Diversity in the workplace
Rabobank Group believes that differences between people should be celebrated. As an
employer, it wants to promote diversity and ensure a non-discriminatory working environment.
Diversity encourages enterprise. Several studies have shown that teams made up of people
from varied backgrounds enhance performance and boost creativity. In 2009, Rabobank
continued to position itself assertively as an attractive employer for all target groups by
attending networking events and career fairs, and by means of other activities aimed at
encouraging new people from different backgrounds to join us. Rabobank was one of two
financial employers at Diversity Works, a career fair for highly educated, talented people from
ethnic minorities. Rabobank also supports multicultural networks, such as Tannet, and similar
networks for students and professionals. Diversity is a precondition for several entry program
mes, such as the programme for corporate management trainees. Local Rabobanks take the
approach that clients want to be able to identify with bank employees. At Rabobank Rotterdam,
currently 30% of employees are not originally from the Netherlands.
As information concerning ethnicity cannot be obtained without the express permission
of the individual employee, the figures available do not provide an accurate picture. For this
reason, we cannot justify including in our annual report any information on the number of
employees of dual culture or the size of this group as a proportion of our overall workforce.
Women at the top
Encouraging more women to reach to top ranks remains an important issue. 2009 saw the
first appointment of a woman to the Executive Board of Rabobank Nederland, and the
appointment of a second woman to the Supervisory Board.
Almost 11 of the senior management of Rabobank Group are women in the Netherlands;
our target for 2009 was at least 15%. During 2009, measures were introduced such as equal
participation by women in talent development programmes and the use of targets for recruiting
trainees, and at the same time the foundations were laid for a structural programme aimed at
achieving a balanced composition and constant increase in female talent at the top. De Lage
Landen started to study the position of women in the organisation at an international level
during 2009. The results of this study will be used to formulate objectives and policy in this
area. Also in 2009, Rabobank Group was one of the founding partners of LEAP!, a network for
today's and tomorrow's female leaders. LEAP! brings ambitious women together and provides
a platform for sharing expertise, knowledge and experience.
A good employer
During 2009, the popularity of working in the financial sector declined. Despite, or perhaps
thanks to, the financial crisis, Rabobank has managed to strengthen its position in the sector,
and it won a number of accolades and awards in the area of employment in 2009. Rabobank
remained at the top of the list of Intelligence Group's Barometer of Favourite Employers
throughout the year. Rabobank was the most popular employer in the financial sector
according to a survey of financial students conducted by Ebbinge, and it was also the best
employer in the Netherlands in a survey conducted by Intermediair magazine. The fact that
Rabobank has excellent terms of employment was confirmed, with eight out often Rabobank
employees saying they looked forward to going to work every morning. In 2009, Rabobank
won the Internal Reputation Award presented by Incompany business magazine, having gained
the highest scores for reliability, soundness and success. According to Blauw, a research
agency, 31% of Rabobank employees are superpromoters, i.e. colleagues who actively share
their enthusiasm for Rabobank and are taken seriously by the people around them. The figure
for the financial sector was 12%, and for the Netherlands as a whole 9%. Rabobank was also
among the top five ICT employers in a survey conducted by Corporate Research Foundation
(CRF), obtaining high scores in categories including chances of internal promotion.
A new collective bargaining agreement
Rabobank concluded a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in April 2009. In view of the
turbulent state of the economy, a relatively short duration of nine months (until 1 February
2010) was chosen, and a collective pay increase of 1.5% with effect from 1 May 2009 was
agreed. The core themes of the CBA are job security, productivity improvements, employability
and modernisation. With a view to improving employability, it was agreed that a virtual career
Employees
