Better

As a project company, we need to stay alert to risks and actively manage risk and contract management. Internally, this pillar is the foundation for a healthy, stable company. In addition, safety, quality and reliable processes help to make our services predictable for our clients and help us to be a good employer.

1.  We will not be satisfied until we record 0 accidents.

Last year was overshadowed by a fatal accident on our project along the N3 road, in which an employee of a subcontractor was killed. We are also disappointed with the number of accidents (resulting in absenteeism or replacement work) in the past year. The number of accidents rose to 71 in 2022 from 66 in 2021. We expect this is partly because our people are looking away less and behaviour is slowly changing, and more (smaller) accidents are being reported by colleagues. We continue to aim for 0 accidents. For all our accidents (resulting in absenteeism), we use the 1-3-14 method, where accidents are analysed on the first, third and 14th day, and we initiate investigations and actions. Using this method, we learn how we can improve things and formulate concrete improvement actions. To increase the learning effect, in 2023 we will expand our incident registration system (IRES), adding a module in which the improvement actions are linked to an action holder and we carry out an extra check on the embedding of the improvement.

2.  IF < 1 in 2023.

Heijmans-wide, the IF figure fell to 2.7 (was 3.8 in 2021). This is because we had fewer accidents involving (long-term) absenteeism with our own staff and because we are in a better position to provide replacement work. To reduce the IF rate even further, we will continue to pay attention to our colleagues’ risk awareness and improve the proactive safety culture in which we speak out and hold each other accountable. In addition to the usual interventions such as (VR) toolboxes, workplace inspections, dialogue sessions and risk sessions, we are increasingly focusing on safety at the front end of the process (tender-design-preparation) and paying more attention to social safety.

3.  In 2023, the entire organisation will have reached step 4 on the Safety Ladder.

In 2022, Heijmans Infra recertified and improved on step 4 of the Safety Ladder, something we are proud of! In 2022, Residential Building, Non-residential Building and Property Development improved their score on step 3 and have worked hard on improvement plans with the audit results as important input. These business areas will all be audited at Step 4 in the first half of 2023.

4.  In 2023, we are predictable because all larger projects (cat. 2 and 3) end within the initial bandwidth.

Projects under construction are more susceptible to fluctuations due to changed market conditions, but across the board projects have remained predictable. Towards completion, we see project performance improving on the whole.

5.  In 2023, all projects make a positive contribution to our profit.

In 2022, despite the changed market conditions, the relative contribution of projects to profit remained at the same level. This indicates that all improvements made are now embedded robustly enough in the organisation to deal with these changed market conditions.

6.  We reduce the number of colleagues who leave at their own request by 50% each year.

Overall outflow remained relatively constant compared with the previous year. We are feeling the effects of scarcity in the labour market, so the unwanted departure of employees remains high. We pay close attention to bonding with our employees and being an attractive employer with a social face. For example, due to extreme inflation in 2022, we compensated employees’ loss of purchasing power on two occasions last year. We now have insight into which groups of employees are more likely to leave Heijmans and their reasons for doing so. For these specific groups, we have started a customised approach, such as adjustments to the content of their work. At a number of Building & Technology business units, for example, work preparation tasks are split between administrative tasks and technical tasks, to match the content of the work more effectively to employees' competencies and interests.

Helping each other

Sofie Bogaers (35) is a secretary at the Materiel Management club in Rosmalen. She would like nothing more than to keep working here until her retirement, because she feels right at home. Connecting people - from the workshop and the office - is what she likes doing best.

“At first, I thought Heijmans might be too big for me, because before I’d always worked for smaller companies where there was a real family feeling. But I don’t notice at all that this is such a big company, and I have that family feeling again. That’s because everyone is so approachable. Everything is done in consultation and everyone gets a chance to come up with ideas or solutions.”

“I work in Rosmalen and I’m right in the midst of all the big equipment. People from the workshop and the office often don’t know each other, but I try to put them in touch and get them to connect. If I see an endless e-mail exchange developing, I say: ‘Just walk with me, because that person is sitting nearby.’ Sometimes it’s like consultation hour at my desk, because people often drop by for a chat.”

“What appeals to me at Heijmans is that everyone is more than happy to help each other. In this respect, it doesn’t matter what project you’re on or what region you’re from. We’re due to have a workshop soon, to help us work even more sustainably in the office, too. I’m curious to see what more I can learn, because I already take this into account when I order products. I look at sustainable alternatives, packaging materials and how something is delivered. These may be small things, but every little bit helps to make our work even more sustainable.”

What appeals to me at Heijmans is that everyone is more than happy to help each other

7.  We reduce absenteeism by 5% each year.

Heijmans has a rolling average absenteeism rate that is about 1% lower than the average in the Netherlands for companies larger than 100 employees (6.20%; CBS^[1]) and below the average for the construction industry (5.38%; CBS^[1]). However, we are showing a similar upward trend in absenteeism, as seen in the Netherlands as a whole. The increase in the rolling average absenteeism rate is due to an increase in short-term absence (up to eight days) compared with the previous year. Covid-19 and mental fatigue due to the impact of macroeconomic factors on our employees' household budgets are to blame for this. Within Heijmans, we are devoting a great deal of attention to increasing the resilience of our employees. We also work with a customised approach to prevent and reduce long-term absenteeism.

• 1CBS figures are comparative through to the third quarter of 2022.

8.  In 2021, we have a higher employee engagement score than in in 2019.

Heijmans did not conduct a general employee engagement survey in 2022. We shared the results of the 2021 survey extensively across the organisation and we initiated improvement actions. In addition, we conducted pilots with short questionnaires and weekly mood measurements. In 2023, we will once again conduct the Heijmans-wide employee engagement survey.

• *The first figure is departures at employees’ own request, the second figure is unwanted departures (people leaving at their own request and who were functioning at or above level).