2.2 Progress on people, culture and leadership

Recruitment

In recent years, much attention has been paid to professionalising and strengthening the recruitment team. Continual investment has also been made in growing our appeal to potential employees. This has ensured that despite challenging labour market conditions, we have been successful in recruiting talented new employees.

During the year the number of employees exceeded 1,000, and by the end of the financial year 1,013 people (964 FTEs) were working at Nedap. Throughout the year, 203 people joined Nedap, and 105 employees left the company. The average age was 40 years. Of the current employees, 576 (57%) have joined Nedap in the past five years. Currently, the male/female ratio within the company is 73%/27%.

Talent development

In 2023, unabated investment was made in the development of our people. New employees go through the introduction programme, and the 'Nedap Survival Skills' programme is offered to help new employees quickly acclimatise within the organisation and make a valuable contribution. The 'Personal Leadership' programme enables employees to accelerate their personal development.

This year, significant progress has also been made in further developing technical knowledge. With the introduction of the Tech Academy, we aim to boost the development of our people’s technical knowledge by bundling all initiatives in this area. This makes it much easier for our employees to understand what is already possible in the field of developing and deepening technological knowledge. A notable highlight was the TechKnow Day. Over 300 participants learned about the development opportunities within Nedap on that day. The substantive part of the day's programme in particular, where colleagues organised introductory and in-depth sessions on a variety of topics, was highly appreciated.

The training and development of employees is an element of our sustainability policy. The target for all employees is to spend at least 40 hours per year on their own development. In 2023, this target was achieved by 52% of our employees (for further information, also refer to paragraph 'Our impact: Employees' in section 2.3).

Nedap culture

Our company culture stands as a cornerstone for our business, and is one of the reasons why talented people want to work at Nedap. It actively fosters an environment where entrepreneurship and personal development are encouraged. It is important for this culture to be cultivated within the company. At the same time, it is equally important for this culture to remain vibrant and evolve with Nedap's development. Over the past year, many discussions have been held within the company to make Nedap's culture more explicit and identify those elements where a shift would be appropriate to achieve the ambitions of Step Up!.

In September 2023, more than 200 Nedappers came into action, launching Expedition Nedap: a spectacular family day when 4,000 family members and friends were immersed in the world of Nedap.

This has led us to determine that a focus on results should play a more prominent role in our culture. At the same time, everyone realises that changing a company culture is a delicate process that must be done carefully. A major strength of Nedap's culture is that when it becomes clear what needs to be done, it gets done. As a result, clear progress has been made throughout the organisation over the past year on explicitly stating expectations in terms of concrete goals. The importance of achieving goals to build and expand leading market positions is now widely supported.

Leadership

The theme of leadership and leadership development has received more attention in recent years. For example, the Step Up! day in June 2023 was entirely dedicated to the theme of leadership. On this day, the Nedap Leadership Framework was introduced. This model aims to provide a common perspective and vocabulary to facilitate and structure conversations about leadership and leadership development within the company. Based on this framework, various leadership development programmes have been developed to structurally improve the quality of leadership at all levels. Timely identification of people with leadership potential and accelerating their development is now one of the core responsibilities of team leaders.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We devoted much time and attention to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion over the past year, with the aim to developing, documenting and sharing our approach in this area within Nedap. After organising structured discussions on this topic, we translated our insights into a first version of our DEI policy and an action plan. We realised that especially with an important but complex topic like DEI, it is good to gradually gain more insight and policy in this area. With this as a starting point, we established our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policy (DEI).

Our vision

We recognise that our greatest strength lies in the diverse talents of our team. Our commitment to DEI is fundamental to our strategic vision and has a clear focus on harnessing the full spectrum of diverse perspectives, experience, and available talents. We cultivate an environment where everyone can authentically express themselves and contribute ideas freely, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement. This commitment translates into equitable opportunities for our employees worldwide, and the development of innovative products and services that resonate with our clients worldwide, underscoring our dedication to both diversity and excellence.

We realise that this subject can be viewed from various perspectives. For example, gender is a dimension that has received a lot of attention over the past year. Based on interviews with a broad group of female employees, it was assessed how more understanding could be developed for the differences that may exist between male and female colleagues. The aim is to encourage the advancement of female colleagues into leadership roles and align the male/female ratio more closely with that of the Nedap population.

However, there are more aspects that need attention, such as the development and cultivation of an international perspective and a global mindset. In addition, we are also committed to equity for all our colleagues, with an emphasis on equitable opportunities for women, remote workers and neuro-diverse colleagues within our global teams.

Human Resources

Given the importance of our people, much attention has been paid to strengthening the HR function within Nedap in recent years. In 2023, significant progress was made in better informing Nedap employees about HR matters. A key structural step forward in this regard is that all key markets are now supported by a dedicated person from HR. In addition to professionalising the HR-related processes in the various teams, this has also had the important effect of increasing consistency in the implementation of our Nedap way of working.

How we value our people

Working at Nedap is all about rising to challenges and seizing growth opportunities in a stimulating environment. The high demands we place on our employees in this respect call for a remuneration policy to match.

Employee participation plan

Nedap N.V. offers a generous share scheme, which started in 2010 following the establishment of the Employee Participation Foundation (Stichting Medewerkerparticipatie Nedap). Nedap employees can acquire depositary receipts for shares in the company (“certificates”). Each year, Nedap N.V. makes 6.5% of the profit before tax available to its employees, who can individually decide to use all or part of this profit distribution to buy certificates. The scheme is aimed at aligning the interests of employees and shareholders and promoting a shared interest in Nedap's development as a business.  

The opportunity to become a depositary receipt holder fits in with the spirit of entrepreneurship we expect of employees. In 2023, 74% of employees opted in for the plan. The Foundation currently holds 3.3% of Nedap's share capital.

Nedap Additional Participation Plan (NAPP)  

In addition to the share scheme, Nedap has an Additional Participation Plan (NAPP), which is running since January 2013 and whereby all employees receive certificates when profits exceed a set minimum. The NAPP is aimed at increasing employees’ sense of engagement with Nedap and rewarding them for demonstrated entrepreneurship. It is based on the principle of 'fair sharing of profits' on the financial and intellectual capital deployed. As such, it is a good example of the sustainability principles that are an intrinsic part of Nedap's culture. The NAPP is triggered when the EBIT excluding one-off items outgrows a predefined benchmark by over 5% a year. The threshold value is calculated at the start of the year, based on 5% growth compared to the average EBIT excluding one-off items from the previous three years, with a compound annual growth rate of 5%. Of all growth beyond this 5% threshold, 40% is distributed to employees. This share in the profits is subsequently allocated to employees in the form of certificates. 

These certificates are subject to a four-year lock-up period. The threshold for 2024 amounts to an EBIT of €29.1 million (2023: €24.6 million). The NAPP allowed employees a share in the additional profit for 2023 amounting to €1.9 million (2022: €1.4 million).

Collective Labour Agreement

In the financial year, Nedap concluded a one-year collective labour agreement, which took effect on 1 April 2023. A structural salary increase of 6% plus a fixed amount of €25 per month was agreed upon. In addition, it was agreed that employees would receive an additional amount of €900 in 2023.

Employee participation

The works council plays an important role at Nedap. Representing Nedap employees, works council members actively liaise with colleagues. They address and discuss topics such as culture and DEI with the Board of Directors and Supervisory Board. Organisational changes or strategic decisions are always run by the works council at an early stage, and depending on the case at hand, they are also asked for advice or approval. The Board of Directors and the Supervisory Board owe them a great debt of gratitude for their constructive and valuable contribution.