People opinion survey
In 2007 Umicore completed its fourth world-wide employee opinion survey. In all, 91 sites in 34 countries took part in the survey, equating to an overall participation rate of 83%. Participation was facilitated by translating the questionnaire into 18 different languages and organizing classroom sessions during working hours. The survey data was collected and analysed by an external consultant in order to guarantee confidentiality and participants’ anonymity in the processing of the data and to allow valid benchmarking of the results. The survey consisted of over 100 items which were later grouped in 19 categories, such as “Leadership”, “Customer Focus” and “Empowerment”. The results have been communicated internally and analysed at group, unit, country and site level by comparing them with the results of previous Umicore surveys and by comparing them to international benchmarks. As in the past, detailed action plans for organisational improvement will be deployed at unit and local level.
The overall results show consistent progress in all categories (see graph). The most noticeable improvements were made on “Reaction to the Survey” (reflecting the good follow-up efforts on the previous survey of 2004-2005) and “Perceived Competitive Position”. The progress made on “Leadership” was also remarkable. This category was defined in 2005 as the main target for improvement. Although the management population of Umicore scored favourably in this category two years ago, more effort was needed in order to create the same positive image towards other employees.
Internally, the scores between business units and between Regions varied somewhat. However, the variance across countries and regions of the world can be explained partly by cultural differences in scoring. In all countries where Umicore has a strong presence, Umicore generally scores better than the national “all industries” benchmark in these countries.
There is still room for progress when comparing the overall results of Umicore with other external benchmarks (Global Chemical Industry and Global High Performance Norm, a selection of companies combining excellent business results with sound people management practices). Compared to the Global Chemical Norm, Umicore scores better on “Reaction to the survey”, “Customer Focus” and “Work Organisation & Quality”. Further improvements need to be made on “Constructive Dialogue & Communication”, “Learning & Development” and “Direct supervision”. Umicore improved at a faster pace compared to the average of the Global Chemicals Norm.
The survey also showed that, while the engagement of managers within Umicore is clearly ahead of all international benchmarks, further efforts are needed in order to create the same positive image towards other employees. Targeted training programmes have been designed in parallel with detailed action plans at unit and site level in order to improve the levels of engagement throughout Umicore. The effectiveness of these plans will be gauged as part of the next people survey in 2010.
The following graphs illustrate a number of scores and benchmarks on items that are linked with the five Social Objectives.
Accountability to local community
Employees value Umicore’s performance and commitment to act as a socially responsible member of the community
This item shows consistent progress. Most importantly, statistical analyses show that pride in the company’s accountability to the local community has a positive impact on the engagement of our employees.
Preferred employer
Taking everything into account, how satisfied are you with Umicore as an employer?
The score on this question went down by 2 points, but remained at a high level of 79%. This result is close to the international benchmarks: slightly below the Global Chemical norm, but exceeding the High Performance Norm. The percentage of employees who would recommend Umicore as a good place to work is very high (85%), above the Chemicals Companies and High Performance benchmarks.
Constructive dialogue and open communication
There is sufficient contact between management and employees in my department
This question has shown further improvement, resulting in a score above the Chemicals benchmark but still below the High Performance benchmark. Other items show that there is still room for improvement in the quality and effectiveness of communications.
Learning and development
New employees received adequate training for their job
This item showed another significant improvement.
Equal opportunity
My unit actively supports equal opportunities for personal development and growth at Umicore
The results on this question have shown consistent progress and the comparison to the 2005 survey results is very favourable (59% favourable, +6 points). The upskilling associated with the increased technological complexity of most operations can explain the positive trend witnessed over the years. While there is no Chemical benchmark available, the gap with the High Performance norm (15 points) shows that some progress in this area can still be made.