Employees
Raiffeisen has more than 800 locations in all language regions of Switzerland, with deep roots in a country that boasts a multicultural society. Raiffeisen reflects this diversity within the company. The corporate culture is based on appreciation, mutual respect and zero tolerance of discrimination. Raiffeisen also offers its over 11,000 employees and more than 700 trainees attractive employment conditions and interesting further education and training opportunities.
An attractive employer
Corporate culture and diversity
Diverse teams and an inclusive corporate culture have been shown to have a positive impact on economic success and employee satisfaction. It is therefore important to Raiffeisen to encourage and promote diversity, equal opportunities and an inclusive culture.
Raiffeisen is committed to equal opportunities in practice. It promotes careers regardless of gender, gender identity, age, ethnic origin, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, social background or physical abilities. This is reflected in all HR processes and is set down in the “Raiffeisen stance on diversity” and in Raiffeisen Switzerland’s employment policy entitled “Equal treatment and harassment at work”. Raiffeisen also pushed ahead with the Balanced Organisation project in 2022. The aim is to promote diversity, inclusion and equal opportunities within the Raiffeisen Group and raise awareness of these issues among staff at all levels. The topic of diversity is anchored in the management and is driven by concrete objectives and continuous monitoring of goal achievement. In the year under review, the staff networks successfully promoting diversity were further advanced. These communities are also open to employees of the Raiffeisen banks.
Raiffeisen is consistently boosting equal opportunities and diversity across the whole Group at all levels.
- Raiffeisen Unique: The Unique network promotes equality, visibility and transparency, irrespective of gender and gender identity. With a rapidly growing internal community, the members of Unique make the topic accessible.
- Languages and Culture: The community for Languages and Culture is involved in the promotion and visibility of linguistic and cultural diversity. Linguistic, regional and national borders are overcome with the aim of promoting cultural diversity.
- Queer community: The Queer community promotes the visibility of concerns specific to LGBTQ+ individuals. Promoting an open, respectful and inclusive corporate culture is at the core of their commitment.
Agility and transformation
Raiffeisen Switzerland has successfully applied scaled agility for the first time in conjunction with the project group developing the new Raiffeisen app. Other workgroups and project teams will receive support for introducing agile working methods on request. Employees also volunteer in agile communities and share ideas about agile working methods, for example in the Product Owner Chapter, in the Scrum Master Community or in the expert group of agile coaches. Raiffeisen has taken further steps towards digitalisation as part of its process optimisation: the ePersonnel dossier was introduced and the HR core system was improved. The entire Raiffeisen Group will benefit from this.
After a pilot phase, a specific product was created for Raiffeisen banks: Raiffeisen Banks TRAIL. This will enable them to structure their approach to their particular change processes relating to culture, cooperation and innovation.
Targeted promotion of gender diversity
Increasing the percentage of women in senior and management positions is a priority at Raiffeisen. The goal was to raise the proportion of women in senior positions across the Group to at least 30% by 2022. The Group has not quite hit this target yet. As at 31 December 2022, women held 29.3% of senior and management positions (previous year: 28.5%).
With a focus on promoting top performers, the mentoring programme introduced for women at Raiffeisen Switzerland in 2021 was continued and opened up to the entire Group. A total of 38 women at various levels of management have participated so far. The mentees are accompanied by experienced mentors for a year and take part in various workshops and networking events. They have the chance to develop their individual professional, leadership and social skills, to strengthen themselves in their role, or to focus on the next step in their career. The programme is also a good opportunity to network within the Raiffeisen Group; it will also be open to men from 2023.
Raiffeisen offers its employees the opportunity to network across sectors, even outside the Group. It is a partner in the network Advance Gender Equality in Business and regularly takes part in St. Gallen diversity benchmarking at the University of St. Gallen. By doing so, Raiffeisen contributes to transparency with regard to diversity in the industry.
The following tables show the current staff structure by management level and employment relationship within the Raiffeisen Group.
In 2023, Raiffeisen Switzerland will open its mentoring programme for women, introduced two years ago, to men as well.
Staff structure by management level
| 2021 | 2022 | |||||||||||
| Total number | Percentage | Total number | Percentage | |||||||||
| BoD members | 1,355 | 1,336 | ||||||||||
| Women | 353 | 26.1 | 373 | 27.9 | ||||||||
| Men | 1,002 | 73.9 | 963 | 72.1 | ||||||||
| age under 30 years | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | ||||||||
| age 30 to 50 years | 460 | 33.9 | 442 | 33.1 | ||||||||
| age over 50 years | 895 | 66.1 | 894 | 66.9 | ||||||||
| Management (all levels) | 4,910 | 5,011 | ||||||||||
| Women | 1,401 | 28.5 | 1,469 | 29.3 | ||||||||
| Men | 3,509 | 71.5 | 3,542 | 70.7 | ||||||||
| Senior management members | 1,351 | 1,386 | ||||||||||
| Women | 159 | 11.8 | 180 | 13 | ||||||||
| Men | 1,192 | 88.2 | 1,206 | 87 | ||||||||
| age under 30 years | 12 | 0.9 | 8 | 0.6 | ||||||||
| age 30 to 50 years | 788 | 58.3 | 792 | 57.1 | ||||||||
| age over 50 years | 551 | 40.8 | 586 | 42.3 | ||||||||
| Mid-level and lower management | 3,559 | 3,625 | ||||||||||
| Women | 1,242 | 34.9 | 1,290 | 35.6 | ||||||||
| Men | 2,317 | 65.1 | 2,335 | 64.4 | ||||||||
| age under 30 years | 317 | 8.9 | 308 | 8.5 | ||||||||
| age 30 to 50 years | 2,228 | 62.6 | 2,239 | 61.8 | ||||||||
| age over 50 years | 1,014 | 28.5 | 1,078 | 29.7 | ||||||||
| Employees without senior management role | 5,866 | 5,912 | ||||||||||
| Women | 4,006 | 68.3 | 4,001 | 67.7 | ||||||||
| Men | 1,860 | 31.7 | 1,911 | 32.3 | ||||||||
| age under 30 years | 1,983 | 33.8 | 1,963 | 33.2 | ||||||||
| age 30 to 50 years | 2,251 | 38.4 | 2,558 | 43.3 | ||||||||
| age over 50 years | 1,332 | 22.7 | 1,391 | 23.5 | ||||||||
Staff structure by employment relationship
| 2021 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| Total number | Percentage | Total number | Percentage | |||||||||||||
| Permanent employees1 | 11,465 | 11,652 | ||||||||||||||
| Women | 5,723 | 49.9 | 5,792 | 49.7 | ||||||||||||
| Men | 5,742 | 50.1 | 5,860 | 50.3 | ||||||||||||
| Full-time employees | 6,605 | 6,588 | ||||||||||||||
| Women | 2,151 | 32.6 | 2,121 | 32.2 | ||||||||||||
| Men | 4,454 | 67.4 | 4,467 | 67.8 | ||||||||||||
| Part-time employees | 4,860 | 5,064 | ||||||||||||||
| Women | 3,572 | 73.5 | 3,671 | 72.5 | ||||||||||||
| Men | 1,288 | 26.5 | 1,393 | 27.5 | ||||||||||||
| Temporary staff (temporary workers/interns) | 1,103 | 1,144 | ||||||||||||||
| Women | 353 | 32 | 528 | 46.2 | ||||||||||||
| Men | 750 | 68 | 616 | 53.8 | ||||||||||||
| Trainees | 689 | 729 | ||||||||||||||
| Women | 316 | 45.9 | 322 | 44.2 | ||||||||||||
| Men | 373 | 54.1 | 407 | 55.8 | ||||||||||||
| External employees (Raiffeisen Switzerland) | 449 | 486 | ||||||||||||||
| Employees abroad | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| 1 Number of employees excluding temporary employees/interns/cleaning staff, including apprentices. | ||||||||||||||||
Equal pay respected
Raiffeisen Switzerland intends to conduct analyses of staff pay at regular intervals, to ensure the operational implementation of equal pay and meet the requirements of the Gender Equality Act. Raiffeisen conducted the last pay equality analysis for Raiffeisen Switzerland and for larger Raiffeisen banks with over 100 employees in 2021, together with an external partner. The analysis confirmed that Raiffeisen upholds equal pay. As a result, Raiffeisen Switzerland was awarded the SGS “Fair ON Pay” certificate.
Raiffeisen complies with equal pay and holds the SGS “Fair ON Pay” certificate.
Measuring employee satisfaction
Ensuring a high level of employee satisfaction and the active promotion of the culture are key issues for Raiffeisen. For this reason, Raiffeisen Switzerland engages an external firm of consultants to conduct an employee survey on a regular basis. A detailed employee survey is carried out every two years. In the other year, a simpler “pulse measurement” will be taken from 2023 onwards. The last full survey was conducted in 2019. Based on detailed analysis of the feedback, specific measures are developed in workshops to increase employee satisfaction.
The Raiffeisen banks have the option to conduct their own staff survey with the same external partner. In the year under review, 13 Raiffeisen banks conducted this survey.
Modern employment conditions
Thanks to outstanding working conditions, Raiffeisen has succeeded in building long-term relationships with its employees. These relationships are a core driver of the organisation’s success. The table “Other key staffing figures” shows that Raiffeisen employees have been with Raiffeisen for more than 10 years on average. This is a very good figure by industry standards. In addition, around 90% of all female employees return to work after maternity leave.
Other key staffing figures
| Unit | 2021 | 2022 | ||||||||||
| Average length of service | years | 10.7 | 10.7 | |||||||||
| Average age of employees | years | 41 | 41.2 | |||||||||
| Employee turnover (including changes within the Group)1 | % | 10.4 | 12.2 | |||||||||
| Taking parental leave, by gender2 | ||||||||||||
| Number of women | Total number | – | 170 | |||||||||
| Number of men | Total number | – | 151 | |||||||||
| Proportion returning to the workplace after maternity leave3 | % | 94 | 86 | |||||||||
| Proportion returning to the workplace after paternity leave3 | % | – | 100 | |||||||||
| Amount spent on training | CHF | 16,781,716 | 17,877,385 | |||||||||
| Amount spent on child care | CHF | 336,508 | 311,593 | |||||||||
| 1 Number of resignations in the entire year relative to average number of employees over the whole year. | ||||||||||||
| 2 Number of employees who took parental leave. This survey was conducted for the first time in the 2022 reporting year. | ||||||||||||
| 3 Percentage of employees who return to work at Raiffeisen after parental leave (excluding Raiffeisen banks and Group companies). Paternity leave is currently three weeks. For this reason, Raiffeisen estimates that all male employees returned to work in 2022. | ||||||||||||
Flexible working and holiday models
Raiffeisen encourages entrepreneurship among employees by specifically delegating responsibility and giving them considerable freedom to make their ideas a reality. Flexible work hours are provided across all levels of the hierarchy wherever possible. Raiffeisen Switzerland also has Raiffeisen FlexWork, which allows staff to spend up to 80% of their time working from a place of their choice, in consultation with their line manager and if compatible with the activity. This approach accommodates employees’ individual needs and improves their work-life balance.
Depending on their age and seniority, employees have 25 to 30 days of holiday per year. This places Raiffeisen above the Swiss average. Since 2018 employees have also been able to buy additional days of holiday or save up days for extended individual breaks.
Raiffeisen Switzerland is subject to the collective Agreement on Conditions of Employment for Bank Employees (ACE), which governs the rights and participation of employees and of Raiffeisen Switzerland’s seven-member Employee Committee. Raiffeisen banks are not subject to the ACE, but its provisions are contained in the Raiffeisen banks’ contract of employment.
Flexible working hours allow Raiffeisen employees to balance their job, family and leisure time very well.
Family policy
Raiffeisen Switzerland provides modern-day benefits for families. Mothers at Raiffeisen receive 16 to 24 weeks of maternity leave, depending on their length of service. Fathers are entitled to 15 days of parental leave upon the birth of their children or upon adoption, which they can take up to one month before and up to six months after their child is born or adopted. Women are guaranteed continued employment at a level of at least 60% in an appropriate function after their maternity leave. Parents have up to five paid days of absence to care for sick children. These rules apply to same-sex couples as well.
Fathers get 15 paid days of leave upon the birth of their own children or upon adoption.
Remuneration model and ongoing performance dialogue at Raiffeisen Switzerland
The remuneration model introduced for Raiffeisen Switzerland as of 2021 includes a collective profit-sharing element instead of individual bonus payments. The emphasis is therefore on collective performance. This remuneration model also applies to the members of the Executive Board of Raiffeisen Switzerland.
Due to the new remuneration model, exceptional team performance by working groups within and across disciplines is given visibility and rewarded in the organisation. Managers also have the ability all year round to reward above-average performance flexibly and unbureaucratically – for example in the form of a joint outing or another non-monetary surprise.
Performance appraisals and feedback sessions are held regularly as part of the ongoing performance dialogue (OPD) between employees and managers. Employees’ individual development planning is discussed and appropriate measures are defined jointly. To maximise objectivity in the performance appraisal, the assessments in the dimensions culture and performance are calibrated in management teams (review circles). The overall OPD process also includes pulse checks, 360-degree feedback, peer and manager feedback.
The remuneration model at Raiffeisen Switzerland promotes and rewards team performance.
Occupational health management
In the “Healthy Living & Working” programme, Raiffeisen Switzerland is pursuing the objective of promoting a sustainable lifestyle and working style among its employees, based on a comprehensive occupational health management programme. Raiffeisen Switzerland employees have access to various offers relating to “healthy eating”, “sleep & rest”, “mental health” and “healthy exercise”. Particular themes such as “attention” or “resilience” are highlighted in these changing campaigns and on health days. In the new internal case management process, all managers are made aware of absence management and supported through voluntary courses on the early detection of mental health problems.
Contact points for personal challenges and grievances
In addition to the counselling services provided by Human Resources, all Group employees have had access to an assistance programme through external partner RehaSuisse for several years now. This programme offers anonymous help for employees experiencing difficult situations in their professional or private lives, as well as health issues. Due to its clear processes, psychological expertise and extensive experience in the social insurance sector, RehaSuisse makes a valuable contribution to responding appropriately to the challenges arising from exceptional situations involving Raiffeisen employees.
Employees and executive bodies can also report suspected internal abuses or misconduct to a whistleblowing office. This report will be treated confidentially and can be made anonymously or include the name. The purpose of the whistleblowing office is to detect and deal with any critical situations at an early stage.
Investing in employee development
Raiffeisen fosters lifelong learning among its employees. Thus, managers and non-managerial employees can tap into a broad range of technical and leadership training courses, certification as an advisor as well as personal development opportunities. The training offers are adapted to the needs of the various target groups and can be used by all permanent employees (including part-time employees). If required, external employees of Raiffeisen Switzerland, temporary workers and trainees or interns also have access to function-specific further education offers. There are specific programmes for junior staff, members of the Executive Board and Board of Directors, client advisors and specialists, which make the training more job-specific.
While the programmes for executives serve to develop leadership skills, they also facilitate targeted succession planning. Employees can also enrol in various programmes developed specifically for Raiffeisen in cooperation with Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. The continuing education offering includes seminars for those preparing for retirement. These courses deal with issues such as prospects, health, a network of relationships and pensions.
Raiffeisen’s training programme is aimed at both junior and senior employees as well as members of the Executive Board and the Board of Directors.
Internal training programmes and learning formats are designed based on specific goals, assessed by attendees and continuously improved. Strategic training requirements for each professional category are determined through a carefully specified process in close consultation with the people working in the relevant environment.
During the year under review, Raiffeisen specifically arranged its internal training and continuing education events to be hybrid, firmly establishing the option of either physical or online presentation. The agile learning formats make it possible to react quickly to changes and to include current issues promptly in the continuing education programme. In addition, training formats that can be used anywhere at any time also cut down on travel and time spent away from everyday work.
The following overview shows how many internal continuing education courses Raiffeisen conducted throughout the Group in 2022:
Continuing education
| Unit | 20211 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| Certification as an advisor | Total number | 394 | 343 | ||||||||||||||
| Continuing education | Participant days | 13,884 | 12,659 | ||||||||||||||
| Courses held | Total number | 887 | 909 | ||||||||||||||
| 1 Due to a correction, these figures differ from those published in the previous year. The reason for this was a mix-up in the disclosures for the years 2020 and 2021. | |||||||||||||||||
Promoting talent and training young people
In addition to its targeted support for women, Raiffeisen strengthened and firmly established talent management (including talent pools) to systematically identify, promote and retain talent throughout the Group in the year under review. The aim is to facilitate sustainable and future-orientated development of talented employees across all functional levels with a view to having a strong talent pipeline. This programme helps Raiffeisen meet its own talent needs while also enhancing its appeal as an employer.
Young people are another key factor in Raiffeisen’s future success. Raiffeisen’s focused training programmes for young people are an expression of its social responsibility for large numbers of young people throughout Switzerland. At the end of 2022, 739 people (previous year: 726 people) were on a training programme for young talent. Some 38% of them (previous year: 48%) were female.
Investing in training young people pays off: many of those trained at Raiffeisen stay with the company after completing their apprenticeship, internship or trainee programme and take the opportunity to continue developing at Raiffeisen.
Raiffeisen offers a number of training placements for young people with different educational backgrounds. In 2022, 261 new career starters began their apprenticeship or internship at Raiffeisen in one of the following job profiles:
Raiffeisen is training junior staff in various professions.
Apprenticeships:
- Federal VET diploma in business administration (banking; service and administration)
- Federal VET diploma in information technology (systems engineering; application development)
- Federal VET diploma in ICT
- Federal VET diploma in mediamatics
- Federal VET diploma in interactive media design
- Federal VET diploma in child, adult and elder care
- Federal VET diploma in facility maintenance
- Federal VET diploma in customer communications
Offering for secondary school students:
- Commercial secondary school internship
- Business secondary school internship
- Computing secondary school internship
- Bank entry for secondary school leavers
Offering for graduates:
- Trainee programme
- University internships