To us, the well-being of our employees is a matter of pride. That is why we invest in safety, equality, good leadership and personal possibilities for development.

Responsibility for employees is based on our values

Our HR practices and principles are based on our values – work, integrity and humanity – and they form the foundation of our responsibility for employees. Our common practices guide our operations with regard to recruitment, orientation, leadership, personnel development and remuneration, among other things. Berner Group’s Code of Conduct reflects our values. The Code of Conduct guides all of our day-to-day operations in every country we do business in.

The targets listed below concern the operations in Finland. More information on our responsibility for employees can be found in the sustainability section of our annual report.

 

Occupational safety and well-being at work

Looking after the safety and well-being of our personnel is of primary importance to us. Berner offers comprehensive occupational health services to all of its employees in Finland. Comprehensive occupational healthcare includes preventive statutory occupational healthcare as well as medical care.

We also provide our employees with sport and cultural benefits and commuting benefits via the ePassi platform.

Target 2020 – 2022	Achievements 2019
Zero accidents and occupational illnesses.	Zero occupational illnesses. Five occupational accidents that led to sickness absences.
The sickness absence rate stays under 3%. In production and logistics, the sickness absence rate is at most 5.5% Reduction in absences related to musculoskeletal symptoms.	Sickness absence rate 2.66%. Sickness absence rate in production and logistics 4.24%.
No new cases of occupational diseases or work-related illnesses.	There were no occupational diseases or work-related illnesses in 2019.
An average score of more than 3.5 in all areas of the occupational well-being survey.	In 2019, the overall average score of the different areas of the occupational well-being survey was 3.7.

 

 

Equality and diversity

Equality and non-discrimination as well as the effectiveness and performance of the workplace community are key objectives for Berner’s human resources management. Berner respects and values all employees regardless of their gender, beliefs, age, sexual orientation and health.

We expect everyone at Berner to be supervisors, colleagues and subordinates who act in accordance with our values. We have a zero-tolerance policy with regard to inappropriate conduct and harassment.

Target 2020 – 2022	Achievements 2019
Men and women receive the same pay for the same job categories.	To be reported for the first time in 2020.
No incidents of discrimination.	There were no incidents of discrimination at Berner Group in 2019. We created “Responsible conduct at work” principles and guidelines together with representatives of our personnel.

 

Competence development

We want to ensure the competence development of our personnel. At the company level, in 2019, one of our main training activities involved the Specialist Qualification in Management (JET) training program, with employees participating from various business units.

Target 2020 – 2022	Achievements 2019
HR plans have been prepared for each business area, including a concrete plan for competence development.	HR plans were created for each business unit in 2019.
100% of our employees are covered by annual performance reviews and development discussions.	We will report on this for the first time in our reporting on 2020.

 

 

Leadership development

Good leadership at Berner refers to operating in accordance with our values and allocating human resources appropriately to support the achievement of business objectives. We take the diversity of people and tasks into account in our management and we want to be a work community that appreciates the strengths that enable diversity.

We support the success and development of our managerial work through supervisor training and by conducting regular 360-degree leadership appraisals.

Target 2020 – 2022	Achievements 2019
The leadership index will be at least equal to the Finnish supervisor index average (74.2) and the Executive Board’s leadership index score will be at least 75.	To be reported for the first time from year 2020.
All new supervisors have been provided with the necessary skills for managerial work.	In 2019, all new supervisors participated in orientation training for new supervisors.
Employee turnover is not attributable to the quality of supervisory work.	The exit interviews held in 2019 did not indicate that the quality of supervisory work was a factor in departing employees’ decision to leave the company.