Our workplace
We’re engaging employees to shape a culture rooted in our Core Values.
How do we solve the unsolvable? By bringing together the brightest minds and empowering them to reach new heights. Our workplace programs are designed to facilitate collaboration, enhance safety, spur innovation, and accelerate employee growth. We strive to offer inclusive development opportunities and benefits that meet our employees’ holistic needs. This supports our goal to build on our high-performance culture with best-in-class employee engagement. It also bolsters our work to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace—work that begins by expanding our talent pipeline and collaborating with industry and community partners to create more opportunities for women and underrepresented students and professionals in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
In 2022, we opened the doors of our new India Center for Engineering and our Korea Technology Center. As we expanded Lam’s operations, our Core Values and Purpose kept our global workforce united and aligned. With a focus on engagement, we increased employee outreach and grew our employee resource groups (ERGs). We also rolled out new manager resources and cutting-edge benefits that further empower our employees to lead and thrive.
Workplace1
| Goal | Status | 2022 progress |
|---|---|---|
| Goal: Build on our high-performance culture with global employee engagement at the global benchmark, as measured by our annual employee surveys |
Status:
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2022 progress:
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| Goal: Maintain an OSHA recordable injury rate at or below 0.4 annually |
Status:
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2022 progress:
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| Goal: Increase the proportion of women (globally) and underrepresented employees (U.S.) across the company |
Status:
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2022 progress:
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2022 highlights
Matured our engagement process with new data inputs and a pulse survey
Jumped 68 places to #219 on Forbes’ list of the World’s Top Female-Friendly Companies
Implemented a new Student Loan Assistance program in the U.S.
Expanded our enhanced paid parental leave and paid bonding leave policies to our employees across the globe
- Unless stated otherwise, we aim to complete each of our ESG goals by 2025.
Engaging and
developing our people
Lam has a legacy of strong employee engagement and development, and those priorities came to the forefront in 2022. Throughout the year, we up-skilled our people managers to help them support their global teams. We also made it a priority to maintain workplace flexibility while keeping our employees connected, inspired, and engaged. These efforts helped us land at #555 on Forbes’ list of the World’s Best Employers and #29 among the best employers recognized in the U.S.
Turning our employees’ insights into action
There’s power in really listening, and we trust our employees to know what they need to succeed. We regularly engage employees to find out what’s working and how we can better meet their evolving needs. The key is to turn those insights into action—in the form of innovative development opportunities, benefits programs, and more. That’s how we deliver a positive employee experience that supports recruitment, retention, and professional growth.
Our engagement strategy:
Listen through annual, pulse, and lifecycle surveys; one-on-one meetings with managers; discussions with Lam’s leaders, and team meetings
Learn through sophisticated data collection that captures and cross-references key employee insights
Improve our workplace programs and practices by sharing key insights with teams who have the power to act
In 2022, we matured our engagement processes to improve data collection and analysis and make survey insights more accessible and actionable across Lam’s teams. We conducted our annual survey in June, with seven new data inputs to measure key engagement correlations. We also added two new data outputs to enable cross-program analysis and shared the results with six internal teams.
After the survey, we leveraged online learning and a new Experience Progress Roadmap to drive employee feedback and conversations. Another feature was a short pulse survey administered in October to continue engaging with employees on key topics.
Making the most of our employee engagement surveys
Survey design
Our annual engagement survey in June included 17 questions across 5 categories
actions
& diversity
effectiveness
We added 5 new questions to reflect core engagement drivers:
- Cared for at work
- Ethical behavior
- Company values
- Continuous improvement
- Manager support
And followed up with a 3-question pulse survey in October.
Scores
employee
engagement score
Falling one point below the
global top-tier benchmark
response rate
One percentage point below the global top-tier benchmark
2022 Inclusion Index
Represents the combined scores of three questions driving inclusion, authenticity, and equal opportunity
Insights & actions
Based on our top 3 survey insights, employees say they:
- Feel supported by their managers and cared for at work
- Believe Lam has a strong culture of ethics and recognition
- Desire varied and timely communication
Employees’ feedback indicates a high rate of satisfaction with areas including:
- Recognition
- Manager support
- Feeling cared for at work
- Career path opportunities
We responded to survey insights with 3 key actions:
- Enhanced inclusion and diversity training with new INCLUDE manager training
- Launched culture workshops for new employees
- Guided managers to prioritize teamwide communication
Supporting a sense of connection
Since 2020, many new employees have worked with their teams remotely. To help them build a strong sense of connection, Lam’s global Human Resources team launched new culture workshops for these employees in 2022. During 90-minute sessions, Lam’s senior leaders demonstrated how we put our Core Values into action. In total, they engaged more than 2,700 employees during 37 global sessions delivered in each region’s local language.
Additionally, we facilitated virtual executive employee engagement sessions for those hired within the past six to nine months, in which employees shared their experiences with Lam’s chief human resource officer and CEO. These leaders also hosted roundtables with managers of highly engaged teams, which our sites modeled in various regions. Members of Lam’s Board got involved by engaging with recently hired college graduates to create an opportunity for two-way feedback and insights.
Being able to speak directly with Board members helped me connect to our company’s culture and understand that we are all one team working together.”
Xiaomin Yun
product engineer 4 at CSBG
Embracing workplace flexibility
Several years after the emergence of the pandemic, workplace flexibility is here to stay. In 2022, we updated our workplace modalities to include onsite, onsite flex, virtual flex, and remote. Providing workplace flexibility supports an inclusive culture by enabling employees to work in ways that meet their unique needs. In fact, our virtual-flex employees scored the highest on engagement—exceeding the technology industry benchmark. Employees attributed their positive experiences to Lam’s culture, well-being programs, and strong employee support. We’re proud to see our people thrive in this environment and rolled out additional resources to support them in 2022.
Our return-to-work pilot program provided employees with the following tools:
- Home office stipend to help offset remote work expenses
- New manager training on “Leading in a Hybrid Environment,” along with guidance on how to host virtual meetings and keep remote participants engaged
- Internal sites providing information on Lam’s virtual-flex and in-person policies
Up-skilling our teams
From the first day employees join us, we put them on a trajectory for long-term growth. We use layered development programs to support Lam’s employees and leaders through experience and education.
Lam earned Training Magazine’s 2022 Training APEX Award, which recognizes organizations that excel in training and human capital development.
2022 Training and
development highlights
increase in employees who participated in Lam coaching program over 2021
increase in mentorship pairs over 2021, with a 95%+ mentee satisfaction score
employees participated in our Leap technical training program
Leap certifications awarded
To expand this programming, we launched Supervisor Essentials, a learning program designed specifically for manufacturing supervisors, in 2022. We also continued several ongoing development opportunities, such as BetterUp coaching for new managers, our Targeted Manager Support program, our enterprise-wide mentoring program, and our Leap technical training and certification program for new hires and Lam engineers.
Celebrating and caring for our employees
Our employees are high achievers. We strive to equip them with resources for overall health and well-being, while making them feel appreciated and inspired to keep reaching new heights. Our benefits and recognition programs support these aspirations and reinforce Lam’s Core Values.
In 2022, Lam earned GOLD Recognition from the American Heart Association for implementing best practices that build a culture of health for our employees.
Recognizing exceptional performance
As we mature our engagement processes, we’re delving into the link between engagement and recognition. Recent research indicates that organizations with meaningful recognition programs have a 14% employee engagement, productivity, and performance edge. The data also places leadership support and recognition among the top most effective non-financial factors for retention.1
In 2022, we continued our Above and Beyond recognition program, in which employees can acknowledge their colleagues’ great work and embodiment of Lam’s Core Values. We also recognized employees’ commitment to enhancing sustainability through our environmental stewardship awards.
For the second year, we held a Gratitude Summit, in which employees could attend a series of workshops sponsored by Workhuman. We also worked with Workhuman to conduct a cross-program analysis of our employee engagement survey results so we could better understand the intersection of employee recognition and engagement.
Delivering inclusive benefits
Employees can be more present at work when they have a foundation of overall well-being, whether that means taking time off to be with family, getting regular check-ups, or improving financial health. We strive to continuously enhance our benefits to support the needs of Lam’s diverse employee base. Our goal is to deliver resources that support all aspects of our employees’ well-being and health.
One of our focus areas is increasing family and parental support. In 2021, we enhanced our U.S. parental leave policy to give birth mothers up to six months of paid parental leave. We also began providing 16 weeks of paid bonding leave to all other new parents—regardless of gender. In 2022, we expanded both policies to our employees across the globe.
In March, we teamed up with Fidelity to launch our new Student Loan Assistance program for eligible U.S. employees. The program offers $400 per month to eligible employees who have a qualified student loan for their own education in an accredited program. Employees can take advantage of the benefits tax-free, with the money transferring directly to their loan provider.
Additional benefits for 2022 include:
- Elective fertility preservation through Anthem*
- Standalone ID theft protection through LifeLock*
- Accident and hospital indemnity coverage through MetLife*
- Healthcare concierge and advocacy service through Health Advocate*
- Personal Observance Day*
- Malaysia Fitness Center
- *For U.S. employees only
2022 Benefits highlights
employees benefited from our new
Student Loan Assistance program.
health and well-being events,
including a global virtual health fair,
webinars, challenges, and more.
Explore our employee
benefits programs 
- Deloitte, “Recognition programmes. Are they important?” https://www2.deloitte.com/ie/en/pages/deloitte-private/articles/recognition-programmes.html
Shaping an inclusive culture
In the dynamic semiconductor industry, our culture keeps us strong and steady. It’s what brings us together—and what sets our business apart. At Lam, we’re building a culture based on our company’s Core Values. We welcome diverse perspectives and strive to create an environment where every employee feels they belong. These values are key to attracting, retaining, and developing highly skilled talent. They fuel innovation, build mutual respect, and enable us to better serve our customers, colleagues, and other stakeholders.
Setting the intention
Our Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) strategy is led by Lam’s global head of inclusion and diversity. It includes three pillars:
- Fostering inclusion
- Increasing diversity
- Sharing our progress
Making our
workplace inclusive
for people of all abilities
Lam’s Employee Relations team works closely with employees who have disabilities to provide workplace accommodations as needed. Together we develop creative and effective solutions, such as job modifications for physical restrictions, sign language interpretation, and schedule accommodations to minimize obstacles or barriers.
Lam’s leaders take an intentional and progress-oriented approach to build inclusive behaviors across our organization. We aspire to increase the proportion of underrepresented employees and women in Lam’s workforce. In this regard, skill-building and accountability are key. As Lam’s leaders created their performance and development plans in 2022, we asked them to set a target focused on I&D for the first time.
Additionally, more than 1,700 global people managers participated in our new INCLUDE training which aims to expand inclusive leadership capabilities, and further embed I&D as a Core Value shaping our culture. We also administered our Hire Like a Champion training for the second year, which supports inclusive hiring practices. The 2022 training included cohorts in the U.S. and Asia, which focused on recruiting high-potential minority and female candidates.
Our commitment to non-discrimination
We aim to maintain and cultivate a workplace where every person has equal opportunities to thrive. Our Global Employment Practices Statement declares our support of workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining, to the extent permitted under local laws.
In line with the highest ethical and legal standards of labor and employment laws in every country where Lam maintains our workforce, we are committed to equal opportunity and non-discrimination in all our employment practices. We prohibit unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in any aspect of employment, including recruiting, hiring, promotion, and compensation. In 2022, we published a new Human Rights policy to further ensure the protection, safety, and dignity of all Lam employees.
Our 2022 workforce at a glance
Board gender diversity
Board ethnic diversity
| Ethnic diversity | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|
| Asian | 1 | 3 |
| White | 2 | 3 |
Advancing equity at Lam
At Lam, we are committed to promoting equity in our workforce. To demonstrate this commitment, we have expanded our Employee Relations function globally, providing managers and employees with a dedicated team to surface and resolve a wide range of workplace issues.
To ensure accountability, we regularly measure our progress in recruiting, hiring, and retaining a diverse workforce. We also conduct an annual pay equity assessment of our compensation practices and systems to promote fair and equitable compensation in our workforce.
We also leverage the expertise of a nationally recognized law firm and its data-driven statistical model to objectively analyze our pay practices and identify trends and patterns. We use this information to maintain and improve Lam’s global compensation philosophy and practices.
- Note: Minimal rounding has been applied to these data.
2022 Employee demographics
U.S. employees
U.S. gender and ethnicity
U.S. veteran status1
Global employees by generation
Employees who disclosed their
disability status (global)1
- Does not include Silfex.
- Note: Minimal rounding has been applied to these data. Data do not include Talus.
Learn more about the transformative learning initiatives launched through our new social impact program.
Increasing opportunities for diverse talent in STEM
Everyone deserves the chance to succeed. Yet diverse talent remains largely underrepresented in STEM. Too often, students and candidates face institutional, social, and economic barriers that make it difficult to break into these fields and advance. At Lam, we believe it’s time for that to change, so we use our resources, reach, and leadership position to move the needle. We collaborate with universities and academic organizations to provide internships, fund fellowships, and support our recruitment goals, in addition to sponsoring and attending key industry events to amplify and recruit diverse STEM professionals.
Our 2022 activities included attending AfroTech’s annual conference, which brings together Black entrepreneurs and innovators. Internally, our Talent Acquisition team piloted a new centralized talent-sourcing model in the U.S., which emphasizes outreach to diverse candidates and includes a diverse-slate-of-candidates goal. Other ongoing pipeline-building activities include:
U.S. university collaborations
In 2022, we continued our collaboration with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) for the second year. Lam provided $100,000 to fund 20 scholarships at UNCF schools, including historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). We also launched new alumni and student recruiting relationships including:
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- National Society of Black Engineers
- Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
- Spelman College
U.S. academic internships and fellowships
Lam serves as a key partner for the National Consortium of Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering (GEM), which provides graduate-level fellowships to underrepresented candidates in engineering and science. In 2022, we provided $460,000 to enable 20 GEM fellowships—up from 13 fellowships in 2021. GEM also provides its fellows with exposure to industry internship programs, including our own. We were proud to welcome GEM fellows as part of a highly diverse and talented intern cohort in 2022.
Global academic scholarship awards
When we see passion and talent, we go all in to help STEM students succeed. In 2022, several of our locations in Asia provided scholarships aimed at increasing I&D in STEM. Lam provided Thesis Award scholarships to three universities in China, as well as scholarships for women in STEM in Taiwan.
2022 workforce diversity highlights
increase in proportion of female employees in Lam’s global workforce from 2021
increase in proportion of underrepresented employees in Lam’s U.S. workforce from 2021
fellowships funded through our collaboration with GEM
diversity for global intern class
hires through partnership with National Society of Black Engineers
Learn more about our
university partnerships
and programs
Supporting women in our industry and workforce
Despite some improvement, women remain largely underrepresented in global STEM careers.1 We are committed to shifting this gender imbalance—especially in the semiconductor industry—and we know progress must start from within. One of our workplace goals is to increase the proportion of women throughout our company by 2025. To drive progress, we strive to amplify the voice of our industry’s women leaders while creating a workplace environment where women can excel and advance.
In 2022, we updated our internal hiring practices to strive to include a female employee on every interview panel. Compared to 2021, we increased the proportion of women at our company by 3.0%. We supported female STEM leaders through company webinars, industry conferences, and global ERGs. One highlight was attending our first in-person Grace Hopper Celebration—the premier U.S. conference for women in tech. During the conference, three of Lam’s female leaders hosted an inclusion-focused career development workshop. Themed “Breaking Barriers Through Innovation,” the breakout session engaged more than 200 participants.
Lam also sponsored the 2022 Diversity in Tech Symposium, themed “Advancing Climate Resilience.” The symposium was hosted by the University of California’s EDGE in Tech Initiative, which is committed to addressing challenges faced by women and other under-included identities in engineering and computer science. Also in California, Lam attended the Women in Semiconductor Hardware conference. We were a finalist for the Designing the Difference award, which recognizes companies that are making a significant and measurable impact on advancing the industry through I&D.
- Catalyst, “Women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).” https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-stem/#:~:text=Women%20with%20bachelor's%20degrees%20and,women's%20overall%20underrepresentation%20in%20STEM.
At Lam’s new site in Malaysia, our manufacturing leadership team boasts 50% female representation.
The Lam India Women’s Network (LIWN) was our first ERG launched in India. LIWN brings female employees together to focus on personal and professional development, networking and collaboration, and business impact. During 2022, LIWN hosted a financial awareness session, career-mapping and Gallup Strengths profiling workshops, and many other events.
Connecting employees through ERGs
Lam’s ERGs create a welcoming space where employees empower each other to learn, develop, advocate, and lead. Under our model, each ERG develops its own charter, initiatives, and goals, which support ESG progress, mentorship, inclusion, community outreach, and employee engagement.
Members of our CEO staff engage closely with ERGs and serve as executive sponsors for each group. The support goes two ways, with sponsors often seeking feedback on emerging and ongoing company initiatives. In 2022, our leaders held roundtables with global ERGs, including a U.S. roundtable where over 80 participants joined Lam’s CEO. Globally, we continued to grow our ERG network, achieving above-average Fortune 500 participation. Our global ERGs include:
ERG fast facts
We now have 15 ERGs in 6 countries with 3,500+ members.1
ERGs hosted 60+ events in 2022.
We began promoting ERGs through our onboarding materials to help employees get involved right away.
Cultivating inclusion year-round
Creating an inclusive culture is a year-round commitment. It’s part of how we show up at work each day. We also take time to highlight important moments throughout the year that honor, celebrate, or affect diverse employee groups. Examples from 2022 included:
- Black History Month: honored with a letter to employees from Vince Brigman, Lam’s corporate vice president of global finance and corporate functions operations, who also sponsors two ERGs
- International Women’s Day: celebrated with a “Break the Bias” webinar and campaign promoted by our LIWN ERG
- Earth Month: included activities hosted by our global chapters of LESC and the local green teams
- PRIDE: celebrated by Lam’s Pride ERG, which hit a new milestone by growing to 200 members
- Global Diversity Awareness Month: featured several activities, including a keynote on “Reimagining Global Inclusion,” an interactive theatrical activity, and interactive conversations on “Leading from the Top”
Learn more about
one of our newest
ERGs, LESC
Women should not have to settle based on limitations and boundaries. At Lam, we’re asking what can be done to remove those barriers, instead. Our Women in Global Operations ERG helps members address potential barriers by growing their network, finding mentorship and guidance, and building long-term careers at Lam.”
Soon Kuek
managing director and general manager, Lam Malaysia manufacturing
- Employees may belong to multiple ERGs as we
encourage allyship and cross-cultural engagement.
Keeping our employees safe
Ensuring employees’ safety is fundamental to creating a positive work experience—whether it be in an office, manufacturing plant, or lab. We follow strict safety protocols and prioritize training and risk controls to help employees safely perform their tasks.1
Our global EHS policy applies to every employee and outlines our commitment to protecting all Lam personnel and minimizing risk.
We also maintain a single site certification at our Fremont, California, headquarters for ISO 45001, the globally recognized standard for occupational health and safety management systems.
In 2022, our Tualatin, Oregon, site achieved Voluntary Protection Program Star Status, the highest health and safety award bestowed by OSHA’s U.S. and Oregon divisions. The award recognizes Lam’s low illness and injury rates and our commitment to a culture of safety—setting us on a bold trajectory for continuous improvement and accountability for our safety performance. Overall, we conducted more than 264,000 Risk Management by Walking Around inspections, a process used to identify and track safety issues and implement corrective actions.
Learn more about our safety
program and governance
At Lam Korea, we apply a ‘planning, execution, validation, and problem-solving’ cycle, based on the safety and health management practices put forth by ISO 45001. We strive to monitor and address risks that can lead to safety and health issues while building a safety culture for all employees.”
Andy Yeo
EHS specialist at Lam Korea
Working toward our safety goal
One of our ESG goals is to achieve an OSHA recordable injury rate at or below 0.4. In 2022, we achieved a rate of 0.35. Lam’s growth in 2022 posed additional safety challenges, as we increased the number of temporary employees working in our operations. To offset this challenge, we invested in prevention-based education, training, awareness, and emergency preparedness programs.
Examples of these investments include our general health and safety training, physical training program, and ergonomic assessments. We also continued our Safety Awareness for Everyone (SAFE) program, which we use to update employees on emerging safety issues. We employ SAFE to prevent future issues by including lessons and stories based on incidents from the past.
Recordable injury rate (Lam vs. industry)
2022 safety performance
hours employee safety
training completed
injuries attributed to strains,
sprains, slips, trips, and falls
fatalities
Innovation Spotlight
Enabling a safe, smooth shift to next-generation product design
Typically, engineers design products using 3D models, then deliver manufacturing information in 2D drawings. At Lam, we’re moving to a new model-based definition (MBD) format, in which engineers embed all product data—including assembly-level bills of materials (BOMs)—directly in their 3D models.
Using MDB reduces design time and creates a single resource for Lam’s engineers, manufacturers, suppliers, and customers. However, there are challenges in making the transition. For example, to create a 3D spare-parts identifier, which field technicians and customers use to service tools and replace parts, engineers must manually copy part numbers from a BOM and paste them into a computer-aided design model for verification.
Ramanathan Kannappan, a Bangalore-based senior designer at Lam, identified several issues with this process. Copying the wrong part number or overwriting data can lead field technicians and customers to order the wrong part, and engineers risk repetitive strain injuries by completing the same task hundreds of times.
As a solution, Ramanathan created a macro for the BOM that identifies duplicate parts, prevents data overrides, and improves project communication. Since implementing the macro, engineers have nearly eliminated data errors and cut project-ownership times by up to 50%.
