People

Most companies agree that talent is an important competitive advantage and a driver of corporate performance. But attracting, developing and retaining that talent remains a challenge. In the Information Age, the demand for top-level managerial talent is fiercer than ever, at the same time that employee loyalty to a single company over a number of years is waning.

Globalisation is intensifying the war for talent as companies struggle to retain the kind of diverse, mobile and flexible leaders who will enable them to seize their global business opportunities and face increasingly difficult and complex challenges. More and more, talented people are seeking companies that are well managed by great leaders and offer exciting work, a values-driven culture, attractive compensation and benefits, opportunities for growth and development, and respect for personal and family commitments. Companies that have a strong and well-executed strategy for developing their people are better prepared to win the war for talent.

Novo Nordisk is its people. We consider our employees as the critical business driver for competing in a global marketplace. Novo Nordisk's People vision is to be a company powered by committed and high-performing people who do what they do best in close alignment with business goals. Novo Nordisk strives to infuse employees with a sense of passion about the work that they do with emphasis on the values that are the foundation for how Novo Nordisk manages its business.

As with many other companies, globalisation is putting pressure on the need for a more mobile and diverse workforce, and Novo Nordisk is responding proactively to this trend in our People Strategy. It includes four global focus areas: remuneration, recruitment, talent management, and performance management. Each area is developed to drive internationalisation, mobility and diversity within the company by creating global standards and opportunities.

The Novo Nordisk People Strategy focuses on two key areas: supporting the values of the company and contributing to meeting business challenges in the markets.

Novo Nordisk's People Strategy aims to:

• Increase people performance through better performance management
• Ensure development of high performers through talent management 
• Improve and streamline communication concerning Novo Nordisk and its career opportunities as an employer of choice 
• Improve data intelligence and business alignment by regularly surveying employees' views about their jobs
• Reduce turnover of high performers.

In 2005 Novo Nordisk made progress in each of the four global focus areas, including:

• Remuneration: Initiatives include introducing a global job grading system (IPE) for management positions in Novo Nordisk worldwide identifying existing major barriers to mobility, and updating the current remuneration strategy set in 2000. All management positions from EVP to SVP, except for two levels, will be evaluated as part of the IPE implementation during 2005-2006.
  As a result of the mobility barriers analysis conducted during 2005, four key mobility actions have been identified which will be implemented during 2006. During 2005 a number of selected executives were interviewed, selected employee groups surveyed and external best practices reviewed to get insight into the appropriateness of Novo Nordisk's current remuneration strategy. This knowledge will be used during 2006 to update the existing strategy and to implement changes. 
• Recruitment: A global recruitment concept was designed which, among other things, resulted in a global set of guidelines for effective recruitment. Towards the goal of reducing turnover of high performers, a retention guide was produced. The purpose of the retention guide is to set focus on employee retention as an integrated part of the manager's day-to-day work. This document is intended as an inspiration paper for managers worldwide, offering practical advice regarding retention of employees throughout the people lifecycle.
• Talent management: Continuation and expansion of the two global talent pools within Corporate Leadership Talent Management, the Lighthouse programme for senior managers, and the Greenhouse programme for younger manager potentials.
• Performance management: A People Performance Process (3P) was finalised and will be rolled out in 2006, with the ambition to achieve more transparent and uniform performance measures. This will give more flexibility in spotting the right people for vacant positions across borders and functions.

• Healthy & safe workplace: Continued the work to develop global health and safety standards for Novo Nordisk's global workforce. The company also has NovoSund, a prevention programme that aims to inspire and enable employees and their families to adopt healthier lifestyles and reduce their risk of developing chronic diseases like diabetes. Novo Nordisk is taking a rigorous approach and works to produce solid data that can show the impact of various interventions. In this way the company will package its offerings of healthy choices and activities to the maximum benefit of its people.
• Equal opportunities and diversity Equal opportunities is a priority in the corporate Balanced Scorecard, and all senior managers must prepare action plans and follow-up measures for addressing equal opportunities in their areas.
  In 2005 Novo Nordisk won several awards for the company's efforts in and commitment to equal opportunities, but we also recognise that performance is not yet seen to translate into solid data. One measure, though, is increased recruitment of women for the company's talent pools.
• Training & development: Novo Nordisk offers competence development for all employees to better equip them to match the business goals. In 2005 investments in people development amounted to an average of 9,899 Danish kroner per employee (direct training costs only). In the 2005 annual employee survey of the working climate, eVoice, participants responded with an average score of 3.8 on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being the highest score), indicating their level of agreement with the statement “My work gives me the opportunity to use and develop my competences/skills”. 
• Work/life balance: A toolbox with inspiration and guidance for employees and managers on achieving better work/life balance and how to cope with stress is available on the intranet. In the 2005 eVoice survey, participants responded with an average score of 3.9 and 3.7 respectively to the statements 'My manager ensures that I can get the support I need when my workload is too high' and 'It is possible to have good work-life balance'. 
• Corporate culture (TakeAction!) The values of Novo Nordisk are further driven through this employee volunteer programme, which encourages employees to undertake team activities that contribute to the Triple Bottom Line.

In conclusion, the People Strategy is aligned with the corporate business challenges. The focus in 2005 was on getting the project teams in place and the projects running to implement the People Strategy, and there was generally good progress in the projects. The People Strategy has been anchored in the Corporate People Board, the functional management team for People & Organisation. Globalisation and talent development will be the key priority themes in 2006.

This page has been assessed by PricewaterhouseCoopers as part of its assessment of Novo Nordisk’s statement that it reports ‘in accordance’ with GRI. Please refer to Audit and assurance for a full description of the nature of assurance offered.