People

As an international semiconductor company with a global footprint, Diodes recognizes the important role its human capital plays in a talent-based economy, and what the impact of effective and efficient human capital management (HCM) has on its long-term strategic success and sustainable growth. Our employees are our most critical asset—they contribute to our financial success for the benefit of all our stakeholders, they are the source of great idea generation that fuels the engine of product innovation, and they are collaborators and contributors to the success of the communities in which we live and work. Human capital management affects many aspects of our operations, including recruitment and talent acquisition, retention, training, workforce optimization, performance management, workplace safety, employee health and wellness, employee engagement, and diversity and inclusion.   

Developing two–way communications and deploying effective feedback mechanisms are critical components in our employee engagement process. In addition to quarterly CEO “all hands” meetings, we have an “Open Door” policy, and encourage employees to have regular conversations with their managers to  share feedback and express concerns. We also solicit employee feedback informally through regular employee interactions. We hold our managers accountable for setting clear expectations and goals with their teams, for providing coaching, as well as identifying professional development opportunities for their teams, and for engaging in periodic performance reviews. We assist our managers with performance management tools as needed to help them effectively manage their teams and optimize workforce productivity. 

We utilize third-party operated employee self-service portals to allow employees to efficiently and timely manage several of their employment related activities; for example, employee benefits, expense reporting, leave of absence management, and attendance records. In addition to employee onboarding orientations and on-the-job (OTJ) training, we leverage a third party learning management system (LMS) tool to provide training to our employees. We regularly assess the training modules to be responsive to the professional development and training needs of our employees.  

Employee retention is a critical element in our sustainable success. To maintain a stable workforce, we provide skill advancement training and coaching, where appropriate, to help our employees enhance their existing skillsets. With our support and preparation, our employees can continue to grow in their current role and maximize the value they contribute to their current teams. Where a suitable rotation opportunity arises, we provide skill expansion training to equip employees for these new positions. By honing their skills, our employees can leverage their institutional knowledge and experience to contribute to the overall success of the organization. The availability of rotational opportunities can also help keep our employees motivated and engaged. Please refer to our sustainability website on Investment in Our Employees for more details.

As an employer with a global workforce, we provide safe working conditions and encourage our employees to engage in safety behaviors. We have programs to enhance the occupational health and safety of our employees and to promote employee wellness. These initiatives yield positive business outcomes, such as less absenteeism, more motivated and engaged workforce, higher productivity, more consistent quality performance, and a better corporate image in our local communities—which in turn help us attract talent and maintain a stable workforce. Please refer to our sustainability website on Employee Health, Safety, and Wellness for more information.

We regularly review our workforce demographics and organizational structure to ensure that we have an efficient organization positioned to deliver cost-effective, high quality products to our customers and to serve the markets in which we operate. Diversity and inclusion considerations are embodied in many aspects of our operations, including pipeline opportunities. Please refer to our sustainability website on Diversity and Inclusion for more information. 

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Employee Recognition

We are focused on building a sustainable workforce because a reliable workforce that can deliver consistent output helps drive greater business results in performance, productivity, profits and employee pride. Our employee recognition program is comprised of Employee Service Awards, designed to acknowledge employees’ longevity and continued commitment to Diodes, as well as Special Recognition Awards (SRA). Recipients of the SRA awards are recognized for their outstanding performance in areas such as leadership, safety and environmental excellence. For example, in the first quarter of 2021, we were pleased to issue 27 SRA awards to our employees in our Shanghai manufacturing sites. In addition to recognition from the company, our employees are also recognized by various industry organizations, including MAKE UK.

 

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Last Updated: February 2023

Overview

At Diodes Incorporated (“Diodes”), respect for human rights is ingrained in our Core Values (Integrity, Innovation, and Compliance) and in how we conduct business, interact with stakeholders (including customers, employees, and suppliers), and engage with the communities in which we operate. We believe that everyone should be treated with fairness and respect.

We are cognizant of the potential human rights issues and labor risks that may occur within the semiconductor supply chain, especially for the vulnerable populations in our society (including women and minority groups), and are committed to protecting and preserving these human rights and promoting human rights awareness. We expect our suppliers and vendors to also support and respect these basic human rights.

1. Policy Statement

Diodes’ Human Rights and Workforce Labor Rights Policy (“Policy”) is rooted in protecting human rights and affording each individual dignity, freedom, respect, and acceptance. This Policy outlines our expectations with respect to human rights and labor practices and the high standard of conduct expected of our employees and suppliers worldwide. The principles of this Policy are reflected in our operational policies and procedures and are applied in a non-discriminatory manner, irrespective of geographic location. Actual or suspected violations of Diodes policies or unethical behaviors should be reported immediately to Diodes management or anonymously through the hotline services described below.

Our Policy is based on the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) Code of Conduct. The RBA Code of Conduct establishes standards to ensure that working conditions in the electronics industry, or industries in which electronics is a key component, and its supply chains are safe, that workers are treated with respect and dignity, and that business operations are environmentally responsible and ethically conducted. The RBA Code of Conduct is in alignment with the United Nations (UN) Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and is based on international principles and norms that we support and incorporate in our business practices, including: the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labor Organization’s International Labor Standards and Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the UN General Comment No. 15 on the right to water, and ISO standards.

The UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights recognizes the right to water as a
fundamental human right where everyone is entitled to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically
accessible, and affordable water for personal and domestic uses. Our Environmental Policy and our commitment to environmental stewardship, including responsible water management as further described on our sustainability website, support this fundamental human right to water. When making decisions on how we manage our operations, we consider both the short and long-term impact to the environment and our communities.

2. Employment and Labor Practices and Human Rights

We are an equal opportunity employer with policies against unlawful discrimination based on race, color, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, pregnancy, religious creed, marital status, age, national origin, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, or any other consideration made unlawful by
applicable federal, state, or local laws. We prohibit sexual harassment and any other form of unlawful harassment.

We are committed to providing a fair and living wage to all our employees, and our employee remuneration is consistent with all applicable wage laws, including those relating to minimum wage, overtime hours, and legally mandated benefits.

We support the elimination of all forms of forced, bonded, or indentured labor, and child labor is prohibited in any of our operations. We support our employees’ rights to freedom of association in each of the countries where we operate.

Diodes is committed to the support and protection of equal enjoyment of human rights by all persons, including women and minority groups. These human rights and workforce labor rights are monitored and assessed through our management, human resources, and environmental, health, and safety teams as they apply to all Diodes operations worldwide and to our suppliers, vendors, partners, or service providers. These rights are embedded in our Code of Business Conduct, CSER Code of Supplier Conduct, and Supplier Letter, and serve to provide essential protections for the women and minorities in our workforce, which is further reinforced through employee training on fundamental topics such as prevention of harassment, discrimination, abusive conduct, and retaliation. The Code of Business
Conduct and CSER Code of Supplier Conduct also prescribe requirements that include areas such as, without limitation: freely chosen employment, child labor and young workers, working hours, wage and benefits, humane treatment, non-discrimination, freedom of association, industrial hygiene, and health and safety. Our commitment to human rights and workforce labor rights are also reflected in our UK Modern Slavery Act Statement, California Transparency in Supply Chains Act Statement, and Conflict Minerals Reports.

We are committed to protecting the rights of women and minority groups and prohibiting the use of child labor and forced labor.

3. Workplace Safety

Workplace safety is built on the foundation of a strong safety culture. At Diodes, we respect the health and safety of our employees, customers, suppliers, business partners, and communities. We provide a safe and healthy workplace by complying with applicable laws and regulations and developing programs aimed to detect and prevent unsafe work environments and minimize the incidents of workrelated injuries and illness. Employee wellness is important to us because it affects employee retention and morale as well as the quality and consistency of employee performance, which in turn impact our operational excellence and organizational success.

4. Supplier Responsibility and Accountability

In addition to complying with applicable laws and regulations, we expect our suppliers to also comply with the RBA Code of Conduct or align their business practices with RBA Code of Conduct, specifically in areas relating to human rights, labor and employment, environmental matters, health and safety, as well as ethics. We conduct periodic business reviews of our critical suppliers to ensure that they provide products and services in a manner that meet our business requirements, including taking prompt corrective actions and implementing preventive actions upon findings of violations. Through this supplier engagement process,
where appropriate, we support our suppliers in improving their performance in areas that may impact Diodes. We hold ourselves and our suppliers accountable to these high standards, while focusing on continuous improvement.

5. Freedom of Association/Collective Bargaining

Diodes respects all workers’ freedom of association in accordance with local laws, including the rights to form and join unions of their choosing, engage in peaceful assembly, and bargain collectively, or refrain from such activities. Workers and/or their representatives shall be able to openly communicate and share ideas and concerns with management regarding working conditions and management practices without fear of discrimination, reprisal, intimidation, or harassment.

6. Grievance Mechanism

Employees are encouraged to discuss any workplace issues they have with their managers, who are responsible for providing a safe environment for employees to express their concerns. We encourage employee concerns be addressed through our “Open Door” channels to drive satisfactory outcomes, but alternative channels in a telephone hotline and online reporting (see below) are available for our stakeholders to communicate their concerns confidentially and anonymously. Consistent with our policies, practices, and legal requirements, Diodes does not allow any retribution or retaliation against an employee who reports a compliance issue in good faith. This third party hotline can be used by our employees, customers, vendors, and interested parties to report any conduct they believe in good faith to be an actual or apparent violation of our Code of Business Conduct or our corporate policies and procedures.

Hotline Information

(https://secure.ethicspoint.com/domain/en/report_custom.asp?clientid=54100)

  7. Commitment and Oversight

In addition to the board-level oversight of our company-wide sustainability efforts, major corporate policies (including this Policy), as well as the legal and regulatory compliance status of our global operations, we have established a cross-functional steering team to regularly assess the risks in our supply chain, including the salient human rights related risks and their potential impact on our operations. Our general approach is consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, in particular the Guiding Principle 17, which include “assessing actual and potential human rights impacts, integrating and acting upon the findings, tracking responses, and communicating how impacts are addressed.”

We recognize the importance of a sustainable business model that is based on responsible global citizenship and the value of human rights. We are committed to involving our stakeholders and reviewing industry best practices as we develop and implement various corporate policies and procedures to support our sustainable business operation.

Click here for a downloadable PDF version of the above policy.

The health, safety, and well-being of our employees are key factors to achieving and sustaining superior performance. We believe that a healthy and engaged workforce contributes to our success and creates long-term benefits for our stakeholders, including our employees. Our efforts to promote workplace safety have been recognized by numerous local governments through issuance of safety related certificates and safety awards, including the Healthy Working Lives Awards (Gold Award) issued by the Public Health Scotland, the International Safety Award (ISA) Merit issued by the British Safety Council, and the CeeD Award from the Centre for Engineering Education & Development.

CeeD Award from the Centre for Engineering Education & Development in recognition of high-performance and ongoing investment into workforce engagement and development

Diodes’ health and safety policy is based on our commitment to provide a safe workplace for all employees worldwide and applies to our suppliers, vendors, partners, and service providers. Every employee is responsible for safety, and Diodes encourages employees to notify their manager of any safety related concerns. To that end, we require that all applicable federal, state and local safety requirements are observed. Our commitment is embedded in our Code of Business Conduct, Code of Supplier Conduct and Supplier Letter.

To achieve the goal of having a safe workplace, each site has implemented policies and procedures to address emergency preparedness and response, industrial hygiene and health resources, and use of personal protective equipment (PPE). This preventive safety approach allows us to take protective measures to minimize workplace-related risks. Where possible, we leverage technology and automation tools, including industrial robots, to automate repetitive tasks to reduce workplace injuries and illness. Additionally, we provide a safe and secure working environment to our employees through implementation of effective security equipment (e.g. CCTV and alarm systems), security protocols, and onsite security staff.

In 2021, we launched an Employee Health, Safety, and Environment online survey across our European sites to gather employee inputs on the management team’s commitment and actions regarding environmental, health, and safety matters, and to ensure employees understand the pertinent policies, procedures, and management systems that are in place to promote a safe working environment. Our Chungli, Taiwan manufacturing site as well as the sales and design office in Taipei also received Badges of Accredited Healthy Workplace issued by the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2021 recognizing Diodes’ efforts in fostering a healthy work environment.

Our manufacturing sites are certified to the internationally recognized ISO 14001 standards to help ensure that we continually maintain a safe workplace through an environmental, health and safety (EHS) management system. Additionally, 100% of Diodes’ worldwide manufacturing sites are certified to the ISO45001 standard. These management systems and EHS procedures, and controls help us identify, eliminate and control EHS hazards and risks in the workplace.

In addition to self-assessments conducted to identify workplace-related risks and validate site-level EHS compliance, we also collaborate with our customers and third-party auditors to review our corporate and site-level EHS performance. We take proactive steps to minimize and prevent occupational illness and injuries and to maintain a safe, healthy, secure, and compliant workplace. In addition to deploying good health and safety practices and procedures as a baseline for our business operations, we deploy systems and quantitative occupational health and safety performance metrics across our facilities to create a culture targeting zero accidents, zero injuries, and zero fatalities. With the exception of one manufacturing site, we collect occupational health and safety performance data for both our full time and contract employees. With the exception of two manufacturing sites, we collect near miss data to identify potential areas for improvement. We have recorded zero (0) work-related fatalities in the preceding three reporting years, namely 2019, 2020, and 2021.

The recorded work-related injuries reported at our worldwide manufacturing sites are 40, 43 and 44 for the reporting year 2019, 2020, and 2021 respectively. Note that Diodes acquired Lite-On Semiconductor Corporation (LSC) on November 30, 2020; the preceding statistics for 2021 include the LSC manufacturing sites.

We leverage SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) Semiconductor standards, including accounting metrics TC-SC-320a.1. and TC-SC-320a.2., accounting metrics to assess, monitor, and reduce exposure of employees to human health hazards, as well as to manage our employee health and safety performance.

During the reporting period of calendar years 2019 through 2021, we have incurred zero (0) monetary losses as a result of legal proceedings associated with employee health and safety violations at our manufacturing sites.

Workplace hazards are identified through risk-based proactive reporting and are remediated promptly to ensure a safe working environment. Risk assessments are conducted to assess, monitor, and reduce exposure of employees to human health hazards (e.g. solvents, corrosives, lead, arsenic, cadmium). Ambient air monitoring (e.g. occupational/industrial hygiene sampling) is carried out in most of our manufacturing facilities to assess, monitor, and reduce exposure of employees to human health hazards. When safety incidents occur, they can be effectively managed through our incident response protocols and by employees who have received first aid training to provide temporary relief. This in turn reduces the likelihood of a fatality. Our staff is aware of the safety exits within the premises and where safety equipment (e.g. first aid boxes, defibrillators, and fire extinguishers) are located to promptly address the safety incident.

Employee Wellness

Enabling employees to maintain a balance between work and home lives is important to building a resilient and sustainable workforce. By aligning our business requirements with the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) Code of Conduct, we follow the requirements on working hours and also encourage our employees to utilize their paid time off from work. The physical and mental health and well-being of our employees is a top priority for Diodes because an engaged and healthy workforce brings a positive attitude to work and contributes to higher productivity.

We may conduct topical employee surveys to solicit feedback. For example, in Europe, we launched an Employee Well-being Survey through a third party service provider. The holistic survey approach is structured around the six pillars (job, financial security, health, protection, support, and work-life balance), which collectively make up overall employee well-being, as well as the employment experience of both employers and employees.  The survey results allow us to take proactive steps (e.g. providing more financial awareness training) to manage employee expectations and improve employee well-being.

We provide access to an annual physical examination benefit to most of our employees worldwide, and in some cases, we provide access to occupational health physicians, on-site flu vaccinations and mental health awareness training. At some of our facilities, we provide free access to either onsite fitness facilities or subsidized or low-cost employee gyms.  At many of our sites, employees participate in fitness programs, such as yoga, eating healthy, team walking and cycling challenges, to promote work-life balance. 

To foster team building and healthy lifestyles, we leverage third–party operated platforms to facilitate friendly fitness and health competitions in various areas, e.g. walking challenges, mindfulness exercise. We also support employee participation in recreational clubs, such as table tennis, badminton, basketball, and photography. Our Shanghai manufacturing site hosts an annual sports themed day event to inspire healthy competition amongst departments. 

We reinforce the importance of workplace safety as well as employee health and wellness through employee communications and trainings (e.g. mental health awareness training, safety video trainings, emergency response trainings and drills). The local site management is empowered to organize activities and campaigns (e.g. safety month) to promote employee health, safety, and wellness. For example, our China facilities host annual sports events for employees and some may invite fitness instructors to provide workout exercises to employees.

DSH Site (Shanghai, China) 15th Anniversary Celebration & Carnival

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Grievance and Reporting Mechanism

We ask that each employee be safety conscious. Diodes prioritizes assuring a safe environment and compliance with local safety regulations in the countries where we operate. All employees should understand that Diodes will not tolerate any retaliation against an employee for making safety complaints or reporting safety concerns.

By providing a safe space for grievance and incident reporting where employees feel comfortable about reporting near-misses and feel confident that their concerns will be heard and addressed, we intend to exceed above the basic standards and promote improved mental and physical well-being throughout the work and home lives of our employees.

Diodes respects each individual, welcomes diversity, and embraces different perspectives as a key to innovation. Innovation is one of our Core Values and we are committed to providing a safe and respectful work environment to ensure we bring out the best in our employees. We believe a diverse and inclusive workforce can increase our business performance, innovation, employee motivation, and corporate reputation and enable us to better serve our customers across the globe.

We are focused on human capital management and are committed to fostering a culture of trust and inclusion where everyone is treated with dignity and respect and where diverse perspectives are valued. As a company with global operations, our employee training covers respectful behaviors in a diverse work environment, and our employees are expected to act with integrity, which is also one of our Core Values, and respect each other for who they are regardless of gender, age, race, disability or sexual orientation. We strive to enhance our diverse and inclusive culture where employees have fair and equal consideration for professional growth and career progression at all levels of our organization. Our goal is to realize the untapped potential of all our employees, and we do so by providing them with growth opportunities and by reducing barriers. During the COVID-19 crisis, we shifted to remote work and allowed employees to attend virtual meetings. We provided accommodations to those employees who required remote work and offered virtual learning and webinars as a means to deliver training and information in a safe manner. Our approach towards diversity and inclusion is integral to our business success and our social impact, and it enables us to build an agile and resilient workforce. We support the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including the goal on gender equity.

Our diverse global workforce of over 9,000 personnel is located in 8 countries across three regions. Diodes is proud of our global presence and diversity. Our people reflect the varying cultures, backgrounds, and localities of our customers and business partners, enabling us to develop and deliver products that better serve the needs of our customers and to leverage the service and products of our global supplier base. The map below shows where we are positioned across the globe, with 31 offices worldwide.

Recruitment

Diodes recently welcomed five recent university graduates to its Greenock, UK site. This group of new professionals will start building their careers as Process Engineers, IT Analysts, and Process Development Engineers

Diodes is an equal opportunities employer and has appropriate human resource policies and procedures in place to ensure employees work in an environment free from discrimination and harassment. Our policies and practices allow us to attract and retain a diverse workforce. We give full and fair consideration to applications from people with different ethnicities, backgrounds, experiences, and abilities. By embedding diversity and inclusion in our recruitment process, we are able to draw on the best talent. Our recruitment process is based on merit, focusing on qualified, diverse candidates, and omitting personal characteristics that are unrelated to the job requirement or job performance. Please also refer to our Careers site.

Pay and Gender

In addition to building diversity and promoting inclusion, Diodes strives to be equitable in regards to appropriate compensation for applicable roles and we are committed to complying with applicable wage laws to ensure our employees are fairly compensated in a timely manner. We offer appropriate compensation and benefits that support our employees’ health, financial, and emotional well-being, and we provide fair wages for all employees, regardless of gender or race.  We assess compensation annually to assess pay equity.

In compliance with the UK regulations regarding gender pay gap reporting, Diodes publishes gender pay gap report(s) annually for our UK-based operations. The phrase "gender pay gap" refers to the difference in the average earnings of men and women within the same organization.  This is different from equal pay, which refers to a man and a woman receiving equal pay for the same or similar job. Diodes is committed to fostering a fair working environment, rewarding employees based on their individual performance and contributions. Understanding the gender pay gap helps us to identify and address any imbalance between gender and pay. Diodes’ UK presence consists of several legal entities, with two main employers: Diodes Zetex Semiconductors Limited and Diodes Semiconductors GB Limited. Please refer to the reports for more details. 

• UK Gender Pay Gap Reports

At Diodes, we regard our employees as our most important asset. We are committed to providing a positive environment for the development and achievement of goals for our employees. We invest in our employees not only through fair compensation and benefits but also by providing professional and personal development opportunities.

Diodes believes in the value of continuous improvement so that we can satisfy our stakeholders’ requirements. In its broadest sense, we believe our stakeholders include our employees, partners, and the communities where we operate. We believe in the value of continuous learning and fostering a culture of professional growth.

We offer learning opportunities to employees at all levels, through developmental courses and experiential learning. We encourage our managers to identify the training needs of their employees and to help employees manage their careers, and we encourage our employees to request relevant training to promote career and personal development. Based on their functions and responsibilities, employees are offered development opportunities on job related topics such product-specific training, customer complaints training, and audit processes. Other developmental skill training offerings included team building, effective communication, leadership, and negotiation. 

During the COVID-19 crisis, we shifted to remote work and allowed employees to attend virtual learning and webinars as a means to deliver training and information in a safe manner. Additionally, we engage third party service providers to provide training and webinars on various financial wellness topics such as workplace pension, retirement courses, social security benefits, and early career financial planning to help our employees prepare for personal changes and financial challenges throughout their career.

Each year, we deliver training to our employees worldwide. We intend to enhance our employees' knowledge of a variety of key topics, including ethics, harassment, anti-bribery, and corruption through online and small group training sessions. These topics are important to ensuring our employees operate in a work environment that is diverse, inclusive, safe, and respectful.

We launched a web-based Ethics and Code of Conduct course intended for 100% of our employees worldwide. This comprehensive training covers topics such as ethical business conduct, conflict of interest, insider trading, appropriate workplace behavior, and fair business dealings.

In 2021, we conducted online training on topics such as Antitrust and Bribery, Diversity & Inclusion, and Whistleblowers to our employees worldwide; and, on average, achieved approximately 98% training completion rate. This year, we plan to train our employees worldwide on topics such as workplace harassment, cybersecurity, and handling confidential information.