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They operate in the traditional watch industry and see themselves as very progressive - the language is from watch manufacturer IWC. In the first of two interview parts, Julia Viehweider, Lead HR Business Partner Team, Learning and Development, and René Behr, Director Global Human Resources and Member of the Executive Board, explain the extent to which workplace culture has an influence on this.
Great place to work: I read on your homepage that 90% of all IWC employees are proud to tell others that they work for you. How do you manage that?
René: Well, firstly, we certainly achieve this through our products. All our product families are strongly linked to our history and the stories behind them create a strong identification with IWC's values and culture. When our employees see that the watches they have either directly or indirectly contributed to are worn with pride around the world, it gives them an incredible sense of appreciation. Many employees wear an IWC watch themselves and proudly show it to their friends and families.
Secondly, IWC is deeply rooted in the Schaffhausen region and has a very good reputation - which is why people naturally like to say that they work at IWC. And thirdly, this is certainly also due to the strong sense of community, the strong team spirit and the informal working atmosphere at IWC - despite our size. We have around 1,400 employees worldwide, half of whom work here in Schaffhausen.
Great place to work: How does family interaction manifest itself in everyday working life?
RenéFor example, any employee can approach our CEO or any other member of management at any time. We have a flat hierarchy and see this as an opportunity to promote our family atmosphere. We also have many long-standing employees, some of whom have been working together for over 30 years. They know when the other person is having a bad day and help each other or look for solutions together. I think it's completely normal that opinions can still differ. It's much more important to show mutual understanding. We're a bit like a family: sometimes we argue, then we make up again and in the end we celebrate together at a family dinner.
Great place to work: So the family atmosphere and flat hierarchies are your secret recipe for being a highly attractive employer?
RenéYou certainly contribute to this. But there are a whole range of other reasons for this, such as the attractive work content or the pleasant working environment. We also received this feedback from our employees in the Great Place to Work® employee survey: 87% of our employees stated that our buildings and facilities contribute to a good working environment. And we make sure of that: just last year, we opened the new manufacturing center with beautiful workspaces. In general, we are very progressive as a watch brand - and not just in the area of innovation and development. For example, we encourage our employees to reduce their carbon footprint by leaving their car at home and using public transport to get to work instead. Or we enable flexitime and home office where we can. This is all rather unusual in the very traditional watch industry. And yet we do all this because we are convinced that we can create a very good workplace culture - and thus higher added value - with modern forms of work and trusting interaction with one another.
"However, it is also important to us that we convey an authentic impression in discussions with applicants and that we give people an understanding of this dream world, this world of luxury, but also show them that we are a very down-to-earth company where cooperation is characterized by our sense of community - and not by attitudes or luxury."
Great place to work: Being progressive and remaining familiar or traditional at the same time - isn't that too great a balancing act?
RenéOh no, I don't think so. Even 150 years ago, when IWC was founded, it was characterized by precisely this combination of traditional watchmaking and progressive industrialization. Back then, Florentine Jones already managed to combine industrial production with the artistic art of Swiss watchmaking - a recipe that still works very well today.
Julia: I have a similar view: the fact that Schaffhausen of all places was chosen as our company location was already extremely unusual at the time. It is in our DNA to think progressively and be inventive. Then, as now, we had to look beyond the borders of Schaffhausen to attract qualified employees, who were traditionally more likely to be found in western Switzerland, especially in the watchmaking sector. Even today, we still recruit nationally and internationally. And here, too, we sometimes have to be a little inventive, for example with a settling-in package with language courses to help them integrate into German-speaking Switzerland. We do this on the one hand because we operate in a very strongly recruiter-driven labor market and on the other hand because we have always seen internationality and diversity as a great advantage for our workplace culture - after all, IWC stands for "International Watch Company".
Great place to work: In large - or in your case - international companies, it is a big challenge to ensure that the values are also lived - how do you master this challenge?
Julia: This has a lot to do with consistency. It starts in the recruiting process, where we communicate the values to the applicants. For example, we always have a watchmaker's table and a watchmaker at career fairs who shows people what goes into a watch. Of course, that's inspiring. However, it is also important to us that we convey an authentic impression in discussions with applicants and that we give people an understanding of this dream world, this world of luxury, but also show them that we are a very down-to-earth company where cooperation is characterized by our sense of community - and not by attitudes or luxury. We convey this realistic and authentic image during the recruitment process and then, of course, during onboarding when new employees join us.
Great place to work: How can I imagine your onboarding process?
JuliaWe organize a Welcome Day every two months, for example, where we familiarize people with our values - with our IWC world - and show them where they make their contribution in the product development process. I mean, each and every one of us is like a cog in the watchmaking machine, contributing to the product in one way or another: from production to marketing and finally to the customer wearing the watch on their wrist. Sometimes it's very obvious, for example when you're working directly on the watch. But sometimes you don't have the watch directly in your hand, for example in the support areas - and yet you make a valuable contribution there too. We convey this holistic appreciation of each individual through our strong storytelling skills, by interlinking and linking the content and, of course, through our managers, who set a good example. It is therefore an ongoing process and an internal discourse on workplace culture that begins anew with every new employee and will therefore never be properly completed.
Great place to work: What happens if someone disregards or violates your values?
JuliaWe are very consistent and do not shy away from disciplinary measures. Of course, we first try everything imaginable to bring about insight and changes in behavior. After all, everyone has the right to feedback and a chance to change their behavior. But there are also no-gos that we simply cannot and will not accept.
René: That is correct. If we discover that someone is strongly violating our values, ethics and moral principles, then we also part ways with that person. This consistent attitude is also highly appreciated by our employees, which was also confirmed in the Great Place To Work® employee survey.
Great place to work: But corporate values also help with the cultural fit in recruiting or the search for new employees - is this also the case for you?
RenéYes, very much so! A very important value for us, for example, is a sense of responsibility. Because we strive for perfection and always try to improve in everything we do. We are therefore looking for employees who want to take responsibility for finding the ideal solution - this appeals to our applicants. We are also looking for employees who can put themselves in our customers' shoes. Our products are associated with strong emotions, which is why the customer is always at the center of everything we do. Many applicants also find themselves in this position. Last but not least, values such as mutual understanding and cooperation also appeal to many applicants. The best ambassadors for this are our employees - they convey our corporate culture authentically, which makes it clear to applicants that these values are particularly important to us.
