Step by step towards sustainable developmentPersonnel– a strong and boundless company cultureHow do you create a successful global company in which people can develop and enjoy workingtogether? At <strong>Munters</strong>, the objective of our human resources operations is to make use of the powerand potential inherent in every employee. With entrepreneurial spirit as our guiding principle, wehave fostered a strong and vital company culture from one country to the next, creating, in turn, thebest conditions for maintaining an effective supply of skilled personnel for the company.<strong>Munters</strong> is a global, decentralized company comprising small,dynamic entities that are allowed to grow and develop in theirlocal markets within a Group-wide managerial framework.This entails that goals and guidelines are made explicit at thesame time as employees within each entity are allowed topursue and develop their business on the basis of their uniqueabilities and in response to local conditions. Managers areresponsible for motivating and developing their employees, butreceive strong support from the <strong>Munters</strong> Management Manual,a site on the intranet that presents the company’s guidelines inaddition to useful tips and advice for day-to-day work.Recruitment and development of competenceThe culture of the company also provides opportunities foremployees to develop in their career roles and advance to newpositions within the company. For this reason, <strong>Munters</strong> strives,in the first instance, to recruit internally when new positions areintroduced. <strong>Munters</strong> Continuity Planning, the Group’s modelfor succession and development planning provides strong guidancein connection with finding people with the right skills tofi ll various posts. All managers are expected to analyze theirdifferent needs in terms of competence at an early stage, andidentify talented employees who, with the right support andopportunities for development, have the potential to eventuallybecome candidates for key positions within the company.The task of making use of abilities is based in part on thepersonal development interviews that take place every year withthe individual employees. By discussing results, ambitions,expectations, and personal objectives, the groundwork is laidfor an individual development plan. Evaluations also provide abasis for judgment with regard to promotion and remuneration.Cooperation without boundariesFrom a wider perspective, competence development involvesaddressing the company’s needs as a whole. To this end, it isimportant to create arenas for the exchange of knowledge andexperience among employees. For example, <strong>Munters</strong> regularlyarranges international meetings for managers and key employeesto take stock of new ideas that can contribute to better businessor enhanced competitiveness in local markets. Divisionwideand local training programs are held on an ongoing basis.Within MCS, a training program for certification of projectleaders was implemented during <strong>2006</strong> with the goal of ensuringlong-term quality of customer supply lines. During the year,a comprehensive training program for salespeople in Europewas carried out by the Dehumidification Division. The centraltheme of the program has been the building of long-term customerrelationships. The program extends to price-negotiationand margin-development techniques.As a way of assessing the work environment, <strong>Munters</strong>carries out annual attitude surveys encompassing all of thecompany’s employees. The results are reported internally andprovide a basis for development within the different divisions.It is a testimonial to the effectiveness of our programsthat <strong>Munters</strong> UK was ranked among the 100 most popularcompanies to work for in a <strong>2006</strong> survey carried out by anindependant survey company.Variable remuneration with explicit goalsAt <strong>Munters</strong>, there is a strong connection between individualperformance and growth in company profits. The company hasinstituted various programs for variable remuneration, includinga standardized reward system for sales and service personnel 10 M U N T E R S A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 6
and a bonus program aimed at upper management and keyemployees of the Group. The program takes into account thetrend of profit, sales, the rate of capital turnover and individualgoals. In order to increase employees’ engagement in thecompany, the opportunity to invest in a call-option program isafforded. Current programs are described in Note 28.CASEEmployees in figuresDuring the year, the number of employees, including temporaryemployees, was average 3,644, up 10 percent comparedwith a year earlier. The increase was largely due to personnelreinforcements within MCS Europe and the acquisition ofSIAL. The percentage of women was 19 percent (18). Personnelturnover is defined as the number of permanent employeeswho left the company during the year divided by the averagenumber of employees for the year. Personnel turnover in <strong>2006</strong>was 14 percent (16) for the Group as a whole. There are severalexplanations for the continued relatively high turnover.Europe has a large amount of MCS personnel, which traditionallyis a personnel category with high turnover. Asia comprisesa number of young companies, with a larger portion ofproduction, in which the personnel turnover is still relativelyhigh. To a large extent, <strong>Munters</strong> is a young company, which isreflected in the age distribution. The age group from 31 to 40years was the largest, accounting for approximately 35 percentof the Group’s employees. The average age was 39, unchangedfrom a year earlier.Karin Sjöström, Global Technical Product ManagerIndividual development“I started at <strong>Munters</strong> eight years ago and feel that I havereally been able to develop and continue to develop inthe direction I want to go. After initially working on rotormaterials, I have been given the opportunity to broadenmy horizons and am today responsible for developmentof our global product platform for the Dehumidifi cationDivision. An open-door policy and a continuingdialogue with my superiors together with training in, forexample, project management, has paved the wayforward. My job is exciting and provides a great deal ofopportunity for contact with other cultures. There are anumber of different disciplines involved in developing aproduct from the mechanical and electrical designengineeringstage to procurement and marketing. I workin close cooperation with those responsible for qualitycontrol and environmental performance at ourproduction plants.” M U N T E R S A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 6 11