Professional, motivated and skilled personnel committed to company goals is a significant factor in the success of Salcomp’s business. Human resources management is based on the company strategy and targets. In 2009, the financial recession impacted significantly on the number of personnel, and the main focus was on securing the continuity of the most important operations.
At Salcomp, human resources management is based on the Group strategy, targets, human resources policy and performance reviews, as well as interaction at different levels. The objective of human resources management is to create a basis for performance, secure resources and guide activities in order to achieve goals.
Global operations, cultural diversity and the large number of personnel create challenges for Salcomp’s human resources management. The purpose within the various cultures is to act according to the Salcomp Spirit and to observe the generally agreed rules, as well as local laws, statutes and current agreements.
The basis for Salcomp’s operations is fair treatment for all. Gender, age, beliefs or family policy factors do not disadvantage people with regard to remuneration, incentives, reorganizations, training, recruitment or other factors. These principles are also included in the Code of Conduct, as well as in the human resources policy.
Recession pruned actions in 2009
In 2009, harmonizing human resources processes, tools and indicators continued, as well as developing Group-level HR reporting.
Actions in 2009 were characterized by the drop in demand due to the global financial recession. Especially during the first quarter of the year, operations were adjusted and costs were cut in all locations by reducing working shifts, temporary salary cuts, lay-offs and by decreasing personnel through dismissals, among others.
Tight cost control continued for the entire year and, for example, skills development was focused on internal training. The amount of training services bought from external service providers was minimized.
In 2009, Salcomp continued to follow through the development topics and corrective actions discovered in the organizational culture survey which was carried out in 2008. In addition, common Group values were processed through Salcomp’s value campaign in order to make the values guide the everyday operations and collaboration.
In October, Salcomp opened offices in Taiwan and Japan. The Taiwan office initially employs some 10 persons and the Japan office one person. The offices are responsible for sales to customers located in Taiwan and Japan, as well as technical support and customer service. In December 2009, Salcomp opened a sales office in the USA which employs one person.
Emphasis on harmonized ways of working in 2010
In 2010, the emphasis will continue to be on harmonizing the global processes, as well as introducing a common data system in human resources management.
In order to strengthen the Salcomp Spirit, harmonized working methods will be developed in a Group-wide program called the Salcomp Way of Working. In addition, the organizational culture survey, which was carried out in 2008 for the first time, will be repeated. The target is to discover how the development topics discovered in the previous survey have been improved and what the new development topics inside the Group are.
In training, the focus will especially be on management skills and vocational competence. The management training program, initiated in 2008, will be continued. Focus areas in human resources will also be the commitment of key employees, as well as the management of labor costs and other HR-related costs.