Enabling and motivating working environment

We strive to be an attractive employer and we are focused on continuous improvement in all relevant areas.

Providing meaningful and equitable career opportunities

Wherever we operate, we remain committed to offering fair and equal working conditions and opportunities, meaningful career development, and competitive compensation and benefits. We believe that all people should be treated fairly, as laid out in our Business Code of Conduct.

Our annual HR global gathering and quarterly virtual sessions are vital for exchanging best practices and aligning our transformation roadmap to each subsidiary’s level of maturity on key issues.

We aim to empower our employees to reach their fullest potential and we offer a wide variety of meaningful career development opportunities, including:

• Prioritization of our internal workforce for openings, and recruitment of most of our executive leadership positions through internal promotions
• Encouragement of cross-departmental development, e.g., between marketing and sales
• International Graduate Programs in marketing, finance, and operations, which have been running successfully for over a decade, offering an accelerated career path across the Group
• Annual invitation to a selected group of senior leaders worldwide to the Senior Leadership Program in partnership with IMD Lausanne
• A dynamic marketing career path across all of our product ranges and different Lindt & Sprüngli locations around the globe

Employment and labor relations

Lindt & Sprüngli Group sets out guidelines designed to ensure that all employees are treated equally in terms of conditions of employment and representation (see the Equal opportunity and employment policy section of the Business Code of Conduct). The Group implements global policies broad enough to apply to all subsidiaries. Local subsidiary and management teams define and execute concrete policies applicable to local conditions. Examples of global policies relevant to the employment and labor relations topic are the Business Code of Conduct, Human Rights Policy, and the Health and Safety Policy. Employment and labor relations are closely linked to national and local legal frameworks. As such, subjects like bargaining agreements, union management, and governmental organization management (employment and social government departments or agencies) are mainly dealt with by the local HR teams.

“Our five values are the base for everything we do. We believe that every person has the right to be their authentic self at work, and to be treated with respect. We strive to create an inclusive environment where everyone can contribute their diverse talents, perspectives, and ideas. Together, we shape a unique workplace that not only attracts but retains exceptional individuals, ensuring our collective success and growth.”

Currently, Lindt & Sprüngli employees are collectively organized in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Benelux and the USA (Ghirardelli), with a total of 48% of the workforce of our Group under collective agreements. The working conditions of employees not covered by such agreements are defined as equal to, or better than, the ones for employees covered by collective bargaining agreements. The working conditions of the local CEOs or Country Managers are globally defined. We remain committed to respecting our employees’ rights to freedom of association, to join trade unions, and to collective bargaining. Our primary measurement tool in this context is regular meetings with the works councils. Lindt & Sprüngli Group Management is involved in the European Works Council as per EU requirements. Any other local matters are dealt with locally. Our engagement focuses on financial compensation, working hours, non-discrimination, disciplinary practices related to harassment and abuse, freedom of association and collective bargaining, health and safety, and working conditions.

Due to differing international legal requirements, Lindt & Sprüngli does not have Group-wide benefit guidelines. At all of our significant operational locations, our full-time employees do however receive benefits above the minimum legal requirements. Equally, at most of our significant operational locations (production sites and locations with over 300 employees) in Europe, part-time employees receive the same eligibility as full-time workers for some employee benefits, proportionate to their degree of employment. Our American based subsidiaries (including Russell Stover and Ghirardelli) provide most of the following benefits: life insurance, health care, short-term and long-term disability insurance, parental leave, sick day off and volunteering time off to full-time employees.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion

At Lindt & Sprüngli we believe that providing a diverse, equitable and inclusive work environment is fundamental to personal and business success. It is our policy and practice that current and potential employees enjoy equal opportunities. We require all of our subsidiaries to follow our equal opportunity commitments and tailor their HR strategies to meet local equity and diversity needs. 

In 2023, a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) framework was developed and approved by Group Management, with a full rollout scheduled for 2024. The framework is based on four pillars – Educate, Grow, Connect, and Celebrate. The International HR Board has developed several initiatives on all four pillars of the foundation level for 2024. The initiatives will be rolled out in all subsidiaries. Depending on the maturity level of the subsidiary, more actions can of course be taken. The global principle of the framework is “Inclusive place for everyone” and our commitment “40% of women in senior leadership”. Global metrics will help us keep track.

Regarding our goal to increase the percentage of women in senior leadership positions to 40% by 2025, we increased the rate to 35.1% in 2023 (up from 33.0% in 2022). Additionally, 0.5% of senior leadership self-identified as “Other”. Lindt & Sprüngli remains strongly committed to this goal. Furthermore, we have already succeeded in achieving gender balance in middle management, with a 52.9% female representation in 2023. In 2023, over a third of our subsidiaries also offered local Women in Senior Leadership Programs, and nearly half promoted DEI key events on International Women’s Day.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Pillars

Case study: Ghirardelli recognized as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women

Ghirardelli was recognized as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women in 2023 by Newsweek. Newsweek partnered with data firm Plant-A Insights Group, surveying over 37,000 women to identify companies that ranked highest on criteria like “compensation and benefits,” “work-life balance” and “proactive management of a diverse workforce”.

Discrimination and equal opportunities

We do not tolerate any discrimination against employees or candidates based on gender, age, religion, political opinion, union affiliation, disability, national or social origin, sexual orientation, ethnicity, color, or other characteristics. Recruitment or promotion follows a selection process based on the following criteria: the skills, abilities, and professional competencies of the candidate; relevant experience, performance, and qualifications; the specific work-related requirements of the job. Since implementing the official Speak Up Line, an independent grievance mechanism, in 2021, the handling of discrimination cases brought a higher awareness of the importance of the topic in the Group. We are also developing training for line managers and employees to address unconscious bias and harassment, and inclusive Recruitment Guidelines.

As described in the Speak Up Policy, Lindt & Sprüngli encourages employees to use the regular reporting chain when raising a concern (Line Manager or local Human Resources representative or Group Compliance). If an employee or third party is uncomfortable with this, or such reporting channels are impractical, they may contact the Lindt & Sprüngli Group-wide, independent, and secure Speak Up Line. Local champions have been trained to register local concerns raised outside of the tool. Reported cases are reviewed by the contacted entity (i.e., line manager, Human Resources representative, Group Compliance). Cases raised via the Group grievance mechanism are initially assessed by Group Compliance, which then decides how to handle.

Current data collection regarding discrimination and harassment incidents includes cases reported via the grievance mechanism (Speak Up Line) and legal proceedings. All incidents received have been reviewed by the organization. In total, 26 incidents were reported in 2023:

• 7 legal cases are pending; and
• 19 incidents were reported via the Speak Up Line and of these, one incident was substantiated and closed in 2023. 95% (18 of the 19) of the incidents reported were unsubstantiated and closed in 2023. 

The increase in the number of cases between 2022 and 2023 is justified by the continuous awareness and training of Speak Up as a reporting channel, which has been more prominent this year than last. Remediation actions included training on the Speak Up Policy as well as Code of Conduct, warnings and/or dismissals where the reported concerns were substantiated. The remediation plans implemented included discussions and the involvement of local and/or Group Management to decide the appropriate actions. Additional training on the Lindt & Sprüngli Code of Conduct was also initiated to reinforce the key message of the Lindt & Sprüngli Business Code of Conduct.

Employee satisfaction and development

After the 2022 Global Engagement Survey revealed a lack of employee development opportunities at a global level, the Lindt Talent Program (LTP) was developed and launched in 2023. The LTP is a global, in-house, cross-functional development program for our employees in middle management positions. The LTP targets 30 to 40 top talents among our mid-level leaders. This comprises managers from all functions and subsidiaries who are recognized as having potential to become Vice-Presidents in their subsidiaries. The Program allows them to develop their entrepreneur mindset and further develop their leadership skills to increase their impact on the company’s growth agenda. Participants also spend a week at the Lindt & Sprüngli headquarters where they meet with Group Management to discuss strategic topics and receive leadership training. Additionally, Group HR continually supports local initiatives and programs that support parenthood and parental care needs within fulfilling career paths. Local HR teams are responsible for development programs specific to their markets.

An attractive mix of further learning opportunities is shaped by our Purpose Mission Values (PMV) initiative and Global Talent Management workbook, as well as by the specific needs of our employees. To upgrade the skills of our employees, we offer internal training courses on a range of subjects, including leadership skills, project management and personal skills. We also provide specialized professional training on retail, marketing, finance, diversity, equity and inclusion, engineering, and maintenance, along with financial support for external training or education. The reported training hours for 2023 stand at 278,382, with ongoing initiatives to enhance data accuracy across the Group. For over a decade, we have been running International Graduate Programs in marketing, finance, and operations. These facilitate an accelerated career path across the Group. We also invite a group of senior leaders worldwide to participate in the Senior Leadership Program, run in partnership with IMD Lausanne.

At our production sites and locations with more than 300 employees, we offer employability and career management support including outplacement, external coaching, and retirement workshops. We conduct annual talent management reviews and performance appraisals, and we have a structured employee succession planning process in place. In 2023, on average 77.5% of employees across the Lindt & Sprüngli Group received performance and career development reviews. Employees meet with their direct managers at least once a year to create individual development plans that apply our 70-20-10 learning model. See graph:

70-20-10 learning model

In 2023, the number of new hires during the year decreased from 5,654 to 5,180, excluding seasonal and temporary workers. The decrease is partially due to the adaptation of the reporting method, aligning all subsidiaries to the same guidelines, and the organic decrease observed at Lindt & Sprüngli Italy after integrating Caffarel staff in 2022. This is also reflected in our employee turnover, where the overall rate for 2023 was 27.0%, representing a significant decrease compared to the previous year’s 34.8%. This is due to the exclusion of seasonal and temporary workers, who strengthen our manufacturing and retail departments during the high peak seasons of Easter and Christmas, from the 2023 report. Lindt & Sprüngli also relies on workers who are not employees, i.e., workers whose work is controlled by Lindt & Sprüngli within other operating expenses. They include third-party relationship or direct consulting contracts, self-employed workers, and temporary workers that are provided by personnel agencies. The number of workers who are not employees slightly decreased from 3,502 to 3,144 in 2023. The fluctuation is due to the seasonality of our business during the busy periods of Easter and Christmas. The change in the full-time/part-time and permanent/temporary employment breakdown is again due to the alignment of the reporting method applied to all subsidiaries in 2023. 

Case study: Enhancing leadership skills

Organizations and their employees are confronted with an ever-increasing pace of change and growing uncertainty, requiring further development of our leadership competencies. In 2023, Lindt & Sprüngli Switzerland focused on training all its employees with a leadership role* in psychological safety and the creation of an environment where our employees feel safe, included and empowered to raise any concerns. In addition, they attended a session at the University of Zurich to work with the Center for Leadership in the Future of Work. There they learned how to scale emotional intelligence from the individual to the organizational level, and which practices can be applied within Lindt & Sprüngli.

* Employees having direct reports or with a specialist role are defined as having a leadership role.

Our way forward

As part of the Lindt & Sprüngli DEI strategy, the new DEI framework will be rolled out in 2024. An analysis of our Global Mobility Program was completed by Mercer at the end of 2023, ready for the implementation of defined measures for improvement in 2024. Derived from the LTP, we will also be focusing on further enhancing learning initiatives at Group level in the coming year.