2009 Reference document - Solvay

3 Rhodia’s
44
Responsibilities and Sustainable Development
commitments to its employees
The APDI facilitates the training and transfer process at Rhodia.
In fact, during this interview, a manager and employee make an
in-depth analysis of behavior and technical aspects, in order to identify
strong points and areas for improvement. They then determine the
development tracks necessary for individual performance. This
analysis allows for reflecting on professional advancement and its
inclusion in the Group’s transfer and career management process.
3.3.3.1 Transfer management policy
and process
The challenge of the transfer policy is to encourage in-house transfers
of employees while capitalizing on local employees’ expertise and
skills. Its implementation is based on coordinated international
management of the different job categories.
Led by the Group Human Resources network, the transfer process is
applied in each country for positions created locally. For international
positions essentially concerning executives, transfers are organized
by Geographic Zone . At the same time, through the “career
opportunities” section on the Intranet, employees can learn of and
apply for positions to be filled within the entire Group.
The transfer process is based on two tools widely disseminated within
the Group:
1 the Progression, Development and Succession Plan (PDSP),
“intended to anticipate changes and replacements to be made”
Reference Document Rhodia 2009
is sent to all managers. Disseminated worldwide according to
a very strict annual schedule, it allows for preparing succession
plans on the basis of individual advancement plans;
1 the advance planning of jobs and skills involves all job categories.
It involves a collective approach implemented within the Group,
which translates in France in particular into agreements with
corporate partners.
The performance of the transfer process is currently measured by
in-house and geographic transfer criteria.
In-house transfers
In 2009, in-house transfers of Group executives were estimated at
20%. More specifically, 16.5% of Group executives received a lateral
transfer or a promotion, of which 3.5% were international.
Geographic transfers
Due to the economic difficulties experienced in 2009, the number
of employees receiving international transfers decreased and this
occurred proportionately to the change in Group staff.
This decrease is associated with the limitation of new assignments
in 2009 combined with numerous returns due to the expiration of
expatriation contracts.
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Number of expatriates, “opportunity assignments,”
and short-term assignments 121 111 137 132 114 106
Breakdown of employees receiving international transfers by geographical zone as of December 2009
Area Expatriates NCC/MILD Opportunity + Short-term Assignments Total
Asia 33 16 2 51
Europe 13 10 3 26
Latin America 7 1 0 8
North America 7 13 1 21
TOTAL 60 40 6 106
3.3.3.2 Training management policy
and process
Rhodia’s training policy aims to provide the Group’s 13,581
employees with the same number of hours of training regardless of
their position, the unit they belong to or their geographical location.
To train the largest number of employees, Rhodia has chosen to value
the wealth of internal knowledge by relying on the skills of some
employees, who agree to give their time above and beyond their
specific job to share their expertise for the benefit of those interested
in it. External training programs are thus limited to the acquisition
of new skills or the enrichment of internal programs.