Annual Report

Thinking about tomorrow today

Swissgrid has always taken a long-term approach to its business activities. In order to be able to continue operating the Swiss transmission grid securely in the future, it is necessary to anticipate changes in technology, energy policy and society at an earlier stage and to adapt the infrastructure, investments and actions accordingly.

As the national grid company, Swissgrid plays a key role in the energy system and can therefore make a significant contribution to the implementation of the Energy Strategy 2050 and help ensure a secure and sustainable supply of electricity.

Embedding sustainability in Swissgrid’s strategy

There are currently numerous initiatives and activities under way in various business units at Swissgrid that follow the principles of sustainable corporate development. The company will focus even more on sustainability going forward.

Swissgrid will develop its vision and future strategy for corporate social and environmental responsibility as part of its 2027 corporate strategy. The expectations and demands of the stakeholders will be analysed for this purpose, and the company will define which Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) it will contribute to in the future. These are goals agreed on by the UN member states, including Switzerland, to be achieved by 2030. The SDGs include ecological, economic and social dimensions of sustainable development. At the same time, Swissgrid will set up a sustainability reporting. Swissgrid will also develop a specific climate reporting. This is due to the new non-financial reporting requirements for companies in Switzerland.

Until the publication of the first sustainability report, Swissgrid provides insights into existing measures in the area of sustainability in its annual report. The focus in the past reporting year was on employees.

As at 31 December 2021, Swissgrid had a total workforce of 637 people (without trainees and apprentices). 79 new employees joined the company in 2021. Capacities were increased in areas including grid project planning and maintenance, grid operations and cyber-security.

Positioning as an attractive employer

Swissgrid relies on highly qualified and motivated employees to fulfil its legal mandate. The company launched a comprehensive employer branding campaign in 2020. This is intended to raise the company’s profile as a progressive employer among potential employees and to address candidates in a more targeted manner. The focus of the campaign is on people in sought-after areas that are difficult to fill such as IT & telecommunications, grid management and modernisation and grid operations, as well as on high potentials.

Attracting and promoting young talent

Swissgrid’s profile has improved further as a result of employer branding, a commitment to promoting young talent and a greater presence at university events. In the Universum Study 2021, a survey of 11,860 students on the most attractive employers, Swissgrid came 18th in the «Engineering» category (previous year: 33rd), 52nd in the «IT» category (previous year: 58th) and 46th in the «Natural Science» category (previous year: 58th).

In 2021, 25 students (previous year: 18) started an internship at Swissgrid. This is increasingly becoming an important tool for recruiting young talent. Of the 35 students at the company between 2018 and 2020, 22 remained employed by Swissgrid.

Commitment to existing employees

Swissgrid not only wants to attract good employees, but also to retain them. With that in mind, the company invests in the further training of its staff. In 2021, a 18-month development programme in the areas of leadership and management, which was conducted in cooperation with the University of St.Gallen, was completed successfully. The 120 participants consisted of senior managers and junior staff. Systematic succession planning is also a priority for Swissgrid: in 2021, 11 out of 15 (in 2020: 16 out of 22) vacant management positions at all management levels were successfully filled by internal talent.

Swissgrid supports its employees’ efforts to reconcile their professional and private needs and also allows them to carry out their duties on a part-time basis. Since 2018, all full-time positions have been advertised with a workload of 80 to 100%. In 2021, 21.1% of the workforce worked part-time, with men accounting for 13.9% and women 48.5%. Swissgrid makes it easier for fathers to look after their children after their birth: since 2021, the company has offered 15 days of paternity leave. Swissgrid has also become a member of profawo. This organisation aims to help employees to achieve a good work-life balance by supporting, coordinating and arranging care services.

Diversity at Swissgrid – consistently pursuing the chosen path

Swissgrid’s employees make a significant contribution to ensuring that the transmission grid remains secure and reliable. Employee diversity forms the basis for the company’s broad expertise, its innovative strength and close networking with the industry in Switzerland and abroad. Swissgrid offers an open environment to attract and retain highly qualified and motivated talent.

The company is clearly committed to diversity and inclusion in terms of nationality, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, culture and religion. One of Swissgrid’s goals is to strengthen diversity and cooperation within teams. In the medium term, Swissgrid is striving in particular to achieve a balanced relationship between the generations and the sexes and to boost the proportion of women in management and expert positions. In 2021, the proportion of women stood at 21% (2020: 19.6%), and represented 12.2% at management level (2020: 10.7%). The company employs people from 28 different nations.

Swissgrid was awarded the «Fair Compensation» certificate once again in 2021. This confirms that pay equity exists between women and men – according to the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. The relevant audit is carried out by the Swiss Association for Quality and Management Systems. Swissgrid will continue to conduct pay equity analyses in the future to ensure pay equity between women and men.

High employee satisfaction

The 2020 employee survey shows that Swissgrid is on the right path to becoming an attractive employer. Firstly, the participation rate was very high: over 85% of employees completed the survey. Secondly, the company was rated in the top 5% of employers for the targets «overall satisfaction» and «commitment». The result is an incentive to consistently continue on the chosen path.