Disclosure on Management Approach: Labour
Organisation
Labour issues are overseen by the People Board, which is responsible for overseeing strategy, performance and compliance in relation to the People Policy and the Health and Safety Policy, both of which are part of the Novo Nordisk Way of Management. The board’s mandate includes responsibility for:
- Labour relations
- Human rights (employees)
- Diversity and equal opportunities
- Occupational health and safety
- Training and education
- Employment.
The board is chaired by Lise Kingo, executive vice president and chief of staffs, and consists of senior People & Organisation (human resources) professionals representing key geographies and functions in the company. Occupational health and safety (OHS) is also subject to oversight by the Environment, Bioethics & OH&S Committee. See Novo Nordisk’s Environmental management approach disclosure.
Policy
The Novo Nordisk Way of Management defines the overarching policy framework, in terms of business conduct business generally, and specifically in terms of the management of labour issues (including its support for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights):
- The People Policy requires all staff to ensure equal opportunities for all.
- The Novo Nordisk Way of Management also requires that all employees have a development plan that is reviewed annually by the employee and his or her manager.
- Novo Nordisk has adopted the ILO Protocol of 2002 to the Occupational Safety and Health Convention 1981.
Goals
Novo Nordisk’s overall labour-related goals are defined in the People Strategy, which has been developed based on business needs and challenges throughout Novo Nordisk. The strategy is guided by our Vision, our People Policy and our Triple Bottom Line approach that all stress the critical importance of people in Novo Nordisk. At the global level, the primary focus of Novo Nordisk’s human resources management, as defined in the People Strategy, is ensuring that key capabilities are built and maintained within the company.
These include recruitment; talent development; performance management; reward & mobility; and organisational design. Responsibility for defining and achieving specific performance goals is devolved to regions and affiliates in order to enable them to be tailored to the local country context.
Global health and safety targets have been set annually since 2003 in order to reduce the number of accidents. In 2006 a global OHS Management System based on OHSAS 18001 came into force as a Novo Nordisk quality assurance document. The system is mandatory for the entire Danish organisation as well as for the Novo Nordisk production facilities in France, the US, Brazil, China and Japan.
Monitoring
2007, OHS internal audits were initiated to measure compliance with the management system. The outcome so far is positive and has improved the focus on OHS management. Responsibility for monitoring performance on other labour related issues is devolved to regions and affiliates.
eVoice, the annual employee survey of the working climate, measures how Novo Nordisk employees perceive the level of diversity and equal opportunities within the company.
