismissals, we conduct regular development and career discussions as well as objective reviews. With such insight, we define career progress measures. We have outlined below some of our actions to support employee retention:
Diversity and inclusion
Our culture reflects the communities we work in and the markets we serve. Across u-blox, currently at 33 sites, with staff representing 70 nationalities, we have a strong, inclusive culture where diversity is valued by all. Discrimination and bullying are not tolerated, and everyone is treated with dignity and respect. u-blox has a zero tolerance policy for any form of harassment or abusive behavior.
Grievance procedure
Grievance procedures are also described in our global employment policy as well as in our local policies. Grievance processes can differ from country to country depending on local labor laws and are taken very seriously. Progress is monitored tightly and treated with the highest level of confidentiality.
Our corporate values and identity guidelines, which are provided to all employees, help to ensure that we have a culture that nurtures diversity and inclusion regardless of race, gender, ethnic origin, age, religion, disability, family status, social origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. As a global company, we believe our people and culture should reflect the diversity found in the communities we work in and the markets we serve. Further, we believe diversity drives innovation and efficiency and helps us to better serve our customers and our industry.
Our headquarters in Thalwil, Switzerland, is a good example, where our employees represent 35 different citizenships. Additionally, the majority of our development teams have members in more than one physical site, often in several countries. Collaboration is facilitated through virtual meetings,and a unique training program for line managers of multi-site teams has been developed to support international leadership in a multicultural environment.
Open-door culture
We work hard to nurture an open-door policy throughout the business. Our flat organizational structure promotes open communication at all levels to listen to and act upon employee needs.
An open information culture
Since the foundation of our company, we have fostered an open information culture and keep all staff updated every month in detail about the course of our business, the progress of our projects, and the status of our organization. We treat all our colleagues with respect and trust.
Communication culture
As of the end of 2022, we trained just over half of our employees globally in Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and significantly exceeded our company's target. This corporate training helps us improve our collaboration by speaking up for things that are important to us (honesty) and listening carefully, without judgment, to what is important to others (empathy). Such a communication culture forms a strong foundation for inclusion and unleashes the power of diversity.
Freedom of association
u-blox employees have the right to associate freely as per local regulations. These rights are specifically clarified in our local employment policies.
Career development
u-blox recognizes that career development will mean different things to different people and perhaps be different at other points in their lives. As a result, we have designed a career development strategy that caters to a broad range of employee developmental needs to help them grow and reach their individual goals. We want all u-blox employees to shift their focus from past performance and look forward with emphasis on their personal development and growth for better performance.
In regular career development discussions, employees discuss and define jointly with their line manager their personal development needs and interests while addressing their career ambitions and progress. Alongside our core training, we offer flexible, professional development opportunities for everyone in the business, including courses and material from selected internal and external providers and training developed in-house, unique to u-blox.
“In 2022, we added to our recently implemented e-learning library more than 20,000 new courses, and more than 2,300 were completed throughout the year.”
Training and knowledge sharing
Since we implemented our learning management system and e-learning strategy at u-blox, our employees have access to 270 modules, most of them created internally by subject matter experts and tailored to share the company's specific knowledge.
With our learning strategy, our training activities are centrally logged. The system enables managers to assign training to employees and those employees to track their progress. Simultaneously it allows the company to report in detail on specific training targets like regular corporate training such as Code of Conduct, Communication, Management, and Safety and Security training. Additionally, the system supports u-blox by identifying and recognizing experts in particular areas. We have also established a number of cross-functional teams to support knowledge sharing and provide employees with a broader scope of u-blox initiatives and roles.
With the implementation of a globally renowned e-learning library and platform, we are investing in the personal development of all our employees. In 2022 we had 270 tailored modules on this learning management system specific to
u-blox learning.
In 2022, we added to our recently implemented e-learning library more than 20,000 new courses, and more than 2,300 were completed throughout the year. In addition, more training tailored to the career paths of employees will be added in 2023.
This modern learning experience is personalized, thanks to data-driven recommendations. As a result, our employees can use and apply learning according to their needs and personal growth interests. u-blox is building a digital learning ecosystem that enables learning to happen anytime, anywhere. With this strategic approach and focus on digital learning, we are building a learning organization that also reduces our carbon footprint.
Investment in our future talent
u-blox offers an apprenticeship program at headquarters and internships throughout the year for students and early careers across our sites. These programs are very successful.
Employee engagement survey
In 2021, we shared the results of our latest employee engagement survey. Over 75% of employees participated in the survey. We are very pleased that 94% of the respondents confirmed being satisfied with their overall working conditions and working environment and that 92% confirmed being satisfied with u-blox as an employer.
In addition, every site and department has developed specific measures in accordance with the engagement survey results for their area, e.g., by implementing a dedicated department communication channel or adapting certain benefits.
With the implementation of an employee experience and success platform in 2023, we will have quarterly surveys and pulse checks to increase the engagement and development of our employees.