HRM

Personnel
Kendrion is a decentralised organisation comprised of four market focused business units. Responsibilities are assigned as low as possible within the organisation, and local entrepreneurship is encouraged. Short lines of communication enable managers to respond rapidly and adequately to new developments at their customers or in local markets. This in turn results in high levels of creativity and involvement at the local companies, as well as ample challenges and feasibilities for the development for the local management. In so doing, local entrepreneurship offers flexibility and opportunities. In addition, internationalisation offers opportunities to enter new markets, opportunities that can be utilised only with an international attitude. Kendrion also encourages innovation and improvement. During the course of 2008 Company Awards were presented to the most innovative Kendrion company and the Kendrion company showing the greatest improvement. Passenger Car Systems, in Villingen, Germany, won the Award for the most innovative company. Vink Hungary (a member of the Distribution Services division, which has since been sold) won the Award for the company showing the greatest improvement.

Kendrion’s HR policy is also decentralised, and local management bears the responsibility for the local HR policy within the specified guidelines. A number of duties are coordinated by the HR Officer at a central level. These duties primarily relate to the (senior) management, a group of about one hundred managers.
 
New employees to be recruited by the company are selected on the basis of a number of core competences. The quality of the management is assured by internal and external training programmes, and solely highly-trained managers are recruited.

Kendrion takes many initiatives to promote itself as an appealing employer in the region, such as open days for schoolchildren, family days, and the provision of traineeships. Kendrion also organises fairly regular meetings for its retired employees.

Kendrion attaches importance to the creation of diversity in nationalities and cultures: this diversity promotes intercultural experience, which is highly compatible with the current internationalisation trend.

Bond with the employees
Kendrion’s success is determined by the quality of both the company’s organisation and employees. An explicit strategy and, on the basis of the strategy, feasible and challenging targets, open and honest labour relations and short lines of communications create a strong bond between Kendrion and its employees.
Kendrion’s Board and the Business Unit Managers devote a great deal of attention to the communication of the strategy, the plans of action resulting from the strategy, and the details of and progress in the plans. This ensures that the employees are provided with a clear insight into what is expected of them, and consequently are able to make an active contribution to the achievement of growth. Many operating companies have implemented career-development and training programmes designed to improve their staff’s knowledge and skills. The staff receives guidance in forms such as annual job appraisal and performance interviews. Kendrion’s ‘Magnetised’ corporate magazine, for all staff, is published on several occasions a year.

Number of employees
Kendrion has approximately 1,100 employees in eight European countries and China, Mexico, Brazil and the USA. People make Kendrion, and consequently Kendrion invests in the development of the knowledge and skills of its employees. Kendrion promotes inspirational exchanges of experience and collaboration between the various business units and operating companies.

Remuneration
Kendrion offers its employees good terms of employment that are in line with the market and are always assessed against local benchmarks. A new bonus scheme for the management was introduced in 2006. This system is based on explicit agreements between each manager and the Business Unit Manager. The variable remuneration is linked to the achievement of the company, business unit, operating company and individual performance targets. Kendrion has implemented a share plan for selected managers.

Innovation
An insight into the quality of the company’s Human Resources (HR) is at least as important as the insight into Kendrion’s financial health, since figures and results are the product of human action. The HR audit was developed in the spring of 2007. Competences, knowledge and experience, as well as the manner in which Kendrion deploys its employees, contribute to the company’s continuity and decisiveness. The HR audit, an element of the regular audits, is used to obtain an insight at an operating company at a given point in time and provide information about a number of HR indicators. The audit provides an insight into both hard HR indicators and somewhat softer issues. The audit, which has already proven its worth, has been found to constitute a uniform and objective instrument that measures quality and which provides a clear insight into opportunities for developments in the HR field. An HR audit is