Continental Named One of America’s Best Large Employers by Forbes Magazine
Technology company Continental has been named one of America’s Best Large Employers for 2021 by Forbes magazine. This is the fifth time the 150-year-old company has been included in the rankings, which this year took into account how employers responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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A focus on employee health, career growth and flexibility
Continental’s unwavering focus from the beginning of COVID-19 has been to protect the health of its employees and minimize the pandemic’s negative impacts.
Continental put safety first and helped more than 233,000 employees around the world adapt and transition to new working environments. Whether moving to full remote work or working onsite, this was a smooth transition due to the flexibility initiatives and technology already in place. Each Continental location was given a risk assessment, then retrofitted with necessary upgrades like Plexiglas partitions. Other measures were implemented, like a significant increase in cleaning frequency, shortened or staggered shifts, shift handovers without personal contact, extended break times and increased distance between seats.
Although the pandemic forced temporary closures of some of the company’s manufacturing plants, those locations safely ramped back up as soon as possible with increased safety protocols in place. Those measures helped maintain supply chain stability and helped the company continue to move forward.
Through it all, Continental’s strong culture of learning and employee empowerment remained. The organization quickly transitioned its in-person, classroom-style training programs to virtual formats, delivering more than 40 virtual programs to employees across the U.S., maintaining its commitment to employee development and engagement.
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Expertise – and innovation – during time of crisis
The Continental plant in Winchester, Va., usually produces various films for the interior and exterior of cars and commercial vehicles. But when the pandemic struck, the plant pivoted.
In just a few days, production lines and expertise were converted to produce more than 6,000 face visors a day. Plant employees delivered the shields to local hospitals, healthcare facilities, police stations and fire departments.
The shields also led to a new product innovation – plexiglass dividers for passenger car interiors that protect drivers and passengers against COVID-19 during transport. This is just one example of how employees are empowered to let their ideas shape the future.
“Continental’s strong and unique company culture has been on full display during the pandemic and that’s why we’ve been able to minimize negative impacts on our people and business,” said Rick Ledsinger, senior vice president of Human Relations for Continental, North America. “Our core values are not only alive and well, but stronger than ever. We continued to develop cutting-edge automotive technology solutions, while also caring for our people and the communities where we live and work. Our priority remains to give employees what they need to thrive in their professional and personal lives.”
Continental continues to be recognized nationally as an employer of choice. In 2020, Fortune magazine named the company one of the 18 Best Big Companies to Work For – and the only manufacturing company to make the prestigious list. The company has also been named a 2020 Fairygodboss Best Company for Women, one of America’s Best Employers for Diversity by Forbes (2019) and among Fortune’s Most Admired Companies multiple times. These recognitions reinforce Continental’s progressive company culture worldwide.
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