The Group has a policy of equal opportunities and preventing harassment, which applies in relation to recruitment of all new employees and to the management of existing personnel. This gives us access to the widest labour market and enables us to secure the best employees for our needs. We offer all of our staff training relevant to their roles and we believe that this contributes to an increase in employee motivation and job satisfaction. The culture alignment survey results mentioned below support this trend.
Periodically we complete a survey of employees to determine whether our core values are authentic in our organisation.
The survey establishes the values individual employees wish to see in our operating culture and to what extent they exist in our current culture.
In 2006, our survey of senior managers showed that five of the values they wanted to see in our business were actually present. Again in 2011, our survey of senior managers showed that five desired values were still present in our business. This indicates that there is a healthy level of alignment between the culture we aspire to have and the culture we have today.
No survey is capable of capturing all the appropriate sentiments, but our executives, who regularly visit all Group companies, agree that observable and valuable improvements in the Group culture have occurred over recent years.
The Group will continue to monitor the survey results to enable us to better support our people bringing these values and strengths to work so that they and we may derive further benefit from them.
Disabled employees
Applications for employment by disabled persons are always fully considered, bearing in mind the aptitudes of the applicant concerned. In the event of members of staff becoming disabled, every effort is made to ensure that their employment with the Group continues and that appropriate training is arranged. It is the policy of the Group that the training, career development and promotion of disabled persons should, as far as possible, be identical to that of other employees.
Employee consultation
The Group places considerable value on the involvement of its employees and has continued to keep them informed on matters affecting them as employees and on the various factors affecting the performance of the Group. This is achieved through formal and informal meetings, the Group intranet and the annual financial statements. Employee representatives are consulted routinely on a wide range of matters affecting their current and future interests. An employee share plan has been running successfully since 1980. It is open to all UK employees and aligns the interests of all UK employees to those of shareholders.
Health and safety
The Group manages its activities to avoid causing any unnecessary or unacceptable risks to health and safety to our employees in the work place or to the public as a result of our activities. The policy is understood by all Group companies and was reinforced during the year through improved guidance and reporting following a comprehensive review led by an external expert. The reporting of Health and Safety incidents and corrective action where needed has been give an even higher profile. Given the autonomous structure of the Group, operational responsibility for compliance with relevant local health and safety regulations is delegated to the board of directors of each Group company. We believe health and safety training is important and it is carried out within companies as appropriate. Adequate internal reporting exists in order that the Group’s Finance Director may monitor each company’s compliance with this policy.
| Major injuries recorded |
2011 |
2010 |
2009 |
| Days lost due to work-related injuries |
455 |
133 |
706 |
| Total recorded injuries to all employees |
505 |
233 |
496 |
The Group has collected details of its worldwide reported health and safety incidents which are available below. We are pleased to report that there were no fatalities during 2010/11, 2009/10 or 2008/09.
People development
The Halma Executive Development Programme (HEDP), which is based on our recognition of the fundamental part our people play in the success of the Group, continued to strengthen in 2010/11. HEDP is an integrated development plan for our senior people – including the next generation of Managing Directors and Divisional Chief Executives. Our objective is to provide these individuals with the tools and training to achieve more in their existing role and potentially to advance through the organisation if their achievements merit it.
| Training |
2011 |
2010 |
2009 |
Cumulative no. of candidates
that have completed HEDP
|
166 |
152 |
113 |
Cumulative no. of candidates
that have completed HMDP |
319 |
277 |
206 |
HEDP is aimed squarely at employees already serving on subsidiary boards but we also encourage applications from senior functional managers who can demonstrate they already have equivalent responsibilities and will benefit from the programme. There are approximately 200 such eligible employees in total.
The programme has been developed from a proven course structure and is specifically and continuously tailored to suit Halma’s needs, aligning the content to the Group’s four core values of Achievement, Innovation, Empowerment and Customer Satisfaction. It focuses strongly on strategic and leadership capabilities and developing personal attributes - commitment, determination and resilience. There is an emphasis on performance management and team development. It includes skill-based elements such as sales and marketing management, project leadership, corporate governance, finance and innovation, but all are presented in a strategic context.
12 programmes have now been completed and the success of the programme can be measured by the enthusiasm of the participants upon their return to their businesses, the achievements of a number of participants and their eagerness to coordinate further sessions to explore topics of particular interest to their programme Group.
Now that a significant proportion of executives have completed HEDP, a follow up programme, HEDP+, has been developed to provide updated training and to reinforce the original course contents.
Complementing the HEDP is a programme for subsidiary managers and supervisors – the Halma Management Development Programme (HMDP). During the year, three programmes were completed giving a cumulative total of 319 employees who have completed HMDP. Programmes were held in the USA, Europe and Asia.
In 2011, we introduced a new programme targeted at our technical engineers to equip them with a broader understanding of Halma’s technology, improve their productivity and provide specific skills training in areas such as project management. One such programme with 20 participants has been completed with great success.