UBM and People
A key element in creating long term growth is our ability to attract, develop and retain the most talented people at all levels. We are investing in a culture supporting a more entrepreneurial and innovative company, as described on page 15. Our ability to attract and retain key talent is an important risk factor for UBM, as described on page 29, and our employment policies are designed to address and mitigate that risk.
During 2009 we employed an average of 6,094 people around the world.
Core principles
Attract and retain talent.
Ensure all employees operate ethically and with integrity.
Act as a responsible employer.
Objectives
Continue to roll out training and talent management
programmes across all UBM geographies.
Undertake consistent employee satisfaction surveys.
Enable employees to achieve a healthy and productive work life by providing the resources to do their jobs and by supporting their development.
Employment policies
Detailed employment policies are in place across our businesses,
covering areas such as recruitment, training, flexible working, paid
leave (e.g. maternity, paternity, adoption, parental, carer and sabbatical
leave), diversity, data protection, anti-malpractice (‘Whistleblowing’)
and other policies tailored to meet our core principles. In all cases we
seek as a minimum to meet, and where possible exceed, the requirements
of local jurisdictions.
Diversity
We are a global business with employees, customers, partners and
suppliers from a wide range of cultures and backgrounds, and we
celebrate diversity in all its forms, where the unique talents that every
individual can bring to the business are fully recognised and where
these differences enable us to respond to the rapidly changing business
environment, to meet the diverse needs of our customer base, and to
enhance creativity and personal development.
We have equal opportunities policies and programmes in place to ensure employees are selected and promoted solely on the basis of their skills and ability to do the job, regardless of age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or disability. Employees receive training on diversity, equality and anti-harassment issues.
Our suite of flexible working policies are constantly reviewed and updated and are specifically designed to meet individual personal circumstances and to satisfy business needs. These include working from home, flexible hours, sabbatical leave and enhanced parental leave. Since their introduction, we believe these policies have made a contribution to the recruitment, engagement and the retention of a more diverse workforce. We recognise the specific needs of individuals and, in particular, ensure that appropriate adjustments are made to enable the employment of disabled persons. Should employees become disabled during employment, every effort is made, through appropriate training or other adjustments, to accommodate their disability and enable them to continue to pursue their career.
As an illustration of the success of our policies, in 2009, for the sixth consecutive year, UBM Technology received the ‘Best Place To Work GLBT Equality’ seal from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, as one of America’s best companies for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender workers, and UBM Technology was ranked joint-first amongst medium-sized US businesses, and first in the entertainment, media and publishing industry, by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption on the list of Top 100 adoption-friendly workplaces.
Talent management
We place a particular emphasis on the personal development of all staff
to achieve their full potential, and in 2009 we invested in developing a
UBM Leadership Capability Profile, which articulates the leadership
capabilities and skills that will be critical to delivering business strategies
across UBM, and which is now a key part of our selection process for
leadership roles.
In 2009, we continued to embed strong succession planning processes into the fabric of business management practices. Using a consistent framework and approach across the Group, our Divisional leadership teams engaged for the second year in a robust process to identify strategic capability shifts, the potential impact of these on the configuration of leadership roles required in each Division, and the implications for succession planning and talent development.
Our individual businesses also run their own development programmes to help identify, develop and accelerate the careers of our talented people at all levels. During 2009, we significantly increased our e-learning activity, in order to ensure that as many of our employees as possible can access on demand and virtual learning to enhance their skills and capabilities. Highlights of 2009 encompassed a formal ‘learning from each other’ programme across multiple geographies at UBM Live, an on-demand university in several of our Divisions and a mentoring programme which we will be expanding further in 2010.
Reward strategies
We have developed policies on compensation, rewards and benefits
that ensure that the best talent is recruited, retained and engaged.
The objective is to ensure that all staff in all locations are treated fairly
and we aim to follow best employment practices within the local
markets in which we operate. We promote and reward based on merit
and the individual’s contribution to the business. Reward arrangements
include bonus and long term incentive schemes payable on the
achievement of financial and personal objectives. A wide range of
other benefits are also available, with local variations between markets.
Benefits include Company pension schemes, life assurance and medical
facilities. In the event of redundancies we ensure that proper procedures
are followed with affected staff in accordance with Company policies
and local laws, and that redundant staff are treated fairly in accordance
with local best practices.
Benefits
We encourage employee saving and share ownership through Sharesave,
in which 36% of UK employees, 44% of Hong Kong employees and
25% of US employees currently participate. Initiatives which promote
the health of our employees include discounted gym membership,
health and wellness programmes, and healthcare insurance. In line
with our environmental ethos we have, for the past four years, offered
a Cycle2Work scheme, which enables our UK employees to take
advantage of the Government’s tax exemption on bicycles for employees
to cycle to work. We also offer secure parking for bikes and now offer
upgraded shower and changing facilities, and this has encouraged record
numbers of employees to participate. By the end of 2009 13.7% of the
UK workforce (2008: 8.5% and 2007: 6.4%) were participating in the
Cycle2Work scheme.
Communication
We believe that clear and open communication with employees is
fundamental to fostering a positive culture and achieving our business
aims. An ongoing dialogue with employees is achieved through staff
surveys (with follow up action plans), appraisals, e-newsletters, town
hall meetings, web chats, blogging, innovative use of webinars and
wikis. Regular UBM-wide updates from the CEO keep employees
informed of business strategy and developments. In addition, employee
consultative forums in place in UBM businesses offer a valuable vehicle
for the exchange of information with management and also give
employees the opportunity to meet and share views.
However it has been the development of the UBM Wiki which has significantly enhanced how we communicate, enabling all UBM employees to connect and collaborate for business benefit across geographies and operating companies. Since launching in September 2008, the UBM Wiki community has grown to 5,000 users, working in 39 countries. By the end of December 2009 users had created around 37,000 pages of content and generated around 3.4 million page views. Across UBM, job vacancies are posted on the Wiki, enabling individuals to identify career development opportunities and progress their careers with UBM. In October 2009, the UBM Wiki was awarded the Business Impact Award in the Social Business Software Awards at JiveWorld09, which recognises outstanding achievements in deploying social media software technologies effectively.
