Employees

A large part of Vetropack’s long-term success is owed to its employees. That is why, as part of its new strategy, the company has established the ambition to become an “Employer of Choice”. Vetropack also aims to be known on the job market as a first-class brand beyond just its immediate reach. The company aims to achieve this goal by investing in the further professionalisation of HR management, in the acquisition of new talent, in continuous employee involvement and in the professional development of employees as a “learning organisation”.

Short-term resilience

Many of the planned projects and measures to strengthen the Group as an employer were delayed by the COVID-19 crisis. The priorisation of projects had to be adjusted and resources could not be used because of the restrictions implemented to combat the pandemic. After all, Vetropack had absolutely no doubt about one thing during the past two years: protecting the health of employees and maintaining production are top priorities. Looking back at the year under review, the company thus also focused on ensuring that employees were fully protected despite continuous production at all sites.

As part of the strategic direction of “Employer of Choice”, Vetropack set itself the goal of introducing uniform and systematic HR processes across the entire Group in 2019. That is why Vetropack implemented “SuccessFactors” in 2020, the HR management solution from SAP. During the year under review, a lot of work was put into the quality of HR data in particular – for example, with the introduction of uniform job titles at all sites.

Recruiting, developing and retaining talent

Vetropack has proven itself to be a good employer. In connection with the high level of brand awareness, the company has succeeded in attracting and retaining talent despite the tough competition for qualified personnel.

Various measures to professionalise talent management were implemented in 2020:

• The introduction of the three central strategic group functions “Talent Acquisition”, “Training & Development” and “Talent Management” gives more weight to these essential topics.
• After introducing the “SuccessFactors” Recruiting 2020 module for the entire Vetropack Group, the company‘s HR department continued to standardise the recruitment process in 2021. Thanks to a coordinated approach, Vetropack is now in an even better position to attract talent and recruit it at all locations. The focus in talent acquisition continues to be on building a strong external and internal talent pool from which key positions can be filled quickly. Talent can be acquired through direct internal and external channels. Vetropack also succeeded in tripling the number of followers of its corporate profile on LinkedIn in 2021, thus making a significant contribution to the company’s positive public image. Sharing Vetropack stories and strengthening the employer brand are among the company’s top priorities.
• As part of its ongoing commitment to employee development, Vetropack has introduced a new Group-wide process: the Talent and Organisational Review (TOR) programme. This new assessment process is designed to help identify ambitious employees who are eager and willing to develop personally. The annual TOR process, which focuses on the top three organisational levels of the company, is composed of two parts:

1. Talent screening identifies employees who have leadership potential or unique expertise to support the company‘s strategy. To accelerate the development of these future leaders and better equip them for the future, Vetropack has developed a framework programme that offers all participants the opportunity to advance their own careers and provides them with the necessary tools, support and encouragement to do so.
2. The organisational review is about assessing the business in terms of succession planning and identifying talent needs and development opportunities. Part of this process is the continuous assessment of the mission-critical positions within the Group and the consideration of HR talent data trends, based on which the Group aligns its strategy and launches initiatives.

Vetropack believes that quantification also helps to professionalise HR work. For this reason, the company will monitor the success of the approach for attracting and retaining talent in a targeted manner in the future using key performance indicators (KPIs) such as staff turnover, talent retention rates, training costs, the percentage of internally filled management positions and the internal promotion rate.

Full HR KPIs will be available as of 2022. However, countable achievements can already be evidenced for the year under review. It was thus possible to recruit no less than three key positions in Group roles without external support.

Employee engagement

Vetropack relies on continuous communication with its employees. Every three years, the company carries out a large-scale survey of employees – the next one will take place in 2022. However, Vetropack also believes in staying connected with its employees during the periods between these comprehensive surveys, and strengthening this bond. These efforts are increasingly being supported by new technologies. One example is the digital workplace app “Beekeeper” introduced in 2020, which facilitates internal communication and collaboration – this was also essential during the year under review due to the limited opportunities for personal contact.

These continuous efforts towards enhancing workplace culture are absolutely worthwhile. Following the “Great Place to Work®” certification in 2020, the Bülach site ranked among the top ten of the “Medium Best Workplaces Switzerland” in the year under review. Vetropack achieved particularly high scores for fair treatment – regardless of age, nationality or ethnic origin – and for the workplace atmosphere. In addition, 92% of employees are proud to work for Vetropack.

Vetropack sees this award as a cornerstone for further enhancing workplace quality at all sites. That is why the “Trust Index” from “Great Place to Work®” is one of the three most important HR KPIs.

Learning organisation

The glass packaging industry is fast-paced, and talent is scarce. This is why highly qualified employees and their continuous development are essential for Vetropack to increase its competitiveness. The Corporate Human Resources department creates the framework conditions for a learning organisation and anchors a mentality of continuous learning within the company. Vetropack pursues an integrated learning approach that includes face-to-face events, virtual training and onboarding programmes.

Vetropack offers a comprehensive learning infrastructure that promotes the development of hard and soft skills. For one thing, the company’s own training centre in Pöchlarn, Austria, ensures that valuable expertise is passed on to the next generation of glass makers. Here, the focus is placed on the hard skills involved in glass production processes. In addition, the newly developed “Vetrocademy” – a professional development platform – focuses on promoting soft skills and aims to boost strategic skill sets. The programme includes a comprehensive leadership curriculum that covers all aspects of professional leadership. The first pillar of the “Vetrocademy” was established in 2021. All 400 managers in the Vetropack Group will complete the programme, which will take between 18 and 24 months, depending on their role and level. Vetropack plans to develop additional modules for key areas and roles in the future and is currently assessing possible priority topics. The fact that Vetropack practises exemplary HR development is confirmed by the award received by the “Vetrocademy” from the “Merit Leadership Community” in September 2021.

New KPIs such as training costs per employee and the ratio of technical and compliance training to soft skill training are monitored as part of the “Employer of Choice” strategy.

Occupational health and safety

Vetropack attaches great importance to the health and safety of its employees. This is why Vetropack follows a “safety first” philosophy. Safety topics are discussed across all facilities to continuously improve occupational safety. All employees receive annual occupational safety training.

Vetropack is aiming for all production sites to have an occupational health and safety management system certified in accordance with ISO 45001 by 2022. The two sites in Austria (Pöchlarn and Kremsmünster) were certified some time ago. Various facilities implement comparable, local standards. The site in Nemšová, Slovakia was successfully recertified during the year under review. Bearing the certifications planned for 2022 in mind, what we call the “Safety Minutes”, among other things, were further established during the year under review. Safety Minutes are regular, short safety training units. They usually last less than ten minutes and take place, for example, at the start of a shift or at the beginning or end of a meeting.

Vetropack also aims to strengthen its position as an attractive employer by proactively and preventively promoting the occupational health and safety of its employees. Further positive effects are the promotion of productivity and job satisfaction, as well as the reduction of absences.

Key indicators occupational health and safety