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Our employees are our most valuable resource and for our sustainability vision to be effective, we must have their best interests at the centre of everything we do. We are committed to recruiting high calibre employees and providing them with the information, training and working environment they need to perform to the highest standards. We encourage all our people to develop to their maximum potential and support them with human resources policies and practices that are strategically linked to the needs of our business and our customers.

Read more about our human resources policies

We have a strong tradition in Johnson Matthey for our good community relations. Maintaining and developing them are an integral part of making ours a more sustainable business. We have an important contribution to make to the economic development of our local communities, not only as an employer but also through collaboration and investment, both financial and in kind.

Recruitment, Training and Development

Our success depends on the skills, qualities and wellbeing of our people. We have an effective, streamlined recruitment procedure to meet our steady requirement for high calibre graduates and offer a variety of career foundation training, including a new Technology Awareness Programme, to engage new recruits.

We also offer training and development programmes at middle and senior manager levels. Our aim is to retain high potential and high performing staff. Training is provided at our facilities around the world, in Europe, the USA and Asia. There is a high level of attendance by employees from Asia, particularly from our operations in Japan, China, Korea and India, reflecting the increasing importance of this region. We also encourage employees from acquired businesses to attend programmes to expose them to our wider company culture and help them integrate.

Presentations from senior executives anchor these programmes to the company’s strategies and progress.

Providing career development to employees assists staff retention and, in turn, succession planning and the sustainability of management. Recruiting well qualified staff is vital to support business development in new and emerging markets. This challenge will be met through appropriate manpower planning, local recruitment and the encouragement of international mobility.

Our employees are being asked to engage in our Sustainability 2017 Vision. Without them, the vision cannot be achieved, and a group wide management and employee strategy for sustainability has been developed. The strategy provides opportunities for resource efficiency and revenue growth in environmental technologies. Employee engagement activities and management seminars will encourage local action and help to spread best practice throughout the group.

Employee Relations and Communication

We communicate with our employees through our in house magazine, regular news bulletins, presentations to staff and team briefings. Employees are also encouraged to visit the company’s intranet and website.

Johnson Matthey supports employee share ownership and employees have the opportunity to participate in share ownership plans, where practicable. Under these plans, employees can buy shares in the company, which are matched by a company funded component. Employees in six countries worldwide are able to contribute to a company share ownership plan or a 401k approved savings investment plan. Through these ownership plans, Johnson Matthey current and former employees collectively held 1.55% of the company’s shares at 31st March 2008.

Involving employees in the company helps build shared values and commitment in the long term, and we are continuing to improve employee engagement through the site satisfaction and attitude surveys.

After a successful pilot survey last year, we are now running a global employee attitude survey in each of the operating divisions on a rotational basis, starting in summer 2008. The first global business to run the survey will be Emission Control Technologies (ECT). The results of the survey will be published and the findings used to help identify issues for action and give guidance on optimum working environments.

As work on our sustainable strategy takes off, employee communication will have a vital role to play.

Health and Wellbeing

We want our employees to be healthy and realise their potential. We have increased our investment in programmes to improve employee health and wellbeing and promote work performance. Our various efforts, which include improving attendance management and rehabilitation case management programmes, have led to a reduction in the rate of sickness absence.

Read more about our health and safety performance and achievements

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