Providing the right training

The responsibility for staff training and recruitment lies with our business unit management. We focus on induction training at all levels, individual development plans and, where appropriate, cross-border transfers.

 

We provide a mixture of on-the-job training for our operational, sales and service employees and leadership training for our more senior staff. We are committed across the group to in-house training and promotion of internal candidates. We have established a series of long-term incentive schemes for senior management at our business units. General training and development plans are designed to meet the expectations of and prospects for our dedicated and loyal employees.

 

Recruiting from our communities

Our operations recruit where they can from their local communities. As a consequence we recognise the importance of maintaining a strong local reputation and have a group-wide policy that requires our businesses to respect all local cultures and religions. By providing employment opportunities to members of our local communities we reflect the diversity of these communities within our workforce.

 

Employee dialogue

It is our policy to maintain an ongoing dialogue with our employees in local operations, and to listen to their concerns and needs. Our local management teams actively address any day-to-day issues with our employees, although dialogue is also maintained at country level via staff associations and trade unions where recognised.

 

Maintaining a motivated workforce

One of our key strategic objectives is to maintain high levels of operational efficiency. Our senior management teams are continually striving to advance operational excellence, motivating  and encouraging our staff who, through their continued efforts, drive our success. They are the people who interact with our customers, understand their needs and provide the standards of service that are expected. We therefore recognise that maintaining the strength of our experienced management teams is very important in delivering the standards that our customers require and expect. That is why we monitor as a key performance indicator the ‘Senior Management Retention Rate' for each country and region, and for the group as a whole. Statistics for 2007 to 2009 are shown in the table below:

 

Senior management retention rate	2007	2008	2009
UK and Ireland	92%	100%	96%
Nordic	91%	96%	85%
Continent	94%	77%	96%
Group	93%	91%	92%