In the 2023|24 financial year the AGRANA Group employed an average total of 9,047 people, by headcount (prior year: 8,932). Of this total, 2,558 worked in Austria (prior year: 2,486) and 6,489 were employed in other countries (prior year: 6,446). The number of employees in each business segment was as follows:
| Average number of employees (headcount) in financial year | Average number of FTE1 in financial year | Number of employees (headcount) at balance sheet date | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Segment | 2023|24 | 2022|23 | 2023|24 | 2022|23 | 29 Feb 2024 | 28 Feb 2022 |
| Fruit | 5,814 | 5,796 | 5,721 | 5,677 | 6,135 | 5,421 |
| Starch | 1,201 | 1,183 | 1,169 | 1,147 | 1,202 | 1,182 |
| Sugar | 2,032 | 1,953 | 1,986 | 1,906 | 1,921 | 1,845 |
| Group | 9,047 | 8,932 | 8,876 | 8,730 | 9,256 | 8,448 |
In 2023|24 the AGRANA Group employed an average of 8,876 full-time equivalents (prior year: 8,730). In the Fruit segment, the number of employees rose as a result of new strategic objectives, a longer season and the addition of temporary agency staff. The personnel increase in the Starch segment recovery reflected a business-driven rise in full-time equivalents especially for the implementation of strategic initiatives and projects; the intensification of recruitment activities in the year under review also showed results. In the Sugar segment, a higher production volume, a longer campaign and the filling of vacant positions led to the increase in staff numbers.
The average age of permanent employees2 on 29 February 2024 was 43 years (for details on the age structure, see the GRI content index, from page 215). Of the permanent employees, 30.7% (prior year: 30.3%) were women, and 63.0% of salaried staff had an academic degree (prior year: 64.9%). The turnover rate3 for permanent staff in 2023|24 was 14.3% (prior year: 16.1%). This represented 1,009 departures. The proportion of employees with a part-time contract4 was 3.9%, representing 363 individuals by headcount at the balance sheet date (prior year: 4.2%). The share of temporary agency staff5 was 5.4%, or 485 individuals, on average over the year by headcount (prior year: 5.1%).
1 Full-time equivalents.
2 Permanent employees of AGRANA Group companies.
3 Staff turnover rate = total number of departures of permanent AGRANA employees reported in the financial year ÷ average number (headcount) of permanent AGRANA employees.
4 Proportion of the total workforce at 29 February 2024, by headcount.
5 Proportion of the average total workforce for the financial year, by headcount.
| Non-permanent staff3 | Permanent staff | Managers4 | Of whom executive leadership5 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Segment | Total | Female | Blue-collar | Female | White-collar | Female | Total | Female | Total | Female | Total | Female |
| Fruit | 1,903 | 71.0 % | 2,586 | 23.2 % | 1,646 | 49.3 % | 4,232 | 33.3 % | 295 | 29.8 % | 11 | 18.2 % |
| Starch | 45 | 24.4 % | 727 | 12.2 % | 430 | 47.2 % | 1,157 | 25.2 % | 67 | 23.9 % | 2 | 50.0 % |
| Sugar6 | 199 | 22.1 % | 972 | 16.4 % | 750 | 43.2 % | 1,722 | 28.0 % | 151 | 30.5 % | 12 | 25.0 % |
| Group | 2,147 | 65.5 % | 4,285 | 19.8 % | 2,826 | 47.4 % | 7,111 | 30.7 % | 513 | 29.2 % | 25 | 24.0 % |
1 See GRI reporting boundary
2 For prior-year values, see GRI content index
3 Almost all non-permanent positions represent seasonal local workers in the processing campaigns.
4 Management positions at reporting levels 2 and 3.
5 Reporting level 1 (the reporting level immediately below the Management Board of AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG; level 1 also includes the regional managing directors of the three segments).
6 The staff of AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG is counted under the Sugar segment.
| 2023|24 Average training hours per employee | 2023|24 Proportion of employees who received training | 2022|23 Average training hours per employee | 2022|23 Proportion of employees who received training | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Segment | Total | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | ||
| Fruit | 20.5 | 20.5 | 20.4 | 94.2 % | 19.5 | 19.5 | 19.6 | 94.0 % |
| Blue-collar | 16.7 | 17.5 | 13.9 | 93.5 % | 16.4 | 17.5 | 12.9 | 92.2 % |
| White-collar | 26.5 | 27.6 | 25.2 | 95.3 % | 24.4 | 24.2 | 24.6 | 96.9 % |
| Starch | 14.9 | 13.3 | 19.5 | 100.0 % | 12.7 | 13.6 | 10.1 | 80.2 % |
| Blue-collar | 15.4 | 14.0 | 25.2 | 100.0 % | 13.6 | 14.1 | 10.2 | 69.2 % |
| White-collar | 14.1 | 11.5 | 17.0 | 100.0 % | 11.1 | 12.1 | 10.0 | 100.0 % |
| Sugar2 | 26.0 | 26.6 | 24.4 | 99.2 % | 19.1 | 19.5 | 17.8 | 98.2 % |
| Blue-collar | 24.5 | 25.2 | 20.9 | 99.4 % | 19.7 | 20.5 | 15.8 | 98.0 % |
| White-collar | 28.0 | 29.2 | 26.3 | 99.0 % | 18.1 | 17.6 | 18.9 | 98.4 % |
| Group | 20.9 | 20.8 | 21.2 | 96.4 % | 18.3 | 18.4 | 17.9 | 92.8 % |
| Blue-collar | 18.3 | 18.7 | 16.5 | 96.0 % | 16.7 | 17.6 | 13.1 | 89.6 % |
| White-collar | 25.0 | 25.7 | 24.2 | 97.0 % | 20.8 | 20.5 | 21.0 | 97.8 % |
1 Permanent staff within the GRI reporting boundaries
2 The staff of AGRANA-Beteiligungs-AG is counted as part of the Sugar segment.
| Rate of recordable work-related injuries2 | Rate of high-consequence work-related injuries3 | Rate of fatalities as a result of work-related injury | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Segment | Total | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female |
| 2023|24 | |||||||||
| Fruit | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Starch | 2.2 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sugar | 1.5 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Group | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2022|23 | |||||||||
| Fruit | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Starch | 3.9 | 4.5 | 1.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sugar | 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Group | 1.6 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2021|22 | |||||||||
| Fruit | 1.1 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Starch | 2.3 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sugar | 1.9 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Group | 1.4 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
1 Non-permanent (i. e., fixed-term or temporary) and permanent employees within the GRI reporting boundaries
2 Rate of recordable work-related injuries (“injury rate”) = (total number of accidents5 ÷ total paid hours worked6 × 200,0007
3 Rate of high-consequence work-related injuries (“serious injury rate”) = (total number of serious injuries4 ÷ total paid hours worked6) × 200,0007
4 An injury is classified as serious if no full recovery or healing occurs within six months of the accident.
5 In AGRANA’s workplace safety data, injuries are counted as accidents. Days are counted as lost from the first scheduled work day missed after the accident (excluding accidents on the way to or from work).
6 Total paid hours worked are defined by AGRANA as contractual work hours plus paid overtime.
7 Explanation of the multiplier 200,000: The multiplier is intended to make the Group’s internal workplace safety data comparable with other companies. It is based on the assumption of 40 work hours per week and 50 work weeks per year, for 100 employees (40 × 50 × 100). The effect of the multiplier is thus to convert from a company’s average number of accidents, lost days or absentee hours (hours missed as a result of accident or illness) per hour of work done in the company, to an annual number per 100 employees.
At AGRANA, employees and their skills and abilities are a central focus. The Group sees it as highly important to recognise and promote the potential of its employees and invest in talent management. Regular discussions between staff and managers on the setting and achievement of objectives form the basis for this and enable needs-based professional training. Through targeted programmes, AGRANA promotes the continual expansion and transfer of its employees’ knowledge and abilities. AGRANA’s efforts in staff development not only strengthen the Group’s competitiveness but also help raise employee motivation and engagement.
Leaders are a crucial factor in all organisational development. One important step is therefore to provide managers with the necessary support and tools to act as the first point of contact for staff development.
AGRANA’s businesses thus focussed all the more on leadership development initiatives in the financial year under review.
With the help of a steadily growing range of "online, on-demand" teaching and learning content, AGRANA offers employees training programmes in innovative digital formats that are independent of time, language and location. Internal experts can also use a digital learning platform to create target group-specific learning paths and provide further training on topics relevant for AGRANA. In the financial year, about 1,090 learners studied using this approach to staff development.
However, training at AGRANA is not being done only online, but also increasingly in person again. By bringing employees from all business segments together in training sessions, we increase personal dialogue on different approaches and perspectives. Of particular note here are multi-day training courses on strategic knowledge management, on project management, and on financial expertise for employees outside of finance departments. In addition, training on unconscious bias was offered to an initial group of managers to counter cognitive distortions.
In 2023|24 the Group trained an average of 103 apprentices, of whom 23 individuals, or 22.3%, were female. An average of 75 apprentices were employed in Austria, of whom eleven, or 14.7%, were female. A combined average of 28 apprentices were employed in Germany, France, Algeria, Brazil, the Czech Republic and Slovakia; 12 of these apprentices, or 42.9%, were female. These countries have dual education systems similar to Austria’s, i.e., combining apprenticeship and vocational school. The training was provided in areas such as chemical engineering technology, electrical engineering technology, industrial sales, information technology, lab technology (chemistry), food technology, logistics, mechanical engineering technology, mechatronics, metalworking, technical drawing, purchasing, personnel services, and office administration.
In order to enhance the attractiveness of apprenticeship vocations, among others, and to introduce pupils and young people to general career opportunities in technical and commercial occupations, numerous measures were taken at various locations to make closer contact with potential apprentices and young employees through partnerships with training institutions. In addition, AGRANA sites took part in specific events to present apprenticeship vocations and other occupations, both digitally and increasingly in person, and certain plants were toured by visitors from educational institutions. Existing apprentices were also offered workshops and training courses in various subject areas. Additionally, the presence on social media and in the traditional print media was strengthened.
Ensuring that work is compatible with family life is an important part of AGRANA’s human resources strategy from a social responsibility perspective. AGRANA thus joined the Austrian “Business for Family” network as long ago as spring 2016.
Across the Group, this is reflected in many initiatives and offerings for employees. The possibility of working from home, the funding or even direct provision of child care in certain locations (including special such services during the holidays), and variable work hours are all part of this effort (also see the corporate governance report in the full version of the annual report).