annual report - Royal Haskoning

enewal in the company
report of the board of management
still full of life after 125 years
Royal Haskoning’s 125th anniversary in 2006 was the reason for festivities, but also for reflection about our own development
and our role as a knowledge company in the 21st century. Thanks to constant renewal, we have reached the age of 125 and
renewal will also be a condition for continuity in the future. After all, innovation stimulates us and enables us to tailor our
services to our clients even better, and thereby also constantly augments our competitive strength.
When people speak of innovation, it is mostly about technological renewal. But this definition is too narrow for us.
Of course Royal Haskoning provides plenty of scope for personal initiative and new ideas, and this leads to many technological
innovations. Some recent examples are the floating container crane, the Manchester Bobber, which converts tidal energy
into electricity, and also DIAF, the digital permit application form, which has rapidly been taken up by a large number of
government agencies and businesses.
However, we believe in a broader approach to renewal that is not only aimed at technological innovation. The development of
new forms of contract and collaboration is an example of transactional innovation. The scouting of new markets and the active
promotion of good ideas and solutions, such as the proposal for a string of artificial reefs to protect the Dutch coast, is market
innovation. And our one-company concept and international knowledge network are examples of organisational innovation.
most important challenges identified
A systematic innovation policy, incorporating these four dimensions of innovation, must be the motor for the permanent
renewal that we are striving for. For this reason we also regularly draw up an inventory of our strengths and weaknesses as
well as our opportunities and threats. Based on this we see four important challenges (see page 14).
Our position in the labour market is stronger than might be expected given our size. In 2006 we were recognised as an employer
in the top 50 of all employers in the Netherlands and in the top 100 in the United Kingdom. In view of the worsening shortage in
the labour market, however, we must remain attractive as an employer. We are therefore aiming for enduring recognition of our
position as an employer of choice. We regard a modern employment package and attention for diversity as prerequisites for this.
We are seeing increasing demand from clients in the market for a single integrated partner who can guarantee the rapid
completion of projects. With our one-company concept, we are well positioned to successfully respond to this. However, this
is on the condition that we are prepared to think in terms of the programmes and total solutions that we can offer our clients
instead of products and stand-alone projects.
We will have to gain more experience with the latest ICT applications in order to make full use of the innovative strength of
our people and our international network. Our level of ambition is high in this area but this means that we must not shrink
from long-term investments.
At the same time, the spread of our international network is not yet sufficient. We are still too small and are therefore
lacking in effectiveness in a number of markets. We can make better use of the opportunities for extra growth in turnover by
converting project offices into permanent offices in promising markets.
>> full of life after 125 years through constant renewal
>> development of systematic innovation policy
>> four most important challenges identified
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annual report 2006 >>