ECS : two waves…

1. The European Company Survey: introduction and some findingsGreet Vermeylenresearch manager Surveys and Trend UnitConference: how to make the working environment more human friendly? Slovenia, Congress Centre Brdo pri Kranju6 October 2011

2. ECS : two waves… • First survey in 2004/2005: • narrower focus: working time and work life balance • Second survey : flexibility practises and social dialogue in European companies • Continue building up trends from this survey • Working time flexibility in companies, background variables (HR bottlenecks, practices, performance), social dialogue • But some issues deepened, others more shallow • Complemented with a wider range of flexibility practices • Contribute to flexicurity debate • Understand which ‘package of measures’ companies choose • How their choices are negociated/implemented • Different forms of internal and external flexibility

3. Building blocks • Competitiveness : • how can companies be more competitive and adapt? • Which practices + which combination? • Flexibility & security • Companies usually use a combination of different practices • Mulitple motives + potential benefits for both company and workers • How to make the win-win • Some -> give also employment security to workers: • equip workers with new skills, beneficial for both current job + longer term • Tools to implement this at company level • Change is not always easy for workers : trust is an important element • Important: way these tools are discussed/negotiated etc in companies • Very unique data … -> Social dialogue • Background variables: HR bottlenecks, performance,…

4. European company survey: mapping flexibility practices

5. Different flexiblity practices in companies • How do companies select their measures: • Different accents over the countries: choices embedded in labour market structure and systems • External flexibility : • Two ways : • flexibility of the whole workforce (easy hire and fire) • or for part of the workforce (through non-permanent contracts (FTC, TAW) • Risk of labour market segmentation • try to see whether this could be a stepping stone • how many people get a permanent contract? • Internal flexibility • Two ways: • working time (working time arrangements) • functional flexibility (work organisation) • Equip workers • to work more flexibly and • to deal with changes (employment security) • Important to make transitions possible

6. Different flexibility practices in our survey • Working time flexibility practices: • From flexi-time to working time accounts • Overtime • Working at unusual hours • Part time work • Organisational practices: • Team work, in particular autonomous team work • Training: checking training needs for different categories of workers + provision of training • Contractual flexibility & recruitment strategies: • Non permanent contracts: fixed term contracts, temporary agency workers + possibilities to stay afterwards / free lancers • Variable pay (individual and group performance based pay) and financial participation (profit sharing and share ownership schemes)

7. Methodology • Unit of enquiry : • establishments 10+ without agriculture, fishing and private households • Management interview : the most senior person at the establishments level responsible for HR management • 27,160 interviews of 20 minutes • Employee representative : interview after that of the management, pref. the chair person, secretary or spoke person of the relevant structure representing the interests of the workers • 6,569 interviews of 15 minutes • Phone (CATI) interviews in 27,160 establishments • 38 language versions • Fieldwork in spring 2009: undertaken by TNS Infratest / TNS Opinion

8. Different forms of flexi-time used in more than half of the establishments with more than 10 employees

9. Long term time savings accounts remain an exception

10. 2/3 of establishments are using overtime

11. In countries where part-time is more frequent, more workers per establishments are part-timers ( more than a tautology)

12. Yet, the proportion of managerial/highly qualified staff who are part-timers remain limited

13. Working time at unsual hours • Working at nights, weekend, shifts • Commonly used for companies to extend running hours, have longer working hours , cope with high workload variations • Stays very stable over time, slight increase in Saturday work • In most countries: Sunday and night work is concentrated on sectors whcih by nature need a 24 hr service (medical services, public transport,energy)

14. HR practises:Contractual flexibility

15. Establishments with any temporary contract

16. Transition from fixed term contracts into permanent employment ?

17. Functional flexibility

18. Team work in Europe

19. Training needs are periodically checked in more than 7 out of 10 establishments

20. Training needs checked for different groups of workers

21. Variable pay and financial participation

22. Typesof variable paycoveredbythe ECS Variable pay elements (in addition to normal remuneration) Share ownership schemes Pay elements related to employee performance Profit sharing schemes Individual performance Team, group, department performance Bonus sharing schemes Share purchase schemes • Directly or indirectly linked to financial results/profit of the company •  „Financial participation“ • Set targets or MM appraisal • E.g.: piecerates, commission pay • Independent of company profit

23. How many companies have variable pay?

24. How many companies have profit sharing?

25. In which companies do we find profit sharing?

26. And share ownership?

27. And the motives

28. Social dialogue

29. social dialogue in the ECS Management interview + Employee representative interview (works councils, trade unions) Analysing processes of information + consultation + collective bargaining at the workplace • Involvement of employees in decision making • Resources of employee representatives • -> workplace social dialogue in Europe

30. Robust social dialogue… • Pay for most workers set by negotiation • Most workers covered by independent “institutionalised” representation • Significant involvement and influence of employee representation • Climate of cooperation generally good • 70% of managers are generally positive about the effect of social dialogue at the workplace • 70% of managers believe that consulting the employee representatives leads to more commitment of staff to implement changes

31. Resources are key Information provision • 85% receive information on financial, economic and employment situation at least once a year • 67% say information is usually timely and unrequested • Difficulties with information provision in small establishments and in parts of Southern Europe Time facilities • 74% say to have sufficient paid time off • Better time facilities in medium and large enterprises Training • 72% get regular training in role

32. Influence in organisational areas Source: ECS 2009, employee representatives

33. Challenges for the future

34. Human resources challenges for the future

35. Flexibility practices in a win-win? • Flexibility practices are widespread • Growing working time flexibility • First HR worry – even in crisis – is to find skilled staff • Investment in work force pays … • Companies are trying different approaches to deal with change / to get out of the crisis • Combinations matter • Not just more or less flexibility: it is how you combine + implement • Some lead more to win-win, others driven more by one or the other group • short versus long term vision • … towards a more sustainable work organisation • More in 3rd ECS on functional flexibility, work organisation, employee participation, workplace innovation and social dialogue

36. Thank you More info : http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/surveys/companysurvey/2009/index.htm Have also a look at the survey map tool Overview report / summary Data wavailable via Essex Data Archive

37. Establishments with workforce growth (over the previous 3 years) by country 2005-2008 (%) Source: ECS 2009 and ESWT 2005