In the 2022|23 financial year the AGRANA Group employed an average total of 8,932 people (by headcount; prior year: 8,877). Of this total, 2,486 worked in Austria (prior year: 2,476) and 6,446 were employed in other countries (prior year: 6,401).
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 | 2022|23 | 2021|22 | 2022|23 | 2021|22 | 28.02.2023 | 28.02.2022 |
| Fruit | 5,796 | 5,772 | 5,677 | 5,662 | 5,421 | 5,434 |
| Starch | 1,183 | 1,171 | 1,147 | 1,137 | 1,182 | 1,162 |
| Sugar | 1,953 | 1,934 | 1,906 | 1,892 | 1,845 | 1,779 |
| Group | 8,932 | 8,877 | 8,730 | 8,691 | 8,448 | 8,375 |
In 2022|23 the AGRANA Group employed an average of 8,730 full-time equivalents (prior year: 8,691). In the Fruit segment, the number of employees rose mainly as a result of an increased requirement for temporary workers, which was due to higher product demand and larger harvest volumes. The personnel increase in the Starch segment was the result of a recovery in the order situation and the associated renewed filling of positions. In the Sugar segment, a higher production volume was the top reason for an increase in staff numbers.
The average age of permanent employees2 on 28 February 2023 was 42 years (for details on the age structure, see the GRI content index). Of the permanent employees, 30.3% (prior year: 29.8%) were women, and 64.9% of salaried staff had an academic degree (prior year: 64.5%). The turnover rate3 for permanent staff in 2022|23 was 16.1% (prior year: 16.9%). The proportion of employees with a part-time contract4 was 4.2%, representing 359 individuals by headcount at the balance sheet date (prior year: 4.0%). The share of temporary agency staff5 was 5.1%, or an average over the year of 456 individuals by headcount (prior year: 5.7%).
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 28 February 2022, 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 | 1,290 | 59.2 % | 2,533 | 23.0 % | 1,598 | 48.3 % | 4,131 | 32.8 % | 297 | 28.6 % | 11 | 18.2 % |
| Starch | 47 | 36.2 % | 718 | 13.1 % | 417 | 47.5 % | 1,135 | 25.7 % | 70 | 22.9 % | 2 | 50.0 % |
| Sugar6 | 164 | 30.5 % | 979 | 16.6 % | 702 | 42.0 % | 1,681 | 27.2 % | 155 | 31.6 % | 15 | 26.7 % |
| Group | 1,501 | 55.4 % | 4,230 | 19.8 % | 2,717 | 46.6 % | 6,947 | 30.3 % | 522 | 28.7 % | 28 | 25.0 % |
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.
| 2022|23 Average training hours per employee | 2022|23 Proportion of employees who received training | 2021|22 Average training hours per employee | 2021|22 Proportion of employees who received training | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Segment | Total | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | ||
| Fruit | 19.5 | 19.5 | 19.6 | 94.0 % | 19.6 | 19.3 | 20.3 | 90.7 % |
| Blue-collar | 16.4 | 17.5 | 12.9 | 92.2 % | 17.1 | 17.5 | 15.9 | 92.3 % |
| White-collar | 24.4 | 24.2 | 24.6 | 96.9 % | 23.6 | 23.5 | 23.7 | 88.3 % |
| Starch | 12.7 | 13.6 | 10.1 | 80.2 % | 7.6 | 6.7 | 10.2 | 67.7 % |
| Blue-collar | 13.6 | 14.1 | 10.2 | 69.2 % | 7.2 | 6.7 | 10.4 | 51.7 % |
| White-collar | 11.1 | 12.1 | 10.0 | 100.0 % | 8.3 | 6.6 | 10.2 | 97.4 % |
| Sugar2 | 19.1 | 19.5 | 17.8 | 98.2 % | 16.1 | 16.7 | 14.4 | 97.8 % |
| Blue-collar | 19.7 | 20.5 | 15.8 | 98.0 % | 17.5 | 18.7 | 12.4 | 98.9 % |
| White-collar | 18.1 | 17.6 | 18.9 | 98.4 % | 14.1 | 13.1 | 15.6 | 96.3 % |
| Group | 18.3 | 18.4 | 17.9 | 92.8 % | 16.8 | 16.5 | 17.6 | 88.7 % |
| Blue-collar | 16.7 | 17.6 | 13.1 | 89.6 % | 15.5 | 15.7 | 14.6 | 86.8 % |
| White-collar | 20.8 | 20.5 | 21.0 | 97.8 % | 18.9 | 18.1 | 19.8 | 91.7 % |
1 Permanent staff within the GRI reporting boundaries
2 The staff of AGRANA-Beteiligungs-AG is counted under 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 |
| 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 |
| 2020|21 | |||||||||
| Fruit | 1.1 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Starch | 2.4 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sugar | 2.7 | 3.1 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Group | 1.6 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 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.
The quest for excellence is the cornerstone of the training and development of employees and managers. At AGRANA, employees and their skills and abilities are a central focus. The Group therefore sees it as all the more important to recognise and develop the potential of its employees and invest in them through talent management. Regular discussions between staff and managers on the setting and achievement of objectives form the basis for this and allow consistent priorities to be established. Through many job skills trainings and intensive Group-wide programmes, AGRANA promotes the continual expansion and transfer of its employees’ knowledge and abilities. These staff development measures not only strengthen the Group’s competitiveness but also help raise employee motivation and engagement.
In 2022|23, the focus in training and development was on promoting needs-based learning and the development of leadership.
Leaders are a key lever in any 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. For this purpose, AGRANA has launched the concept of the Development Coach Network, in which focus topics are discussed, initiatives refined and best practices shared in order to enable the most efficient selection of the right employee development measures.
The guiding vision is for development coaches to support managers in development matters, create an environment for life-long learning, and ultimately ensure that the right employees with the right qualifications are chosen for the right positions.
Leveraging the power of the Internet as a distribution medium, there is a constantly growing online offering of on-demand teaching and study content. This allows training programmes with innovative learning formats to be delivered independently of time, language and location. AGRANA has responded to the resulting trends and opportunities with the global introduction of a digital learning platform. The platform enables employees to educate themselves independently in specific subject areas relevant to the company. At the same time, a group of experts within the company is able to create target group-specific learning pathways. Appropriately for a company with a global footprint, learning is thus no longer tied to any particular time or place. Employees have access to an ever-growing catalogue of over 15,000 units of learning materials.
By developing so-called learning paths, specific interrelated content from different courses can be combined into complete programmes tailored to different target groups. For instance, one learning path, covering the subject of diversity and inclusion, contains five course elements on different aspects of this topic. In total, the catalogue offers more than 50 internal training courses, some of which are intended for the global AGRANA workforce as a whole, while others are custom-designed for specific locations and their local requirements.
In the financial year, about 740 learners studied using this approach to staff development.
In 2022|23 the Group trained an average of 102 apprentices, of whom twenty-four, or 23.5%, were female. An average of 72 apprentices were employed in Austria, of whom eleven, or 15.3%, were female. A combined average of 30 apprentices were employed in Germany, France, Algeria, Brazil, the Czech Republic and Slovakia; 13 of these apprentices, or 43.3%, 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 including 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 Group sites took part in events to present apprenticeship and other occupations, both digitally and increasingly in person. As well, some plants were toured by guests 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 is thus a member of the Austrian “Business for Family” network of the Federal Ministry for Work, Family and Youth (also see the corporate governance report).
Across the Group, this is reflected in numerous 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.