APC 2004 Annual Report Download - page 55

53
Business Review
Training
Schneider Electric uses training to develop skills and
nurture employee loyalty.
In 2004, the Company welcomed 117 graduates from
50 countries into its Marco Polo international recruit-
ment program. Established five years ago, Marco Polo
gives young graduates from around the world the
opportunity to gain two years of professional experi-
ence abroad before returning to their home countries.
The Schneider Management Institute develops pro-
grams for high-level managers and experts. These
courses, which primarily concern our vision, strategy
and Company Program objectives, give managers a
better view of Schneider Electric's challenges and
commitments. In 2004, 672 managers from 59 coun-
tries participated in Institute seminars.
To inform employees and raise awareness about sus-
tainable development, we created an intranet site and
a dedicated section on our corporate website in 2004.
We also launched an e-learning course on sustain-
able development. Available in French, English and
Spanish, this resource was created for all employees
interested in learning more about sustainable devel-
opment and the environmental issues facing a manu-
facturer like Schneider Electric.
Career development and internationalization
International mobility
By posting employees outside their home countries,
we are able to prepare the future and build teams and
skills in regions in which we want to operate.
In 2004, we continued to internationalize our man-
agement base by fostering international assignments.
The inter-country mobility rate rose to 35.8% from
22.85% in 2003. 251 people –16% of them women–
representing 51 nationalities took part in mobility pro-
grams.
22.4 %20 % 22.3 %
35.8 %
2002 2003Dec. 31,
2004
2004
target
NEW2004 objective:
Achieve an inter-country mobility rate of 20%
for international executives
Engineers
and managers
Technicians
and supervisors
A dministrative staff
Line employees
2003
Total training costs
10.3 %
14.2 %
28.8 %
46.7 %
2004
11.1 %
8.2 %
31.1 %
49.6 %
2003
Number of days of training
18.4 %
19.1 %
25.7 %
36.8 %
2004
30.2 %
8.9 %
27.5 %
33.4 %
Engineers
and managers
Technicians
and supervisors
Administrative staff
Line employees
Examples
France
Through two employment-support programs called
Eole and Cortex, 1,000 employees were given the
opportunity to create their own companies, take
early retirement or develop a personal project if they
so desired. A committee with labor and manage-
ment representatives tracked the process from start
to finish to ensure that all participants were commit-
ted to success and that the plans were deployed
properly.
United States
The Company considered closing its Oxford, Ohio
site because base costs were too high.
Compensation packages were revised following
negotiations between management and local labor
unions that brought costs to an acceptable level for
all stakeholders. The agreement signed in October
2004 saved 220 jobs at the facility, which makes
busbar trunking.
In re-balancing resources, we have also increased
headcount in fast-growing emerging markets. in
2004, we hired more than 7,000 team members in
Australia, India, China and other countries.