The employee in the spotlight during the recession
There has been a lot of focus this year on the downturn in the economy and the action plan needed to adjust to the economy. This has led to redundancies in production and administration and we were forced to announce the termination of 400 positions during the spring. In order to more successfully control the generation transfer, around 200 employees were offered early retirement, of which 127 accepted. We reserved SEK 84 million for the reorganisation. In the fall of 2009 another 25 redundant positions were announced as part of the project "Rätt stöd" (Right Support) that has mainly been targeted at the head office. Preparations for the operational transfer of 25 people were made by outsourcing the IT department.
Structural changes within the organisation were initiated to strengthen our competitiveness. The Business and Marketing & Sales divisions were combined under the name Marketing & Sales.
In conjunction with the task of appointing managers within this division, a comprehensive review of the management profiles was carried out.
The annual Employee Dialogue is showing a weak yet positive trend compared to last year's results despite the announced and implemented redundancies. Our strengths are still clear decision paths, procedures and division of responsibility. Development areas include, as previously, management and the working environment, which we will be focusing on in 2010.
Absence due to illness is better than our target level, which means healthier employees and cost savings. As a part of our efforts to lower the number of employees absent due to illness, we implemented Previa sick leave registration and health care reporting systems in our Customer Services division at Hallsberg, which were appreciated by both managers and employees.
EVENTS IN 2009
Managerial training
In order to ensure that the termination process functioned efficiently, all managers participated in a two-day training course on labour law and change management that was offered at the local business units.
A mentor program utilising both external and internal mentors was started during the year for 12 managers and will be evaluated at the beginning of 2010.
In order to appropriately manage their working environments, around 100 managers participated in a well-tested continuing education course for managers on the working environment called "Spelet om arbetsmiljön" (The Working Environment Game).
A study of equality at 112 companies was conducted by the magazine, Veckans Affärer. Green Cargo was the only transport company to be listed among the top 40 companies. We received points for, for example, having a higher share of female managers than women in the company.
The working environment and health
We received certification during the year for the international working environment standard, OHSAS 18001:2007, which is another milestone in our continuing efforts to improve the working environment and health at Green Cargo.
With regard to our random drug tests, which are a part of our preventive measures, we switched from urine tests to saliva tests and educated managers and safety representatives about the new tests. We also widened the test group, which previously included primarily Rail personnel with traffic-safety classifications, to include Road drivers and local managers.
We introduced a new check list for individual follow-up at our worksites. The check list includes the working environment, traffic safety, the environment and protection from fire and criminal activities.
We took measures to prepare for the influenza A virus (H1N1), including conducting risk analyses, establishing contingency plans and offering vaccinations for all employees. To promote the health of our employees, we also implemented a Health Week this year.
Skills development
E-learning became an established training method within several areas during the year, for example the environment, L-ABC, fire protection and traffic safety. Our subsidiaries also started to use these training courses, which in the long run will decrease our training costs while also raising quality.
In order to ensure the safe implementation of SAP HR, both managers and employees were trained via e-learning.
Salary provisions
During the year, considerable efforts were made to decrease holiday pay liabilities in order to lower the liquidity risk related to, for example, notices of termination. Time was also dedicated to the implementation of the new SAP HR system.
PRIORITIES FOR 2010
New organisational structure
The number of personnel will be adapted to the future strategy and organisational structure within the company. We will coach managers about the new organisational structure and raise understanding for the new requirements that are placed on individual employees. A project to change both the internal company culture as well as the company culture with respect to customers will be initiated.
Scorecard employees
| Outcome | Target | Outcome | Target | |
| (Parent Company) | 2008 | 2009 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Average no. of full-time equivalents | 2,859 | 2,761 | 2,719 | 2,559 |
| Percentage of employees who attended at least one workplace meeting during the current quarter, in percent. | 81 | 85 | 57 | 85 |
| Percentage of employees with up-to-date employment plan, in percent | 67 | 90 | 59 | 95 |
| Employee Dialogue | ||||
| - Management Index | 75 | 80 | 77 | 82 |
| - Employee Index | 77 | 80 | 79 | 80 |
| Absence due to illness, % | 4 | 4.5 | 3.3 | 4 |
Environmental policy
Our vision is that Green Cargo will be the market leader in the logistics sector, basing its services on and contributing to sustainable national and international development.
In order to achieve this goal, our working environment and health promotion efforts must be characterised by preventive measures and continuous improvements. Using the physical and psycho-social working environment risks we identify in our operations, we must work to prevent injury and illness.
To do this, we need to have a committed management team that has good insight into our employees' working environment, full participation of all employees in our efforts to improve the working environment and full compliance with the laws and government agency requirements that apply to our operations.
We will establish and follow up working environment targets every year based on this policy to ensure that we reach our goal.
Absence due to illness
Employees, Parent Company, 2002-2009, percent
Green Cargo's national transports are an approved Good Environmental Choice