Why does the Most Wanted Employer rating exist? “The employer market has changed into an employee market, and younger people in particular have changed expectations regarding their employers,” says ZEIT.
The Most Wanted Employer seal and ranking is intended to offer jobseekers and people looking for a career change “valuable support in their search for a suitable job.”
As a medium-sized company, we at ACONEXT do not have the same resources to retain employees as large corporations do – especially when it comes to time and money. And yet: we were able to achieve rank 116 out of a total of the 1,200 top companies in Germany.
Our performance in the service sector is particularly encouraging:
Here we have made it to the ninth place and are thus in the top 10 nationwide in this category. This position is the result of our continuous commitment to improving the world of work and being trusted by our employees. Whether we actively listen to our colleagues or optimize our shared workplace, it is the commitment and passion we have for our team members that might set us apart from other companies. This success shows that we are steering the right course, motivating us to continue to do our best and not rest on our laurels.
We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation to our HR and leadership team. Simultaneously, being listed here, reflects the commitment of our entire team across all company locations. Only by working together, we are able to maintain and further strengthen our corporate values and our mission.
Further information on the company ranking in the category “Services” can be found here.
The overall ranking of the 1,200 most popular employers in Germany here.
More on this topic will appear in a later issue of ZEIT Campus magazine.
After four months of renovations, ACONEXT has officially opened its new office at our Fellbach site. The changes are visible – from a modern IT infrastructure to the redesigned spaces. Yet, the essence remains unchanged: our dedicated employees, who form the backbone of our company.
Our company’s relocation to the so-called ‘Rauleder’ building signifies an important step on our journey, reflecting our commitment to fostering a better work environment. Our aim is to create a workspace where everyone can unleash their full potential while being part of a dedicated team.
Consolidating our three smaller offices at the Fellbach site into a single, larger workspace enables more effective collaboration and cultivates team spirit. With an area of approximately 1,500 square meters, our new offices provide not only more space but also a more pleasant working environment. The move was undoubtedly challenging, but thanks to the hard work of our team, we have been fully operational in Fellbach since January 8th.
Our old adress:
Wilhelm-Pfitzer-Straße 26
70736 Fellbach
Our new adress:
Max-Planck-Straße 29
70736 Fellbach
Fun Fact: Did you know that the ‘Rauleder’ building once housed Daimler’s development department? Even Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Chief Norbert Haug was active within these walls. It’s a venue where pivotal decisions were made – reportedly, Formula 1 ace Lewis Hamilton inked his contract with the Silver Arrows right here.
The inauguration of our new ACONEXT office is not just symbolic gesture, but a practical advancement as well. With cutting-edge amenities, including an innovation hub, multiple TISAX-certified offices, and an environment brimming with inspiration, we stand ready to confront the challenges of tomorrow and pioneer innovative solutions.
Step into our new domain – welcome to ACONEXT Fellbach!
We at ACONEXT are thrilled and proud to announce that we have been awarded as a Top Employer – Germany for the ninth consecutive year! This achievement holds significant importance for us, as it not only acknowledges our ongoing efforts to provide exceptional employee conditions, but also highlights our ability to stand out as a medium-sized German company alongside major players from diverse industries.
On January 25, 2024, our team traveled to Düsseldorf to personally accept our Top Employer award after four years. Under the theme “The Art of Being a Top Employer,” this special evening emphasized creativity, courage, and passion. It focused on how, as a collective, we can positively shape the future of work by daring to innovate, learning from mistakes, thinking outside the box, and celebrating successes.
Explore more from the event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwGCWKj0mQI
As a company, we regard this perspective as equally vital for our colleagues as well as for the future of the automotive industry and progress in tech, engineering, and IT. Pleased that ACONEXT has been acknowledged as a Top Employer in Germany on.
The acknowledgment of us being a certified Top Employer in Germany validates our commitment to prioritizing the development and well-being of our employees, enabling us to provide an outstanding working and growth environment.
The Top Employers Institute assesses companies based on their best practices across six overarching HR dimensions and 20 HR areas, including people strategy, work environment, talent acquisition, learning, wellbeing, and diversity & inclusion. David Plink, CEO of the Top Employers Institute, highlighted the exceptional performance of the certified Top Employers 2024 and praised their dedicated efforts towards employee development and satisfaction.
The Top Employers Institute is globally renowned for certifying outstanding employee conditions. Through their certification program, they empower companies to evaluate and enhance their employee conditions. This year, over 2,300 Top Employers across 122 countries and regions on five continents were honored. Together, these certified Top Employers positively impact the lives of over 9 million employees worldwide.
More information can be found at: https://www.top-employers.com/de/about-us/
We also extend our congratulations to all other companies who have earned the Top Employer 2024 certification. It is an honor to be part of this community of outstanding employers, and we look forward to reconnecting at the Certification Celebration DACH 2025.
Our review of the Formula Student 2023 reveals the impressive achievements of the Esslingen racing team, upon which we, as partners and sponsors, can proudly look back. Stallardo 23, the race car emerging from the fusion of combustion and electric motors, symbolizes the team’s innovation and collaboration. May 2023 marked a significant moment when the racing team presented its Stallardo 23 at the official rollout at the Esslingen University of Applied Sciences. Not only was a racing car presented here, but a technological symbiosis that will certainly shape future mobility.
In late summer, the Formula Student East and Alpe Adria became the venues for the team’s outstanding performances. With a 1st place in autocross, an impressive 3rd place in skid, and the well-deserved 1st place overall, Stallardo 23 demonstrated its convincing high-speed qualities.
As a long-standing gold sponsor, ACONEXT has not only provided financial support but also shared knowledge, such as in providing a leadership seminar and a team-building event for the student team. This close collaboration reflects not only a dedication to talent development but also our company’s commitment to creative innovations in the fields of engineering and IT.
The Esslingen racing team demonstrated its understanding of the successful integration of traditional automotive development and cutting-edge electric propulsion in the last season. As a development service provider for automotive manufacturers, suppliers, and the aerospace industry, we are proud to inspire and support the next generation of engineers and developers.
Our focus on the World Creativity and Innovation Day in April 2023 was also dedicated to the Formula Student. It underscores our belief that creativity and innovation are key elements in solving global challenges. Our partnership with the E-Motion Racing Team Aalen e.V., which we also support as a sponsor in the context of the Formula Student Electric, demonstrates this commitment to groundbreaking technologies.
We proudly look back on an outstanding 2023 season and look forward to continuing to advance innovation, teamwork, and talent development in the automotive future.
Digitalization, globalization, rapidly accelerating communication, and daily technological innovations: As a society and as businesses, we increasingly face larger and more frequent challenges. Shaping the future is anything but simple. In short, we live in a VUCA world, according to various economic experts, journalists, and influencers.
What does VUCA stand for?
VOLATILITY
UNCERTAINTY
COMPLEXITY
AMBIGUITY
Until 2019, many dismissed the abbreviation, originating from the US military and used to describe the post-Cold War multilateral world, as a trendy buzzword. However, the VUCA concept, developed by leadership experts Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus in 1987, is realistic and solution oriented. VUCA aims to analyze difficult situations, problems, and challenges from multiple perspectives and then strategically address them on several levels.
Tackling VUCA:
VISION
UNDERSTANDING
CLARITY
AGILITY
From March 2020, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic made it clear that we were in a time of very uncertain outcomes. We had to globally adapt to facing challenging scenarios that surpassed anything seen before. Despite the uncertainty, it was our vision to retain our workforce.
As a medium-sized company, ACONEXT also had to face extreme VUCA challenges: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity became part of our daily business and work routine, especially during the initial lockdown. By the end of March 2020, numerous customer orders were halted or postponed. The economic situation, like for all other companies and industries, was challenging. Despite the uncertainty, our vision was to retain our workforce. It was clear from the beginning that we had to consider this as our paramount objective; without exceptions.
The management continued to operate mainly from our premises to be able to respond to all processes, changes, and government decisions with agility. Initially, we allowed our employees to work 100% remotely from home, if possible. This transition was relatively smooth for all of us, since a hybrid work model had already been part of our work culture at all our locations before the pandemic. Consequently, most colleagues were familiar with working digitally and from home. Additionally, we hardly had to invest more than usual in setting up home offices, as we had already cultivated this practice in the past.
We maintained parity in our approach across all employees, regardless of their employment status. As a result, over 80% of our workforce operated remotely. However, management and leadership continued to operate predominantly from our premises to maintain agility in responding to evolving processes, changes, and governmental directives.
We acted on the understanding that following an economic crisis, a new upswing would inevitably follow, and from the necessity of retaining our expertise in-house to prevent a potential shortage of skilled workforce in the near future.
Meeting our workforce with honesty and understanding at all times resulted in the majority feeling supported and secure. Despite implementing measures such as short-time work, which made the situation challenging for everyone, at ACONEXT, we prioritized transparency to minimize uncertainty for our employees. Clarity was key in this regard.
The entire staff received regular updates and were kept informed by the company’s leadership. Within each team, there was a continuous effort to gather feedback on the well-being of individual team members. By consistently approaching our workforce with honesty and understanding, the majority felt well-supported and secure. Moreover, despite the circumstances, we didn’t observe an increase in health-related absences throughout the entire period. For colleagues facing challenges due to the pandemic, we offered close, personal support.
ACONEXT today:
Our prediction that the overall situation would improve proved correct, as ACONEXT began to see a slight upward trend from May 2020 onwards. From October 2020 until mid-2021, we experienced a very solid recovery phase, and since 2022, we have been back in a stable growth phase.
In the face of challenges, we strived not to perceive the situation as a threat, but rather as a chance for growth. The crisis became a shared chance for our workforce, especially within individual teams, to grow even closer together. Thanks to courage, solidarity, and perseverance, we succeeded in overcoming the pandemic and its effects united. Between March 2020 and January 2024, our team grew from just under 300 to now more than 650 employees. We can proudly claim that, thanks to our focus on the people behind our company, we were able to turn a very difficult situation into a success story.
