People
Social responsibility
Employment and working conditions
General conditions for employees:
- Respect for human rights: decent and safe working conditions, fair pay, respect for freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, rejection of child labor, forced labor and discrimination
- Flexible working models: flexitime, shift models - in addition, further models are being developed on an ongoing basis (part-time in shift operations, flexible working time arrangements in the manufacturing environment)
- Employee representation: 100% of Fronius International GmbH is represented by a works council or trade union; at Group level, coverage is 73%.
- Company benefits: we promote employee satisfaction, networking, and health and well-being with a variety of benefits.
Diversity and equal opportunities
At Fronius, we see diversity as an opportunity and promote the different perspectives, experiences and competencies of our employees. We welcome people regardless of gender, age, cultural, national or ethnic background and promote them in a targeted manner.
Topics that we are actively driving:
- Supporting people with special needs: Part-time models, partial retirement, reintegration after long-term sick leave, etc.
- Supporting gender equality: Aiming to significantly increase the proportion of women in the company, especially in management positions
- Promotion of intercultural diversity: Organization of Welcome Days in English and German courses for employees as well as the posting of expats
- Supporting work-life balance: Facilitation through measures such as home office, kindergarten care and child vacation care as well as parental leave management
- Anti-discrimination: Reporting misconduct via Fronius whistleblowing platform
Employee development
Education Program
Fronius offers all its employees the opportunity to continue their education on an ongoing basis. The basis for this is the education program, which offers courses in both classic disciplines (such as project management) and personality-building areas. Keynotes, sports events and talks round off the program.
Program for higher qualification
As an active countermeasure to the shortage of skilled workers, Fronius offers interested production employees the opportunity to obtain a full apprenticeship qualification in electrical engineering in 12 months, paid by the company.
Leadership training
New managers at Fronius are introduced to their role and strengthened by a program lasting several days. In addition, numerous workshops, training courses and coaching sessions are offered, all with the aim of further developing the leadership culture at Fronius globally.
Shift management trainee program
In this 10-month program introduced in 2023, selected trainees acquire all the necessary skills to enable them to successfully take on the role of shift manager.
Apprenticeship at Fronius
Apprenticeships have played a key role at Fronius since the company was founded. Today, this form of training is our way of sustainably countering the shortage of skilled workers.
Fronius Training Center
The Fronius Training Center at the Sattledt site first opened its doors in September 2023. It offers all Fronius employees a modern facility for knowledge transfer and for meetings across an area covering 700 m².
Employee health and safety
Workplace health promotion
- Company health management
- Occupational health services
- Vaccinations
- Vision tests
- Exercise
- Ergonomics consultations
Mental health
For psychological balance an occupational psychologist is available to assist employees as needed. In addition, training courses to reduce stress are offered in the training program and expanded to include the topics of resilience and mental strength.
Social Coaches
Two social coaches were hired last year to optimize integration of the growing number of employees on the shop floor and to further improve working conditions. These support the integration of new employees but also advise and support existing teams and managers.
Customer health and safety
Perfect Welding
Health protection in welding has many aspects, ranging from reducing the harmful effects of welding fumes to ergonomic design of the equipment. We at Fronius want to counteract a certain recklessness in specialist companies, firstly at the product level and secondly by stepping up our public relations work. Our primary goal here is to draw attention to the potential dangers of welding and to provide suitable preventive measures.
We want to provide explanations:
We provide answers to the following questions: What measures can be taken to prevent and eliminate risks? How are these measures properly implemented?
Welding helmets with a fresh air supply, extraction hoods, and extraction tables reduce exposure to fumes, for instance, and special fume extraction torches neutralize the welding fumes right at the source. All these measures protect workers and others around them. We are striving to make this multi-faceted, highly skilled profession even safer for future generations
Solar Energy
Our products and solutions meet the strictest safety standards and are subject to continuous further development. This enables us not only to minimize all risks during operation, such as electric shock, but also to further increase safety for all involved with forward-looking concepts and technologies. One example: to ensure that there is sufficient space for handling, the connection area of an inverter has been planned and designed accordingly. In addition, swapping or reversing the polarity of plugs is almost impossible thanks to a well thought-out design of the plug connection between the boards. This makes the installation of our products and solutions safe and avoids repair errors.
The topic of safety is also reflected in our extensive range of further training courses: Every year, we teach the proper commissioning and handling of Fronius' holistic energy systems in numerous classroom and online training courses and webinars. In 2023, we welcomed 24,824 participants to a total of 1,052 training courses and seminars.
Perfect Charging
Safety is the number one priority when charging traction batteries. Following all safety requirements minimizes the risk of accidents, such as electric shock or the inhalation of harmful gases and vapors. We inform our customers about the safety measures they need to take, for example we recommend ventilation of charging spaces in line with standards, the implementation of an external start/stop function and to avoid sparks between charging contacts. Our experts continue to offer support after the charging infrastructure has been commissioned by performing regular safety inspections.
Data from our digital solutions (I-SPoT Viewer and Charge & Connect) help to identify application errors and devise specific training measures.
