Page 34 - Demo

34 About Strategy and Governance Our People Our Business Our Outcome AppendixDKSH has implemented a global Flexible Work Arrangement policy, giving employees more ownership of how and where they work. This allows managers and employees to jointly evaluate the feasibility of such work arrangements and design an approach that balances business needs with the employees%u2019 work/life balance needs.In four out of 11 significant locations17, part-time and temporary employees receive the same benefits as permanent full-time employees; in six other markets, some benefits are only provided to full-time employees. In one market, parttime and temporary employees do not receive voluntary benefits. Benefits related to stock ownership are limited to eligible key managers of the company.%u2023 GRI 401-2Sharing a Moment in Life We seek to offer a work environment that makes staying with our company an attractive prospect. However, we understand that some employees may seek new opportunities outside DKSH.In 2023, the overall attrition rate for the Group was almost 25%; voluntary attrition stood at almost 18 %. This is a decrease compared with 2022, when the rates were 29 % and 22 %, respectively. Our goal is that the voluntary attrition rate will not exceed 20 % in 2024 and beyond. The total attrition rate at management levels was almost 18 %, with voluntary attrition at 12 %. Although our attrition rate may seem high, there are two factors to consider: Firstly, Southeast Asia is an economic region experiencing fast-paced change with generally higher attrition rates than, for example, European markets. Secondly, the logistics sector, which makes up a large proportion of our workforce, is particularly dynamic compared to other local industries, resulting in high attrition rates in this segment. We will continue our efforts to further reduce voluntary attrition. %u2023 GRI 401-1Please note that the decrease in the total number of employees in 2023 is connected to our separation from a joint venture entity during the reporting period.17%u2002 DKSH defines significant operations as all markets with more than 500 employees. This includes the 11 markets of Australia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.When hiring externally, we perform a market mapping to secure a diverse talent pool that meets our business needs and strategy. We actively develop new talent pools through formal yearly talent reviews and succession planning practices.DKSH also offers graduate traineeship and apprenticeship programs. In addition, we offer a Junior Executive Training (JET) program in Malaysia as well as similar programs in other markets, which allows young graduates to work as leaders in various Business Units and Functions. As part of DKSH%u2019s global learning and development program, we support employees%u2019 educational achievement through work-related external education. Local markets can choose to implement educational assistance programs (paying in whole or in part for an employee%u2019s education) and education/study leave programs (allowing employees time off to complete educational goals), according to the market norms.It is important to us that our newly hired employees stay with the company so we continuously measure our new hire retention rate. This rate stood at 65.4% in 2023 (up from 60.7% in 2022). We have set ourselves the target of increasing the new hire retention rate to 66% by 2024 and 72% by 2027.Creating a Supportive Work EnvironmentAt DKSH, we believe in having an entrepreneurial culture that strongly emphasizes performance-based pay. Our Pay-for-Performance Framework aligns DKSH%u2019s financial and business goals with individual performance. The Annual Variable Bonus Plan is integral to the total remuneration framework for eligible plan participants. It is designed to apply throughout our global corporate framework and to retain and motivate high-caliber employees who strive for excellence. The aim is to encourage participants to set and achieve objectives and further build a high-performance culture by adopting the right behaviors and cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset. The Annual Variable Bonus Plan allows participants to earn more than their fixed remuneration via additional performance-based pay based on DKSH%u2019s annual business performance. We also recognize the importance of maintaining equitable pay practices to employee retention. At DKSH, we achieve this by using comprehensive benchmarking data alongside with other local insights, to ensure that our compensation is competitive, fair, and aligned to industry standards. By doing so, we further demonstrate our investment in our people and in retaining our workforce.Providing a work environment that is conducive to people performing at their best includes offering benefits to the workforce. We offer our employees a variety of benefits based on applicable policies in the markets where we operate and continually review and enhance our benefit practices. Standard benefits, with some variation by market, include life insurance, healthcare, disability and invalidity coverage, statutory retirement provision, and leave entitlement.