The successful implementation of the Horizon 2020 strategy is largely determined by the capabilities, efforts and performance of employees and so it is important to ForFarmers to attract talented employees and help them develop and progress internally.

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ForFarmers HR policy: attract, develop and retain talent

Attract: ForFarmers on the employment market

Growing numbers of existing and potential staff, including ambitious talents, want to serve a higher goal than just the economic interest of the business and are increasingly opting for a company with a clear social mission. ForFarmers HR employees promote the ‘For the Future of Farming’ mission at universities and colleges, both by giving presentations and attending open days and by posting messages on social media. In 2018 this approach proved successful in the Netherlands with ForFarmers managing to fill around 80% of its vacancies without the intervention of an external intermediary.

In 2018 15 events involving universities or student associations were held, resulting in the hiring of 9 new international trainees. In Germany a successful introduction day was held for students. In the Netherlands an intern selection day was held which gave interns a very interactive introduction to ForFarmers and resulted in 76 internships. This concept will be rolled out to the other countries.

ForFarmers has an extensive range of training programmes for its staff and this is clearly highlighted in its employment market activities. These include the training programme for advisers and specialists who, as on-farm visitors, maintain the vital relationship with livestock farmers. The profile of these advisers and specialists is changing in line with industry trends. Livestock farmers are increasingly using data for optimum management of their businesses. Advisers and specialists therefore need to be able to help customers to translate this data into information that can be used to manage their businesses. In its recruiting activities ForFarmers therefore focuses on people, often young, who take the digital potential for granted and offers them a two-year traineeship. The objective of this programme is to strengthen the sales organisation as much and as fast as possible, both with suitable candidates from outside the organisation and internal talent. This programme allows ForFarmers to limit the effect of ageing within the organisation. The trainees are given both practical and theoretical training. From day one they are assigned customers to whom they provide advice under the supervision of a senior adviser. Trainees must also carry out an international project as part of their training. The programme resulted in 14 new advisers/specialists joining the sales organisations in 2018.

Overall, recruitment initiatives resulted in 471 new employees being hired in 2018. A total of 422 employees left ForFarmers in 2018 for various reasons, including retirement, restructuring and poor performance.

Diversity

ForFarmers considers it important to hire employees based on the right skills, regardless of their gender, age, race or religion. This is part and parcel of the culture of the organisation. ForFarmers operates in a world where traditionally the vast majority of employees are male. In this context it is pleasing to note that, thanks to the way in which ForFarmers positions itself and given the growing number of candidate responses, more female candidates responded to outstanding vacancies in 2018. Of the employees who started the aforementioned training programme for advisers/specialists, for example, 30% are women.

As a socially responsible company ForFarmers aims to provide good and safe working conditions both for its own employees and employees operating in the chain. This is reinforced for example in the ForFarmers Code of

Conduct and the Sedex supplier code, which ForFarmers requests suppliers to sign.

In the Netherlands and Belgium most (97% and 99%, respectively) employees are covered by a collective labour agreement (CLA). In Germany this applies to around 14% of employees while in the United Kingdom and Poland no employees are covered by a CLA.

Develop: ForFarmers training programmes

ForFarmers likes to see its employees get a little bit more out of themselves every day, under the motto ‘keep learning’. ForFarmers supports this with a broad selection of general training programmes ranging from specific academies to leadership programmes. There are also specific training courses, for example on coaching, train the trainer, time management, and giving and receiving feedback.

The objectives of the ForFarmers academies are: to enhance professional know-how, to share new developments happening at customers, the NIC and the strategic partners, and to update commercial skills. Courses are given both in groups and individually using    e-learning modules. In 2018 the HR system implemented by ForFarmers the previous year was expanded with an    e-learning platform that enables employees to share both the national and international know-how and experience that is available in-house. This is done for example by means of video material that provides instruction on how to use know-how for the benefit of customers. This makes it easier to realise the primary objectives of the ForFarmers academies.

The implementation of the Horizon 2020 strategy requires clear leadership and focus, but also flexibility and willingness to change on the part of both managers and employees. These aspects are highlighted in the leadership programmes such as the Potential programme, the Management Foundation programme and the Senior Management programme.

ForFarmers supports both vertical and horizontal career growth for its employees with its training programmes, various forms of career guidance and the aforementioned traineeships for new members of staff. Other pillars that help ForFarmers promote internal development and career progression include the sharing of know-how and experience, opportunities to follow other – external – courses and career exploration as a fixed element of the annual review. In 2018 86 employees were promoted internally. Two were senior managers who were appointed as members of the Executive Committee with effect from 1 January 2019.

The importance of the sales organisation

Advisers, specialists and other members of the sales organisation are assessed each year on the extent to which they contributed to improving their customers’ returns and implemented the Horizon 2020 strategy. This is done based on predetermined criteria relating to knowledge and skills and provides an overview of the areas in which certain employees have room for further development. They are then invited to follow one or several Sales Academy modules.

Farming for non-farmers

The national and international growth of ForFarmers and the stock market listing in 2016 created various new positions, some of them specialist. In some cases the employees taken on to fill these positions do not have a background in the agricultural industry. In the mission of ForFarmers the farmer, as customer, is the top priority. In 2018 the ‘Farming for non-farmers’ course was launched to introduce new employees to the sector and explain the specific challenges its customers face on a daily basis. The two-day course is built around a visit to a livestock farm, enabling the participants to experience what is involved in running a farming business. The farmer along with one of ForFarmers’ own advisers explains how the adviser – and therefore ForFarmers – helps them optimise their business operations. This ensures a unique and informative experience for the employees involved.

Number of participants in internal training programmes

In 2018 the numbers of participants in the various training programmes were as follows:

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Retain: how ForFarmers identifies potential

In order to retain knowledge and skills for the organisation ForFarmers devotes much time to internal succession for its key positions. The management teams of the country organisations regularly discuss which employees might be eligible for a key position. Twice a year, HR discusses all employees who have been identified, both from the country organisations and the support departments at group level, with the Executive Committee. Individual development plans are designed for these talents to prepare them for the next step.

The international HR team discusses succession to the key positions on a quarterly basis. In 2018 HR and the Executive Committee discussed the top 250 for the first time and analysed the group’s potential for further growth based on their development codes. This showed that there is insufficient succession potential and made it clear in what areas the employees require further development or new people need to be hired. Personal development targets will need to be set in order to do this properly and there are still many opportunities for improvement, both in terms of the development sessions with staff and the quality of the individual development goals. A training course was subsequently developed to address this, with the members of the Executive Committee having been the first to attend. The course will be rolled out further across the organisation in 2019.

In 2018 ForFarmers in the United Kingdom lost an above-average number of employees, mainly from the sales organisation and logistics (drivers). Further investigation showed that there were several reasons for this, ranging from terms and conditions of employment to career opportunities. To address this, a start was made during the year under review on implementing improvements that focus on, among other things, adjustments of working conditions where necessary and better information on carreer opportunities.

HR system to support HR policy across the organisation

One ForFarmers, an important pillar of the Horizon 2020 strategy, is aimed at the exchange and leveraging of internal know-how, further professionalisation of the organisation, uniform working practices and maximum leverage of economies of scale. The uniform HR system (Workday) that was implemented across the organisation in 2017 for this purpose was used by all the employees for the first time in 2018.

Organisational changes

The continental financial back office activities (excluding those in Poland) were centralised at the financial shared service centre (FSSC) in the Netherlands in 2017 to enable staff to work and cooperate more efficiently. As a result the same number of employees were able to deal with the increased workflow that resulted from the acquisitions in 2018. The FSSC works more efficiently and is much better placed to share know-how and best practices. Being able to learn from each other is seen as positive by those who work at the FSSC.

During the year under review the business transformation in the United Kingdom proceeded to take shape. The COO of ForFarmers UK accompanied by HR staff paid a visit to every site. Feedback and employee concerns that emerged from these visits have been elaborated into concrete actions and fed back to the organisation by the management. A leadership and change management course for managers was also launched in the UK, with the first groups of managers now having completed the two-day course. Finally a number of new senior managers were hired to head up the change processes locally.

Staff meetings

ForFarmers organises regular meetings to inform groups of employees about the progress of the Horizon 2020 strategy. This has proven to be an effective way to increase the employees’ engagement regarding the strategy, help realise the One ForFarmers approach and promote the ForFarmers mission. Two-day management conferences were held for the senior management in May and November in 2018. The meeting in May 2018 took place in Poland at Tasomix, the company in which ForFarmers acquired a 60% stake in 2018. This provided an opportunity for employees of Tasomix and ForFarmers to get to know each other and exchange ideas about the opportunities presented by the new partnership.  

The country organisations also organise regular local interactive meetings for staff. In 2018 a total of 34 staff meetings were held that were attended by 30 or more employees per meeting.

A number of soapbox sessions were organised in the United Kingdom in 2018 to inform employees there about the business transformation taking place and obtain valuable feedback from them. Other examples of occasions at which information is exchanged include the Christmas and New Year gatherings and summer BBQs in the various countries.

Employee engagement – the ‘pulse check’

ForFarmers conducted its first employee engagement survey in 2016, followed up with a ‘pulse check’ in 2017 to provide an insight into the progress made on the points for development. While no new survey was conducted in 2018, more work was done on the points for development: giving and receiving feedback, individual contributions to the Horizon 2020 strategy, and agreements on career opportunities and work pressure.

Managers have specific targets to discuss career opportunities with their employees. The number of interim performance reviews increased by about 30% compared to 2017. Work is being done on standardising processes as a means of reducing work pressure. A new survey will be prepared in 2019 aimed at enabling a comparison to be made with employee engagement at other players in the sector.

Employee participation plan

ForFarmers has had an employee participation plan for permanent employees in place since 2015. The plan allows each participating employee to purchase up to €5,000 of ForFarmers shares or depositary receipts at a discount of 13.5%, with the shares or depositary receipts being subject to a lock-up period of three years.
There is also a participation plan for senior management under which managers are given a 20% discount and are subject to a five-year lock-up period. Employees in the Netherlands receive a direct discount on the shares while in the other countries the discount is granted in the form of free shares or depositary receipts. In 2018 almost 12% of employees participated in the plan (2017: 14%), investing an average of €3,400,- each. Overall, approximately 25% of employees now hold shares in ForFarmers (2017: 25%). The purpose of the participation plan is to strengthen employees’ ties to the business and to boost motivation and engagement. The aim is to offer an employee participation plan every year. This is, however, subject to annual approval by the Supervisory Board and authorisation from the General Meeting of Shareholders to buy back the necessary shares on the stock exchange.

Health and safety

ForFarmers believes that it is its responsibility to provide employees with a safe and healthy work environment. Much attention is therefore devoted to safety, monitoring and the proactive tackling of dangerous or potentially dangerous situations at its own sites and en route to and at customer sites. The ForFarmers approach to health and safety is described in the Sustainability section.

Priorities for the coming years

In 2019 some changes in emphasis will be made in implementing the HR policy, which is crucial to the implementation of the Horizon 2020 strategy. A new, company-wide introduction programme for new employees will be launched, with the focus firmly on attracting and retaining future management and specialist potential. The programme will also be aimed at employees of companies that have been taken over by ForFarmers. 
In 2019 more attention will also be devoted to the way in which development goals are identified and discussed during staff performance and appraisal reviews.

Payroll accounting in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany will be outsourced. Wider and more intensive use will be made of the HR system, which will be expanded with new modules. Preparations will be made for the HR system to be introduced in Poland as well.

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