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.

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 2020
Zero accidents and occupational illnesses.	In Finland, there was one accident that led to short-term absence. No accidents were recorded in the other locations.
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.	The sickness absence rate decreased to 1.8% (2.6%) in Finland, and in production and logistics, it decreased to 3.9% (4.2%). Absences related to musculoskeletal symptoms decreased by 5.6%. The figures for the other companies and countries are reported in the table on p. 43. in the sustainibility report.
No new cases of occupational diseases or work-related illnesses.	There were no occupational diseases or work-related illnesses in 2020.
An average score of more than 3.5 in all areas of the occupational well-being survey.	IThe overall average score of the different areas of the occupational well-being survey conducted in Finland was 4.1 (on a scale of 1–5). In Sweden, the average score of the occupational well-being survey was 3.4 (on a scale of 1–4).

 

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 2020
Men and women receive the same pay for the same job categories.	The determination of the current status in Finland will begin in 2021.
No incidents of discrimination.	No harassment or discrimination cases. We updated our policies concerning harassment and discrimination as well as the employee and manager instructions on how to act in case harassment or discrimination is observed in Finland.

 

Competence development

We want to ensure the competence development of our personnel.  Every Berner employee has the right and the obligation to participate in an annual development discussion. We aim to further strengthen our development discussion process and its documentation as well as make more systematic use of career and development plans in
competence management. Our remuneration practices are based on the targets set for work.

Target 2020 – 2022	Achievements 2020
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 Finland.
100% of our employees are covered by annual performance reviews and development discussions.	Finland 83%, Sweden 100%, Estonia 0%, Latvia and Lithuania 70%, Berner Chemicals 50%.

 

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 2020
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.	We will report on this for the first time for Finland in our reporting on 2021.
All new supervisors have been provided with the necessary skills for managerial work.	All new supervisors in Finland participated in orientation training for new supervisors, and we launched online orientation for new supervisors.
Employee turnover is not attributable to the quality of supervisory work.	The exit interviews held in 2020 did not indicate that the quality of supervisory work was a factor in departing employees’ decision to leave the company.

READ MORE: Sustainability report 2020