Responsible business strengthens the business
B&B TOOLS works with a decentralised organisation, where freedom, responsibility and customer proximity are key concepts. It is the will, ability and courage of the Group’s employees that create a strong B&B TOOLS.
B&B TOOLS organisation is characterised by flexibility and decentralised decision-making. The responsibility for operations rests at the corporate level, which means that each company - based on its specific conditions - works on achieving revenue and earnings growth, profitability and development. In many areas, this work is increasingly conducted in collaboration between Group companies aimed at achieving cost rationalisation, synergies and economies of scale.
The Board of Directors has also adopted a number of all-embracing Group policies, which are aimed at clarifying the principles and attitudes in important areas on which all operations are to be based. These policies describe, inter alia, how the work with the Group’s finance operations and information management, as well as how ethical, equality and environmental issues shall be tackled. Responsibility for the day-to-day work in these areas rests at corporate level, and the work is conducted based on each respective company’s specific conditions and needs. The Group has a number of reporting and management systems aimed, among other things, at securing that the chain of command is followed throughout the entire organisation.
The employees’ will, ability and courage – it makes a difference
The decentralised business responsibility puts the Group’s 3,300 employees at the centre of the operations and its development. It is the will, ability and courage of the Group’s employees that create a strong B&B TOOLS. For this reason, attracting, retaining and developing good managers and employees has a high priority for B&B TOOLS companies.
Significant resources are continually expended within the B&B TOOLS Group on the creation of structures that increase employees’ competence and understanding of customers’ needs, while at the same time encouraging employees to take their own initiatives. This is an important element in the corporate philosophy.
The companies in the B&B TOOLS Group shall provide for a good working environment from a physical and social aspect. All of the companies in the Group work actively with preventive measures aimed at minimising the risks for injuries and ill health among their employees. For example, Luna was one of the first companies in Sweden to have its management system for the working environment efforts certified in the autumn of 2004.
For the purpose of identifying areas of improvement in the employee sector, employee surveys are carried out on a regular basis. The results of these surveys constitute an important part of the planning for, e.g. competence development, preventive actions in the working environment and absence due to illness, as well as increased equality.
The work with competence development is mainly at corporate level, where different types of focused training programmes are carried out. At the Group level, projects are pursued in areas such as leadership development.
The quality work increasingly important
B&B TOOLS works purposefully with quality assurance and improvement of efficiency. The quality work includes, inter alia, clear requirements to suppliers and an internal organisation with clear goals. Constant efforts aimed at improvements are necessary to increase efficiency and at the same time meet the market’s increasing demands for quality and reliability of supply at the lowest possible cost. For the purpose of ensuring that the quality work generates desired results, the Group conducts regular follow-ups of customer satisfaction in the form of levels of service, delivery reliability and complaints/aftermarket. At present, 28(25) of the Group’s companies are certified according to ISO 9000/9001 or equivalent.
Responsible business strengthens the business
Much like other companies, B&B TOOLS operates in a world that expects companies to be aware of their impact on society, based on environmental, economic and social factors. Conducting the business in a responsible manner is natural for B&B TOOLS. The company strives to be accessible and to conduct an open dialogue with everybody who is affected by the Group’s operations.
The Group sets high standards for integrity and ethics. The Board of Directors of B&B TOOLS has adopted a Code of Conduct that applies to all of the Group’s companies.
B&B TOOLS Code of Conduct establishes, inter alia, that all of the Group’s companies, units and employees shall act ethically correct and respect human rights. The companies in the B&B TOOLS Group strive in different ways to make sure that collaborators and suppliers act within the framework of each respective country’s laws and regulations and live up to the intentions of Group’s Code of Conduct. The Group companies carry out regular assessments of prioritised suppliers and collaborators.
The Group’s own activities in the social area are primarily centred on the employees, in issues touching on equality, diversity, and personal responsibility and development, for example in the areas of competence development and active internal communication.