Listening to our employees

We foster a culture of open dialogue and frequent feedback on all levels, where employees and managers engage in regular exchange as described in our Leadership and Personal Imperatives (see online version). In addition, once a year, we seek feedback from all our employees in a more formal manner through the Employee Engagement Survey (EES), which is run by our external provider Aon (www.aon.com). As in previous years, we again experienced a high response rate of 88% in 2018. Our Group Employee Engagement score was at 66% (three percentage points lower than in 2017) and was thus on a par with Aon’s Global Finance & Insurance industry benchmark. The Engagement score is calculated based on how employees speak about their organisation, on their desire to work for it and their motivation to contribute to business success.

We are proud that our employees perceive a collaborative and inclusive culture across all Business Units, demonstrated by the following results of the EES:

• Diversity & Inclusion: 78% of surveyed employees strongly appreciate Swiss Re valuing diversity and having a collaborative, inclusive and friendly culture with high integrity (5% points above the Global Finance & Insurance industry benchmark). Learn more about our actions and initiatives in the section “Fostering an inclusive workplace for all” (page 59).
• Our Managers: More than three quarters of our employees perceive that their line managers engage in an open and safe dialogue where the employees have the freedom to express their views and are encouraged to seek out innovative solutions (76%, which is 3% points above the industry benchmark).
• Empowerment/Autonomy: More than two thirds of our employees feel strongly that their opinions and ideas count and that they are given the flexibility to balance their work and personal life (overall score: 69%, which is 4% points above the industry benchmark).