Core topics of our international human resources work Audited

Merck has increasingly been positioning itself as a global company. In order to prepare the company for the resulting new challenges in international personnel management, Human Resources also positioned itself globally in 2012. Global structures were created and uniform principles were implemented in order to establish a global HR organization. All global HR processes applied to date, such as the Global Rewards Policy, the Performance Management Process as well as Talent & Succession Management, were further developed in order to promote a performance-oriented mindset and to strengthen the corporate culture based on the Merck Values. In this connection, measures were also taken to enhance the company’s attractiveness to internal and external talent, which has positively impacted the image of Merck as an employer. This was confirmed by employer ranking lists, such as the “Universum” employer ranking for scientists, in which Merck scored higher in 2012 than in 2011.

Merck is using the motto “Make great things happen” to position itself in the global job market. This communicates to potential applicants what makes Merck unique: an inspiring, motivating work environment in which innovations thrive; an environment in which everyone has the opportunity to apply their ideas and commitment to benefit customers and the company, while at the same time developing themselves further.

Performance management and career opportunities

Assessing the performance of employees is crucial to Merck’s success and employee development. Key features here are clear objectives, differentiated and open feedback on performance, as well as the preparation of individual development plans. To date, around 23,800 employees have participated in the globally uniform Performance Management Process.

Identifying employee potential is directly related to performance management. Merck wants to offer its talent the opportunity to have an interesting career and to continually develop themselves within the company both personally and professionally. Therefore, in 2012, a new, integrated performance and talent process was developed that systematically combines performance management and the identification of potential. This will create a stronger performance culture and enable more targeted talent development. On this basis, internal appointments to vacant (management) positions can be steered and implemented better. In addition, the new process will help to retain talented employees and to position Merck as an attractive employer for potential new employees.

In 2012, 88% of management position vacancies were filled by internal candidates. Some key positions in the organization were also filled by external executives in order to add new perspectives to the long-standing experience existing in-house.

Global Rewards Policy

The Global Rewards Policy applies to all Merck companies worldwide and ensures a systematic compensation structure. The guidelines describe the principles governing how employees are remunerated based on their performance, abilities, the situation in the respective labor market, and the specific requirements of the respective businesses. Existing remuneration systems, especially as they relate to variable compensation, are continuously further developed in order to take into account the changing needs of our global businesses.

Occupational health and safety

We apply the lost time injury rate (LTIR) as an indicator to determine the success of measures aimed at accident prevention as well as occupational health and safety. This internationally recognized key figure describes the number of workplace accidents resulting in lost time per one million working hours. Merck had set itself the goal of reducing the LTIR to 2.5 by 2015. In 2012, we again outperformed this goal, achieving an LTIR of 2.3.

The success of our BeSafe! initiative launched in 2010 encourages us to continue this program and to further strengthen our safety culture. The program has a globally uniform structure, but also consists of local programs to meet the specific requirements of the individual sites. BeSafe! focuses on anchoring the safety culture as a management task and on empowering our employees to take independent responsibility.