Phoenix Contact combines a commonsense approach and consistency with a passion for the latest technologies. Our interactions with each other are based on trust and partnership: Employees work in an environment that is known for its mutual appreciation and room for creativity, thus fostering their own commitment. This is how we promote the sustainability of decisions and build trust.
The award given to us by the WEEF (World Ethical Electronics Forum) at the electronica trade fair demonstrates that Phoenix Contact’s corporate ethics are seen as exemplary in the overall context of sustainability. With its Corporate Principles, Phoenix Contact has defined basic principles in how it deals with employees, and likewise with its customers and partners, as a matter of course. These excellent working and general conditions are regularly recognized with awards and, at the same time, are also factors for our company’s past achievements, our growth, and our commitment to the future.
As a family business, Phoenix Contact places high value on fair and social interaction and the physical and mental health of its employees. The company’s social counseling service and its range of care services provide support here. Phoenix Contact is committed to providing working conditions and an environment in which employees feel comfortable and enjoy working. This also includes employee days, flexible working hours without core times, 30 vacation days per year for full-time employees in Germany, as well as the possibility of reducing overtime on a daily basis in combination with vacation days for non-exempt employees. Helping our employees to achieve a flexible work-life balance is a high priority for us – also in a global context.
Our employees have the flexibility to perform much of their work remotely, thus providing a better work-life balance. Phoenix Contact is thus responding to the increasing complexity, consolidation, and networking of today’s working world. Each company within the Group can allow for deviations. A generally applicable corporate framework defines the general conditions; a “Team Charter” also defines the possibilities of remote work at the individual team level.
Collective bargaining agreements are in place for the majority of locations in Germany – in each of them, comparably favorable operating conditions are offered. In addition, numerous company agreements ensure that employees enjoy better conditions than those required by law. In addition to works councils on a local level, a Group works council has also been established.
Transparency, information flow, and participation are deemed important elements of communication, which contribute to a culture of trust. Employees are continuously involved through regular communication and information, and are kept up to date with the latest news, topics, and services via the intranet, our employee magazine, and notices.
Providing for employees when they reach retirement age is important to Phoenix Contact. To maintain the standard of living after entering retirement, Phoenix Contact offers direct insurance, benefits funds, plus the option of paying into traditional savings agreements.
Phoenix Contact offers above-standard benefits at locations covered by collective bargaining agreements or comparable company benefits. Part-time employees receive all company benefits proportionate to their working hours. Collectively agreed benefits such as retirement benefits, vacation pay, and Christmas bonuses may differ for temporary workers.
In 2022, Phoenix Contact was once again one of the top employers in Germany. Ranked in 19th place, our company is one of Germany’s TOP 20 employers. Our hybrid leadership concept was just one of the factors that impressed the Top Employers Institute.
After a successful application process and at the start of a new career, there is anticipation, curiosity, and, of course, many questions. Phoenix Contact strives to make a new employee’s start in the Group as smooth as possible. The “Onboarding Journey” was developed in Germany – a multimedia concept through which new colleagues can gradually get to know Phoenix Contact and establish an internal network right from the start. It supplements the individual training provided by their manager and team. What’s special about this is that in many companies of the Phoenix Contact Group this Journey actually starts well before their first day of work, with preboarding.
Basic training and further education have a long-standing tradition at Phoenix Contact, because as a technology and future-oriented company, well-trained employees are the basis for Phoenix Contact to achieve its corporate goals. Especially in the field of electronics, automation technology, and digitalization, technology is constantly evolving and knowledge and skills must be continuously further developed. Regular performance reviews are held in all German companies.
The tradition of the company’s own apprenticeship in more than ten specialized professions began in the 1950s. Since the end of the 1980s, our in-house staff development scheme has offered a wide range of internal further training programs. Since 2016, the Training Center has been the home of our trainee workshop, seminar and training rooms, and coworking spaces. The learning programs offered are also constantly being adapted to future requirements; the number of trainees and dual students in Germany has almost doubled in the last two years.
With LinkedIn Learning, we offer an additional digital learning program with more than 16,000 content modules worldwide. It is also used during working hours for specific challenges or as further training in the professional environment.
At Phoenix Contact, trainees and dual students are encouraged to think outside the box and be creative through pilot projects, even in the automated production environment. One example is the CONTACTless internship, conceived as a possible internship during the difficult conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, which went on to win an award in the Trendence competition in September 2021.
Since 2006, trainees and dual students at Phoenix Contact have managed their business areas on their own, such as internships for high school students and career guidance measures for young adults. Trainees are also introduced to the topic of sustainability in a practical way and can work on specific SDG topics in small projects, which are then presented to the Group Executive Board.
In addition to the classic apprenticeship and the dual study program, there are a number of other programs for learners – from orientation programs for young people in the form of “gap years” to specialist training programs such as “Connections”. In all programs, the common thread is always the element of “connections”, which Phoenix Contact implements internationally, e.g., through annual “Leadership Weeks”. Managers, employees from headquarters, and international locations run these together.
The corporate culture of Phoenix Contact is an essential value, especially the trustful interaction with each other, mutual appreciation, and equal treatment of all employees. The corporate values and Phoenix Contact’s Code of Conduct form the company-wide guidelines for promoting diversity and equal opportunities and taking action against discrimination.
Each job profile is afforded the same pay, regardless of personal characteristics such as gender. Employees have various options for reporting violations: AGG officers (AGG – General Equal Treatment Act) are available to employees as contact persons at all German locations. Other contacts include managers, local works councils, and HR experts.
Networks have been created to promote women in technical professions and are supported by the Group Executive Board. The networks provide valuable impetus for the further development of Phoenix Contact in a modern working world and, among other things, are committed to teaching technical knowledge in kindergartens and schools. We also want to inspire enthusiasm for technology and to replace outdated role models by participating in action days such as Girls Day and helping to shape the way in which technical content is taught in schools.
More than 20,000 employees work for Phoenix Contact in more than 55 countries worldwide. This diversity of nations is reflected in the open corporate culture at Phoenix Contact, where the diversity of different cultures, genders, life experiences, and ages is valued.
Not only that, but the Phoenix Contact locations in Germany employ staff members originating from 56 different countries. Seven percent of the workforce in Germany is made up of employees with significant disabilities.
Phoenix Contact sees the talents of its employees and their attitudes, characteristics, and facets of individuality as a strength. Diversity is seen as a driver of innovative strength and key to its corporate success. The company continuously reviews the tools and instruments it uses to attract, develop, and retain new hires in an effort to find ways to welcome diversity and reduce potential barriers.
Employees participate in initiatives by sharing their own perspective on diversity within the Group and outlining what can be contributed. In 2022, Phoenix Contact jointly developed a diversity module for executives for the first time as part of global “Leadership Weeks” and implemented it for an international group of managers.
Measures to minimize risk are derived and monitored on a continuous basis in order to prevent technical and organizational accidents. The identification and evaluation of possible hazards as well as the introduction of appropriate measures ensure that work in the company does not pose a danger to employees.
A standard set of basic conditions throughout the Group ensures that all production sites comply with legal requirements and that standards are implemented.
Service providers working on company premises receive special instruction and training on safety conditions. Processes are also in place worldwide to identify potential health hazards at the workplace.
The company has been supporting exercise and healthy activities by offering company-sponsored sports programs since 2004. Since early 2022, Phoenix Contact has been working with the Wellpass network for company fitness. There are also various company sports groups, and the international subsidiaries also offer opportunities to enjoy sports within the company.
The programs offered range from water sports and ball sports to archery, running groups, cycling, and gliding. The company sports groups are run by dedicated employees in their spare time. In addition, the company supports participation in company runs or sports events. International tournaments are also held regularly.
Every year, in cooperation with health insurance companies, health days are held at several locations on rotating topics. At the headquarters in Blomberg, it is possible to attend yoga classes during breaks.
Consultation hours are offered for all aspects of occupational health and safety – also in digital format.
Since 2022, employees in Germany have had access to an in-house occupational physician as well as a company doctor at the Blomberg site.
Phoenix Contact also demonstrates social responsibility by creating secure jobs with its solid, self-financed growth. The company not only takes responsibility inside the factory gates, but also within a social context by providing sponsoring to support charitable initiatives as well as promoting art, culture, and sport.
On both a national and international level, our company works together with partners in education and training, business, associations, and politics to introduce young people to technology and to share our enthusiasm for this topic. Introduced in 2023, our annual “Inventors” award recognizes the innovative strength of our employees.
Phoenix Contact is a member of networks and has started its own initiatives. The company also holds competitions and participates in educational projects. Phoenix Contact is also involved in the development of media in the education sector and works to make knowledge accessible. There are also local initiatives around the world.
The spectrum of projects funded by the Phoenix Contact Charitable Trust focuses on scientists looking for funding options for their projects and on the scientifically interested general public.
The philosophy of the corporate foundation is to support projects and research in the field of natural and technical sciences that are defined by topic and limited in time. The charitable trust has been involved in the field of institutional research since 2007 at the Institute for Industrial Information Technology (inIT) of the Ostwestfalen Lippe University of Applied Sciences.
The charitable trust continues to be involved in individual sponsorships by offering doctoral scholarships in electrical engineering and machine building. Supporting international congresses with the “Cross Border Studies Program” is also important to the charitable trust.
The xplore Technology Award is an international technology and education competition organized for over 20 years and firmly embedded in the Phoenix Contact DNA. Pupils, students, trainees, and young professionals can come up with technical solutions to various challenges. In addition to being awarded outstanding prizes, the winners also have the opportunity to present their automation solution to a large expert audience.
Phoenix Contact sees the promotion of young talent as a community project. One way of promoting young talent is offered by the Studienfonds OWL foundation, a cooperation project unique in Germany made up of five universities. The financial support provided by Phoenix Contact focuses on the “Deutschlandstipendium” scholarship. Alongside financial support, Phoenix Contact also participates by offering intangible support.
The Code of Conduct, which explicitly includes the ILO labor standards, applies throughout the Phoenix Contact Group. Moreover, all subsidiaries worldwide are included in the process of adhering to all duties of care obligations in accordance with the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act. The policy statement applies.
