Composition of the organisation
Our workforce at Alliander is diverse in terms of education, age, gender, LBGTI, disability, cultural background and family structure. And yet we are seeking to achieve even more diversity at Alliander, at all levels. An active policy is needed to prevent us from excluding anyone unintentionally and unwittingly. Moreover, we know that we cannot complete the energy transition without diversity: different perspectives lead to new ideas and better information. And furthermore, our society increasingly demands equal treatment for everyone.
Our HR policy pursues diversity on the basis of three pillars. Firstly, we seek to achieve diversity at all levels. We do so by focusing directly on recruiting women and moving women into technical and managerial positions, and we offer support to cultural talent through mentoring in conjunction with our partner Agora. In 2021, the recruitment team took part in a pilot initiated by the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment and we conducted research on the basis of the same programme (VIA) into retaining and promoting talented workers. Regarding employment benefits, we conducted an equal work/equal pay analysis. The recommendations based on that study are included in the plans for 2022. The last pillar is our inclusive organisational culture, in which we make use of our employee networks Tension (young people), Lianne (women), Pride (LGBT+) and Wij zijn Nexus [We are Nexus] (people with a migrant background). A special interactive online experience was organised for leaders to discuss diversity, inclusion and belonging.
Employee breakdown by gender and age
An organisation where everyone feels at home
Alliander aims to be a diverse company where every employee can perform to the best of their abilities. We seek to have a well-balanced, diverse workforce at all levels. We believe that diversity makes us an attractive employer for talented individuals, gives everyone the opportunity to show their best side, and contributes to the quality of our decision-making and innovative capacity. That is why we encourage the recruitment of women to managerial and technical positions, employees with a migrant background, and people with poor employment prospects.
Diversity Day and Coming Out Day
On 5 October, we celebrated Diversity Day. This is the day on which we ask for particular attention to be paid to the differences and the similarities between people. This year, we focused on being yourself and telling your story. Employees told their stories in an online bookcase. The idea comes from the Danish concept of The Human Library. In addition to this, we celebrated Coming Out Day on 11 October, published a video message in conjunction with TenneT and organised an event in which we underlined that we and our partners stand for diversity and inclusion.
Percentage of women in leadership positions
The percentage of women in managerial positions at the end of 2021 was 28.1% (2020: 29.0%). Our target is to have women in 33% of managerial positions by 2024. A new measurement method will come into force from 2022 enabling us to measure the number of women in influential positions.
At year-end 2021, 25% of the Management Board members were female. The current composition of the Management Board represents a good balance in terms of diversity of expertise, background, experience and age. Women make up 40% of the Supervisory Board.
In 2021, 257 new leaders, managers, directors and Supervisory Board members were appointed. Of these, 77 were women, i.e. 30% of these vacancies, which takes us another step towards a more inclusive composition of our management.
Employees with a migrant background
In order to present our company to current and potential employees with a migrant background, we explicitly focus on the diversity within our organisation. To do so, we make use of our ‘Wij zijn Nexus’ network, Echo (a mentoring programme for graduates with a migrant background) and Agora (a network organisation that supports diversity and inclusion).
Offering opportunities to people with poor employment prospects
Alliander believes in an inclusive, diverse organisation in which there are opportunities for everyone based on their own merits and talents. We employ people with poor employment prospects who are covered by the Labour Participation Act, because having work gets them more involved in society. Alliander also endorses the significant societal importance of the government’s job promise scheme (‘banenafspraak’) that aims to create permanent positions for people with an occupational disability. Our aim in 2021 was to increase employment in this target group. In 2021, we offered a total of 77 people (62 FTEs) a job or work experience placement (2020: 108).