As a company and as individuals, we act with integrity and commit to the highest standards of business ethics. We promote equal opportunity, foster diversity and we create a no-harm-to-anyone working environment across our organization. Our values are ingrained in our culture and connect us all as One Bekaert team.
We act with integrity · We earn trust · We are irrepressible!
At Bekaert, we believe in working together to achieve better performance. As a truly global company, we embrace diversity across all levels in the organization, which is a major source of strength for our company. This applies to diversity in terms of nationality, cultural background, age or gender, but also in terms of capabilities, business experience, insights and views.
Bekaert employs people in 40 countries around the world and of 50 different nationalities. This diversity is mirrored in all levels of the organization, as well as in the composition of the Board of Directors.
| NATIONALITY DIVERSITY As Per 31 December 2018 | ||||
| # people | #Nationalities | #Non-Native* | % Non-Native | |
| BOARD OF DIRECTORS | 15 | 4 | 6 | 40% |
| Bekaert Group Executive (BGE) | 8 | 4 | 3 | 38% |
| Senior Vice Presidents | 15 | 5 | 5 | 33% |
| Next leadership level (**) | 97 | 20 | 46 | 47% |
| TOTAL LEADERSHIP TEAM | 120 | 29 | 54 | 45% |
(1) Non-native = nationality other than the one of the mother company’s social seat (i.e. Belgium)
(2) Next leadership level = B13 and above managers excluding BGE and Senior Vice Presidents (Hay classification reference)
The manufacturing character of Bekaert’s operations explains the predominantly male population, particularly among operators.
| GENDER DIVERSITY as per 31 December 2018 | |||
| # people | Male | Female | |
| Operators |
22 029 |
94% |
6% |
| White collars |
5 735 |
70% |
30% |
| Management |
1 642 |
81% | 19% |
| TOTAL BEKAERT EMPLOYEES |
29 406 |
88% | 12% |
Bekaert adopts a recruitment and promotion policy that aims to gradually generate more diversity, including gender diversity.
Gender diversity in the Board of Directors and in the Top Leadership Team of Bekaert:
| GENDER DIVERSITY as per 31 December 2018 | |||
| # people | Male | Female | |
| BOARD OF DIRECTORS |
15 |
67% |
33% |
| Bekaert Group Executive (BGE) |
8 |
87% |
13% |
| Senior & next leadership level(1) |
112 |
80% | 20% |
| TOTAL LEADERSHIP TEAM |
120 |
81% | 19% |
(1) Senior Vice Presidents and B13 and above managers (Hay classification reference)
Age diversity in Bekaert’s highest governance bodies:
| AGE DIVERSITY as per 31 December 2018 | |||
| # people | 30-50 years old | over 50 years old | |
| BOARD OF DIRECTORS |
15 |
20% |
80% |
| Bekaert Group Executive (BGE) |
8 |
25% |
75% |
We nurture talent through career development and life-long learning. We attach great importance to providing challenging career and personal development opportunities to our employees. Training programs not only include technical and job specific training, but also leadership modules that help our people develop and cooperate in a global business environment.
In 2018, we redesigned our performance management process and implemented a new supporting tool. People Performance Management (PPM) is our new way of looking at people performance and of driving us to achieve our goals, together. PPM focuses on better goal alignment and sharing, more attention to the way of working, continuous feedback and feedforward loops, and engaging conversations.
