OUR EMPLOYEES ARE OUR MOST IMPORTANT RESOURCE

Addtech’s employees are an absolutely key condition for our success. A healthy corporate culture prepares the ground for employee well-being, low rates of sick leave and low employee turnover. Addtech is, and will remain, a company where working life and private life can co-exist. Responsibility and freedom are two of Addtech’s core values and are described under “Freedom with responsibility”.

Addtech organises its business on the basis of decentralised responsibility for profitability and earnings. This involves a high degree of responsibility for the subsidiaries, but with great freedom to, for example, choose the types of suppliers to be appointed and the types of customers to focus on. Motivated, creative and decisive employees who can prioritise work tasks yet lift their gaze and look ahead are fundamental to this working. In order to succeed in this, Addtech works to maintain an open and positive approach to people, capitalising on the full potential of employees, whatever their position and level of responsibility. Addtech emphasises the importance of taking account of the distinctive character of each individual employee. It is the very differences that create the dynamics that have made Addtech successful.

Employee surveys

To monitor our long-term, strategic work on personal development, we regularly conduct employee surveys. That way, we identify the Group’s strengths and weaknesses as an employer, as well as mapping areas for improvement.

Addtech has consistently achieved good results and the general picture is that we have very satisfied employees. A new employee survey was conducted at the turn of the year 2016/2017, and work on analysing the results and producing action plans is under way.

From a Group perspective, the survey creates the scope for us to offer our companies support where we identify general needs, while enabling us at the same time to disseminate knowledge and ideas from successful companies around the Group.

Addtech’s Group management encourages the CEOs of each Group company to produce an action plan based on the company’s specific findings, since the size and conditions of the companies can vary considerably.

The findings from the employee survey are also used as a basis for our long-term, strategic work on personal development. Our goal is to conduct employee surveys on a regular basis to enable us to analyse changes and implement improvements.

Employees

Permanent employees represent a major share of the Group’s workforce. Contract employees are mostly used to replace regular employees in the case of illness or other absence. The fact that our employees enjoy secure employment is not just a work environment issue, it is also an important factor in obtaining continuity in the organisation and enabling us to build long-term relationships.

Occupational health and safety

Health and safety are a priority area. We have a zero vision for work-related accidents, illnesses and incidents, and an ambition to focus constantly on promoting health and well-being among our employees. The aim is that no-one should suffer physical or mental ill-health caused by his or her work situation. At Addtech’s companies, potential risks of work-related illnesses and accidents exist, but such risks also exist in the sales process, for example during travel to and from customers and during visits to customers’ factories or other facilities.

Employee turnover

We strive to ensure the well-being and personal development of our employees so that we can both retain key skills and recruit new talent. In 2016/2017, overall employee turnover was 13 per cent (14). Average lenght of employment is about 10 years.

Skills development

Addtech’s companies strive to be attractive employers that offer our employees viable opportunities for personal development. Addtech’s development and competitiveness are strongly linked to the personal development of employees and their wellbeing. To that end, we operate our own Business School and hold annual performance appraisals.

The Addtech Business School offers a broad programme including corporate culture and business ethics, leadership and economic and business acumen. The overall goal is to develop, train and motivate our employees. The School’s various courses offer employees training adapted to their particular experience and duties, and are aimed at both new employees and senior executives. During 2016/2017, we clarified the guidelines as to which activities are classified as training, which may explain the differences between 2015/2016 and 2016/2017.

Dialogue with employees takes place, for example during the annual performance appraisal. The aim is that all employees should take part in a personal development review every year. In the course of 2016/2017, we further refined our methodology for performance appraisals.

In 2016/2017, formal development reviews were held with 62 per cent (61) of our employees. During 2017/2018, work on implementing the new methodology for performance reviews will continue.

Equal opportunity and diversity

We do not permit discrimination or harassment in any form. All employees must be given the same opportunities for development regardless of gender, age, ethnic origin, religion, political views, sexual orientation, disability or other distinguishing features. Guidelines for work on equal opportunity and diversity are set out in the Code of Conduct.

The technology trading industry has historically been male dominated, and still is. Addtech's ambition is to continually increase the proportion of women. The proportion of women and men in the Group shall at least reflect the general gender distribution in the industry, and the proportion of graduates from institutes of technology.

Addtech’s ambition is also that all employees in the Group, irrespective of gender, are given equal opportunities for remuneration for equivalent work. Wage differences for men and women in the Group vary between different areas of position. Addtech has identified an uneven distribution in the salaries of men and women. However, it ought to be mentioned that no account was taken of age, scope of period of work, previous experience, training or productivity, which means that the numbers may be misleading. In conjunction with the transition to GRI Standards, Addtech updated the personnel categories for sustainability reporting, which means that data from the previous year is not comparable.