Siemens wins Large Employer of the Year at the Engineering Talent Awards 2022

Our amazing colleagues were recognised for their efforts to comprehensively support our engineers, proactively promote diversity at Siemens, and create an inclusive profession for all. 

WHAT HAS SIEMENS DONE OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS TO ADVANCE EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION IN ENGINEERING?

Conscious Inclusion training

• We are rolling out conscious inclusion training across the business, so far it has primarily been available to managers with over 300 participants. In the future we are going to make the training available to all employees.

Development of the EDI standard (action plan)

• Over the past year we have developed and assessed our business units against the ED&I standard. The ED&I Standard is designed to make explicit what should be done to limit barriers that may exist to achieving a diverse and inclusive organization. It provides a structured, evidence-based approach for measuring and charting the progression of ED&I outcomes and for benchmarking business achievements.

Virtual work experience (BAME, Gender, Social Mobility)

• At Siemens we run a virtual work experience with webinars and study modules to help young people develop an interest in pursuing engineering as a career. The June 2021 intake feature a cohort of 500 KS3 and KS4 pupils 39.7%% of whom were female and 61.1% of whom were from a black and minority ethnic background.

WHAT DOES SIEMENS DO INTERNALLY TO SUPPORT THEIR STAFF AND ENSURE THEIR ORGANISATION IS REFLECTING THE DIVERSITY OF THEIR CLIENTS AND CUSTOMERS?

Employee networks

• At Siemens we have employee networks for race, LGBTQIA+, disability, neurodiversity, non-British employees, and career development. The networks support employees and work to further increase inclusivity and equality within the workplace.

Women in STEM

• The recruitment team continue to hold events that look to inspire, educate, and increase the number of women looking to pursue a career in STEM. Last October, female students from across the UK attended Siemens’ UK headquarters where they met inspirational women student engineers. This was a real opportunity for Siemens to inspire the next generation of women engineers and play a leading role in bridging the gender gap in STEM. With more than 30 participants now being offered internship and graduate positions at Siemens, the event was a resounding success.

Learning hours

• The senior leadership team have set a target of 50 hours of learning per employee for FY2022. In the past year we have offered at least 10 hours of live learning related to EDI topics.

Lean In

• Lean In is one of our employee networks, it’s aim is to support employees with their career development. The sessions run provide an opportunity for employees to share their views on important topics in a supportive environment free from judgment.

Coffee roulette

• Coffee roulette pairs two employees together for a short virtual chat and a coffee. This provides a platform for those who participate to talk with someone they may not know and learn from people who have different backgrounds experiences and opinions

WHAT DOES SIEMENS DO TO SUPPORT HIDDEN MINORITY GROUP ENGINEERS IN A BID TO WIDEN THE CONVERSATION IN REGARD TO EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION IN ENGINEERING?

Transitioning at work

• We have developed a policy specifically related to the support of employees who are having a gender reassignment.

Pronoun’s guide

• We have created and publicized a pronouns guide highlighting different pronouns that people use and the importance of respecting them in an inclusive manner within and outside the workplace.

Neurodiversity

• The Neurodiversity network has facilitated with office refurbishment plans and have engaged external consultant support for awareness raising and to review our recruitment and selection techniques. The network was also instrumental in organizing two supported internships at our Congleton factory for people with Autism.

WHAT DOES SIEMENS DO TO SUPPORT POSITIVE MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING IN THE WORKPLACE?

We are fully aware of the importance of mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. We understand that a key aspect of supporting our employee’s mental health is making sure they feel a sense of belonging, and can be themselves without feeling the need to hide any aspects of their disability or fear discrimination. Siemens is working hard to make the workplace as inclusive an environment as possible to support the mental health and wellbeing of our colleagues.

In addition, there are 75 Mental Health First Aiders across the business, who are there to offer support to whomever needs it. Furthermore, there is a range of other support available including access to the Unmind app and support from the Employee Assistance Program which includes a 24/7 helpline and other services such as personal support, guidance and counselling, financial and legal information and dependent care information.

During the various lockdowns, we were strongly focused on the wellbeing of all our colleagues. With many of our colleagues working in production and service environments we worked hard to create a covid safe environment. These colleagues kept Siemens delivering for our customers and we kept them safe. An employee highlight was running virtual Feel Good Festivals. These were weeklong events with virtual wellbeing sessions focusing on balancing flexible working and caring requirements with meditation, yoga sessions and fun events such as drawing classes, music, and quizzes.