“We are Rieter”

Every single employee makes a decisive contribution to the success of the company. This is why employees were also involved in the implementation of the corporate strategy presented in October 2024, for example through a Group-wide campaign under the motto “We are Rieter”. At the same time, Rieter increased its attractiveness as an employer by introducing a “Volunteer Day”. Progress was also made in increasing the proportion of women in management positions and promoting a culture of learning.

Rieter Group CEO Thomas Oetterli presented Rieter’s new strategy at the Group Leadership Meeting in October 2024. The strategy aims to establish Rieter as the leading supplier of technology for fiber processing designed to help spinning mills gain a competitive edge and position themselves successfully in the market. Executives from around the world gathered at the company’s headquarters in Winterthur (Switzerland) to learn about the new strategy and tour the Campus with its collaborative work environment and state-of-the-art research and innovation hub.

Employees in focus

Under the motto “We are Rieter”, a company-wide campaign, employees demonstrated in short videos how they put the corporate values “We put our customers first”, “Quality starts with me” and “We are passionate” into practice. Teams from all divisions and countries submitted videos to be shown at the Group Leadership Meeting. The Rieter community afterwards rated them for creativity, relevance and ability to exemplify the values, and then selected the best videos.

In September 2024, the company invited employees and their partners and families to tour the new corporate headquarters. The event strengthened the bond between the company and its employees.

An attractive employer

Rieter strives to be an employer of choice in its key markets. This requires establishing a culture of open dialog. In 2024, Rieter conducted a PULSE survey based on the Net Promoter Score (NPS) principle. With a remarkable participation rate of 68.0 percent, the survey recorded particularly high scores for corporate culture and corporate values.

Volunteer day

Social engagement has a long tradition at Rieter. To help employees to embrace this tradition as a team, a volunteer day was introduced at the end of 2024. Rieter teams have the opportunity to spend one day a year working on charitable projects. These activities benefit local communities, promote team spirit within the company, increase employee satisfaction and strengthen Rieter’s image as a socially responsible company.

Mentoring and diversity

There was great interest in advancing the careers of women. The mentoring program was also successful in its first year of operation. A large number of managers volunteered as mentors and were trained accordingly. Mentoring is a professional development approach in which mentors provide their mentees with valuable advice, support and insights into their day-to-day work. This helps foster the personal and professional development of mentees, builds employee loyalty, and improves company performance. The relationship is mutually beneficial as it also strengthens collaboration and networking within the company. By implementing a series of measures to promote the careers of women, the company has increased the proportion of female managers by 2.7 percentage points to 15.3 percent. This brings Rieter closer to its 2025 target of at least 20.0 percent women in management positions.

Research has shown the importance of role models for women in developing their leadership identity. Against this backdrop, further “Empowered Voices” events were held in 2024 to facilitate an open discussion between aspiring and experienced managers at Rieter.