The overarching objective of the Pelion Healthcare Group's HR Policy, adopted for years 2013-2015, is to recruit and retain a team of employees who, in pursuit of the Company's mission and targets, will build its market value and sustainable competitive advantage, and at the same time achieve job satisfaction and fulfil their personal plans and ambitions.

2014 saw major changes in the workforce structure in terms of the overall headcount (following the acquisition of Polbita), as well as continuing implementation of the Pelion Healthcare Group HR Policy for 2013−2015 and the Code of Ethics.

Workforce:

The Pelion Healthcare Group’s headcount as at December 31st 2014 stood at 8,453 FTEs, up over 23% year on year. For many years, the workforce structure has been dominated by women – as at the end of 2014, female workers accounted for 82% of FTEs and men represented 18% of the workforce. In addition, the number of female supervisory board members across the Group increased from 25% of FTEs in 2013 to 35% in 2014.

The workforce age structure also remained stable: as at the end of 2014, workers up to 50 years of age accounted for approximately 83% of the workforce and workers aged over 50 represented 17% of the employees. Compared with the previous year, 2014 saw a higher number of ‘Generation Y’ workers – young and ambitious people up to 30 years of age currently account for over 27% of FTEs.

Salaries and wages

Under the adopted HR Policy, the Pelion Healthcare Group's employees are remunerated according to their performance, job grade, competencies, and the employer's economic and financial situation. To ensure that remuneration paid to employees is adequate, the Company monitors the level of salaries and wages on an on-going basis and compares it with market rates applying to similar jobs. Depending on the job grade, the overall remuneration package comprises: base pay, variable performance-related (bonus) pay, and additional benefits, including: medical care, prescription drug insurance, sports and recreational activities, as well as professional and personal development programmes (training, post-graduate courses).

No workplace discrimination cases were reported at the Company.

Training

Throughout 2014, employees across the Pelion Healthcare Group took part in internal and external training programmes which totalled more than 38 thousand training hours. The average training time per one employee was 5 hours per year.

Special focus is placed on customer service training designed for customer service consultants and the sales, telemarketing and call centre staff. The Company also continued meetings organised under the Managers Academy – the Company’s proprietary programme for the PGF, Urtica, and LGO managerial staff. The training programme covered topics such as: handling difficult issues with employees, with particular emphasis on employee dismissal standards; non- financial incentives; manager’s mediations; and staff recruitment. As part of the ‘Healthy Choice’ Programme, 13 PGF companies held 50 training sessions for pharmacists, devoted to HR management and professional customer service at pharmacies. In addition, customer service standards training was organised for pharmacy managers. In 2014, the Company continued the ‘Model Pharmacy’ project launched in 2013 and designed to assign greater business responsibility for the pharmacy to its manager, and at the same time give greater freedom in taking management-related decisions – including staff hiring and incentives, cost management, etc. The project covered 149 model pharmacies, compared with only 11 in 2013, which proves that many pharmacies actively seek to become admitted to the programme. The Company also continued its ‘Training Pharmacy’ project designed to educate pharmacy managers on the procedures and standards adopted at DOZ S.A. The project covered 27 selected pharmacies where new managers would undergo intensive three-month training under the watchful eye of their experienced colleagues. The goal of the project is also to select potential candidates for pharmacy managers from among newly hired pharmacists.

More than 700 pharmacists took part in training programmes and scientific conferences, scoring points for participation. They were offered a chance to participate in 42 scientific conferences organised all around the country. Two workshops on drug formulas were also organised by the Jan Muszyński Pharmacy Museum in Łódź, conducted by the research staff of the Medical University of Białystok.

Recruitment and Employer Branding

In 2014, the recruitment department received more than 17 thousand job applications. In line with the adopted HR Policy for 2013-2015, the Company attached great weight to internal recruitment processes and favoured candidates from its local markets.

While continuously raising the bar on our recruitment standards, bearing in mind that they have a direct impact on the candidates' impressions from the recruitment process, since 2013 the Pelion Healthcare Group has composed the Coalition for Friendly Recruitment – a group of companies implementing and supporting good recruitment practices.

Pelion has partnered with tertiary education institutions under the Business 2 Universities concept. The Company attaches great weight to the partnership with universities, offering an opportunity to university students and graduates to learn about the Company, find answers to their questions, and find out what the employer’s expectations are. The overriding objective of Pelion’s work placement and internship programmes is to present the Company to prospective employees, gain insight into the expectations and work ethics of the ‘Generation Y’ job seekers, and use the knowledge gathered in this way to adjust the Company’s HR policy. At the same time, students develop their competencies and the Company is able to identify most promising university students and graduates.

As part of its partnership with the academic community, Pelion engages in a variety of activities, offering an opportunity to acquire job experience through tailor-made work placements and internship programmes for students and graduates. Those personalised programmes are offered during the academic year to university students and graduates up to 30 years of age (in accordance with the applicable regulations), and applications can be filed all year round. The work placement programme is agreed individually with each student, depending on the expectations of their universities and the Company’s current needs. Every year, we admit about 10 interns to work at various departments at Pelion. In 2014, students were offered an opportunity to gain valuable job experience in the Cash Settlements, Finance, Brand Marketing, Audit and PR Departments.

In addition to work placement and internship programmes, Pelion Healthcare Group participates in two prestigious traineeship programmes: the ‘Career Programme’ organised in cooperation with the Polish Business Roundtable, and the ‘Youth in Łódź’ programme organised by the Municipal Office in Łódź.

The ‘Career Programme’ is targeted at university students and graduates who want to become future business leaders. Its innovative formula offers a chance to young talents embarking on their professional career to gain valuable work experience, and remuneration received during the internship is an additional incentive.

Being well aware of the potential of young people bursting with innovative ideas and eager to work, in 2014 Pelion took part in the programme for the tenth consecutive time, offering project internships to 9 students and graduates. We gave our interns a chance to learn about the operations of different Pelion Healthcare Group companies and contribute to projects implemented across various departments, including projects related to e-banking applications, corporate communication, or recruitment and training.

The local ‘Youth in Łódź’ programme encourages young people to stay in Łódź and build the city’s good image as a place conducive to professional development. As a company with strong links with the city of Łódź since its inception, Pelion has long supported the city’s students and local initiatives aimed at the recruitment of young job seekers from the local labour market.

In 2014, the internship programme was run, among other companies, at BSS S.A., offering an opportunity to interns to learn more about the rules and procedures in the accounting department.
Close cooperation of our staff with the academic community is the added value of the programme. Directors and managers of various departments across the Company take the role of mentors and help young people gain their first hands-on experience and practise further the skills they had learnt at the university. Joint projects with universities offer an opportunity for students and graduates to gain on-the-job experience, develop their knowledge and skills, and gain insight into the work of a large company, as well as a chance to make entry into the business community and verify their work-related expectations. They are also given a unique opportunity to work with professionals and make contacts which can prove useful in the future. Another mentoring project is the ‘VIP Graduate’ programme launched in 2014 by the Centre for Careers and Co-operation with Employers of the University of Łódź. The goal of this project is to involve the University’s most accomplished graduates in the process of professional development of the most talented and promising students. The first edition of the ‘VIP Graduate’ programme was conducted with 24 mentor-student pairs, including Jadwiga Hałaczkiewicz, Pelion S.A.’s Personnel Management Director, as one of the mentors.

Pelion Healthcare Group HR Policy for 2013–2015

The Group's HR Policy, adopted in 2013, sets out the standards for the management of human resources. The document emphasises that the Pelion Healthcare Group companies build their organisational culture in conformity with the law and standards of ethics, while promoting mutual respect and knowledge sharing. In all their dealings, they adhere to the principles of equal treatment and refrain from any form of discrimination, supporting and promoting openness, diversity and tolerance at the workplace. They build effective cooperation and solid relations with employees based on good internal and external communication. In the recruitment and employment process, the Pelion Healthcare Group companies seek to hire and retain loyal people who work with passion and involvement, offering them a stable job, great prospects for development, and a friendly and safe work environment in exchange. They have implemented remuneration, incentive and development systems based on clear and transparent rules, and they guarantee an attractive pay structure and a broad range of additional benefits. Employees are encouraged to participate in employee volunteer programmes and charity events, while the company supports their efforts with effective and modern forms of charity. Through various forms of employer branding initiatives, the Group companies build the Pelion Healthcare Group's image as an attractive and trustworthy employer. The HR department staff play a special role in the Group's personnel policy, as they are partners for managers and, at the same time, mentors and trainers for employees.


In late 2014, the Company signed up to the business-oriented social networking service www.GoldenLine.pl, creating an official Pelion Healthcare Group profile to build and promote a consistent and positive image of the Company as a reliable employer.

The ‘Career Entry’ project concerning the partnership with tertiary education institutions was named a Best Practice in 2014 and featured in the ‘Responsible Business in Poland. Best Practices 2014’ report published by the Responsible Business Forum.

The Pelion Healthcare Group Code of Ethics

The Code of Ethics was adopted in 2013 to help the Pelion Healthcare Group's employees approach certain situations they face in their everyday work. It sets the standards for ethical behaviour, reflecting the values underlying the Company's mission: good leadership, responsibility and stakeholders' trust. According to the Code of Ethics, the Pelion Healthcare Group:

• always puts patients in the centre of attention, taking care of their health to the extent it can be influenced by the Company;
• builds trust in an effort to become a trading partner of choice and to cooperate with companies that share its core ethical values;
• safeguards competition by applying and promoting highest standards of ethics in market competition;
• counteracts corruption by putting a ban on any form of corrupt practices;
• maintains the company value by protecting its reputation and securing its tangible and intangible assets;
• builds an employee-friendly company, offering fair terms of employment in a friendly work environment, fostering employees' professional and personal development, and promoting healthy lifestyles;
• creates a better reality by getting involved and encouraging others to get involved in social projects and improvement of the health condition of the Company's employees and the society in general;
• cares for the natural environment, searching for new ways to minimise its negative environmental impacts.

In 2014, the Pelion Healthcare Group continued implementation of the Code of Ethics. Each employee was obliged to read the document, sign a statement confirming compliance with its rules, and undergo training through a special e-learning platform. In 2014, Katarzyna Kowalska was also appointed the Company’s first-ever Ethics Officer. Any actual or potential breaches of ethics may be reported through a dedicated email address at etyka@pelion.eu.

‘Code of Ethics – continuation’ was named a Best Practice in 2014 and featured in the ‘Responsible Business in Poland. Best Practices 2014’ report published by the Responsible Business Forum.

Your IDEA Is a Plus For Us – From imagination to innovation

Your IDEA Is a Plus For Us' ('IDEA na plus'), launched in 2013, is a programme for all employees at the Pelion Healthcare Group. The intention is to involve them in the Company's development and the search for business innovations, promote openness in our mutual relations, and improve the work atmosphere and workplace conditions.

Every Pelion Healthcare Group employee may propose a new, innovative idea for a business solution, or an improvement or optimisation of our business processes in any area of our activity, by using a standard form available at www.ideanaplus.pl. Proposals are evaluated by members of the Pelion S.A. Management Board; once a quarter, they announce the winners whose proposals can be implemented in practice. Authors of the most appealing ideas receive attractive prizes and have a chance to work with the project team.

In the first edition of the programme in 2013, almost 30 applications were received and there were two times more in 2014.

Pelion Wellness Program

With the Wellness Programme, the Pelion Healthcare Group offers its employees a chance to improve their health, psychological and physical condition, and to eradicate unhealthy habits, by focusing on three key areas: physical activity, healthy diet and lifestyle, and work-life balance.

The project is widely popular and integrates our employees through group activities, fostering a change of bad habits and attitudes, and growing interest in the Company's health awareness initiatives which have been implemented for many years. The Wellness Programme is part of a long-term strategy which aims at reducing costs through improved employee performance, reduction of absenteeism, and lower spending on healthcare. It is also intended to enhance the Pelion Healthcare Group's image as an attractive and trustworthy employer.

In 2014, the Company continued the ‘Healthy Wednesday’ project, serving fresh and dried fruits and fruit smoothies to our employees. Healthy ‘fit’ meals were also added to the menu at the Company’s canteen. Our employees had a chance to take part in the 6th company bike tour together with their families, meet a sports dietician to discuss a healthy diet for physical activity, and participate in a sports camp organised in Spała for those employees who wanted to get prepared for the marathon run. The Wellness Programme also includes vaccinations against influenza before the autumn and winter season, as well as a programme for colonic diseases prevention. Our employees may also apply for allowances under the ‘Fit-Profit’ programme. In early 2014, the Company launched the Pelion Wellness Programme blog (www.pelionwellness.com), which promotes a healthy lifestyle and brings together all employees who want to stay fit and healthy. The Wellness Programme platform is a social media service run in the form of a blog, which shows updates on the Company’s projects and activities related to sports, healthy diet, health care, and the work-life balance. In 2015, the Company plans to implement new disease prevention projects and offer specialist medical care to its employees. The first phase of the campaign, which included blood pressure measurements, was run in 2014 and enjoyed great popularity among our employees. The Company intends to continue its mission to care for the health of our staff by offering comprehensive healthcare services (including prevention, medical care and drug therapy).


As part of work-life balance promoting activities, the Company holds the annual Children’s Day event for our employees’ kids, which takes a different form every year. It is an opportunity to educate and develop the children’s skills, and also involve those employees who want to demonstrate their hobbies and talents. In 2014, our employees staged a theatre play ‘Cinderella’ based on a poem by Jan Brzechwa, which was attended not only by our staff’s kids, but also by children under the care of the 'Dbam o Zdrowie' Foundation. A video recording of the play was also made available to all employees.

The ‘Cinderella’ play staged by Pelion’s employees was named a Best Practice in 2014 and featured in the ‘Responsible Business in Poland. Best Practices 2014’ report published by the Responsible Business Forum.

Global Dignity Day

Global Dignity Day, which falls on the third Wednesday in October, is a global initiative aimed at making young people around the world aware of other people’s right to dignity. The Pelion Healthcare Group has been supporting the Global Dignity initiative since 2009. In June 2014, a school in Łódź and Pelion S.A.’s head office both hosted the ‘Let’s Talk About Dignity’ events with a famous mountaineer Piotr Pustelnik, who interviewed representatives of schools of Warsaw and Łódź.

On the Global Dignity Day falling on October 15th 2014, Pelion S.A. volunteers and special guests, usually well-known people who have gained recognition and respect for their achievements in various areas, meet with young people at schools to discuss the subject of dignity. The event attracted a turnout of about 400 students, who met with: Małgorzata Niemczyk, a volleyball player; Magdalena Michalak and Marcin Wąsiewicz, journalists; representatives of the Urban Forms Foundation; Anna Cymmerman, opera singer; Jan Krzos, guitar player; dr Aldona Plucińska, ethnographer and art historian; Jacek Kusiński, photographer and publisher; and other guests.

The Global Standard for Workplace Gender Equality certificate

In 2014, DOZ S.A., a CEPD N.V. Group company, remained certified to the Global Standard for Workplace Gender Equality as the first company of only four organisations from around the world.

The certificate is awarded by the Gender Equality Project (GEP) Foundation operating at the World Economic Forum in Davos, whose main objective is to eliminate opportunity gaps and promote gender equality in employment.

Award of the certificate was preceded by a three-stage verification process held in 2011-2012, which included, among other aspects, a comprehensive analysis of data on the workforce structure in the 'Dbam o Zdrowie' pharmacy network, an anonymous questionnaire for employees, and internal audits.

Areas under assessment included the ratio of female to male remuneration, the recruitment and promotion system, the percentage of women in the company's governing bodies, and access to training and flexible work arrangements.

Commitment for 2015:

• Continuation of the Global Dignity Day project
• Continuation of partnership with tertiary education institutions
• A training programme promoting equal treatment and preventing workplace mobbing (joining the group of signatories of the European Diversity Charter)
• Projects aimed at improving communication between companies
• Implementation of the PULS – Specialist Medical Care programme for employees
• Employee satisfaction survey
• Implementation of a system of development programmes and training for High Potentials
• Implementation of the Pelion Wellness Programme across the Group.