Attractive workplace

Management of the material topic (GRI 3-3)

A total of 7,902 employees work at Galenica providing professional services to the satisfaction of a wide range of customers. As a key employer in the Swiss healthcare market, Galenica makes an important contribution to the Swiss economy and supports sustainable labour and economic growth. For Galenica, an attractive workplace includes employment conditions and employee motivation. These influence the satisfaction and well-being of employees and, in turn, their efficiency, productivity and fluctuation. Furthermore, the emphasis on the corporate values – five key Galenica values, a contemporary and appreciative management culture and modern working models (“life-domain balance”) play an important role. Employee motivation is also closely linked to employee training and continuous education, which enables them to develop both professionally and personally. Galenica therefore summarises all issues relating to the employment of competent and motivated employees in terms of employee motivation and development. For more information on specific employee topics, see sections Occupational Health and Safety as well as Equality and Diversity.

The five key values

The five key values provide support for employees in all their work and form the basis for the common understanding of the way in which they cooperate and interact with one another:

• We participate with passion.
• We act as entrepreneurs.
• We build trust.
• We show respect.
• Together we are stronger.

Responsibilities and strategy

The Service Unit People & Culture is responsible for personnel management and supports the respective companies with their business partners in dealing with their employees. The focus areas include advice and coaching, promotion of young talent and personnel development, as well as occupational health and diversity. The head of the Service Unit People & Culture was admitted to the Executive Committee in 2023. In doing so, Galenica is underlining the strategic relevance of human resources and its central role in actively shaping corporate transformation and the associated cultural development. This includes issues critical to success such as the positioning of Galenica as an attractive and modern employer – not only in the context of the shortage of skilled workers, but also in terms of its attractiveness for young talents and employees – promoting and using new methods and ways of working, targeted and sustainable development of employees, strengthening diversity & inclusion and achieving efficiency gains through the digitalisation of HR processes.

Personnel Policy, Personnel Regulations and Working Time Regulations

The Personnel Policy of the Galenica Group is based on the above-mentioned corporate values and sets out the binding guidelines for human resources management (HRM). These guidelines apply to all companies within the Group. Galenica’s Personnel Policy discusses how it, as an employer, wishes to treat its employees and what Galenica expects from its employees. The Galenica Group’s Personnel Regulations and Working Time Regulations, in turn, are aimed at all employees and contain information and rules regarding working hours, salaries and employee insurance.

Collective bargaining agreements (GRI 2-30)

None of the employees of the Galenica Group are subject to a collective bargaining agreement. Galenica offers all employees fair and attractive employment conditions.

Balancing private life and work

Galenica offers flexible working time models to provide a better work-life balance for its employees. According to the guidelines on working from home, employees also have the option of working from home up to 100% of the time, depending on their activity. Part-time work is also common, particularly in the Service Unit Pharmacies, and co-management teams are also possible in the pharmacies. Furthermore, female employees can extend their maternity leave with unpaid leave and men receive paternity leave of ten days, which is fully paid, in contrast to the statutory obligation.

Opinio employee survey

The Opinio employee survey has a long tradition at Galenica. Since 2020, it has been conducted annually rather than every three years, thus enabling Galenica to react more quickly and in a more targeted manner to changes in employee satisfaction and motivation. In 2023, 72% of all employees took part in the survey. The response rate is therefore slightly higher than for the 2022 survey. With a Group-wide score of 76 out of 100 possible points, it is pleasing to see that employee motivation increased compared to the previous year. The employee recommendation score of 76 out of 100 points is also gratifying, compared with 74 points in 2022. Since 2023, the employee survey has only been conducted online.

Promote interaction and commitment among employees

The staff committees are important points of contact for the concerns of all employees that are of general interest and are to be discussed with the Executive Committee. Conversely, the Executive Committee consults the staff committee or works committee on relevant personnel matters that concern all or most employees, such as conditions of employment. The works committee is made up of the chairs of all the local staff committees. Twice a year, a meeting takes place between the works committee, the Group-wide employee representatives, a representative of the Executive Committee and HR management. It addresses topics that go beyond the local concerns of the staff committees in the individual business areas. The staff committees generally meet several times per year and are also informed about the topics and resolutions of the works committee meetings. In 2021, a team of “Change Ninjas” was created. They are actively shaping the transformation of the Galenica Group and supporting the Service Units in their transformation plans.

Various communication platforms

Direct, personal interaction between employees from all language regions of Switzerland and a total of 89 countries lies at the heart of Galenica’s communication efforts, with the aim of actively promoting knowledge exchange and cooperation. The various physical and digital information events and management meetings within the business sectors and companies are a good way of ensuring that this happens. Information on current topics from all areas of the company is provided at events and via the intranet (G-Net). The employee magazine Spot is also published in digital form several times a year. The digital Spot can now also be accessed externally, allowing also partners and family members to take part in developments in the Galenica world.

Promote knowledge and interaction among employees

When it comes to logistics and the sale of pharmaceuticals, employees and their specialist knowledge play a crucial role. As a successful company, Galenica wants to develop with the market and set trends. The adaptability of the Galenica Group is based on the commitment and team spirit of its entire workforce. In order to maintain this, Galenica provides continuous support for the personal and professional development of its employees.

Continuous personnel development and the management work of the future are at the heart of the Group-wide personnel development programme Move. Move represents agility and flexibility and, therefore, reflects the range of employee development options available. This comprises modules in the field of professional training as well as leadership and personal development on various levels. In 2023, Galenica conducted 42 modules with 654 employees. New employees are invited to an induction day (Move 1) where the history, culture and strategy of the Galenica Group and its companies are explained. The one-year “Expert” talent management programme was redesigned in the reporting year with the aim of developing high-performing employees in their current roles or introducing them to a higher role in order to strengthen internal succession planning in the medium to long term. The participants are given a platform for interdepartmental exchange. At the same time, the knowledge and skills of experienced managers are used to further develop the next generation of talented employees. On request, each participant will be assigned a personal mentor. In 2023, 24 employees took part in the “Expert” talent management programme. The “Explore” talent management programme, which has also been running since 2023, gives dedicated employees who do not primarily work in a central role the opportunity to get to know the Galenica Group better, work on their personal development and expand their network. In 2023, 24 employees took part in this new talent management programme.

Galenica also supports employees with external training by giving them financial aid and/or allowing them the time, provided that the training is related to their current role and offers added value for the company and the employees. More information on this can be found in the section Training and Education.

Retaining qualified employees

In Switzerland, the retention of qualified employees represents a major challenge, particularly in the healthcare professions and IT. In addition to the shortage of employees, the requirements in terms of training and skills are constantly increasing. For Galenica, retaining qualified employees plays a key role, especially in the Service Unit Pharmacies, as pharmacy management requires good, qualified staff. As the Swiss healthcare system becomes increasingly digitalised, Galenica will be more dependent on IT and e-commerce professionals in the future. Galenica is committed to retaining qualified employees, including recruiting them and keeping them within the company and supporting them outside the company. In doing this, Galenica supports sustainable labour and economic growth in Switzerland.

Galenica reviews its recruitment activities on an ongoing basis and adapts to the constantly changing conditions in the labour market. Galenica’s recruitment strategy includes measures relating to the company’s image as an employer, its positioning and university marketing for students. Galenica aims to make contact with students while they are still at university and encourage them to pursue a career within the Galenica Group. Recruitment activities were centralised across the Group in 2023 in order to professionalise them, make processes more efficient and strengthen the employer brand.

Employee profit-sharing programme

Galenica shares the success of the company with all employees. The bonus is calculated based on the Group result compared with the previous year. Every year, employees of Galenica living in Switzerland have the opportunity to purchase between 20 and 80 Galenica shares at a preferential price, regardless of their employment level. In 2023, 19.8% of employees participated in the programme (previous year: 19.2%). These shares are blocked for three years after the date of purchase.

Members of the Senior Management (SMT) and Management (MT) receive a profit-sharing bonus pro rata to the annual bonus. This is dependent on attaining quantitative and qualitative targets. The share-based remuneration programme LTI (see Remuneration report) for members of the Executive Committee and certain members of the SMT is geared towards long-term performance, whereby remuneration is withheld for a period of three years. In 2022, Galenica introduced joint bonus-related targets for the Executive Committee, members of the Senior Management and Management and abolished the individual bonus-related targets, which will apply from 2023. These relate to customer and employee satisfaction. These new objectives are intended to strengthen the network philosophy and the focus on social objectives.

Employee benefit plans

The Galenica Pension Fund covers the risks and economic consequences of old age, disability and death according to the specifications of the Swiss Federal Act on Occupational Old Age, Survivors' and Invalidity Pension Provision (OPA). Like the previous foundations, it is legally, organisationally and financially independent of Galenica. The pension fund is managed according to the defined contribution principle. This is usually financed by contributions from the employee and the employer. The contributions made by employer and employee are accrued into individual savings capital for each employee. The savings capital is usually paid out as a lump sum or converted into an annuity on reaching statutory retirement age. In cases of termination of employment, the savings are transferred as vested benefits. The financial statements of the pension fund provide a true and fair view of the financial position, the results of operations and cash flow. The accounting and valuation principles of the Swiss pension schemes correspond to the Ordinance on Occupational Retirement, Survivors’ and Disability Pension Plans (BVV2) and the Swiss GAAP FER accounting and reporting recommendations. Assets and liabilities are recognised based on the financial situation of the pension fund as of the balance sheet date only. Due to increasing life expectancy and a drop in interest received, the conversion and contribution rates were adjusted as of 1 January 2022.

Objectives attractive workplace

↗  Realistic
→ Partially delayed/critical
↘  Critical
=  Achieved
×  Not achieved

Galenica further optimised its recruitment process in the reporting year. The aim is to reduce the time-to-hire and thus contribute to retaining qualified employees. The time-to-hire for IT was around 125 days in 2023 and around 90 days for Pharmacies. Data collection for the “time-to-hire” KPI was also optimised in 2023 in order to increase data reliability and stability in the long term. Recruitment in the Galenica Group was centralised and underpinned by new processes and systems in the reporting year. For this reason, it is not possible to compare data with that of the previous year. In addition to the time to hire, the reduction of the Group-wide fluctuation rate by 6% from the base year 2021 to 2024 was also defined as a target for 2023. In the base year 2021, the Group-wide fluctuation rate was 14.5%, in 2023 it was 12%.

Evaluation of the management approach and measures

• Key figures: Key personnel figures, such as employee fluctuation, are collected from across the Group and analysed every six months.
• Key figures: Other key personnel figures, such as time-to-hire, in connection with recruitment are regularly collected to check the implementation of the recruitment strategy and the achievement of targets.
• Employee satisfaction and motivation: The satisfaction and motivation of employees is evaluated as part of the annual employee survey. The Executive Committee examines the results, particularly the critical points, and defines effective measures based on their findings.
• Performance reviews: The performance of employees is evaluated and discussed at annual performance reviews. Education also plays a key role in this.

Employment (GRI 2-7, 2-8, 401-1)