Why employees
are key to
our success
We set great store by human capital. Without the right people, we are unable to
achieve our strategic goals. Since people are key to our success, Rabobank invests
a great deal in its employees, not just in terms of their conditions of employment,
but also by providing training, opportunities for growth, health care and helping
employees strike a good work/life balance. Our workforce is aging, and in a changing
and innovative environment such as Rabobank's, it is vital that our employees are
versatile and always have relevant skills. This will continue to be the case as Rabobank
moves forward into the future and work becomes less time and place dependent in
order to cater for the wishes of our clients. Rabobank also attaches great value to
talent development, diversity and raising awareness of CSR among its employees.
Our HR policy proved its worth again in 2008 - Rabobank has a high level of staff
satisfaction, and is ranked highly in employer league tables.
New style of working
www.rabobank.com
Within Rabobank, work will no longer be time and place dependent. Employees will be able to decide
for themselves, more than ever before, how and when they will do their work. This new style of working
is based on trust, responsibility for one's own actions, and flexibility, together with a good work/life
balance. This ties in with Rabobank's performance management system, which incorporates targets,
appropriate training, assessment and remuneration. The new style of working is being introduced in two
programmes: Rabo Unplugged and Rabobank 2010.
Rabobank 2010 calls for new competencies and skills
Rabobank 2010 calls for a new style of working and cooperation, and places great emphasis on flexibility,
enterprise and the need to focus on results. It also means changes in the work that employees do, calling
for new competencies and skills. We provide intensive training and support to help them prepare for this.
Rabo Unplugged: fewer rules, greater responsibilities
At Rabobank Nederland, the new style of working is being introduced under the Rabo Unplugged
programme.The guiding principle behind Rabo Unplugged is that individual employees should be
bound by fewer rules and have greater responsibilities. Employees can work at the office and elsewhere,
and are not tied to normal office hours. A uniform style of working and standardised tools have been
introduced to facilitate teamwork. Employees are able to make choices when performing their work,
and have a responsibility to ensure they take adequate steps to relax. Managers evaluate staff on the
basis of their results, not on the basis of their presence. This means that trust and giving employees
sufficient scope to be enterprising are vital aspects of the management style.
In October 2008, 500 employees of Rabobank Nederland moved to a new location and started a pilot
project in which they work in accordance with the principles of Rabo Unplugged. The experience gained
from this pilot project is being used in the final concept for the new head office in Utrecht.
Diversity to stimulate enterprise
Rabobank Group's HR policy celebrates differences in people. Diversity encourages enterprise, and teams
made up of people from varied backgrounds promote quality and creativity. In 2008,20% of the students
who took up work placements at Rabobank came from a multicultural background. As we would like to
increase this number to 25%, one of the focuses of the HR policy for 2009 is to recruit and develop
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Report of the Executive Board
