Around 36,000 employees worldwide were asked. Around 28,000 responded, providing important insights into their satisfaction with FORVIA HELLA. The results of the 2023 Global Employee Opinion Survey at a glance.

Monday 2024-03-25

The annual employee survey examines employee satisfaction. Various criteria serve as a yardstick for this. For example, employees are asked how much FORVIA HELLA cares about its employees, whether they think the current benefits meet the market standard, or how well informed they feel about the company's goals and strategy. "We use the answers to identify areas of action and starting points for further improvements, and the results also show where we have improved compared to the previous year. This is not just a nice snapshot, but also an important indicator for us as to whether certain measures and initiatives are effective and should be continued," says Stefanie Rheker, Head of Human Resources at FORVIA HELLA since March 1, 2024. In 2023, employees at the plants were once again able to take part in the employee survey. As a result, the number of participants has almost doubled compared to 2022. At a very good 78%, the participation rate in 2023 is only slightly below the 80% of the previous year.

FORVIA HELLA performs well in an industry comparison

Overall, the results of the survey show that employees are satisfied with their employer and have confidence in the company's strategy. This is supported by the so-called Engagement Index, which is calculated from the approval rates for questions such as "I would recommend the company as a good place to work", "I believe that HELLA has the right strategic goals and priorities" or "If everything is taken into account, I am satisfied with the company". In addition, it indicates the willingness of employees to make an above-average contribution to their company. At 74%, this Engagement Index 2023 is slightly above the previous year and also 3% above the current industry standard. This is a comparative value based on the responses of more than one million employees from 55 companies in the industrial goods sector. "We also see a very good result for FORVIA HELLA compared to the rest of the industry. I am particularly pleased that the figure is similar for both professionals and managers as well as plant employees," explains Stefanie Rheker.

All Business Groups were able to improve their engagement scores or maintain them at a high level. A look at the countries shows a differentiated picture. Romania, China, Mexico and India, for example, were able to increase their engagement scores, while the indices in Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia and the USA declined slightly.

Lots of improvements

A look at the details shows that FORVIA HELLA has made gains, especially in the assessment of employee benefits, care, and diversity: 59% of the participants agreed with the statement "HELLA's employee benefits are competitive with those of other companies in our industry" – an increase of 16% compared to the previous year's results. The statement "The company cares about its employees" was agreed with by 65% of respondents. That, in turn, is 10% more compared to the 2022 survey. This proves that the various measures of the "We CARE" initiative, which was rolled out in response to the results of the last employee survey in 2022, are paying off. However, the value here is still slightly below the industry standard (minus 1%). "For us, this significantly better evaluation of employee welfare is no reason to sit back. On the contrary: we are still a long way from reaching our goal and will therefore continue to drive the We CARE initiatives at our locations worldwide," says Stefanie Rheker.

Approval ratings for the question of whether the company values and promotes diversity are well above the industry standard. This is the view of 74%; a full 9% more than in 2022 and 7% above the industry standard. Knowledge of corporate strategy and goals is also impressive: 79% of respondents stated they were aware of them. This is an increase of 9% compared to the previous year's result.

The survey results also show clear strengths of FORVIA HELLA in the aspects of product innovation and working conditions. For example, 80% (+/- 0% versus 2022) of employees think that FORVIA HELLA is innovative in the development of new products and services. This figure is even 22% higher than the industry standard. With regard to working conditions, approval ratings were asked for statements such as "I have enough freedom to do my job well", "My working conditions allow me to be as productive as possible" or "My immediate supervisor gives me clear and regular feedback". With slightly increasing or unchanged approval rates of between 70 and 80 percent, FORVIA HELLA is also well above the industry standard in these aspects, in some cases with double-digit percentages.

Some challenges

Slight declines, albeit with still high approval ratings, can be seen in employees' assessment of the market environment. This shows that the volatile, increasingly complex markets are unsettling for some. However, 79% (minus 2% compared to 2022) still think that FORVIA HELLA will be successful in the next two to three years. 73% (down 1% compared to 2022) are convinced that FORVIA HELLA can successfully respond to changes in the market environment. Both values are well above the industry standard. Results are below the industry standard in terms of motivation (65%, 6% below the industry standard) and sustainability (79%, 8% below the industry standard). Although improvements were achieved in both aspects compared to the previous year, there is still some catching up to do compared to the average industry values.

Improvement measures are implemented

The results of the 2023 employee survey provide starting points for further improvement measures in the company with the clear goal of further increasing employee satisfaction.

To this end, intensive workshops have already been held in the Business Groups and countries. In addition to other We CARE measures, further improvements in the qualifications of managers are planned, for example through coaching, an improvement in individual career opportunities for employees or measures to improve local information such as regular town halls. "Our employees are at the heart of our company. That's why employee surveys are so important. Knowing where the shoe pinches, where we can improve, ultimately helps us. After all, we all want to enjoy going to work in the morning," says Stefanie Rheker. "We are therefore taking a very close look at the results and the open comments so that we are be able to derive the right measures from them."

The next opportunity to express your opinion and thus change something is already just around the corner: because after the employee survey is before the employee survey. The next survey is due in autumn 2024. Then it's time again for FORVIA HELLA: Your opinion counts!