Employees
More and more clients are managing their bank
affairs themselves and increasingly visit the
Rabobank's offices only for advice and complex
products.This means that fewer job positions are
required and remaining employees need a new
set of competencies and skills. Rabobank coaches
its employees through these changes and its HR
efforts were highly appreciated in 2003, both
internally and externally.
Fewer staff
Training
58 Rabobank Group Annual Report 2003
Rabobank Group attaches great value to a sound HR policy. Skilled,
enthusiastic employees and effective management and supervision are
key requirements for providing excellent service to our clients in the
future. It is after all the employees who are the human interface between
Rabobank's ambitions and its clients. Rabobank Group regards good
terms of employment and ongoing development of both managers
and employees as preconditions for the realisation of its strategy.
The number of job positions declined further in 2003. As a result of
efficiency programmes and changed customer service, 1,921 FTEs (2002:
1,643) were lost at the combined local Rabobanks.This figure includes
190 employees who left Rabobank as a result of the sale of the travel
activities.The number of man-years at Rabobank Nederland (including
Rabofacet and Rabobank International) decreased slightly, from 6,832 at
the end of 2002 to 6,763 at 31 December 2003.The staff reduction was
achieved without forced redundancies.Temporary contracts were not
extended, external employees were replaced by the bank's own
employees as much as possible and vacancies were filled by internal
employees only, if at all. Under the Social Statute, surplus employees
were assisted in finding new jobs within the Group or outside. As a
result of the reduction, staff costs were contained well, rising by 2% to
EUR 3.8 (3.7) billion.
Because of all the changes, it is crucial that employees have and retain
a wide range of employable skills. For that reason, Rabobank Group
invests a great deal in the training of both employees and managers.
For example, the programme of training courses available for managers
was expanded in 2003, including a new leadership programme and a
training course in result-driven management. In 2003, courses for
employees were focused more specifically on essential training, both for
now and for the future, with employees and their managers drawing up
training agreements in Personal Development Plans. Many specialised
training courses were offered via the Internet in 2003, which saves time
for both the employee and the employer. The direct training costs
amounted to EUR 80 (79) million in 2003.
The birth of
Princess Amalia.
