Recruiting and Retention
Recruiting Employees
NI recruiting efforts are so efficient that they are often referred to as the “recruiting machine.” By using best practices across teams, recruiters can focus on obtaining the information they need to make a successful hiring decision for full-time, part-time, or intern/co-op positions. A comprehensive intern and co-op program is at the core of the company’s hiring strategy. In 2011, 61 percent of eligible senior interns accepted full-time job offers for permanent positions at headquarters, exceeding the hiring goal of 50 percent.
In 2011, the total number of employees increased by 20 percent.
Employees by Region
Totals are for the number of employees as of December 31 in the given year.
| Type of Employee | Designation | Category | Americas | Europe1 | Asia/Rest of World1,4 | Total |
| Regular | Full-Time | All | 3,193 | 1,567 | 1,430 | 6,190 |
| Exempt | 2,687 | 1,008 | 1,407 | 5,102 | ||
| Nonexempt | 506 | 559 | 23 | 1,088 | ||
| Part-Time | All | 34 | 56 | 1 | 91 | |
| Exempt | 31 | 21 | 0 | 52 | ||
| Nonexempt | 3 | 35 | 1 | 39 | ||
| Total Regular Employees | 3,227 | 1,623 | 1,431 | 6,281 | ||
| Intern/Co-Op2 | Full-Time | All | 205 | 41 | 2 | 248 |
| Exempt | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ||
| Nonexempt | 205 | 41 | 2 | 248 | ||
| Part-Time | All | 78 | 35 | 5 | 118 | |
| Exempt | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ||
| Nonexempt | 78 | 35 | 5 | 118 | ||
| Total Intern/Co-Op Employees | 283 | 76 | 7 | 366 | ||
| Other Contracts5 | Full-Time | All | 45 | 307 | 12 | 364 |
| Exempt | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ||
| Nonexempt | 45 | 307 | 12 | 364 | ||
| Part-Time | Exempt | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Nonexempt | 9 | 12 | 37 | 58 | ||
| Total Other Contract Employees | 54 | 319 | 49 | 422 | ||
| Total by Region 20113 | 3,582 | 2,018 | 1,487 | 7,087 | ||
| Total by Region 20103 | 2,665 | 1,892 | 1,315 | 5,920 | ||
| Total by Region 20093,6 | 2,619 | 1,699 | 1,184 | 5,502 | ||
| Total by Region 20083,6 | 2,551 | 1,451 | 1,155 | 5,157 | ||
| Total by Region 20073,6 | 2,420 | 1,268 | 959 | 4,647 |
1In the Europe and Asia/Rest of World (RoW) columns, totals in the Exempt row are for professional employees and totals in the Nonexempt row are for administrative employees.
2The total for US intern/co-op employees includes all employees of that type hired in 2011.
3In this total, two part-time employees are counted as one full-time employee.
4Asia/RoW includes branch offices in Asia as well as Canada, Brazil, and Mexico.
5NI does not track the number of all supervised workers. This total includes workers from temporary employment agencies but does not include employees of subcontractors, such as cleaning personnel, working for NI on a long-term basis.
6Other contract employees are not included in this total. NI began tracking other contract employees for this report in 2009.
Retaining Employees
Given all that NI invests in finding and hiring the best and brightest employees who fit well into the company culture, retaining employees is essential to the company’s success. People stay at NI because of the culture and core values of respect, honesty, dedication to customers, and commitment to innovation.
Employee Turnover Rate
NI has a consistently low employee turnover rate. In 2011, the turnover rate for all employees worldwide was 8.3 percent, which is 39.4 percent lower than the US industry average.
1Industry data is from Radford Surveys and Consulting, which provides biannual turnover data. The 2011 industry data is from October 1, 2011.
Diversity and Inclusion
NI is committed to maintaining a workforce that reflects the faces of worldwide community members, customers, and colleagues. NI promotes equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees by recruiting, hiring, training, and promoting persons in all job titles on the basis of job-related ability and performance, without regard to race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, or national origin. NI also encourages employees to participate in community organizations that foster social and economic opportunity for all members of the community. A growing number of extracurricular groups at NI headquarters helps employees meet each other and find something in common with their colleagues outside work.
Board Member and Officer Diversity
If the percentage of board members or officers changes from one year to another without a change in the number of female or minority groups shown in these tables, a board member or officer was added or removed in that year.
NI Board Member Diversity
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |||||
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |
| Female | 1 | 12.5% | 1 | 17.0% | 1 | 14.3% | 1 | 14.3% |
| Minority Groups | 1 | 12.5% | 1 | 17.0% | 1 | 14.3% | 1 | 14.3% |
NI Officer Diversity
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |||||
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |
| Female | 1 | 4.0% | 1 | 4.0% | 1 | 4.0% | 1 | 3.6% |
| Minority Groups | 2 | 8.0% | 2 | 7.0% | 2 | 7.0% | 3 | 10.7% |
Jenn Giles
HR Representative
In her second year as a marketing editor for NI, Jenn Giles began supervising her department’s interns and discovered her passion for working with college students. She found that she enjoyed ensuring the interns had a positive and worthwhile experience at NI. Subsequently, Jenn moved to the human resources department when a position became available, and she now manages the internship program at NI corporate headquarters. The internship program includes the best and the brightest students working within software and hardware R&D, the Engineering Leadership Program, marketing, IT, and finance. As the company strives to hire at least 50 percent of its interns into full-time positions, Jenn helps ensure that the internship program continually evolves to support these employees’ unique needs