2001 Annual Report - OneSteel

Human ResourcesSTANDING ALONEMuch of the human resources focus coming into theyear was on achieving a smooth transition to anindependent company, with considerable effortdirected toward the establishment of critical systems,workforce communication and to establishing afeeling of common purpose and identity within thenew business.A key strategic theme for the period has beenbuilding a new identity and developing increasedawareness around what it takes to be successful asan independent and publicly listed company.HUMAN RESOURCE INITIATIVESOneSteel Super was established to provideemployees with equivalent benefits and services.With funds under management of over $600 millionand full management responsibilities outsourced toTowers Perrin, OneSteel Super is an innovate solutioncombining the advantages of a Corporate Fund withthose of a Master Trust.In November, OneSteel launched an EmployeeShare Plan under much different arrangements thanpreviously offered to employees. Over 80% of ourworkforce are now shareholders in OneSteel Limited.OneSteel is building a performance-based culture,where people at all levels of the business know whatis required of them and their work teams, areaccountable for their actions, and are encouragedand given licence to improve business performance.These principles have been reinforced through theredesign of remuneration practices incorporatingshort and long-term incentives for business leaders.Considerable efficiencies and cost savings have beenrealised through sharing and consolidating systemsand resources. Examples include a major restructuringof sales and marketing functions across the business, areview of engineering and maintenance services, theprogression toward centralised services in humanresources, finance and supply, and the introduction ofsingle-business policies.The strategic realignment of business activities hasinitiated continued rationalisation in many areas ofoperation, with the integration of former Email sitesinto OneSteel Distribution, the announced closure ofthe Brisbane Bar Mill, and a range of restructuringinitiatives in corporate and business sites. The successof these initiatives rely on continuing to foster strongand productive relationships with employees in a waythat directly engages them in the business.LEADERSHIP AND WORKFORCE CAPABILITYA key strategy has been to build and optimiseorganisational capability.OneSteel has excellent people in key leadershippositions, with a depth of industry experience, andtechnical and people skills. A number of externalappointments to our executive teams have broughtgreater diversity and breadth of experience in specificbusiness functions. Newly-established Lead Teams ineach of the business units are concentrating onachieving stretch goals in safety and profitability, andengaging their people in the challenge.OneSteel’s workforce is second to none. Alreadyrecognised in the industry for their technical ability,employees across all parts of the business havedemonstrated a capacity to respond to and driveimprovement.HUMAN RESOURCES: Linde Gas/WTIA National Young Tradeperson AwardA 22 year old trainee Engineer from OneSteel in Newcastle was awarded theLinde Gas/WTIA National Young Tradeperson of the Year Award for 2000 on the4 May 2001. Richard Skinner was presented the award by Linde Gas Pty Ltd andthe Welding Technology Institute of Australia (WTIA) in recognition of Richard’scommitment to his career, which began with a boiler-making apprenticeship.Richard demonstrated his knowledge of the industry and his work ability bysubmitting a report on the DuraGal ® Portal Frame Shed, a project developed by theOneSteel team in Newcastle for sale and distribution Australia wide. Richardshowed an advanced level of understanding of the design, fabrication and testingof specific portal-frame welded connections.21Following extensive audits of our safety systems andperformance, OneSteel was granted workers’compensation self-insurer licences in NSW, Victoria,Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia,providing significant cost benefits to the business.OneSteel is a self-insurer for workers’ compensationpurposes in the States outlined in Figure Fourteen. Thebalance of the provision at 30 June, representingoutstanding claims, has been included in the amountsdisclosed as “Other provisions” in the Statement ofFinancial Position.Figure Fourteen – Outstanding Claims Provisions30 June 2001$mQueensland 1.5New South Wales 25.0Victoria 2.6South Australia 4.1Western Australia 0.733.9The integration of the Email Metals businesses furthercapitalised on the learnings and achievements fromthe “spin-out”, as cultures were merged, new teamscreated and synergy benefits realised.Over the same period the human resource (HR)function was reconfigured with numbers reduced tobetter than benchmark standards. A central HRservices team was established, relieving field HR staffof considerable transactional work to concentrate onleadership support/development, businessimprovement and specific business-wide HR strategies.Successful implementation of these and other projectsdemonstrated a capacity to lead significant change atminimal cost, whilst supporting leaders in theachievement of business outcomes.FOCUS FOR THE COMING YEARWith Lead Teams established and the right people inkey positions, the coming year will see attentiondirected towards the following areas:• fostering a true performance culture;• developing business, technical and people skills inOneSteel future leaders;• working with employees around shared goals toachieve improved business performance, safetyand profitability;• identifying and implementing restructuringinitiatives; and• further developing smart solutions to reduce costsand streamline the delivery of internal supportservices.