Committed to employee engagement
DSM’s vision of employing bright science to create a brighter future requires commitment, passion and a strong feeling of involvement from the people who work for us.
Clear engagement strategy
Our ‘Passion for People’ HR strategy focuses on the key driver of business success: employee engagement. Passion for People is about creating an inclusive and high-energy working environment in which employees work together towards the same goals. This delivers a competitive advantage – an engaged and motivated workforce gives their best every day.
In 2011 DSM executed its fourth worldwide Employee Engagement Survey. Over 19,800 employees (including 1000 contractors) in more than 50 countries completed the questionnaire that was distributed online and on paper in 17 languages to all DSM employees. This represents a very high response rate of 91%, which exceeds the 90% response rate of 2010.
DSM employee survey: 91% satisfaction
The main element in the survey is the measurement of DSM’s Employee Engagement Index, the percentage of employees scoring favorably on a combination of four attributes: commitment, pride, advocacy and satisfaction. The Employee Engagement Index measured in 2011 was 71%, the same as in 2010 and above the global overall norm (68%). The neutral responses amounted to 19%, the same as in 2010. The DSM score takes DSM within an 8 percentage point range of the external benchmark of high performing companies (scoring 79% favorably), which is the league DSM wants to be part of.
The scores improved slightly on most dimensions. The main improvements compared to 2010 related to the DSM Change Agenda and employees’ awareness of the DSM whistleblower procedure. The dimensions that received the highest scores were Safety (82% favorable), Teamwork (79% favorable), Sustainability (77% favorable) and My Manager (77% favorable). This reflects DSM’s strong focus on these areas of importance and demonstrates that employees believe in a sustainable future for DSM. The lowest scoring dimensions related to Compensation (57% favorable), DSM’s Change Agenda (57% favorable) and Inspirational Leadership (57% favorable). The Change Agenda score was still low but showed the largest improvement compared to 2010.
Engagement survey follow-up
The survey results for the individual DSM units have been translated into measurable action plans. DSM will continue to use the Employee Engagement Survey to guide its Change Agenda activities.
