Still, and partly because of, the impact of COVID-19, Skretting and parent company Nutreco continued to invest in employees and managers last year, mainly through the following focus areas:

Diversity and inclusion

As a responsible, global company, we want to be a good citizen and have a positive impact on society. A key part of this requires us to provide a working environment in which our employees feel safe, welcome and able to develop in their chosen careers.

We’re abundantly aware that today’s global challenges make it more important than ever that we have a workforce with diverse ideas, backgrounds and viewpoints to help us approach issues from every possible angle. At the same time, we recognise that employees are seeking workplaces where they feel valued and included.

Skretting operates in and with highly diverse groups in terms of gender, culture, ethnicity, nationality and ways of thinking. We’re committed to ensuring this is reflected in the diversity of our people and to building an inclusive culture where all people are respected, engaged and given opportunities for personal and professional development.

In recent years, we have introduced some important initiatives aimed at enhancing our diversity and inclusion (D&I), including our Taking the Stage programme that empowers women colleagues in the workplace, and an initiative that has been mapping the status of relevant D&I parameters and which also seeks to identify possible shortfalls across our business, on a region-by-region basis. 

Initially, the focus has been on ascertaining how we are performing with regards to gender, but subsequent investigations will also look at nationality and thinking styles. Findings will feed into and shape new action plans that will be tailored to meet each region’s local needs and regulations in order that each of our Operating Companies can take full ownership of their programme and generate awareness about it.

We believe that an engaged workforce leads to a positive and productive work environment, contributing to improved business results. Therefore, we will regularly measure our people’s engagement and act on areas for improvement. Though this will be led by our Human Resources (HR) department, we believe that it’s a core value of being sustainable and socially responsible. As such, we’ll amplify those efforts made by HR to ensure the widest possible adoption. Alongside Nutreco, we will continue developing and implementing actions to ensure we can attract and retain a diverse workforce, while creating awareness and enabling a more diverse leadership team.

RoadMap 2025 contains the following three key commitments to D&I:

“Through RoadMap 2025, we are undertaking a hugely important five-year journey with very specific new actions and targets. While we have made a great deal of progress in recent times, it’s our expectation that the Skretting that the world sees in four years’ time will be much more inclusive and richly diverse in terms of its people, culture, thinking styles and ideas than it is today. That can only benefit our organisation, our people, and the communities that we operate in.” Solveig Holter, HR Director at Skretting

“As a participant in the Taking the Stage programme with other women colleagues from all over SHV, I had the opportunity to stretch my capabilities and learn from experts. While working at Skretting I have been empowered to build my confidence and share my convictions. I am truly heard. When you are heard in an organisation, you can have a real impact. That is a powerful thing.” Sophie Noonan, Global Communications Manager at Skretting.