Objective 2 - Preferred employer
| All sites must develop and implement a local plan to be a preferred employer. Taking into account the local culture and labour practices, this plan should strive to: retain our employees, create a positive image towards future valuable employees, encourage our employees to develop their careers. |
Umicore also made significant progress in implementing its second social objective in 2007. More than 50% of the sites have implemented a local plan to be a preferred employer, while more than 40% are developing such a plan (figure 2). In 2006, these percentages were lower because many sites assumed that this objective was too ambitious for their small or medium size operations. In most of the countries where it is active, Umicore is not aiming to become a nationally recognized employer. The scale of some of its operations and the fact that Umicore is a business-to-business company with rather low visibility to the general public, means that such an ambition would be unrealistic. Each site is required to draft a plan to identify relevant schools and institutions with which they aim to build contacts and offer partnerships such as site visits and trainee or research programmes. Nurturing such contacts should allow Umicore’s operations to attract talent for the future.
Alongside the external dimension of being a preferred employer is the internal view of people already working inside the company. Two additional Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) show positive results in that regard. Only 3.4% of the employees decided to leave the company on a voluntary basis in 2007. This worldwide average figure contains regional variations, with Asia and North America showing higher numbers. In most cases this number is lower than the market average. Also the percentage of days lost through sickness (absenteeism rate at 2.79%) is lower than the market.
Another aspect of the objective of being a preferred employer is to gauge and act upon the opinion of people already working for the company. Our most important feedback comes from the people survey that Umicore organises every three years. The 2007 results again show significant progress. In all countries were Umicore has a significant presence, the company scores above the general industry average.
Umicore received external recognition for being a preferred employer. In Belgium, the company was again selected among 36 companies as one of the “Best companies to work for”. Umicore can use this recognition during the year 2008 in recruitment campaigns. In Germany, the company was awarded the work-and-family audit certificate (berufundfamilie®) which is a trademark throughout Europe. This award acknowledges Umicore’s implementation of a family-oriented personnel policy and its continuous efforts to fine tune the balance between work and family life.
In order to increase its reputation within the academic community, Umicore launched the “Umicore Scientific Award”, (for an amount of €10,000) which is granted to a PhD graduate who, through his/her research, has significantly contributed to science in those fields that are crucial for the future growth of both Umicore’s business and the prospect of a sustainable society. Three additional “Umicore Awards” (each for an amount of €2,500) were granted to masters graduates.
The Belgian Umicore recruitment team attended 12 job fairs & campus events (such as Leuven, Brussels, Antwerp and Gent). In North America, Umicore attended job fairs at Kettering University (USA) and Edmonton (Canada). Several sites organized visits for schools and universities and other stakeholders. The Belgian sites of Hoboken and Olen ran projects with schools on alternating learning and working, covering a two-yearly education programme.
In the course of 2007, a number of sites were completely renewed and modernized, thereby improving working conditions. This was the case for the Brussels headquarters (Belgium), the offices in Perafita (Portugal) and Blodelsheim (France) and the warehouse in Asnières (France). A new heating system was installed in the offices in Fuhong (China) and in Yangzhong (China) a completely new office building was inaugurated.
Many sites organized open days for family members or social staff events, such as Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Edmonton (Canada). The Chinese regional Umicore headquarters organized a badminton competition to promote the corporate image among employees and to enhance the sense of belonging to the Umicore Group. The biggest event was organized on Sunday 2 September in Brussels. Employees from Belgium, France and Germany were invited to a family day at an event hall, where the Princess Elisabeth Polar Station was shown, prior to it being shipped to Antarctica. More than 2,700 employees and family members took part in this event.
Umicore on the way to sustainability