Over the past 18 months, the Group has made significant changes as it has responded to worsening market conditions. Regrettably, cost reductions, including those relating to our employees, are an inevitable necessity in contracting markets. In that time, approximately 17,000 employees have left the Group through redundancy. In all cases, we comply with local employment law as a minimum when making an employee redundant. Where appropriate, we also enhance redundancy terms beyond the local statutory minimum. Other restructuring work has taken place to improve human resources (“HR”) processes and offer efficiencies to routine, back office HR activities.
We have taken the difficult decision this year to reduce the intake to our graduate recruitment programmes and suspend programmes in some markets. This decision will be reviewed when market conditions improve.
Training continues to be a priority for the Group. Our European and North American divisions both continued to operate leadership development programmes during the year. A new training programme for branch managers has been implemented in the UK, focusing on managerial competencies and technical skills. Online training modules are available to all employees in the UK and US.
Operating in 27 countries, the Group employs people from a diverse spectrum of nationalities, race, gender and cultural backgrounds. Detailed analysis on employee diversity is not currently collected on a Group basis and is not believed to be an operationally significant priority. However, at Ferguson in the US, a diversity and inclusion programme has operated since 2006 aimed at improving employee engagement, loyalty and productivity, and developing closer alignment between our employees and the customers they serve. Ferguson is beginning to measure the results and trends from this programme, which are helping to inform human resource planning and succession programmes. In 2007, a supplier diversity programme was developed to support the interests of suppliers operated by minority groups. These initiatives have been especially important recently for Ferguson as it has developed its markets in the retail sector. As required by US Federal Law, certain of Ferguson’s diversity data is submitted to US government agencies on an annual basis.
As the markets in which we operate begin to recover from very difficult conditions, our People strategy will increasingly focus on re-designed reward and benefit schemes, leadership development programmes and the provision of future career opportunities. These initiatives will be aimed to motivate and retain our employees.