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BAKKAVOR ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2012
our responsibilities
3. running our business sustainably
10
FOLLOWING OUR LAST EMPLOYEE SURVEY IN 2010,
EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION WAS IDENTIFIED AS A
KEY IMPROVEMENT AREA.
Sbakkavor apprenticeships
taken up in 2012
As a direct result of this, in 2012 we established
a Group Communications Policy which sets out
standards for Group and site communication.
our 2013
target is 30
GROUP APPRENTICESHIPS
2012 action
In May 2012 we launched the Bakkavor Apprenticeship Scheme
(BAS) offering Advanced Apprenticeships in Food Development,
Manufacturing, Food Technology and Administration across various
locations in the UK and working with the University of Lincoln as
our learning provider. Successful applicants are paid more than the
recommended weekly wage during their two-year apprenticeship
and work towards an IPQ Level 3 Diploma in Food Industry Skills. In
September 2012 we took on our first 10 apprentices.
2013 focus
Attracting good people into the business remains a priority. We aim to
offer 30 BAS places in 2013 and have allocated dedicated resource inhouse
to co-ordinate applicants and programmes.
DIVERSITY
2012 action
Our ‘Better Together’ self-audit tool was designed in 2011 and launched
at the beginning of 2012. During the year 16 sites completed the selfaudit
and put in place action plans to improve workforce cohesion.
2013 focus
Following the first self-audits we have started to implement three action
plans to ensure that our approach to diversity remains high on the agenda.
• Diversity maps: our aim is to develop a diversity map for each
business to assess and understand better our diversity profiles.
• Diversity training: our aim initially is to train all managers in Dignity at
Work (our internal diversity programme) and to ensure this training is
refreshed every two years.
• Embedding our values: this initiative, already underway, has been
identified as a key activity to support a more cohesive workforce.
EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION
2012 action
At our 2012 GEF we relaunched our values using a new ‘winning team’
theme to bring them to life and to embed them across the Group. The new
look values have now been rolled out across the Group (see page 21).
Following our last Employee Survey in 2010, employee communication
was identified as a key improvement area. As a direct result of this, in
2012 we established a Group Communications Policy which sets out
standards for Group and site communication. As part of this policy we
now publish a quarterly Group newsletter which updates all employees
on activities across the Group and our General Managers brief their sites
every quarter on the Group’s performance.
Another initiative which came about as a direct result of the 2010
employee survey was a need to improve the effectiveness of the SEF.
Our first action was to benchmark our SEF against other companies.
Although we were pleased to note that our SEF ranked highly
against those of our peer group, we identified a need to improve the
understanding of the role of the SEF amongst our middle managers and
those responsible for chairing each local SEF.
2013 focus
We have developed customised training programmes for middle managers
and SEF Chair people to improve the effectiveness of the SEF and we aim
to measure their impact in the next employee survey due in 2013.
INDUSTRY ENGAGEMENT
2012 action
In September 2012 we took part in a nationwide UK industry initiative
to help tackle the issue of long-term youth unemployment through
Skills for Work workshops. A number of our sites held half-day training
sessions on CV writing and interview techniques.
2013 focus
We have pledged to continue our proactive involvement in this initiative
and have agreed to take part in the 2013 Skills for Work week.
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