Continuous training as an engine for corporate development
Since the company's formation five years ago, a strong corporate culture and sense of identity has been established at Infineon, thanks in large part to effective communication of the shared values, mission and vision of the company. The four qualities highlighted in Infineon's corporate values: innovation (We never stop thinking), team spirit (We win together), excellence (We strive for excellence in people and leadership) and commitment (We act entrepreneurially for the sake of our customers) guide the actions of everyone at Infineon. Creating the right environment for these values is one of the core tasks of our management team.
Recruiting and retaining world-class employees
We strive to recruit the best and make them better, thereby ensuring that Infineon remains the employer of choice in the semiconductor and technology business. We aim at fostering a culture that makes the best possible use of the diversity, knowledge, experience and creativity of our employees. To achieve this we recruit people who stand out in their particular discipline and encourage them to continue to develop their own potential at Infineon. Our emphasis on diversity is reflected in the steady increase in recruits from different nations who are best able to meet the needs of the international markets we act in and the global customers we serve. Altogether, Infineon's headcount rose from 32,000 to about 35,600 in the 2004 financial year.
... see Global Presence
Managing diversity worldwide
People from more than 80 countries work for Infineon and exchange knowledge that continuously enriches the company as a whole. Graduates often join the company through one of our specially designed graduate programs, such as the Ph.D. program or the International Graduate Program, our program for young professionals, which includes international assignments at one of the various Infineon sites.
Mastering Collaborative Leadership is an essential part of being a successful global company. It entails an emphasis on collaboration, openness and trust, combined with an efficient method of management. At Infineon, managers and teams are encouraged and empowered to make decisions in their own areas of work, while the senior management team ensures that global corporate objectives and priorities are implemented.
Comprehensive training concepts help to equip recently promoted managers with the best possible skills for the challenges that lie ahead. Assignments abroad, for instance, are used to promote knowledge exchange and broaden the horizons of those employees dealing with a foreign culture for the first time.
Flexibility and optimization of processes
In 2004, we had to cope with the strong rise in demand for semiconductor products by rapidly and flexibly responding to the changing requirements, in terms of staffing levels. This was achieved by working with an increasing number of temporary employees (employees who have a contract of limited duration with Infineon) and external service providers to fulfill contract work. This policy enables us to preserve the flexibility to adjust our resources if and when demand slows down, and, thus, gives us a strategic competitive advantage.
With the appointment of a new CEO, leadership became an even more important topic on Infineon's agenda in 2004. However, Collaborative Leadership, Dialog Culture, and Commitment Fulfillment were not only themes at the quarterly Strategic Alignment Meetings and the 2004 Top Management Conference in October 2004, they are firmly anchored in Infineon's organization.
Effective review programs ensure feedback for employees from all hierarchical levels on their individual performance. Employee surveys assess our employees' views on specific programs or developments. This permits immediate action and guarantees staff involvement in the desired changes.
Promoting a learning and effective organization
A dynamic business requires continuous training. We offer a comprehensive range of programs that support the company's focus on profitable growth, customer orientation, collaborative leadership and operational excellence.
Programs are tailored to match the skills and abilities of the individual and range from training for technical core competencies and processes to leadership and management skills. Programs for new employees, for example, include business administration courses, on-the-job training and apprenticeships.
The innovative skills and good team spirit of Infineon employees are clearly reflected in the results of the YIP (Your Idea Pays) program and at our Team of the Month events, both internal programs introduced to recognize outstanding individual or team achievements. The tremendous response to the YIP program, launched a year ago, even surpassed the expectations of its organizers. The variety and quality of the submissions by employees at Infineon resulted in savings of 146 million euros in the 2004 financial year. The suggestions implemented ranged from cost-saving process improvements at the production sites to ideas aimed specifically at improving customer satisfaction. These efforts demonstrate the desire of our employees to make a tangible contribution to the success of "their company".
Providing an attractive environment to realize individual potential
At Infineon, we believe that employee satisfaction goes beyond offering competitive, performance-based remuneration schemes. Providing an individual with the right working environment and attractive career opportunities to realize his or her potential is an equally decisive factor in achieving employee retention.
In this spirit, we are currently preparing the move to our new "Campeon" headquarters. Construction work at the site in Neubiberg, south of Munich, started in spring 2004 and is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2005. Campeon will bring together 6,000 employees from all business groups and central functions, currently located at various sites in and around Munich, into one central location. The building complex has been conceived to optimize communication paths on all levels and between all business areas, whether in the state-of-the-art research labs, or after work in one of the various social facilities.
The creation of an attractive working environment combined with a strong corporate culture guarantees a winwin relationship: our employees are motivated and therefore committed to "their company", "their team" and "their customers".
