Personnel

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 2022, Apetit had 324 employees, all of whom worked in Finland. The number of person- nel has been reduced by the divestment of the Grain Trade business. In full-time equivalents, the average number of personnel in continuing operations was 288 Apetit does not use external labour, such as leased employees, to a significant extent. 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 four part-time employees employed by the Group during 2022. Subcontractors were used 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 agree- ment. Apetit complies with the Finnish Collective Agreements Act and trade union agreements in all personnel-related matters.

Competence development

One of the most important goals of personnel development is ensuring sufficient and appropriate capabilities. The key competence areas for Apetit’s employees include a customer-focused approach, product development skills, competencies related to production, occupational safety and quality, and project management.

The Group’s competence development methods include an internal online learning environment and external training activities, for example. All office employees are covered by performance appraisals. The company has begun to create a new and effective performance appraisal process for its personnel groups. During the reporting period, 76 per cent of performance appraisals were conducted. The percentage remained low compared to comparison years due to an exceptional turnover rate.

Employee satisfaction

Apetit monitors well-being at work and employee satisfaction by means of a Group-wide well-being at work survey, for example. In the survey, the employees provide feedback on issues such as their well-being at work, the workplace atmosphere, occupational safety, the content of their work, and the quality of managerial work.

In the survey conducted in March 2022, average employee satisfaction was 3.9 (2021: 4.0, out of maximum 5.0). According to the results, the Group’s strengths include the fact that the employees feel that work being carried out in the company is meaningful and that their roles and responsibilities are clear. Regular feedback on work was identified as an area requiring development.