AAK sustainability report 2018

55 We strive to be an attractive employer with a high-performance organization, built on strongly aligned values with an increasing number of people carrying AAK forward. The AAK Way People project is at the heart of AAK’s ambitions towards people engagement and development. Since it was started in 2017, it has given rise to a broad variety of initiatives and programs that have been pivotal to its success. Not only has this delivered very positive results internally and helped to promote an AAK “family” culture across our worldwide sites and offices, but it is contributing significantly towards the value we create for customers. A more unified business The strategy focuses on four key areas that aim to create a unified business committed to delivering excellence and growth: 1) Revitalize our company values – our culture guides discretionary behavior and makes sure that we behave, internally as well as externally, in the way we promise our customers. We all make hundreds of decisions every day, and our company values are there to guide us. 2) Engaged and skilled people – to measure people engagement we conduct an employee engagement survey every two years. The AAK Way People project Investing in people is our future The next survey will be conducted in 2019. We have also improved our process for learning and develop- ment and added several online training courses. 3) AAK Leadership – during 2017 and 2018, we delivered four days of leadership training for more than 350 managers and key employees worldwide, focusing on our leadership competencies and company values. 4) Organization for future growth – by identifying the specific competencies we need for future growth, we can make sure we either retain employees with these skills, or attract the right new talent into our business. An employer of choice We recognize that people are our greatest resource, which is why we endeavor to attract, train and retain the best minds in the business. To this end, we have also introduced a policy, process and templates for workforce planning. The purpose of workforce planning is to secure management capacity and key competencies for future growth by looking at future organizational demands, succession planning and potential review. By implementing what AAK stands for through the attitude and development of our employees, we can elevate our business by strengthening loyalty, fostering innovation and delivering a more passionate, tailored service. 55