APC 2007 Annual Report Download - page 29

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Description of the Company and its businesses
1
8. Human Resources
Developing a global system for
managing human resources
Schneider Electric's strategic repositioning has had a sig-
nificant impact on the Group's size and skills profile. In
2007, its corporate community comprised 120,000 people
representing several dozen nationalities. What's more new
competencies, notably in innovation and solutions, have
been added to the Group’s traditional expertise.
The Group’s human resources departments have had to
adapt to this new situation, especially in 2006 and 2007
when many acquisitions were made. Global human re-
sources policies have been designed to support this
growth, develop the necessary skills, anticipate changes
in the Group’s businesses, create an attractive and stimu-
lating working environment and define Schneider Electric’s
new values.
Measures to meet new needs
The Competency Master Plan
To meet these objectives, the Group has continued to de-
ploy its Competency Master Plan for global human re-
sources management. Designed with input from HR
managers and team members around the world, the sys-
tem is based on a shared set of job classifications and
competencies that provides the basic information needed
for human resources management.
The system’s competency plans allow the country organi-
zations and various departments to define the skills sets
they will be needing in three years’ time based on business
plans and analyses of changes in the business. This infor-
mation can then be used to establish the necessary hiring,
training and mobility programs. The competency plans are
used in all the Group’s units.
All employees have the opportunity to map out their career
paths with their managers during individual competency
interviews, taking into account changes within the Group’s
businesses. In this way, they can discuss possible direc-
tions for development and identify useful training programs
to build their future.
Geographic re-balancing
The Group’s commitment to producing close to customers,
notably in emerging markets, has led it to rebalance human
resources at production sites. This has been done through
targeted hiring plans.
Managing acquisitions
Schneider Electric’s human resources policies also pay
special attention to acquisitions. They offer situation-spe-
cific resources and advice to managers to help them re-
tain newly arrived talent. These include motivating career
plans, training, and suggestions on ways to create a stim-
ulating working environment.
Diversity
Part of adapting human resources to the Group's new con-
figuration has involved promoting all types of diversity.
In 2007, particular emphasis was placed on increasing the
number of women in management, with the goal of filling
30% of key positions worldwide with women engineers and
managers in the next four years.
Schneider Electric’s commitment to promoting women was
demonstrated in several ways during the year:
The Group partnered a Chinese delegation at the Third
Women's Forum in 2007. The 50 women, all decision-
makers and representatives of the role women want to
play in China, participated in a series of meetings and
conferences in which they were able to exchange their
views on economic and societal issues.
In France, the Group also partnered with Institut National
des Sciences Appliquées (INSA) in Lyon and Ecole Na-
tionale Supérieure des Techniques Appliquées (ENSTA) in
Paris on a program called "Choisis ta Vie" (Choose Your
Life) to assist 20 women engineering students in planning
their career paths. The participants attended a three-month
collective training program at Schneider Electric and re-
ceived personalized mentoring from women managers at
the Group. The program will continue in 2008.
Two programs were carried out to help high-potential
women emerge and accelerate their careers:
- First, 100 high-potential women were identified in an out-
growth of the People Review process. This allows the
Group to identify key women in all Schneider Electric units
worldwide and track them throughout their careers.
- Second, a brainstorming group was set up to formulate
ten major measures that will be deployed within the Group
to enhance promotion of women.
The Group supported Talent and Performance Manage-
ment, which encourages mobility for women among
Schneider Electric’s units and 106 host countries.
The Group organized a Women’s Forum on October 29
and 30, 2007 at which some sixty Schneider Electric em-
ployees from all career horizons discussed professional
development opportunities for women within the Group.
In addition:
Schneider Electric’s traditionally all-male Executive Com-
mittee now includes a woman: Karen Ferguson, Executive
Vice President Global Human Resources.
In France, Schneider Electric signed a Group-wide
agreement for 2007-2009 that includes all subsidiaries for
the first time. This decisive step forward for diversity is de-
signed to promote employment, training and job opportu-
nities for the disabled, in compliance with the French law of
February 11, 2005 mandating equal rights, opportunities,
participation and citizenship for the disabled. Under the
agreement, the Group will take on 45 disabled work-study
participants, hire 45 disabled employees, develop agree-
ments and partnerships with local communities to facilitate
applicant searches, enhance ties with the protected em-
ployment sector, and offer similar quality of life and career
path opportunities as for non-disabled employees.
Workforce
by region in 2007
n Europe
n North America
n Asia-Pacific
n Rest of the World
43%
24%
27%
6%