Employees and diversity

Thanks to their experience and knowledge, our employees are essential guarantors of Jenoptik’s economic success. As an employer, we are focused on our corporate values of openness, drive, confidence and a dialogue-oriented corporate culture that is characterised by initiative and respect for diversity and equal opportunities. We offer our employees attractive employment conditions and a wide range of individual development opportunities. We encourage employees who drive things forward and who have the will to succeed. Only committed and curious people with new ideas can achieve outstanding results.

CEO: "Diversity leads to more success"

Jenoptik President & CEO Dr. Stefan Traeger states his opinion on the topic of diversity in an interview. He answers questions about our goals, about dealing with critical voices and how each and everyone in the company can contribute to more diversity.

"Diversity drives innovation"

Jenoptik's Head of Global HR Maria Koller (until end of 2023) about Jenoptik's corporate values, our commitment, and the initiatives we use to promote diversity because, after all, it's more fun to work in diverse teams.

Innovation and an open, agile corporate culture need diversity. As a company, we want to use difference and diversity in all areas to promote creativity and generate innovations.

Jenoptik pursues many initiatives which receive high priority and support from the Executive Board, promoting greater diversity and women's careers, thereby contributing to a modern corporate culture. A global and diverse Diversity Council manages the topic internally.

For example, management positions in the Group are to be filled more vigorously with international employees and women – measured in the so-called diversity rate, set to increase to 33% by 2025.

In the (German) Women's Career Index (FKi), the result for Germany increased (most recently) in 2022 compared to the previous year and was thus above the average of the peer companies.

As signatory to the Charter of Diversity, Jenoptik promotes diversity in the company and drives cultural change.

Diversity rate

Target by 2025

Discover the diversity of the Jenoptik family!

Jenoptik is family-friendly

Through flexible models for working hours, we respond to the needs of our employees, and, by way of flextime, part-time work and flexible periods of parental leave, we can ensure a good balance between family and work.

Childcare is essential for this, so Jenoptik has been investing in its sites for several years to provide our employees with a fixed space quota.

You can find out more in our Non-Financial Statement (PDF).

Jenoptik is modern and flexible in terms of leadership culture

Respectful interaction with each other in the workplace, work-life balance, flexible working hours, and a health-promoting working environment are crucial to this.

In particular, the introduction of remote working in 2019 has helped us to cope well with the challenging framework conditions created by COVID-19.

Personnel development as a decisive factor

Personnel development is a decisive factor for our future viability and the commitment of our employees.

We support our employees according to their potential and interests and analyze their development needs through regular appraisal interviews. In 2023, Jenoptik invested 2.9 million euros (previous year: 2.7 million euros) in training and further education for its own employees. At Jenoptik, learning follows the 70:20:10 principle (70 % learning at the workplace, 20 % learning from others and 10 % face-to-face or online training). Our managers are also trained to be essential levers for the company’s success based on this principle.

We aim to further increase the satisfaction and commitment of our employees and measure this through an annual employee survey. The commitment of our employees is illustrated through our “Engagement Score”, which was 75 percent in 2023, while the recommendation rate, measured in the “Net Promoter Score”, was 72 percent.

Jenoptik supports:

career advice projects in schools, and offers students the opportunity to complete an internship
young researchers in Thuringia as a long-standing federal region sponsor company of “Jugend forscht”
various sector-specific organizations to promote education and training
students in the form of degree theses, internships and scholarships.

Jenoptik cooperates with:

selected universities worldwide by way of personnel marketing and recruitment, for research purposes and as part of the further training of employees
selected universities worldwide through projects and sponsoring and is active in various committees and networks in an advisory capacity.

Recruiting qualified personnel

Recruiting qualified staff from around the globe is in line with Jenoptik’s international growth strategy.

Our target groups are primarily specialists and skilled workers from the natural sciences and engineering sciences as well as experts with a business and legal background. Initiatives to approach and employ applicants with diverse profiles will continue to be enhanced.

Jenoptik has also set itself the goal of filling more vacancies with internally trained specialists. In 2023, the apprenticeship ratio in Germany was 3.5 percent.

Health and safety

Safety management and health protection are important fundamentals of corporate responsibility in the Jenoptik Group and important measures when it comes to the basic needs of our employees and job satisfaction. They are firmly anchored in the operating process in order to minimize risks from the working environment that can endanger employees. The prevention of accidents in everyday work, while production facilities are operating, and on work and transport routes is our top priority.

The EHS (Environment, Health and Safety) department is responsible for managing and monitoring all occupational, health and safety matters. It is the responsibility of the Chief Financial Officer and is available to all companies in an advisory capacity. It defines responsibilities, objectives and framework conditions, such as the “Environmental Health, Safety and Environment Group Policy” published in 2020. Jenoptik companies are responsible for implementing statutory provisions in all matters of occupational health and safety.

Around 10 per cent of employees at all German locations are trained as first aiders. In the interests of their health and performance, our employees undergo regular occupational medical examinations. In 2023, the number of reportable workplace and commuting accidents in Germany amounted to 11.6 per 1,000 employees (previous year: 9.9), for the Group as a whole, the ratio was 5.5 – significantly below the average of 15.9 in 2022 for the other members of the Employers’ Liability Insurance Association for Energy, Textile, Electrical and Media Products.

Pandemic management

With the help of a pandemic and hygiene plan at all locations, the spread of infection was prevented, while the work capability was maintained in all areas. Rapid and regular exchanges between all the coronavirus task forces, keeping employees informed, but in particular the rapid introduction, implementation and consistent enforcement of hygiene measures, the offer of vaccination and opportunities for home working contributed significantly to the success.

Occupational health management

Operational health at Jenoptik is managed centrally in the Corporate Center in Germany, supported by local “Health Steering Committees” for the implementation of on-site measures. These include the “Move It!” initiation project, a digital movement offer for all employees, a “healthy leadership” training offer for our managers and continuous improvement of the process for company integration management.