Corporate social responsibility at Apetit is based on a commonoperating policy and on shared values: responsible operations, bold renewal and success through cooperation. Apetit’s practices are guided by the principles of its equality plan.
Apetit’s personnel strategy focuses on responsible leadership based on the company’s values and corporate culture, ensuring the availability of labour by focusing on retention and attraction factors, improving employees’ occupational well-being and ability to cope with the demands of work by using a wide range of work ability management methods, and the continuous development of strategic and critical competencies.
Apetit’s objective is that each employee is familiar with the goals of their work and able to make use of their strengths and skills in their job. It is important that Apetit’s employees can work in an encouraging and inspiring work atmosphere with rewarding tasks that they find meaningful.
At the end of 2024, Apetit had 367 employees, of which the main part worked in Finland. In fulltime equivalents, the average number of personnel in continuing operations was 315. Apetit does not use external labour, such as leased employees, to a significant extent. During the year, the Group employed seven temporary agency workers.
The number of employees at Apetit’s Säkylä plant varies during the year based on the harvest season. The number of temporary employees increases for a period of about six months in the harvest season. During this season, the number of temporary employees at the plant is approximately 30 per cent higher than normally.
There were 17 part-time employees employed by the Group during 2024. Subcontractors worked in projects and maintenance activities carried out at Apetit’s production plants during the reporting period.
All Apetit’s employees are covered by collective agreements. Upper-level staff have a basic agreement. Apetit complies with the Finnish Collective Agreements Act and trade union agreements in all personnel-related matters.
One of the most important goals of personnel development is ensuring sufficient and appropriate capabilities. The key competence areas for Apetit’s employees include customer relationship management, product development skills, competencies related to production, occupational safety and quality and supervisor and work community skills.
The Group’s competence development methods include an internal online learning environment and external training activities, for example. All office employees are covered by personal development appraisals. With regard to the employee group, the personal development appraisal process has been refined and the appraisals have been actively introduced. During the reporting period, 67 per cent of performance appraisals were conducted.
Apetit monitors well-being at work and employee satisfaction by means of a Group-wide personnel survey, for example. In the survey, the personnel assess their experiences of personal work ability, the working environment, the work atmosphere, safety at work, the content of their work, and supervisory work.
The response rate of the survey conducted in March 2024 was to 70% (73% in 2023). The goal of the new survey was especially to find out the degree of employee commitment as well as possible experiences of bullying or harassment. According to the survey, strengths reported by Apetit’s personnel included the sufficiency of their own resources at work, the impact of their own activities on the work atmosphere and cooperation with their immediate supervisor. The areas of development mentioned included the feedback culture and the increase of competence.