Employability
Employability will become much more important in the coming years owing to the expected
labour shortage and the exodus of the baby boomer generation from the labour market.
Rabobank recognises the importance of employability and for this reason in the spring it
looked into long-term employability. To summarise, it transpires that there is fertile ground
among managers and employees for improving employability. They recognise its usefulness,
its importance and their own responsibility in this area. However, there is a discrepancy
between expectations regarding the role played by managers and how this role is enacted in
reality. Employees have clear expectations concerning their future prospects and their
possibilities in the event of organisational change, but these expectations are only partially
met. This situation can be seen at all group entities. In addition, discussions regarding
employability frequently do not go any further and fail to lead to any goal-oriented action
being taken. In 2012, a number of targeted campaigns will be developed.
Professional skills
During the past year, work was done on simplifying the policy on expertise. In the banking
community there are legal requirements concerning the expertise of employees. The updated
policy on expertise makes a clear distinction between what needs to be learned from a legal
perspective (laws and general rules) and local responsibility for competent employees
(professional skills). This distinction ensures that local Rabobanks are able to have as much
control as possible over the development of employees, based on the local Rabobank's
responsibility for serving clients. At the same time, employees and the bank can be confident
that they fulfil the legal requirements. Under this new policy, employees are challenged, more
than ever before, to take control of developing their own professional skills.
Local Rabobanks in 2011
In many respects, for the employees of the local Rabobanks 2011 was a continuation, albeit
tougher, of 2010. Employees were presented with the challenge of combining their focus on
the customer with a keener eye for risk and in some cases a vital internal focus. This is one of
the reasons why Rabobank's new HR vision, 'People connect the bank', was communicated
widely, with the aim of supporting employees and managers in their day-to-day considerations.
Every day, the bank reconnects with its customers, society, its employees and the future.
This calls for personal leadership and a sincere connection on the part of employees and
managers. A good talk between employees and managers forms the basis for connecting.
The New World of Work
Rabo Unplugged has now become the style of working for many employees of Rabobank
Nederland. It enables employees to decide for themselves how they should organise their
work in order to provide better customer service. This style of working has made Rabobank
Nederland a source of inspiration for many local Rabobanks and subsidiaries as well as outside
organisations. Employees have mastered putting concepts such as freedom, responsibility and
trust into practice. There are still gains to be made in a number of areas, such as social cohesion
within entities and leadership, in the next few years. Rabobank Nederland's new building was
brought into use in 2011. The building offers employees an inspirational working environment
that is in keeping with the New World of Work.
Robeco is implementing the New World of Work by means of a programme, You!, which stands
for individual opportunities and personal development as well as teamwork and knowledge
sharing. The New World of Work is also on the agenda at De Lage Landen, and arrangements
on exploring this issue further were made in the new collective bargaining agreement.
Diversity in the workplace
In 2011 Rabobank engaged in activities to increase diversity among its employees. At Rabobank
Nederland, this led to a number of management trainees and corporate management trainees
with a multicultural background being taken on at Group ICT. As a follow-up to the CBA
arrangements on diversity, during the year under review Rabo Real Estate Group continued
its pilot project in which vacancies at the administrative centre that are suitable for starters
are placed with an employment agency for young people in receipt of disability benefits.
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Annual Report 2011 Rabobank Group
