ADVANCING OUR PEOPLE
We foster our employeesʼ development, wellbeing and engagement in an inclusive work environment that embraces diversity.
We acknowledge that our employees are critical to our success: they create the foundation for our innovative solutions and services, they care for our customers and consumers, and help us to reach our business goals. The sections that follow describe the various aspects of the Advancing our people pillar of our IntACT strategy:
As of the end of the 2023/24 financial year, Sonova had 18,151 employees (FTE), 3.1% more than in the previous year. During this year, several smaller businesses were acquired in EMEA, United States, Americas, and Asia/Pacific. All of these companies acquired are in the business of distributing and servicing hearing instruments. In February 2024, we opened our new operations center in Mexicali, Mexico.
FTE (end of period)1 | ||||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | ||||
Total (regular and fixed-term) | 18,151 | 17,608 | 16,733 | |||
Switzerland | 1,469 | 1,482 | 1,445 | |||
EMEA (excl. Switzerland) | 7,514 | 7,311 | 7,238 | |||
Americas | 4,945 | 4,409 | 4,285 | |||
Asia / Pacific | 4,223 | 4,406 | 3,765 |
1)Employee numbers do not show any seasonal or other temporary fluctuation. For scope and restatements please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.
Headcount (end of period)1 | ||||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | ||||
Total (regular, fixed-term and interns) | 19,314 | 18,692 | 17,303 | |||
Switzerland | 1,559 | 1,585 | 1,574 | |||
EMEA (excl. Switzerland) | 8,431 | 8,175 | 8,190 | |||
Americas | 4,979 | 4,433 | 3,767 | |||
Asia / Pacific | 4,345 | 4,499 | 3,772 |
1)Employee numbers do not show any seasonal or other temporary fluctuation. For scope and restatements please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.
% of headcount1 | ||||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | ||||
Women | ||||||
Share of total workforce | 66.9 | 67.3 | 65.6 | |||
Part-time employees | 13.4 | 13.5 | 13.5 | |||
Men | ||||||
Share of total workforce | 33.1 | 32.7 | 34.4 | |||
Part-time employees | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.8 |
1)For scope and restatements please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.
84.2% of our total workforce is directly employed by Sonova Group or Group companies; the remaining 15.7% consists of external temporary employees contracted as external consultants, via service agreements, or staff leasing. The main functions that include external temporary employees are IT (22% of all external temporary employees), sales (22%), marketing (14%), and finance (9%).
% of headcount1 | ||||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | ||||
Regular | 80.1 | 79.1 | 79.8 | |||
Fixed-term | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.6 | |||
External temporary | 15.7 | 16.8 | 15.1 | |||
Interns | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.4 |
1)For scope and restatements please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.
Our human resource processes, standard operating procedures, and policies are used globally and implemented locally in line with local regulations and customs. Most employees are directly supported by a local human resource manager. Key performance indicators are reviewed on a monthly basis at global, business, and local level: these include employee turnover rate, recruitment rate, gender diversity, and internal talent for promotions. We conduct internal audits for Group functions and at a Group company level for compliance with local labor laws as well as our own regulations to ensure that we provide best-possible working conditions.
Our commitment to our employees is described in our Code of Conduct, covering key aspects including freedom of association: our employees are free to join any employee association (external employee freedom of association is covered in the Sonova Group Supplier Principles). By the end of the 2023/24 financial year, 24% of our global workforce was covered by collective bargaining agreements. In addition, 16% of our employees are represented by workersʼ representatives. We are committed to fair compensation, and we assess and take measures at the local level to meet cost of living fluctuations, easing financial pressure on our employees.
We are committed to treating our workforce responsibly. In the event of major reorganizations, we have developed a local implementation plan containing a variety of measures that can be adapted to minimize negative impact. Examples of mitigation measures include early retirements, internal mobility, financial compensation, re-training or outplacement services, case management, extended notice periods, and hardship funds. In the past three financial years, there were no significant job cuts affecting more than 1,000 employees or more than 5% of the total workforce.
talent-and-engagement
Sonova operates in an industry with strong competition and increasingly limited availability of talent. We have therefore developed a proactive approach to attract, develop, and retain talent. Allowing for rapid market shifts, this approach is key to delivering results and reaching our business goals.
We attract talent by being the employer of choice through our offerings related to development, fair compensation, and flexibility. We gather feedback from candidates throughout the recruiting process, and we treat it as equally valid whether a candidate joins us or not. We develop talent by encouraging internal mobility and providing an environment where employees can take accountability for continuously improving their skills and owning their career progression. This keeps critical talent within the Group, which helps to sustain our competitive advantage and long-term success. Retaining talent means a continuous effort to improve the working environment, with a focus on employeesʼ productivity and wellbeing. We engage actively with our employees, considering disengagement as a significant business risk: feedback from our global workforce helps us to take timely and effective measures to address their concerns and act on their suggestions.
Our commitments to our employees are governed by our Code of Conduct. We have further policies and standard operating procedures governing specific aspects of working experience.
HearMe, our annual anonymous survey managed in cooperation with an external provider, asks our global workforce about topics including: strategy and leadership, operational excellence, collaboration, diversity and inclusion, sustainable engagement, and wellbeing. Responsibility for specific issues related to engagement and survey follow-up lies with every people leader. Every team conducts workshops to analyze and discuss the HearMe survey results, agree necessary actions, implement them, and monitor their success. Dedicated Management Board members take responsibility for focus improvement topics in coordination with our established employee engagement steering committee. This year our global actions are focused on improving the effectiveness of decision making, with better prioritization and a focus on customer-centricity.
In the 2023/24 financial year, we held a Kaizen to streamline the recruitment and selection process of top executives, reducing the business risk of having such important positions sit vacant, ensuring business continuity, and improving the candidatesʼ experience with Sonova throughout the recruitment process. We also updated our senior leadership onboarding process with a focus on Sonova culture: we immerse senior leaders in the business so that they develop business knowledge quickly and form the critical relationships necessary to perform their roles well. This enables new leaders to be effective and agile very soon after onboarding.
Sonovaʼs performance process includes an annual discussion between employee and people leader, covering competencies, performance, and potential. We strongly encourage leaders to carry out continuous performance and feedback discussions throughout the year, with a minimum of two dedicated meetings. Sonovaʼs development process includes regular discussions between employees and people leaders on career development. This helps us to reduce the risk of losing specialist knowledge, skills, and experience in vital positions, and improves succession planning by identifying and developing promising internal candidates. This process also enables our employees to take on career opportunities in a new role or location within the company.
SonovaLearning is a group-wide learning platform for all employees with access to a work-related computer. Mandatory training courses on the platform ensure that our employees have what they need to do their work correctly and in compliance with rules and regulations.
Sonova offers a wide range of leadership training, from engaging webinars to immersive workshops and leadership development flagship programs. We use feedback, coaching, and experiential learning to allow participants to reflect on their personal style, to understand and to increase the impact our leaders have on performance, and to plan their continued development. These programs strengthen innovation and performance, improve motivation, and develop engaged teams. Our leadership training portfolio consists of the following programs:
Training program | Audience | Description | ||
Aspiring Leaders | • Employees with leadership aspirations • 12–24 participants per cohort | The Aspiring Leaders program is a two-day program that encourages participants to start thinking about their own leadership brand and about how they can best fulfill and contribute to Sonova’s future. | ||
Leadership Foundations I | • Virtual program aimed at all new and mid-level people leaders • 16–24 participants per cohort | This virtual program, delivered in three four-hour sessions over six weeks, focuses on the basics of essential managerial and leadership skills, such as feedback, coaching, accountability, and delegation. | ||
Leadership Foundations II | • Aimed at all new people leaders • Recommended for all people leaders • 12–24 participants per cohort | The Leadership Foundations program is a 2.5-half-day intensive experiential program focusing on some managerial tools, importance of mindsets, motivation drivers, and awareness that will impact engagement, trust, and change. It also covers how to implement the learning into daily business. | ||
Executive Leadership Orientation | • Aimed at all new MB-1 and key positions | This three-day orientation program is designed to provide participants with a holistic overview of Sonova, and understanding of its strategy and processes, as well as to have direct interaction with MB members. | ||
S.T.A.R.S Leadership Program | • Targeting the top 100 leaders globally within Audiological Care business • one year continuous learning program | The S.T.A.R.S leadership program is designed to boost capabilities in specific areas – customer centricity and analytics, commercial excellence, and organization & people leadership – in a set of online and offline courses, live webinars, and master classes partnering with leading international business schools and external experts (e.g., IMD and RBL Group). | ||
HI Culture Journey | • Piloted during the 2023/24 financial year for the top 100 leaders • Two days of onsite training | The training aims to equip people with tools on how to actively shape the business culture and to understand the shared vision and goals, and how each individual roles contribute to achieving them. | ||
Power Sessions & Webinars for Leaders | • Targeting all leaders • 2–4h workshops or 1–2h webinars • Recommended for all people leaders • 8–24 participants per cohort | Workshops or virtual sessions covering specific leadership topics to support leaders in their daily challenges and responsibilities (e.g., Writing Effective Performance Objectives, Performance Appraisal for Managers, Remote Leadership, Unconscious Bias, Mental Health First Aid Conversations). |
In the 2023/24 financial year, more than 17,800 eligible employees were invited to complete HearMe, our employee engagement survey. We maintained a consistently high participation rate (92% in 2023/24), which indicates that our employees are open to sharing their feedback and confident that Sonova is acting on it.
Key ESG target: We aim to maintain or improve our annual employee engagement score year-over-year.
Our sustainable engagement score is calculated based on nine questions focusing on how engaged, enabled, and energized our employees are. In the 2023/24 survey, we reached an engagement rate of 83%, improving by one percentage point compared to 2022/23 and reaching our target. Our engagement score is four percentage points higher than the average for the medical devices industry (based on the benchmark data prepared by our external survey provider).
% of survey eligible headcount1 | ||||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | ||||
Employee engagement survey participation rate | 92 | 93 | 92 |
1)For scope and restatements please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.
Favorable answers as % of survey eligible headcount | ||||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | ||||
Employee engagement rate | 83 | 82 | 83 | |||
Women | 84 | 84 | 84 | |||
Men | 81 | 80 | 81 |
During the 2023/24 financial year, our total employee turnover rate decreased from 14.7% to 14.3%, and the voluntary turnover rate from 11.3% to 10.3%. We strongly believe that our overall talent retention approach – including initiatives such as wellbeing actions, diversity and inclusion focus, and acting on employee feedback to improve engagement – has contributed to the reduced turnover rate. Sonova is ranked within the top quartile in the medical devices industry for total and voluntary employee turnover rates, based on the most recent benchmark data from an external provider. The average tenure of our people leaders in 2023/24 was 10 years, while the average workforce tenure was 7.3 years. During 2023/24, almost 65% of job openings for all leadership positions (people and project managers) were filled by existing Sonova employees.
% of FTE1 | ||||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | ||||
Total | 14.3 | 14.7 | 17.4 | |||
Region | ||||||
Switzerland | 9.7 | 8.2 | 9.5 | |||
EMEA (excl. Switzerland) | 13.2 | 14.6 | 15.3 | |||
Americas | 18.9 | 21.5 | 23.6 | |||
Asia / Pacific | 12.6 | 10.4 | 18.1 | |||
Gender | ||||||
Women | 14.5 | 14.8 | 17.8 | |||
Men | 13.7 | 14.0 | 16.9 | |||
Age | ||||||
under 30 years old | 20.1 | 23.1 | 20.0 | |||
30-50 years old | 13.6 | 13.1 | 17.7 | |||
over 50 years old | 11.0 | 10.6 | 14.1 |
1)For scope and restatements please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.
% of FTE1 | ||||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | ||||
Total | 10.5 | 11.3 | 13.1 | |||
Region | ||||||
Switzerland | 6.2 | 6.9 | 7.3 | |||
EMEA (excl. Switzerland) | 10.5 | 11.4 | 11.1 | |||
Americas | 12.7 | 15.5 | 18.1 | |||
Asia / Pacific | 9.5 | 8.4 | 14.1 | |||
Gender | ||||||
Women | 10.8 | 11.4 | 13.9 | |||
Men | 9.8 | 10.4 | 11.9 | |||
Age | ||||||
under 30 years old | 15.7 | 18.0 | 16.6 | |||
30-50 years old | 10.1 | 10.2 | 13.5 | |||
over 50 years old | 7.2 | 7.5 | 8.8 |
1)For scope and restatements please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.
% of headcount1 | ||||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | ||||
Total (% of total internal hires to leadership positions) | 64.9 | 66.0 | 63.8 | |||
Women (% of women of internal hires to leadership positions) | 64.0 | 60.3 | 57.6 | |||
Men (% of men of internal hires to leadership positions) | 36.0 | 39.7 | 42.4 |
1)For scope and restatements please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.
% of new hired headcount1 | ||||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | ||||
Region | ||||||
Switzerland | 4.6 | 5.9 | 8.1 | |||
EMEA (excl. Switzerland) | 41.2 | 48.0 | 44.4 | |||
Americas | 41.6 | 30.7 | 33.3 | |||
Asia / Pacific | 12.5 | 15.4 | 14.2 | |||
Gender | ||||||
Women | 68.7 | 67.7 | 65.5 | |||
Men | 31.3 | 32.3 | 34.5 | |||
Age | ||||||
under 30 years old | 38.2 | 39.5 | 40.3 | |||
30-50 years old | 48.8 | 47.7 | 46.7 | |||
over 50 years old | 13.0 | 12.8 | 13.1 |
1)For scope and restatements please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.
Average tenure in years1 | ||||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 1 | 2021/22 | ||||
People leaders | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.1 | |||
Employees without direct report | 6.8 | 6.7 | 6.8 | |||
All employees | 7.3 | 7.3 | 7.3 |
1)For scope and restatements please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.
During the 2023/24 financial year, 99.7% of our employees who have access to a computer in their daily work have a documented development plan in the HR system.
% of employees with a development plan of development plan eligible headcount1 | ||||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | ||||
Development plan rate | 99.7 | 97.4 | 97.4 | |||
Development plan rate women2 | 99.8 | - | - | |||
Development plan rate men2 | 99.7 | - | - |
1)For scope and restatements please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.
2)Breakdown per gender only available as of 2023/24.
More than 193,000 training programs were completed on our learning platform during the 2023/24 financial year. We also offered access to Mindtools, an app that provides personal and professional competency development: almost 7,500 employees accessed 49,500 pages and articles. 1,375 employees received more than 16,000 hours of leadership training during 2023/24 through our leadership development program.
Another important development program focuses on Sonova X, our approach to deliver on our strategy. It equips our people with the mindset and principles to solve business challenges, improve work processes, and enrich customer experience. In the 2023/24 financial year, we trained more than 1,500 employees on Sonova X, its principles and tools during more than 6,000 training hours through multiple formats including classroom training, Kaizen improvement workshops, experiential learning, and practical application in real work contexts.
employee-wellbeing
For Sonova as a global employer, employee health and wellbeing is a priority and is rooted in our company value - We care. Failing to address this topic risks negative impacts on individuals and society alike through stress, conflict, as well as lost productivity and innovation. We are therefore committed to fostering a culture of wellbeing at work, creating the conditions to support our employees to be at their best. Implementing a holistic wellbeing program also benefits Sonova through improved employee productivity, innovation, and ultimately creates value for our customers and consumers. It helps us to attract and retain talent, leads to higher employee engagement and motivation, and allows us to contribute to a healthier society. In 2021 Sonova established a five-pillar wellbeing framework:
Employee wellbeing at Sonova is led by a Corporate Health Manager and managed through a cross-functional global health team, supported by local wellbeing champions in our Group companies. These wellbeing champions are responsible for implementing global initiatives, complemented by local programs covering the five pillars of our framework.
Our employee wellbeing framework, founded on a holistic view of wellbeing, has been rolled out to all Group companies through our wellbeing guidelines. These define the minimum standard for wellbeing measures across the five pillars of the wellbeing framework, and provide alternatives and actions for local adoption to fit the needs of employees in each Group Company.
Sonova has a hybrid corporate working guideline that offers office-based employees the opportunity of working partly from home; it has been adopted by all Group companies with office-based employees. Our Group companies are provided with a range of concrete measures to implement as part of an employee wellbeing framework that are tailored to the differing needs of employees in different roles, including manufacturing and distribution, office employees, store and clinic staff, and remote sales representatives. These measures include a shortened standard meeting duration to avoid back-to-back scheduling and provide regular recovery breaks, along with a weekly global four-hour focus time to work with no meetings and no interruptions.
Sonovaʼs Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides anonymous counseling services for employees and immediate family members with personal concerns, both at and outside work, which affect wellbeing. In the 2023/24 financial year we increased the number of Group companies offering an Employee Assistance Program (EAP): 92% of our employees now have access to an EAP compared to 73% in the previous financial year.
During the 2023/24 financial year, we continued our strong focus on the topic of mental health and further trained people leaders on Mental Health First Aid Conversations for Managers. We have also provided expanded wellbeing-related activities including online events, training, guides, and communication on the Sonova intranet. We launched a program for people leaders with a guide and training on Meaningful 1:1 Conversations to encourage regular holistic and human-centric conversations with their team members, and the Your Inner Strength program, to equip our people with the knowledge and tools to sustain and increase their resilience.
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Enlightening and empowering webinar on andro- and menopause
During the 2023/24 financial year, we organized a webinar focused on menopause and andropause at work with the aim to demystify an often-overlooked topic, foster awareness, increase dialogue, and enlighten and empower our global and diverse workforce. The webinar contained information about both menopause and andropause, including symptoms and their impact on a working environment, as well as a personal story about menopause at work. Around 2,000 of our employees read the article or watched the webinar recording.
Key ESG target:
We aim to train more than 1,000 people leaders on Mental Health First Aid Conversations for Managers by 2024/25.
During the 2022/23 financial year, we launched the Mental Health First Aid Conversations for Managers training. The training focuses on how leaders can recognize early signs of mental challenges and address them in conversations. Until the end of the 2023/24 financial year, 528 of our people leaders have been trained, meeting our interim target of 50% for the year.
number1 | ||||
2023/241 | 2022/231 | |||
Number of people leaders trained in Mental Health First Aid Conversations for Managers | 341 | 187 |
1)Only data from financial year 2023/24 part of the external assurance. For scope and restatements please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.
HearMe, Sonovaʼs annual employee survey, includes 16 questions that constitute the Wellbeing index. The questions cover all the pillars of the wellbeing framework – physical, mental, financial, social, and purpose –through topics that include personal accomplishment, workload and stress, happiness, and additional questions related to job satisfaction and recommendation to others. In the 2023/24 survey, Sonova gained one percentage point compared to last year, reaching a Wellbeing index score of 67. This is four percentage points higher in comparison with the average score of our peers in the medical devices industry. The results of the survey are included in the survey follow-up and discussed with each team for further action.
diversity-and-inclusion
Diversity and inclusion (D&I) is an integral part of establishing a work culture representing the full range of stakeholders and communities whom we engage with. This range covers various aspects such as language, background, ethnic origin, disability, beliefs, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Fostering D&I is a business imperative and the right thing to do. It also improves employee engagement, performance, and productivity, as well as customer engagement. Failing to have diverse representation within Sonova leads to risks including reduced innovation, reputational harm, costly levels of turnover, reduced pool of talent, lack of employee engagement, and not meeting the standards of our company values. We are committed to providing equal opportunities throughout the employee experience: from hiring, through development, to advancement. We strive to create an environment in which all employees feel safe, valued, included, and empowered to do their best work and realize their full potential. Our global D&I strategy is built on six pillars:
Our Global D&I Council governs our D&I actions. Chaired by CEO Arnd Kaldowski, the council has members from each of our regions (EMEA, Asia, Oceania, and Americas). It meets on a quarterly basis to set targets, establish accountability for achieving targets, ensure that the necessary resources are in place, and monitor progress. We have several regional D&I councils as well as employee resource groups. Regional D&I councils govern regional actions based on circumstances, including region-specific training and celebration of culturally relevant days. Many countries have national councils in place to focus on local D&I initiatives. The employee resource groups include the Global Womenʼs Network and the global OutLoud network which brings together employees from the LGBTQ+ community. Another is the global Hearing Loss Network, which supports the message that hearing loss should not stop anyone from thriving at Sonova, and provides input for increasing inclusivity in our processes and workspaces. On a global level, the topic is led by the Senior Manager Diversity & Inclusion.
Sonovaʼs commitment to D&I is defined in our global Code of Conduct. We have zero tolerance of discrimination and harassment, and have a defined process to raise concerns and/or incidents and to follow up on them. To spread awareness and knowledge of the importance of D&I, we provide regular training programs across Sonova, including specific regions, worksites, departments, and job functions. Unconscious bias training is an integral part of our onboarding program for new employees as well as our training for all people leaders. Since 2023, we have organized workplace training for people leaders, covering inclusive language, difficult conversations, and microaggressions. During the 2023/24 financial year we further embedded D&I into the onboarding process.
In 2023/24, the employee resource groups arranged more than ten events, including a panel discussion for International Womenʼs Day focusing on female leaders in the Asia/Pacific region, and multiple in person and online forums across the globe in celebration of World Hearing Day. In addition, for the celebration of Pride Month we had panel events and employees joining local pride events. Overall, our employee resource groups have almost doubled in size since they were launched in 2021 with over 550 members in the end of 2023/24.
To further embed inclusion in the work environments and to ensure that everyone can contribute to the conversation, we launched a pilot during 2023/24 to equip all meeting rooms at our office in Murten, Switzerland with our Roger™ wireless communication devices. This allows employees with hearing aids to connect directly to allow for more clarity of sound and amplification. With the success of this pilot, we are looking at extending this initiative across our other sites.
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Womenʼs sponsorship program
We take continuous action to meet our goal of having a gender diverse workplace. We established a womenʼs sponsorship program during the 2023/24 financial year. The program underscores our continued efforts to make Sonova an inclusive environment where everyone is enabled to be successful and where talents feel a sense of belonging. The program had 21 sponsorship recipients. Feedback from our sponsorship recipients and sponsors was very positive.
Sonova is committed to equal pay for our employees, regardless of gender, ethnicity, disabilities, or other factors. We are compliant with all local requirements regarding equal pay, and we review pay equality in job evaluations and grading processes to ensure fair compensation. In Switzerland, an externally verified equal pay analysis resulted in Sonova receiving certification from the Fair-ON-Pay Association; maintenance analysis during 2023/24 generated a further improved score. In the United Kingdom, we published the legally required gender pay gap report for our local Group companies. We also provide part-time working conditions, flexible working hours, breastfeeding rooms at facilities in the larger Group companies for employees returning from maternity leave, a discounted day care center at our headquarters in Stäfa, Switzerland, and extended maternity and paternity leave (in Switzerland, Sonova offers maternity leave of 16 instead of 14 legally-mandated weeks and paternity leave of four instead of two weeks). In 2023/24, we implemented our new family bonding leave policy in the US. This includes 8 weeks of leave, regardless of gender, for those who give birth, adopt, or foster a child.
Key ESG targets:
We want to achieve a 35% proportion of women in senior management by 2028/29.
We want to achieve a 50% proportion of women in middle management by 2028/29.
At Sonova, we strive for diverse representation across all levels. At the end of the 2023/24 financial year, three of the nine members of the Sonova Board of Directors were women (33%), as were three of the eight members (37.5%) of the Sonova Group Management Board. The share of women in senior management was 28.3%, and 39.9% in middle management. During the financial year, further measures were implemented, including succession planning, changes to the development plan process, and gender-balanced representation during recruiting.
% of headcount within respective management position1 | ||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 | |||
Women in senior management | 28.3 | 22.0 | ||
Switzerland | 29.5 | 23.8 | ||
EMEA (excl. Switzerland) | 17.0 | 6.3 | ||
Americas | 35.0 | 37.1 | ||
Asia/Pacific | 35.0 | 25.0 | ||
Women in middle management | 39.9 | 36.4 | ||
Switzerland | 34.4 | 30.0 | ||
EMEA (excl. Switzerland) | 39.5 | 37.0 | ||
Americas | 41.7 | 40.7 | ||
Asia/Pacific | 50.2 | 42.6 | ||
Women in non-management | 70.3 | 69.2 | ||
Switzerland | 46.1 | 45.3 | ||
EMEA (excl. Switzerland) | 68.2 | 67.8 | ||
Americas | 71.7 | 71.9 | ||
Asia/Pacific | 78.8 | 76.2 |
1)For scope and restatements please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.
The proportion of women among people leaders (managers leading a team of at least one person) was 54.6% across all our businesses. In recruitment for all leadership positions (both people and project managers) during the 2023/24 financial year, 68.7% of hires were women.
% of headcount1 | ||||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | ||||
Share of women in people leader positions | 54.6 | 54.4 | 51.2 | |||
Share of women in STEM-related positions | 25.4 | 24.8 | 26.4 | |||
Share of women in revenue-generating functions and as people leaders | 56.6 | 56.5 | 53.0 |
1)For scope and restatements please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.
% of headcount1 | ||||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | ||||
Share of women in total hires to leadership positions | 57.8 | 65.3 | 54.7 | |||
Share of women in internal hires to leadership positions | 64.0 | 60.3 | 57.6 |
1)For scope and restatements please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.
As part of HearMe, our annual employee engagement survey, we measured Sonovaʼs D&I index. The D&I index is based on seven questions which focus on whether people feel that the company supports diversity in the workplace, that it is safe to speak up, and that they can be themselves in the organization. In the 2023/24 financial year, we maintained our D&I index at 84%, which was 3% points higher than peers in the medical devices industry. As part of the survey, our employees may self-identify, on a voluntary basis, as belonging to a minority group within their team or function in terms of age, gender, language, ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, health status, or any other dimension. First the employees agree or disagree to self-identify and, if they agree, they can answer the questions with several options: “yes”, “no”, “prefer not to say,” or “skip the question.” Out of all employees who chose to answer, 23% of employees self-identified as belonging to a minority group.
Favorable answers as % of survey eligible headcount | ||||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | ||||
HearMe diversity and inclusion score | 84 | 84 | 83 | |||
HearMe self-identification as belonging to a minority group | 23 | 24 | 25 |
Number1 | ||||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | ||||
Number of nationalities | 103 | 99 | 95 |
1)For scope and further information please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.
% of headcount1 | ||||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | ||||
United States | 16.0 | 16.9 | 14.9 | |||
Germany | 15.3 | 15.3 | 17.0 | |||
China | 9.7 | 10.4 | 7.4 | |||
Vietnam | 7.0 | 8.0 | 9.1 | |||
Switzerland | 4.8 | 5.3 | 5.8 |
1)For scope and further information please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.
% of people leader headcount1 | ||||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | ||||
Germany | 26.6 | 27.7 | 31.3 | |||
United States | 11.9 | 11.9 | 11.3 | |||
China | 11.5 | 12.7 | 6.0 | |||
Poland | 6.1 | 6.3 | 7.3 | |||
Switzerland | 5.5 | 5.5 | 6.3 |
1)For scope and further information please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.
% of headcount1 | ||||||
2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | ||||
All employees | ||||||
under 30 years old | 19.8 | 20.5 | 22.5 | |||
30-50 years old | 58.6 | 58.4 | 56.9 | |||
over 50 years old | 21.6 | 21.2 | 20.6 | |||
Women | ||||||
under 30 years old | 20.9 | 22.0 | 24.5 | |||
30-50 years old | 59.0 | 58.4 | 56.5 | |||
over 50 years old | 20.1 | 19.6 | 19.1 | |||
Men | ||||||
under 30 years old | 17.7 | 17.5 | 19.0 | |||
30-50 years old | 57.9 | 58.4 | 57.6 | |||
over 50 years old | 24.5 | 24.2 | 23.4 |
1)For scope and further information please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.
occupational-health-and-safety
Sonova is committed to maintaining a safe and healthy workplace where all employees are protected from harm. To do this, we have various health and safety procedures and processes, and regularly monitor and analyze potential risks across our operations. As a first step, we aim to prevent the occurrence of injuries by regularly performing internal health and safety audits. If an injury occurs, we establish the root cause and institute preventative measures. Health and safety processes are governed locally across our operations and distribution sites: each site has a dedicated owner responsible for local implementation of the health and safety program. Safety is the topic of daily meetings at each operations site, during which KPIs such as safety walks, observations, and accidents are reviewed and discussed. These KPIs are reported and discussed regionally on a weekly basis. Health and safety is an integral aspect of employee and contractor training, and a key criterion for our annual internal operations site award. Local operations or distribution sites also establish local action plans, including intensified local training and awareness-raising activities to further reduce exposure to work-related health and safety risks. Employees who work or come into contact with chemicals and/or hazardous substances are regularly trained in their safe handling.
Sonovaʼs operations have a relatively low exposure to health and safety risks, with most injuries that result in lost time occurring through slips, trips or falls, or during goods movement, and not in the manufacturing process. The health and safety data summarized below covers approximately 20% of our global workforce, and focuses on employees in manufacturing, operations, and distribution roles. For the 2023/24 financial year, we include all of our manufacturing sites in Switzerland, Vietnam, China, Ireland, Germany, the United States, and our newly opened site in Mexico, our operations and distribution center in the United States, and our service centers in Spain and the United Kingdom. In the 2023/24 financial year we recorded a lost day rate of 47.5 and a lost-time injury frequency rate of 2.4. Compared to 2022/23, we strongly decreased the number of injuries across our sites. For the first time, we also report health and safety data for external temporary employees working in our operations, distribution, or service sites: no injury, illness, or fatality occurred among these employees during 2023/24.
2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | ||||
Employees (regular, fixed term, and interns)1 | ||||||
Number of work-related injuries | 17 | 24 | 21 | |||
Number of hours worked | 6,984,199 | 6,489,871 | 6,102,511 | |||
Lost day rate (LDR) | 47.5 | 63.8 | 50.7 | |||
Lost-time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) | 2.4 | 3.7 | 3.4 | |||
Occupational illness frequency rate (OIFR) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
Work-related fatalities | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
External temporary employees1 | ||||||
Number of work-related injuries | 0 | - | - | |||
Number of hours worked | 323,214 | - | - | |||
Lost day rate (LDR) | 0 | - | - | |||
Lost-time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) | 0 | - | - | |||
Occupational illness frequency rate (OIFR) | 0 | - | - | |||
Work-related fatalities | 0 | - | - |
1)For scope and further information please refer to the Basis for preparation chapter.