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A sustainability review of the UK motor industry has identified an
industry-wide problem with staff retention and led to action to improve
it.
In a move that demonstrates how sustainability reporting can be of direct commercial value, UK automobile manufacturers have begun to consider schemes to improve staff retention after the latest annual sustainability review released by the London-based Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed a 2.6 per cent increase in employee turnover in 2004 compared with the previous year.
Strategies will include an improvement in flexible working arrangements, better childcare and counselling facilities, and support for carers. One of the first to act has been Volkswagen, which says a new work-life balance programme at its plants has increased take-up of flexible working options by a third.
The SMMT report, now in its seventh year, is based on questionnaires sent to 22 automobile companies which collectively cover 95 per cent of the UK’s total car and van production. In the past it has concentrated almost entirely on reporting environmental performance, but this year, for the first time, it has included social indicators, prompted by feedback from a stakeholder forum organized by the trade body.
At 8.7 per cent, the industry’s employee turnover is still considerably less than that in other sectors, said Simon Barnes, the SMMT’s technical manager. However, he added: ‘The workforce tends to be highly skilled these days and companies want to know that they’re not going to have to retrain staff.’
Other concerns highlighted in the review include a reduction in training days, which dropped from 3.8 to 2.9 per employee for the year, although the industry expects the figure to rise again. There were brighter notes, however. SMMT reports a drop in lost-time incidents from 710 to 491, and the emission of carbon dioxide from manufacturing has fallen by a third in three years, to 1.45 million tonnes in 2004.
SMMT will include data on car safety and pedestrian injury rates in future reports. UK car production is currently at its highest level for five years, with eight out of ten units exported.
In a move that demonstrates how sustainability reporting can be of direct commercial value, UK automobile manufacturers have begun to consider schemes to improve staff retention after the latest annual sustainability review released by the London-based Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed a 2.6 per cent increase in employee turnover in 2004 compared with the previous year.
Strategies will include an improvement in flexible working arrangements, better childcare and counselling facilities, and support for carers. One of the first to act has been Volkswagen, which says a new work-life balance programme at its plants has increased take-up of flexible working options by a third.
The SMMT report, now in its seventh year, is based on questionnaires sent to 22 automobile companies which collectively cover 95 per cent of the UK’s total car and van production. In the past it has concentrated almost entirely on reporting environmental performance, but this year, for the first time, it has included social indicators, prompted by feedback from a stakeholder forum organized by the trade body.
At 8.7 per cent, the industry’s employee turnover is still considerably less than that in other sectors, said Simon Barnes, the SMMT’s technical manager. However, he added: ‘The workforce tends to be highly skilled these days and companies want to know that they’re not going to have to retrain staff.’
Other concerns highlighted in the review include a reduction in training days, which dropped from 3.8 to 2.9 per employee for the year, although the industry expects the figure to rise again. There were brighter notes, however. SMMT reports a drop in lost-time incidents from 710 to 491, and the emission of carbon dioxide from manufacturing has fallen by a third in three years, to 1.45 million tonnes in 2004.
SMMT will include data on car safety and pedestrian injury rates in future reports. UK car production is currently at its highest level for five years, with eight out of ten units exported.
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