Munters is a global company with ambitions to grow organically and through acquisitions. The corporate culture focuses on customer requirements and demands. The commitment of employees to meet these requirements form the basis for Munters’ continuing growth and development.
Career opportunities and incentive programs
Munters offers employees considerable opportunities to broaden their work assignments and develop in their professional roles. They are encouraged in various ways to take on new challenges and make a career in the organization. Meanwhile, Munters seeks to recruit internally when new positions are to be filled. Vacancies are advertised so that employees can seek positions in various companies within the Group. To facilitate employees who are considering switching jobs, there is the potential for dealing confidentially with the application. In addition to the development opportunities for highperformance individuals a Munters, a structured program of incentives and variable pay exists at different levels in the company. These programs are aimed at clarifying goals and priorities, putting a premium on performance and keeping part of the company’s payroll costs variable. In the case of executives, variable pay is based on sales and profit trends, capital turnover rate and other strategic goals.
Increased coordination and competence sharing offer more development opportunities
Munters’ operations and organization are in transition. A number of initiatives are under way to enhance processes and systems support, create shared tools and strengthen cooperation across company boundaries. The change offers a series of new opportunities to develop as part of a fastgrowing global community. During the year, global initiatives were implemented in purchasing and product development departments in which employees from various parts of Munters’ operations cooperated and jointly achieved excellent results. Personnel A career with Munters offers opportunities to work worldwide. The culture promotes personal initiative and development. Munters Continuity Planning work tool permits the matching of the company’s requirements for various skills with employee ambitions in terms of career and personal development. Employee surveys are undertaken continually in Munters’ operations as part of the improvement and development programs regarding HR issues. Every second year, a global Group-wide employee survey is conducted from which the results are compared with other companies.
Group-wide HR work
A central task for Group-wide HR work is to analyze the conditions and take actions to ensure short- and long-term competences in various parts of Munters’ operations. The management group for global HR issues plays a pivotal role in this work. During 2009, additional steps were taken in the program involving competence supply for executives and other key personnel. A major issue involves how Munters can optimize its ability to utilize and prepare employees for key positions in other parts of the Group. During 2009, a project was initiated to create a uniform framework for all of Munters’ training programs. More coordinated training activities would improve cost effectiveness and contribute to strengthening the shared corporate culture. Munters offers leadership program that is adapted to suit participants’ needs and level of experience. This is achieved primarily in consortium form in cooperation with other industrial companies with international experience. The course offers participants the potential for a significant exchange of experience. The development of Group-wide processes to facilitate employee mobility in terms of work assignments in various countries continued. International meetings involving executives and key personnel are conducted regularly. The purpose is to capture new ideas that could lead to more and better business and increase competitiveness in the numerous local markets in which Munters is active.
Workforce reductions in 2009
Munters’ workforce, including temporary employees, decreased in 2009. The average number of employees was 4,087, compared with 4,291 in 2008. At the beginning of the year, the workforce totaled 4,135 and it numbered 3,822 at year-end. Two factors underlie the change: The lesser factor is a reduction in personnel requirements as a result of productivity increases, which lead to changes in the workforce at the MCS division. Most of the change in workforce was due to adjustments to match a decline in demand due to the economic crisis. The HumiCool division responded to the very rapid and sharp decline in the market’s demand with proportional workforce alignment. Considerable attention was devoted to making workforce reductions in line with the agreements and legislation that apply to personnel redundancies in the particular countries. Special importance was also attached to ensuring that key personnel were retained. Despite the extraordinary circumstances during 2009, personnel turnover was 17 percent, or equal to that of the previous year. Munters continues to be a company with many young employees. A full 50 percent of the workforce is younger than 40. Women accounted for 17 percent, down from 19 percent in 2008.