Abengoa’s human resource management model is based on competencies, which therefore facilitates integration between strategic objectives and the position and individual, while helping to identify talent.
Abengoa is aware that in the current environment characterized by innovation and change, the performance of its professionals and the company’s ability to attract, develop and retain talent are the keys to success. Abengoa is therefore firmly committed to human resources with the twofold aim of:
Attracting, developing and retaining talent is the key to Abengoa’s success. The company therefore utilizes its management model to nourish the qualities and talents of its employees so that their contributions meet company needs.
Abengoa is aware of the importance of employee motivation and for them to take part in company activities, feel that they belong to a common project and make the most of the range of opportunities. All of these are elements of professional motivation fostered by the company in pursuit of personal and professional development.
The company is firmly committed to improving business processes, working conditions, improving environmental conditions and solving problems. To this end, it implements a wide range of programs and improvement initiatives; IT mechanisms are developed: Troubleshooting Reports and Improvement Actions, etc.; permanent suggestion boxes are made available through the employee portal; work climate surveys are conducted in order to gauge satisfaction levels; and labor issues are identified where corrective or improvement action is required.
Abengoa believes that commitment, initiative and proactiveness are key aspects in employee relationships. Abengoa therefore understands that the company must guarantee the elements required for development, although once the resources and conditions are in place, employees must assume responsibility and commitment and respond accordingly, not only through mere participation, but also through excellent performance, which thus becomes the backbone of the system.
In turn, information and communication are essential parts of the relationship between Abengoa and its employees. Commitment and trust must necessarily involve the company informing its stakeholders and allowing them to participate in the process. Abengoa therefore ensures that all of its communication channels enable and facilitate fluid two-way communication.
Communication is paramount to the company’s culture, and Abengoa understands that sharing information is an enriching experience, by bringing people together and generating opportunities.
Company growth is based on the development of the people who make up the organization, and fulfilling strategies stems from the performance of personnel teams. Thus, the key to success lies in the quality of the company’s employees and in their managers.
Abengoa therefore has an executive development program and a specific system for assessing their performance based on the 360º approach. In 2009, over 700 company professionals were signed up to the program.
On a monthly basis, the strategy committee meetings of each of the business groups analyze director profiles and those of potential company directors, assess the professional development and training plans in place, and define career opportunities, new duties, destinations and missions.
Abengoa also has a competency-based management model in place throughout all of its companies. This model facilitates integration of personnel with the strategic objectives, annual performance assessment and development. In 2009, 72% of employees were attached to a performance assessment program.
Photo taken by Mª Victoria Sánchez Jiménez from Abengoa
Abengoa has rolled out a host of initiatives to make the working environment more human and pleasant, enhance quality of life at work and promote a balance between work and home life.
The following stand out among these initiatives:
Employee benefits are enjoyed by all employees irrespective of the nature of their contractual relationship.
Management procedures require that all Abengoa employees have life and disability insurance coverage, and the companies in each country are responsible for taking out these policies for all employees.
Every two years, Abengoa prepares working climate surveys in order to gain insight into employee perception of the company and its management of employees. The last survey was conducted in 2008 and the results obtained have led to the implementation of a range of initiatives with the sole aim of improving aspects receiving poorer employee evaluation and enhancing those that are most positive.
Here the following are worthy of mention:
For the third consecutive year, Abengoa participated in the Corporate Reputation Business Monitor (MERCO in its Spanish acronym), which started life in 1999 at the Complutense University of Madrid.
Since then, Abengoa went from being ranked 96th, in 2007, to occupying the 34th position in 2009, while also representing one of the 10 most highly valued companies by human resource directors.
This acknowledgment underpins the value of Abengoa’s management model, including a range of initiatives for attracting, developing and retaining talent, which has made the company one of the most attractive for professionals.
Located in Seville, Abengoa’s new headquarters, Palma Altas Campus, symbolizes Abengoa’s pledge to creating a sustainable business environment, fostering technological innovation and research, attracting talent and enabling employees to strike a balance between a high level of productivity and an advanced social model.
The different areas, the environment, element layout, orientation, energy and architectural concepts; everything is designed to achieve the desired goal: a sustainable complex that is highly responsible, both technologically and socially.
CPA Photo taken by Victor Sájara
Palmas Altas Campus, inaugurated in 2009, provides the perfect backdrop for the social model Abengoa pursues for its employees; a model which gives priority to a richer balance in personal and professional life; a place for addressing all employee needs.
The Campus offers Abengoa employees an ample food court spanning 1,600 m², divided into three restaurants that offer different kinds of varied and balanced food; day care services for employees’ children aged between 0 and 3; medical service with specialized healthcare professionals and an innovative system of telemedicine for online consultation with specialists, who are able to diagnose the problem and optimize treatments in real time; two sports facilities for a range of different sporting activities; recreation room with computers, television, newspapers and magazines; a mini-market; and generously sized green areas in which to stroll.
CPA Photo taken by Victor Sájara
It is important for Abengoa that the benefits of Palmas Altas Campus have a positive effect on all of the company’s employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, investors, etc., thereby making the Campus a place of encounter for all of the group’s companies.
Furthermore, the Campus is the first European building to obtain the highest level of sustainability pre-certification (LEED Platinum), awarded by the Green Building Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sustainable construction.
Attracting, developing and retaining talent is key to success at Abengoa