Vodafone 2010 Annual Report Download - page 24

22 Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2010
People
Culture, communications and engagement
The Vodafone Way aligns all Vodafone employees to 
a common set of values and behaviours.
Aiming to be an admired, innovative and customer-focused

company operating with speed, simplicity and trust.
Maintained high performance benchmark for

employee engagement.
During the 2010 financial year we launched a change programme
called “The Vodafone Way”. The Vodafone Way is about being an
admired company in the eyes of our customers, shareholders and
employees by operating with speed, simplicity and trust. The
programme has defined a consistent set of values and behaviours for
all Vodafone employees. Many of our senior leaders have been
through a workshop to embed The Vodafone Way behaviours and
these workshops will be extended to all senior leaders during the 2011
financial year. The performance and potential of our employees are
reviewed against the standards of The Vodafone Way.
The Vodafone Way is very much about increasing customer focus.
For one day each month senior leaders in every operating country and
the Group spend time with customers and customer-facing staff, such
as in retail stores or contact centres. Insights from these customer
days are used to simplify customer-facing processes and improve
customer experiences.
In November 2009 we carried out our fifth annual global people
survey. The survey measures employees’ level of engagement
(a combination of pride, loyalty and motivation). 89% of employees
surveyed responded which is four percentage points more than
last year.
We achieved an overall employee engagement score of 76% which
means that we have maintained the high performance benchmark for
engagement for the second year in a row. The high performance
benchmark is an external measure of best in class organisations that
achieve strong financial performance alongside high levels of
employee engagement. This achievement demonstrates that people
continue to feel proud to work for Vodafone and are committed and
willing to give their best.
Regular, consistent and open communication is fundamental to
ensuring we maintain high levels of employee engagement. Our
people have access to information about our business through a
global intranet with local translations and content where appropriate.
The Chief Executive communicates directly with all of our employees
via regular email and video updates particularly focusing on business
performance, strategy and The Vodafone Way. This is reinforced with
local CEO communications in all our markets. Relevant performance
and change issues are also discussed with employee representatives
from operating companies within the European Union, who meet
annually with members of the Executive Committee in the Vodafone
European Employee Consultative Council.
Organisation effectiveness and change
Continued focus on efficient and effective 
organisation structures.
Headcount reduction in several markets including

the UK and Ghana.
Successful integration of Arcor into Vodafone Germany.

We continued to optimise the shape and size of our organisation
during the 2010 financial year. The majority of operating companies
reduced the number of layers from the top to the bottom of their
organisation and increased management spans of control, resulting in
flatter structures with wider management accountability. Several of
our markets made significant organisation changes in the year:
Vodafone UK simplified its organisation structure, primarily in back 
office functions, resulting in 490 redundancies. In the 2011 financial
year the UK will be recruiting for 170 new customer-facing roles and
appointing 50 graduates into their graduate programme;
233 redundancies were made across central commercial functions. 
The majority of these were from the reshaping of the internet
services function which included the closure of Wayfinder,
Vodafone’s location based services organisation in Sweden;
the formation of the joint venture, Vodafone Hutchison Australia, in 
June 2009 led to 340 redundancies from Vodafone Australia;
Vodafone Ghana continued its change programme reducing 
employee numbers by 1,331 and recruiting more than 350
Ghanaians into new roles in the business;
Vodafone Turkey reviewed its organisation structure to 
streamline processes and reduce duplication. This resulted in
over 300 redundancies. Turkey has reinvested in hiring similar
numbers of new talent into key roles and building a graduate
recruitment programme;
in December 2009 the legal merger of Arcor and Vodafone 
Germany was finalised and the two organisations have been
successfully integrated following the creation of a single executive
committee in March 2009.
The above organisation changes clearly had significant implications
for the employees in these markets. Changes were communicated
clearly and transparently. We offered a range of support to help
affected employees f ind new jobs, for example outplacement services,
insights into how to set-up their own business and training on interview
and resume writing skills. Vodafone aims to treat all employees fairly,
ensuring healthy employee relations through open communications
and employee consultation.
Talent and resourcing
Regular reviews of peoples’ performance and potential. 
Graduate recruitment programmes in almost all 
operating countries.
Continued focus on increasing diversity and inclusion:

14% of senior leaders, two Executive Committee members 
and three operating company CEOs are female; and
26 nationalities are represented in senior leadership roles.

During the 2010 financial year we increased our focus on driving high
performance and building a strong base of talented leaders and
employees. All managers are encouraged to hold regular performance
discussions with their direct reports. Annual performance dialogues are
mandatory to enable each employee to receive a performance and
potential rating which is the basis for development planning and reward
decisions. Quarterly departmental and operating company talent
reviews have been introduced, alongside annual development boards.
For most senior leadership roles, the Executive Committee review
succession and key appointments each month.
We want to attract the best and brightest graduates to work in all of our
operating companies. A globally consistent graduate recruitment
programme has been introduced with a target of 230 top graduate
Vodafone employed an average of around 85,000 people worldwide during the 2010 nancial
year. We rely on our people to maintain and build on our success and to deliver excellent
service to our customers. We aim to attract, develop and retain the best people and to realise
their full potential. We maintain high levels of employee engagement, investing in employees’
development and offering attractive, performance-based incentives and career progression.
Nationalities in top
senior management roles
26
Employees
85,000