Vodafone 2004 Annual Report Download - page 66

Vodafone is committed to investing in world class people development to build a
unified global team working efficiently across boundaries.
Employee involvement
The Board of director’s aim is that employees understand the Company’s strategy and
are committed to the Vodafone Vision and Values.
The Values are:
•Passion for customers. Vodafone’s customers have chosen to trust the Group. In
return, the Group must strive to anticipate and understand their needs and delight
them with the Group’s service.
•Passion for Vodafone people. Outstanding people working together make
Vodafone exceptionally successful.
•Passion for results. The Group is action-oriented and driven by a desire to be the
best.
• Passion for the world around us. Vodafone will help the people of the world to
have fuller lives – both through the services Vodafone provides and through the
impact the Group has on the world around us.
Together, the Vision and Values provide a common understanding of where the Group
is going and a common way of doing things. The Company is determined that they will
flourish across every operating company, challenging everyone to understand them,
own them and contribute to their delivery and a range of initiatives have been
introduced to ensure this.
The Board of directors places a high priority on effective employee communications to
promote the Values and other important messages and a wide range of mechanisms
is used to achieve this. These include roadshows, management presentations, in-
house publications, team briefings, e-mail, Intranet sites, employee focus groups and
conferences.
During 2003, Vodafone conducted its first Group wide Employee Survey in order to
measure the effectiveness of its communications initiatives and its standing as an
employer. 84% of employees shared their views with the Company and, as a result,
the Board has initiated a Group level action plan with the following themes:
•to communicate and bring the Vodafone strategy to life;
•to ensure the world class development of Vodafone people; and
•to consider how the Group might anticipate and better respond to the needs of its
customers.
The survey will be conducted every two years to measure the Group’s progress.
Chief Executive, Arun Sarin, and Group Chief Operating Officer, Julian Horn-Smith,
continued to host “Your Call”sessions at operating companies throughout the Group.
These sessions were designed to demonstrate how the Vodafone Values are being
lived across the business. Building on the success of “Your Call”, the next stage of the
global roadshow programme is known as “Talkabout” and will visit every operating
company during 2004. “Talkabout”will directly address two of the priorities for action
identified by the Employee Survey. In “Talkabout Vodafone”Mr Sarin will discuss the
shared vision for Vodafone’s future, meeting as wide an audience of Vodafone people
as possible, listening to their views and talking about the issues that matter most to
them. In the second strand, “Talkabout Business”, Mr Horn-Smith will address the
business issues affecting each company with a smaller audience drawn from the
senior management team. The “Talkabout”programme provides the perfect
opportunity to communicate strategic goals and priorities, discuss progress and
exchange ideas about how Vodafone can serve its customers as a single, global team.
The Group has implemented a global team briefing process for effectively sharing
information with employees on key performance indicators for the business and
progress towards achieving its strategic objectives. Within European subsidiaries,
employee representatives meet annually with representatives of the central
management team in the Vodafone European Employee Consultative Council to
discuss the progress of the Group and transnational issues.
Employee education, training and development
Employee development has been established as one of Vodafone’s key business goals.
The Vodafone Global Campus provides the focus for employee learning and
development by supporting operating companies around the world to share best
practice, collaborate and develop world-class development opportunities.
Employment policies
The Group’s employment policies are consistent with the principles of the United
Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour
Organisation Core Conventions and are developed to reflect local legal, cultural and
employment requirements. High standards are maintained wherever the Group
operates as Vodafone aims to ensure that the Group is recognised as an employer of
choice. Employees at all levels and in all companies are encouraged to make the
greatest possible contribution to the Group’s success.
The Group considers its relations with its employees to be good.
Equal opportunities
Vodafone does not condone unfair treatment of any kind and operates an equal
opportunities policy for all aspects of employment and advancement, regardless of
race, nationality, sex, marital status, disability or religious or political belief. In practice,
this means that the Group will select the best people available for positions on the
basis of merit and capability, making the most effective use of the talents and
experience of people in the business, providing them with the opportunity to develop
and realise their potential.
The disabled
The directors are conscious of the special difficulties experienced by the disabled and
a range of products has been developed for people with special needs. In addition,
disabled people are assured of full and fair consideration for all vacancies for which
they offer themselves as suitable candidates and efforts are made to meet their
special needs, particularly in relation to access and mobility. Where possible,
modifications to workplaces have been made to provide access and, therefore, job
opportunities for the disabled. Every effort is made to continue the employment of
people who become disabled, not only by the provision of additional facilities but also
training where appropriate.
Health, safety and wellbeing
The directors remain committed to ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of
employees at work and apply high standards throughout the organisation in the
management and control of operations. These standards are designed to ensure that
the Group properly safeguards those who work for it and those who may be affected
by the Group’s business including customers, contractors and local communities.
Annually, each operating company reports health and safety performance to the
Board.
A Group Health and Safety Council has been inaugurated under the leadership of the
Group Health and Safety Director, and this is steering a coordinated, global strategy.
The team of Health and Safety professionals working within the Group has been
further strengthened and better coordinated, sharing knowledge more efficiently.
A Group-wide health and safety audit in December 2003 showed improved scores
overall compared with 2002, and particularly with reference to Operating Company
emergency planning procedures and their regimes for working safely at height. The
results reflect implementation of the Group’s new global standards and the increase in
best practice sharing around the Group.
Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2004
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Employees