HR strategy at Coates

This intent sees the many and varied activities of the HR department clearly aligned to the company's overall goal and purpose.

A set of expected and concrete outcomes has been developed from the strategic intent. These set out what the HR department must achieve. These are to:

• Positively influence employee engagement with more employees striving
  for Coates
• Develop and leverage the capability of our people (at all levels)
• Improve workforce flexibility and organisational effectiveness
• Enable employees to experience a working environment reflective of the Coates Way and a culture of safety, which will attract and retain the best performers.

The aim of the outcomes is to create a company culture where employees are committed to fostering the company vision. Coates aims to do this by providing the necessary training and support in order to develop employees' careers and skill sets in a safe environment. Excellent training and clear and measurable goals will improve how effectively people do their jobs. Essentially, Coates wants people to understand exactly what is required of them, enjoy their jobs and be good at them!

Coates aims to build a performance culture and there is a range of ways in which its HR function implements and reinforces the Coates Way to work towards achieving its vision of being the hire company of choice.

Implementing the Coates Way

Coates has developed the Performance Development Plan (PDP) for employees. This is not merely a meeting between managers and employees. It is designed to encourage staff to incorporate the aspects of the Coates Way in their daily work practices. The PDP reaffirms the Coates Way, provides the opportunity for feedback and assesses employees' behaviour against acceptable standards of performance. Performance criteria are designed to be easily measured, relevant and related to aspects of objectives that the employee can directly influence in their roles.

The PDP is about knowing the company and what is expected, to what standards and with what behaviours. It is about committing to performance objectives and being accountable, identifying opportunities for continuous improvement and formalising assessments at least once a year. PDPs also recognise staff achievements and invests in those employees who can make a difference.

Coates has also developed a Person to Position Profile (PPP) which considers the extent an employee demonstrates behaviours supportive of theCoates Way, outlines the expected standards of performance in their role, allows for self and manager assessment (which can be incorporated in to the PDP), and identifies the areas of expertise essential for an employee to perform at the required standard within the role. This PPP can be used as a tool for employee career development and recruitment.

To reinforce the Coates Way, Coates has conducted 2 follow-up sessions - Commit to our Customers and Valuing Safety. The Commit to our Customers session reinforced the importance of our critical success factor of Commit to our Customers and involved a 1 hour 'toolbox style' session. The Valuing Safety sessions focus on reinforcing our Coates Way values and aligning them with building a culture of safety. This session will involve a 2 hour interactive session with employees across each business unit.