ArcelorMittal Annual Report 2008

Corporate Responsibility – Investing in our People
32
A number of initiatives were introduced
in 2008 to bring the business closer
to employees and facilitate the cascading
of key information. These include among
other things: quarterly meetings with the
Human Resources Leadership Team,
an internal newsletter, Knowledge
Management Programs and proximity
meetings. In 2008, over 50 proximity
meetings were conducted in more than
20 countries serving to align priorities
and initiatives, narrow the gap between
Corporate and local operations,
shop floor workers, white collar workers,
young talents and employee representatives,
and to stimulate the exchange
of information.
Human Resources achievements in 2008
‘Speak Up’ survey
In June 2008, Human Resources at
ArcelorMittal launched its first survey,
called ‘Speak Up’, for ‘exempts’ 1 designed
to assess how ArcelorMittal leaders combine
competitiveness and HR management,
two critical challenges for the Group to
ensure a successful execution of its strategies.
In total, 22,750 exempts, in 76 countries,
participated. The results of the survey helped
to enrich managers’ understanding at all levels
and to build local and Company-wide action
plans to help improve the way management
and leadership of the Company is practiced.
More specifically, the results confirmed that
employees perceived a significant
improvement in the leadership practices
of ArcelorMittal owing to the strong support
of HR initiatives and processes. A majority
of respondents declared that they would
recommend ArcelorMittal as a great place
to work.
Dialogue with trade unions and employees
The majority of ArcelorMittal employees
are represented by trade unions. The Group
is party to collective bargaining agreements
with many employee organizations as part
of its commitment to open dialogue.
The ArcelorMittal
Human Resources (HR)
professionals support
Company leadership
to attract, develop and
retain tomorrow’s leaders,
enable employees at all
levels to manage their
performance, realize their
potential and build and
maintain good relations
and social dialogue with
employees and their
representatives. They support
the Cost Leadership
programs of the Company.
On June 3, 2008, ArcelorMittal signed
a landmark Global Joint Health and Safety
Agreement with all of its trade unions.
A Joint Health and Safety Committee
in every plant now meets at least once
a month. The process is monitored by
a Joint Global Health and Safety Committee
comprising both management and trade
union bodies.
In 2008, as part of its commitment
to open dialogue at multiple management
levels, ArcelorMittal introduced a new
process based around monthly meetings
between management and employee
representatives. Implemented plant
by plant over the second half of the year,
the new process aims to put regular,
constructive discussions at the heart
of ArcelorMittal’s employee relations.
For additional information about
Employee Benefits, see Note 23 of the
Consolidated Financial Statements.
Employee Share Purchase Plan
In 2008, ArcelorMittal launched its first
Employee Share Purchase Plan (‘ESPP’)
as part of a global employee engagement
and participation policy. This plan was
aimed at rewarding employees through
ownership, improving awareness of
economic and financial developments,
and ultimately incentivizing them towards
shareholder value creation. The plan
was offered to approximately 216,000
employees in locations with more than
250 employees. In total, employees across
the globe bought nearly one million shares.
Shares were sold at the then prevailing
market price, minus a discount of 15%
for the first 100 shares per employee
and 10% for the second 100 shares.
Any shares bought are subject to
a three-year holding requirement.
As it met with great interest from
employees, the ESPP initiative will be
re-conducted in 2009.