SIEMENS

Investing in Research & Development—and good people

By Paula Fagerberg

Siemens is a $96 billion electronics and engineering company with 460,000 employees in 190 countries. With 70,000 employees throughout all 50 states and $18.8 billion in U.S. sales, Siemens is improving America’s infrastructure through technology and innovation in Medical, Power, Automation and Control, Transportation, Information and Communications, Lighting, Building Technologies, Water Technologies and Services, and Home Appliances.

EMPLOYEES: With operations around the world, Siemens is already richly multicultural. In addition to our customers’ and shareholders’ expectations, we inherently know that a diverse workforce translates to a smarter and more broadly experienced Siemens.

DIVERSITY: We have diversity councils, affinity groups, and internships available to our diverse employees. We have national partnerships with various diverse organizations such as INROADS, National Black MBA Association, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and the National Urban League, and serve as board members for the National Society of Black Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers.

WEBSITE: www.usa.siemens.com

What attracted you to Siemens?
Siemens is an extremely diverse company in terms of our businesses; we offer so many different career paths. Inside the U.S. alone there are 13 different operating companies, like Siemens Medical, Siemens Transportation, Siemens Corporation…so many paths you can choose. We also have a fantastic reputation for innovation. What sets Siemens apart from the competition is definitely our engineering expertise and
the ton of money we put into R&D—around five percent of global sales. That’s a lot of money. We’re an extremely innovative company.

For students, we have about seven or eight programs in my particular Siemens company, Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc., that hire young engineers and finance majors into rotational programs. New hires (minority or otherwise) with very high GPAs who are targeted to be top achievers within a few years have specific programs for mentoring and internships. We also have mentorship programs for Master’s and Ph.D. grads. We have a lot of initiatives promoting diversity overall; for instance, there’s a Valuing People Council
focused on making the company more diverse by doing things like hiring a wider range of new employees.

What is the value of diversity in your work?
A lot of the distributors I sell to are up-and-coming minorities, and their input is extremely valuable. Another important aspect of diversity at Siemens
is the work experience of our employees, which ranges from a few years to over 30 years with the company. Interacting with people from various walks of life helps you to cooperate better and understand how other people see things, and I find that friendships come easily.

What’s the best thing about working here?
The people. No matter how good a company is at engineering or business, at the end of the day you want to be surrounded by good people you can trust to help you when you’re struggling and who know that you’ll help them too. Through this company I’ve met a ton of good people, and I really value my relationships with them. It makes for a better, more relaxed atmosphere where you want to achieve goals and make things happen for the company. We have good managers who really respect you in the workplace but also care about you outside of business—they’re not just looking at you to make them money, but also looking at you as to how you can be fulfilled. Siemens is a great place to work.