As part of the pilot for the Toolkit: Women & Diversity in Innovation, one of Merkle’s goals is to optimize its internal “calibration process”, which incorporates objective performance criteria and multiple perspectives in promotion decisions. The “diversity dashboard” is a monitoring tool that provides transparency on the distribution of key parameters such as part-time work or management responsibility linked to diversity characteristics.
Innovation formats at ti&m range from intensive one-day workshops and one-week design sprints to “innovation garages” lasting several weeks. The goal is to jointly develop an interconnected solution in which all user groups see themselves represented, instead of many independent individual solutions. The company incorporates diversity aspects into the process in the various phases of planning and this includes carrying out a “design sprint”.
As part of the pilot for the Toolkit: Women & Diversity in Innovation, Merkle set itself the goal to establish diversity in external communication and increase its visibility. Therefore, Merkle revised the existing guidelines for gender-sensitive language. Likewise, the visual language in external communication such as on the company’s website and in job advertisements was reviewed self-critically regarding diversity.
Küffer Elektro-Technik AG (KETAG) in Kirchberg, near Bern, employs around 35 people, including men and women from different age groups. To assess satisfaction and the need for action regarding internal communication, the company surveyed its employees. The results were presented to the management, which drew up specific measures from the survey findings and passed them on to line managers for implementation.
As part of the pilot for the Toolkit: Women & Diversity in Innovation, Comvation has set itself the goals of offering employees different perspectives and further developing diversity in its teams. The SME eliminated traditional employee appraisals some time ago. Instead, regular “feedback walks” support employees in their personal development and contribute to effective networking among staff.
The choice of flexible working times and locations in particular support employees in managing their professional tasks and family commitments. With coworking spaces, Comvation provides its employees with additional space that enables focused work close to their homes. In line with greater flexibility in working times, the general core hours in which availability is expected have been adjusted and adapted to individual working styles regarding the respective activity.
As part of the pilot for the Toolkit: Women & Diversity in Innovation, KETAG has set itself the goal of promoting a culture of innovation by creating a spirit of change within the company. With the announcement of an internal ideas competition, we helped lay the groundwork for strengthening the autonomy and agility of teams. This format is designed to encourage employees to share their expertise and contribute their skills to develop innovative approaches to solutions.
Managers at Merkle take on the role of coaches and maintain a professional and personal exchange with employees in the form of weekly feedback meetings. The intranet has developed into a transparent exchange platform that resembles a social network. In addition, Merkle has initiated several targeted measures to promote inclusion in HR management and internal communications.
By conducting an open salary negotiation, Comvation has taken a decisive step to create salary transparency within the company. Conducting the negotiation meeting in the presence of the entire development team allowed both employees and supervisors to reflect on their behavior in negotiation situations and uncover blind spots in the process.
Volvo Car Switzerland AG employs around 50 people between 25 and 65 at its Swiss site and has a presence throughout the country with over 70 Volvo agencies. With the “random lunch” initiative, the company aims to strengthen informal exchange and networking among employees as part of its innovation culture. There was very positive feedback in response to the Random Lunch throughout the company.