APC 2015 Annual Report Download - page 41

2015 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC 39
OVERVIEW OF THE GROUP’S STRATEGY, MARKETS AND BUSINESSES
1
RISK FACTORS
The Group’s Human Resources strategy is strongly anchored in its
« Total Employee Experience » philosophy, ensuring that Human
Resources offers at every stage of an employee’s life cycle within
the company remain attractive in order to recognize, reward and
retain employees. The Human Resources Function is valued as
a backbone of support for the business, bringing effi ciency and
quality to the employee experience. Our entire HR Strategy is being
developed to support our 2020 vision on leadership and culture
at Schneider Electric. It defi nes the values and transformation we
want to accomplish, one of them being to increase our diversity.
We believe it is key if we want to keep on meeting the expectations
of our customers through ongoing innovation. Our multi-polar
organization with senior leaders in every continent has been created
to facilitate the growth of talents in every part of the world.
To nurture the resilient and innovative workforce required for its
success, the Group encourages employees to take ownership
of managing their performance and career development. From
the point of joining, employees are immersed in a learning culture
founded upon three pillars: Education, Experience and Exposure
(3Es). Learning initiatives are actively driven by Human Resources;
internal processes and programs are geared towards creating
learning opportunities for employees; managers are encouraged
to guide and coach employees in their individual development
journeys. At the end, we want our employees to feel accountable
for their development and success at Schneider Electric.
During 2015 further steps were taken to reinforce the active
management of talent at all levels and in all parts of the company.
A state-of-the-art talent management system was introduced to
support employees in planning their career development, while
giving managers and HR specialists enhanced visibility to plan for
longer-term career development and succession to critical roles in
the organization. Our culture of systematically reviewing talent at
every level of the organization gives fair opportunity to everyone to
progress.
The Group’s acquisitions and growth ambitions have increased its
global presence and internationalized the profi le of its workforce.
This and company reorganization highlighted the importance and
necessity of working well together. Employee engagement efforts
are therefore key to creating a common Schneider Electric identity
while promoting diversity and inclusion. The Group introduced a
global Diversity & Inclusion policy in 2014, and has for the past few
years regularly sought both blue and white-collar feedback through
bi-annual company-wide employee engagement surveys. Listening
to our employees and acting upon their feedback is a key pillar of
our HR Strategy and actions.
These employee engagement efforts support employer branding
initiatives; the Group has actively reached out to prospective
employees through social media platforms and events for targeted
groups, and has continued to gain accolades as an «Employer of
Choice».
Work continues to be done in these and other areas so that HR is
equipped to effectively deliver its employer value proposition and
further support the Group in its future endeavours.
7.2 Industrial and environmental risks
Defective products or design flaws may cause
bodily harm or property damage and subject
us to product liability claims and other adverse
effects.
Despite its testing and quality procedures, the Group’s products
might not operate properly or might contain design faults or defects,
which could give rise to disputes in respect of our liability as seller or
manufacturer, notably in Europe, where liability related to defective
products could lead to a loss of revenue, claims under warranty
and legal proceedings. Such disputes could reduce demand
for our products or harm our reputation for safety and quality. To
prevent or limit these risks, Schneider Electric immediately recalls
products if there are any doubts whatsoever that a product or one
of its components is not 100% safe for people and/or equipment.
Another broad recall campaign involves our global recall of Vigi
Compact NS/NSX circuit breakers produced between 2009 and
2011, which began in 2011 and was continued in 2012 and 2013.
It was concluded in 2014.
As in 2014, no broad product recall was begun in 2015.
Some of the expenses incurred by Schneider Electric in the context
of product recalls are covered by the liability insurance program
described in the « Insurance» section below.
Provisions for product risk totaled EUR459 million as of December
31, 2015 (see note 23 to the consolidated fi nancial statements).