Employee recruitment and development

Having the right skills and expertise in the workforce is essential to achieving Repower’s business objectives. Repower invests in the organisation and its people by attracting qualified employees and providing them with continuous further development and training.

Impacts

Well-trained employees enable the Repower Group to fulfil its supply and service mandate. Competent specialists contribute to higher productivity and innovative strength, thus strengthening competitiveness. The continuous development of employees reinforces job security and enables them to maintain their attractiveness in the labour market. It also boosts employee satisfaction and health. This in turn makes the Repower Group more attractive for specialist staff and can result in greater economic growth.

Risks

Attracting and selecting qualified specialists entails costs for recruitment, hiring and onboarding. In addition, the ongoing development of employees requires investment in continuing education and training. Inadequate planning or ineffective implementation of recruitment and development measures can impair the company’s efficiency and effectiveness. The improved qualifications of employees make them attractive on the external market, so there is also a risk of poaching. If there are no internal opportunities for job development, the risk of employees leaving can increase.

Risks related to a lack of human resources are a component of the Repower Group’s risk and control assessment (see Introduction).

Guidelines and due diligence

The Repower Group’s aim when recruiting and developing employees is to have the right people with the right qualifications in the right position at the right time. At Repower Switzerland, responsibility for this lies with line managers, who are assisted by the HR department with policies and support functions. Repower Switzerland carries out an annual analysis of possible developments in the internal workforce, particularly with an eye to filling key positions and succession planning. Repower Switzerland also has a guideline for external training.

At Repower Italia, the processes for recruiting and developing employees are executed by the HR department in close collaboration with the executive board. This combination guarantees that candidates will be identified who meet Repower Italia’s needs.

Measures

The Repower Group has numerous initiatives to promote the development of employees’ skills and expertise. These include the opportunity to take part in training events, conferences and workshops. The company also holds open meetings with various guest speakers, webinars and information events where employees and external experts can exchange ideas on various topics. In 2024, the Repower Group conducted training on the integration and application of artificial intelligence in work and business processes for the first time.

In 2023, Repower Switzerland relaunched its employer branding campaign to recruit employees. In 2024, the employer branding campaign was also adapted specifically for apprentices. To counteract the shortage of skilled labour and encourage young talent, Repower Switzerland trains apprentices in various professions. Repower Switzerland also offers additional apprentices and lateral entrants attractive conditions for starting a new career. In recognition of its recruitment performance, Repower received the bronze certificate from BEST RECRUITER 2023 / 24.

Repower Italia encourages its people to take part in continuing education and training courses and enables them to find offerings that provide suitable training in both technical and social skills. As far as possible, Repower Italia also offers work in cross-functional teams and job rotations.

Leadership@Repower

Over the next three years, Repower Switzerland plans to invest in strengthening day-to-day management and organisational development. For this reason, the Leadership@Repower programme was launched in 2024. The first Leadership Days for Repower Switzerland managers took place in November 2024. The conclusion after the first two Leadership Days: a successful start to the 2024 to 2027 Repower Leadership Programme.

Stakeholder engagement

When a vacancy arises, the relevant managers and HR discuss and develop appropriate recruitment measures. Ongoing development measures are defined between the employees themselves and their line managers, for example in appraisals.

Measuring effectiveness

The Repower Group regularly conducts employee surveys to measure satisfaction in various areas. The results of the 2024 survey were good. When asked about referring and the attractiveness of their employer, employees responded with “very good”. In recognition of this, Repower Switzerland was for the first time ranked as a top employer at the Swiss Employer Awards. In addition, annual employee appraisals are held and staff turnover is monitored. When it comes to employee recruitment, Repower Switzerland conducts an annual performance review including an analysis of which channels receive the most applications.

Employee appraisals: All employees of Repower Switzerland have at least one performance and career development review each year as part of their annual appraisal. In 2024, 59.2 per cent of the men and 66.3 per cent of the women at Repower Italia received an appraisal of their performance and professional development.

Average number of hours for training and education: In 2024, male employees at Repower Switzerland attended an average of 15.9 hours of training and education and female employees an average of 15.5 hours. At Repower Italia, male employees attended an average of 37.5 hours of training and education in 2024 and female employees an average of 36.3 hours. The marked differences between Repower Italia and Repower Switzerland are due to the different criteria for recording the hours spent. For example, language courses are recorded as continuing education by Repower Italia but not by Repower Switzerland.