ŠKODA ANNUAL PRESS CONFERENCE 2016|Statement Mr. Wojnar
ŠKODA Annual Press Conference 2016
Mladá Boleslav, 16 March 2016
Bohdan Wojnar
ŠKODA AUTO Board Member for Human Resources Management
ŠKODA ANNUAL PRESS CONFERENCE 2016|Statement Mr. Wojnar
– The spoken word prevails –
Speech manuscript for Bohdan Wojnar
ŠKODA AUTO a.s., Annual Press Conference 2016
16 March 2016
Slide: ‘Introduction slide’
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would also like to offer you a very warm welcome to the ŠKODA AUTO annual press
conference.
2015 was also an intensive and successful year for HR management. In 2016,
new trends are at the forefront of all areas of our work, including human resource
activities. The changes to the working environment and the development of
digitalisation offer us a great opportunity. We must, however, seize it with full
power and maximum efficiency. I will talk about this over the next few minutes, as
well as covering other topics.
Slide: ‘Company success creates record employment’
In many respects, 2015 was a year of great importance for all of ŠKODA AUTO. Once
again, we have sold more than 1 million vehicles and the new Superb has become a
real star. Our success has also enabled record growth in terms of our
employees. The ŠKODA brand employs approximately 28,500 people
worldwide, which is more than ever before. If we add to this the jobs that are
indirectly created by ŠKODA AUTO, we reach a total of more than 180,000
employees worldwide.
Thanks to our successful sales and new products, we were able to create almost
1,000 new jobs in 2015. At the ŠKODA AUTO Vocational School for Mechanical
Engineering and the ŠKODA AUTO University, approximately 2,000 young people
benefit from top-quality education in preparation for their future careers. This is,
however, just the start of the list of our activities that relate to social responsibility.
ŠKODA ANNUAL PRESS CONFERENCE 2016|Statement Mr. Wojnar
Together with the KOVO union, we have begun the next round of employee
donations. The clothing collection by our employees yielded over 3 tonnes of
clothing for vulnerable people. We help children in children’s homes, we have already
planted the 500,000th ŠKODA tree in the Czech Republic and we contribute to
improving road traffic safety.
This is one reason for the high level of staff loyalty at ŠKODA. The average annual
attrition rate is 5%, which is less than half the industry average.
Slide: ‘120 years of ŠKODA – tradition, appeal and celebration of our shared
success’
ŠKODA is not only attractive to existing employees but also to the general public. In
the prestigious Trendence and Universum rankings, we also achieved the highest
positions in 2015. We celebrated 120 years of our company’s rich heritage with our
employees, their families and friends of our brand during the open day, which drew
over 80,000 visitors to the plant and the Technical Development department in
Mladá Boleslav.
Slide: ‘The performance of the company and staff has a positive effect on
remuneration’
Both our vehicles and our company deliver a high level of performance. This is
essential for a stable, competitive position in the market, which is, in large part,
down to our employees. Their flexibility, high-quality work and commitment
form the basic pillars of our success. The employees thereby influence the
company’s high level of efficiency and its processes directly through their work
but also through the ŠKODA improvement scheme. In 2015, we received almost
29,000 ideas for improvement.
Good performance must go hand in hand with appropriate remuneration. Here too,
ŠKODA is well above the Czech average. The average pay at ŠKODA AUTO has
risen by approximately 30% since 2010.
This is fundamentally different to some fields of industry, which have experienced
long-term stagnation in wage growth. In 2015, we paid employees a bonus which
ŠKODA ANNUAL PRESS CONFERENCE 2016|Statement Mr. Wojnar
was, on average, more than 61,500 korunas and we expect this figure to increase
further in 2016.
Slide: ‘2016 is marked by considerable growth of the Kvasiny plant’
The Kvasiny site has already been further expanded in 2015. This year, two new
models from the SEAT and ŠKODA brands will roll off our production lines in
Eastern Bohemia. To safeguard their production, we must firstly extend the skills
and qualifications of our current employees and secondly create new jobs. In 2016
alone, 2,000 people will therefore find a new job.
With its compensation scheme, ŠKODA AUTO offers very attractive terms for
permanent staff as well as for temporary staff. The position of the latter has been
strengthened through the temporary work charter, which was signed by ŠKODA
AUTO – the first company in Central Europe to do so – and the KOVO union as the
direct representative of the temporary workforce.
Slide: ‘Increasing the employment rate requires ongoing support from the
state’
The current situation in the Czech labour market is very fraught. We appreciate
the Czech government’s approach to helping companies.
However, we have not yet found a solution to the employment issue. As a major
employer, we would very much welcome further improvements in the
interregional cooperation of job agencies as regards recruitment.
Mobility of employees is an important issue in the Czech Republic. Mobility will
only improve significantly when there is a programme for permanent relocation of
people, their accommodation and the necessary infrastructure. We also believe
that the employment of foreign nationals is important in some jobs.
Essential components for the further development of the Rychnov, Kvasiny and
Solnice regions are the completion of the public industrial zone, the
implementation of investments in public infrastructure and the promotion of local
development as well as the strengthening of the education and health systems.
ŠKODA ANNUAL PRESS CONFERENCE 2016|Statement Mr. Wojnar
Slide: ‘The industry is facing extensive changes’
The industry is facing extensive changes. Some of these have already been
implemented: the enormous rise of new technologies, digitalisation and
electrification for example, are going to completely change the industry and as
a result, the working environment. New jobs will be created much more quickly
and displace the ones we know today. Studies show that up to 65% of today’s
students will do jobs that don’t even exist today. This is placing huge demands
on the education system which has to be more forward-thinking. Young people who
were born at the start of the millennium will change their jobs and their employers
much more frequently – on average up to ten times during their active working
life. Companies and HR managers have to be prepared for this.
Slide: ‘Essential task for the future: preparation for the changing world of
work’
We are already preparing for changes in the world of work. We are investing a lot of
money in our vocational school, for example. In the last two years alone, we have
invested 135 million korunas in the modernisation of the building; most of which was
invested in training material and workshop equipment. Further investments will
follow this year. Part of the vocational training includes 3D printing; we have
opened a new CNC centre and are now building a laboratory for robotics or
alternative drive systems.
Let us not forget the new methods that are also being applied to adult education.
For more flexibility in training, and taking our staff’s mobility into consideration, we
have introduced virtual classrooms as well as blended learning, which combines
classroom learning with e-learning. In order to improve learning efficiency, we are
also using various simulation methods or virtual reality devices, particularly in
technical training.
Slide: ‘We grow together with our employees’
As an employer, ŠKODA AUTO plays an important role. We are aware of the great
responsibility that we bear. This is why we continuously prepare our employees –
ŠKODA ANNUAL PRESS CONFERENCE 2016|Statement Mr. Wojnar
and thereby the entire company – for future challenges. A willingness to change is
the key to success. We are building an open and innovative culture within our
company that allows our employees to contribute to how the company is run.
We are creating new, highly skilled jobs. We are going to continue this trend in
2016.
We are also very much aware of our social responsibility. We are working together
with many charities and are implementing many voluntary projects.
I am convinced that we are only able to implement important changes and prepare
our employees and the company for future challenges through open and
constructive social dialogue with our social partners.
Our company’s long tradition obliges us to remain successful on our journey.
And with our employees, we will achieve this.
Thank you for listening.
