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Human Resources
In 2008 CSN focused on training and developing its workforce in order to sustain expansion projects in each of its key businesses, with a particular emphasis on improving performance and developing leadership skills, all of which grounded in a solid platform of learning and the dissemination of knowledge.
Employees Diego Picolo, Mariana Machado, Eduardo Villas Boas, Bruno Tetner an Mary Angela Fernandes at the Company´s São Paulo offices
The Company – CSN and its associated companies – closed the year with 15,629 employees, 9.4% up on the 14,274 employees recorded at the close of 2007. Most new staff were recruited to cope with the growth of the mining business and to support the operational start-up of the cement factory.
The main challenge facing the HR area was the adoption of the GVA management model, a process which should be completed in 2009, accompanied by intense efforts to align the people management model with CSN’s culture of maximizing value creation.
Training and Development - Top
Sidnéia luiz de Barro a Metalúrgica Prada Worker
CSN has been investing in projects to attract and retain talent, as well as career development initiatives, in order to ensure organizational growth and improve the professional qualifications of workers in its surrounding communities.
One such initiative was the Educar (Educate) project, in association with Sesi/Senai (National Industrial Learning Service), which provides elementary, high school and technical education, benefiting more than 2,400 employees. The electromechanics course, for example, instills useful technical skills, enabling graduates to take on new positions. The company awarded 172 partial grants so that workers in Volta Redonda could take part.
Also in 2008, CSN initiated the Capacitar (Training) program in the Casa de Pedra and Volta Redonda units, aimed at recent young technical course graduates at high school level. After passing through a selection process, they are trained in certain specific aspects of the mining and steel industries. One of the main functions of this project, in addition to improving the skills of the participants, is to create a talent database, so that outstanding apprentices can be invited to apply whenever vacancies arise. Out of the 417 participants in the program, 112 have already been hired by the Company and the expectation is that even more would be taken on in 2009 due to the expansion project of the Casa de Pedra mine.
In order to strengthen the existing management model, the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV) was hired to implement the GVA® methodology (shareholder value creation) throughout CSN. In 2008, it was adopted by Inal, Metalic, Tecon and CSN Logística, as well as the corporate areas. In addition, 40 GVA® trainers were qualified on a Company-wide basis.
The 2008 Trainee Program offered 40 vacancies to recent graduates and postgraduates in the steel production, mining, cement and sales areas. The idea behind the program is to prepare young people with potential for senior Company positions. Over a period of 18 months they receive training in the different units and learn to cope with the demands of the various business areas.
The internship program offered 409 places in all units for students of technical and university courses in a wide range of subjects, the basic aim being to familiarize them with the corporate environment.
Another initiative was the Interação (Interaction) program, an in-house employee training scheme. Metalúrgica Prada was the first unit to reach this iniciative.In CSN Cimentos, 270 workers took part in the project.
Throughout the year, CSN also offered 60 full grants for post-graduate and MBA courses at renowned national institutions to professionals from key areas of the organization who are being prepared for future challenges and expansion. The Company also offered 160 partial scholarships for technical and undergraduate courses.
Management of Competencies - Top
CSN develops initiatives to monitor its executives’ competencies, which is defined as the set of skills, behaviors and attitudes demonstrated by employees, with a focus on the present.
The executives are assessed based on nine competences, divided into three categories: business, leadership and behavioral. This instrument also helps identify talent within the organization, providing support for the leadership training programs.
In 2008, the pilot project for the Rumo Certo (Right Way) program was implemented in Volta Redonda. A total of 6,456 Presidente Vargas Steelworks employees were assessed by a methodology that verified the competencies needed by those occupying operational positions, including such general aspects as operational excellence,an integrated view of processes, team work, and the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge, as well as technical skills such as the mastery of tools and systems.
Supervisors evaluated if the members of their team were equipped to carry out the responsibilities of the positions they were hired for, allowing them to identify the training needs of their employees and the areas that needed to be improved in 2009, in order to encourage professional development and align it with the overall strategy of the organization.
Another initiative involving supervision and aimed at improving internal communications is the Equipe de Valor (Team of Value) program, which prepares supervisors so that they can respond directly to issues raised by their team members without referring them to the HR department. Apart from the improved efficiency arising from the dialog process, the supervisor’s role is also strengthened.
Every year, supervisors receive questions on a series of issues from their subordinates, which they attempt to resolve in conjunction with the department most relevant to the particular issue in question. This program had already been implemented in Volta Redonda, Casa de Pedra, CSN Paraná, GalvaSud and Tecon and was adopted by Prada in 2008. All in all, around 4,106 employees are involved.
CSN gives preference to internal recruitment when opportunities arise. Any job openings are advertised internally so that interested staff can apply to Human Resources and enter the selection process. The HR team also analyzes possible promotions that may benefit CSN and the careers of its employees. In 2008, 2,400 employees were promoted.
Involvement of Employees with Management - Top
Aroud 2.400 employess were promoted in 2008
The CSN management system is based on four key elements – personnel; safety, health and the environment; social responsibility; and processes – and one of its main challenges is to translate the corporate strategy into concrete action by mobilizing the entire organization.
In 2008, CSN used the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) methodology to ensure that the overall strategy was applied in each of the Group’s business units and companies, ensuring greater organizational alignment and transforming the execution of the strategy into a task to be performed by all, thereby instilling a culture of constant contact and mutual cooperation. This entire process was conducted based on a strategic plan, and involved more than 170 staff members.
Profit Sharing - Top
Valdeis Oliveira, a development specialist at Casa de Pedra
CSN’s profit sharing program is designed to ensure a steady improvement in the Company’s results and to create value for its shareholders by emphasizing performance management when executing strategies
Executives and employees are assessed in relation to the results of the Company and the business unit where they work, as well as their own performance and behavior, always aligned with the strategic maps and GVA&.
This equilibrium means that bonuses are based on the effective contribution of each area to the achievement of the strategic targets defined by the Company.
Internal Communications - Top
Educar project Has provided more than 2,400 employees with elementary, high-school and techinical education courses
CSN maintains several internal communications channels. The intranet disseminates information on the Company and its practices, with free access to the Code of Ethics, the Organizational Manual and the Safety Manual, among others.Corporate and sector information is disclosed via e-mail, filed on the intranet and pinned to the notice-boards of the various business units. Employees also receive a quarterly newsletter, with an edition of 20,000 copies, while internal campaigns are publicized via hoardings and banners in the units
In 2008, CSN informed all its employees of the Company’s new mission and values, and also gave communications and crisis management training to its executives.
In line with good corporate communications practices, CSN maintains specific e-mail contact addresses for its various departments, including communications, media relations, internal audit and the ethics committee and also employs a tollfree telephone number for denunciations regarding violations of conduct.
Health and Quality of Life - Top
CSN is wholly committed to ensuring a safe and healthy working environment and has instituted a series of preventive and educational campaigns on smoking,cancer, high blood pressure, stress and AIDS. It also runs a special program to combat drug dependency.
In 2008, it developed the De Bem Com as Contas (Good with Bills) project, focusing on the financial health and quality of life of its staff. This program, imple-mented in Volta Redonda, was designed to show employees how to avoid debt and make the best use of their salaries through financial planning. Inscriptions for the special lectures on budgeting, debt, negotiations and savings were widely publicized and spouses were welcome. The lectures were held in two sessions, and a total of 431 people signed up. Thirty-two volunteers were also trained in the debt, budgeting, savings, negotiations and bank service modules (as well as modular reviews), so they can help their colleagues and disseminate the concepts of personal finance beyond the limits of the lecture hall. The second stage of the project is being planned for 2009.
Safety in the Workplace - Top
Antonio Carlos Onias, a worket at Volta Redonda
CSN’s Occupational Health and Safety Management System is an integral part of the productive process and plays a key role in the total quality program, underlining the priority the Company gives to this issue in order to ensure the health and safety of its own and outsourced employees.
CSN adopts the following procedures to reinforce its concern with occupationalsafety: daily visits to the workplace; standardization; a total quality program focused on 5S – sorting, cleanliness, orderliness, hygiene and self-discipline; the registration and remedying of anomalies; manpower certification; operational diagnostics; critical process analysis; a safety manual; a behavior audit program (Pare e Observe - Stop and Look); procedures for adapting workspace utilization conditions; and risk analysis and audits.
José Augusto Moreira Oliveira, maintenence supervisor at the Presidente Vargas Steelworks
These activities are monitored by the following committees: Central (production executives and general managers), Tactical (general managers and mid-level management) and Operational (mid-level management and supervisors).
Among the various initiatives involved, it is worth drawing attention to the following:
1.Creation of the Safety Training Center, which seeks to reduce the number of accidents caused by inadequate risk perception, underpinned by practical simulations to make workers aware of the need for carry out tasks in a safe and secure manner.
2. The Safe Transit project, designed to raise workers’ awareness of the need for safety procedures when traveling between home and work. Thanks to this program, accidents in transit have fallen by 27.35%.CSN has managed to reduce personal workplace accidents by 21.3%, while the severity of such accidents has plunged by 78.40%.
Benefits - Top
CSN grants a series of benefits to its employees, including a health plan, crèche assistance, medical assistance, a 70% holiday bonus and a private pension plan.In 2008, it added a food card, which provides employees with R$ 100.00 per month to acquire food products in supermarkets, bakeries and other establishments.At the end of the year, due to the Christmas festivities, the card is topped up with a R$ 200.00 bonus, over and above CSN’s traditional gift of a Christmas hamper every year.
In order to increase awareness of the value of these benefits, in 2008 explanatory leaflets were distributed at the Company’s units in Volta Redonda and Casa de Pedra.
Retirement - Top
The Retirement Preparation Program was created to provide guidance to employees about to retire, minimizing the impact of retirement on their personal and family life. Those interested can sign up, together with their spouses, to attend lectures on workers’, retirement and family rights, as well as health and the social integration of retirees, during which they can clarify any queries they may have.The program is run by CBS, CSN’s private pension fund.