People development
Goals to 2025
Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
We seek to deliver on our targets by running the following programmes:
- Implementing a remedial action plan based on employee survey results
- Developing and implementing e-learning modules on blue-collar jobs, occupational safety, and managerial skills; introducing an innovative approach to professional training (virtual reality simulators, 3D models for training, production training grounds for improving workplace safety skills, etc.)
- Developing and implementing online training courses on personal competencies
- Developing a system of corporate libraries, guidelines, and knowledge management at large
Our HR management principles
PhosAgro relies on talented, professional, and committed employees that share our corporate values. Our people are the backbone of our success. We aim to deliver benefits to our employees.
In line with that, we offer:
- competitive and fair pay;
- professional and creative growth opportunities;
- a discrimination-free working environment;
- a range of social benefits, along with employee support and health programmes;
- a fair and robust framework to assess the performance of each employee.
In keeping with our commitment to generally accepted ethical business standards, we pay special attention to developing, implementing and overseeing employee social security programmes.
PhosAgro respects employees’ human rights as required by the International Bill of Human Rights and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, including zero discrimination, not using child or forced labour, respecting the right of association and collective bargaining, and creating a safe and favourable working environment for the employees of PhosAgro and its contractors.
PhosAgro appreciates and encourages diversity among its employees. We maintain our commitment to an equal opportunities policy and do not tolerate any discrimination or privacy violations in respect of our employees.
We adhere to the Personnel Management Policy of PJSC PhosAgro, which provides for additional guarantees to protect human rights. We also approved a transparency statement under the UK Modern Slavery Act.
Recruitment
Our recruitment process relies on the continuous monitoring of the labour market in Russia and beyond for skilled staff and efficient managers with experience at leading global companies, determined to excel in their roles and be one step ahead of the curve.
Our talent attraction and recruitment priorities
- Cooperating with schools across our footprint. Creating a favourable environment for improving educational standards and providing targeted career guidance to final-year students.
- Cooperating with technical colleges in our regions of operation. Creating a pipeline of skilled employees with relevant competencies who are competitive in the labour market, understand related professions, and have what it takes to pursue career opportunities. Offering recruitment opportunities to young talents.
- Cooperating with universities to fill the most relevant jobs by attracting and retaining talented graduates.
If two or more candidates qualify for a job, we are more likely to select the one who is either:
- a young talented professional (a programme for attracting, mentoring and training high-potential university graduates); or
- an employee included in our talent pool (a programme for those looking to develop professional and managerial competencies for career growth).
In 2020, the Company introduced a training system for recruitment professionals to improve the hiring process. The system includes:
- a competency model for recruitment professionals;
- performance evaluation of employees responsible for recruitment;
- ongoing training and further improvement courses for recruitment professionals.
In 2020, we launched a training course comprising four modules:
The course will help improve employee competencies, making talent recruitment more effective.
Corporate cultures and internal communications
PhosAgro adopted the Code of Ethics. It applies to all employees and is the Company’s primary document for promoting its corporate culture. The Code clearly outlines the basic requirements for Company employees and establishes rules and regulations for individual and collective behaviour within the Company. The document covers all professional and business relationships, both at PhosAgro and with business partners and other external parties.
When agreeing and concluding contracts with external contractors, it is an imperative for us to cover arrangements and commitments related to mutual respect of human rights and compliance with the Company’s Code of Ethics. Commitment to these principles ensures that all our employees take pride in their work and are keen to communicate with colleagues, feel comfortable in a team and can grow both professionally and personally.
We pay special attention to receiving regular employee feedback and identifying areas for improvement. Access to multiple communication and feedback channels within the Company allows our employees to resolve employment and other job-related issues. Some of the formats are Q&As in our corporate newspaper and town-hall meetings for staff and management.
Any employee or other stakeholder can use PhosAgro’s whistle-blower hotline to report human rights violations or discrimination of any nature or to communicate any other issues or concerns related to employer-employee relationships. In 2020, our employees reported no human rights violations via the hotline.
Responding to the way people have to communicate in the wake of the turbulences and remote working of 2020, we are active in introducing novel technology in corporate communications. These include personal accounts for the employees, self-service options, and a chatbot, along with new capacities we added to our corporate portal.
| Region | Men | Women | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saratov region | 1,263 | 623 | 1,886 |
| Murmansk region | 5,997 | 2,021 | 8,018 |
| Moscow region | 216 | 172 | 388 |
| Leningrad region | 721 | 479 | 1,200 |
| Vologda region | 3,129 | 2,365 | 5,494 |
| Other | 653 | 252 | 905 |
| Total | 11,978.5 | 5,912.8 | 17,891 |
| Region | Employment | Contract | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | full-time | part-time | permanent | temporary | |
| Vologda region | Men | 3,142 | 1 | 3,073 | 70 |
| Women | 2,607 | 4 | 2,395 | 216 | |
| Total | 5,749 | 5 | 5,468 | 286 | |
| Saratov region | Men | 1,273 | 1 | 1,244 | 30 |
| Women | 661 | 8 | 619 | 50 | |
| Total | 1,934 | 9 | 1,863 | 80 | |
| Leningrad region | Men | 768 | 725 | 43 | |
| Women | 524 | 1 | 479 | 46 | |
| Total | 1,292 | 1 | 1,204 | 89 | |
| Murmansk region | Men | 6,059 | 4 | 5,585 | 478 |
| Women | 2,229 | 9 | 2,107 | 131 | |
| Total | 8,288 | 13 | 7,692 | 609 | |
| Moscow region | Men | 221 | 1 | 218 | 4 |
| Women | 184 | 177 | 7 | ||
| Total | 405 | 1 | 395 | 11 | |
| Total | Men | 11,463 | 7 | 10,845 | 625 |
| Women | 6,205 | 22 | 5,777 | 450 | |
| Total | 17,668 | 29 | 16,622 | 1,075 | |
PhosAgro average employee profile
The Company’s gender ratio: an overview
Women in PhosAgro’s management at all levels
The Company’s commitments to enhance women’s social security
- Does not use female labour for manual lifting or carrying weights exceeding maximum allowable limits
- Releases pregnant women from their job duties and transfers them, subject to their medical reports, from production sites to lighter-duty positions
- Provides women, at their request, with a parental leave until the child reaches the age of three
- Prohibits business trips, overtime or night work, work on weekends and public holidays for pregnant women, except when there are a written consent and no contraindications
- Safeguards employment of pregnant women, with their employment contracts terminated only in the event of liquidation of the enterprise, as well as that of women having children up to three years of age and single mothers having disabled children up to 18 years of age
Proposal to establish PhosAgro Women’s Club with a view to exchanging best practices within the Company
Developing the club concept based on corporate values
Concept harmonised
Regulations and the Chair approved
Setting up a meeting schedule (once a quarter), aligning the agenda with business targets, initially under close observation by HR
Building a system of “simple” win-win project-based assignments
Running a PR campaign
Schedule set up and approved
First meeting organised by HR
Competition held, projects rated, winners announced
Establishing a professional network to create conditions for knowledge sharing
Ensuring transparent conditions for career growth within the Company
Club members awarded
Feedback sourced and the club’s performance reviewed
PhosAgro’s women taking part in external events
Participation in 2021
All-Russian Business Women Competition UspekhSee more
Goal — promote the image of a community-minded business woman in Russia
Objectives:
- initiate discussions on business women’s issues in Russia;
- build and promote a positive image of a business woman through collaboration of businesses, government authorities, media and society (at relevant forums and assemblies).
Winner Diana Sidelnikova, Deputy Director of Human Resources and Social Policy, won in the Best Industry
Organisation or Entity nomination
PhosAgro’s women taking part in corporate events
Young Manager Competition
Our robust system of rewards is aligned with the Company’s performance and motivates all employees to improve their performance in order to achieve our business goals.
It ensures:
- decent pay;
- implementation of incentive programmes for PhosAgro’s leadership team through a transparent system of KPIs to calculate managerial rewards;
- implementation of incentive programmes to motivate employees to deliver against their targets;
- availability of financial and non-financial rewards for employees;
- better quality of life and more creative opportunities for employees along with development of urban communities across the Company’s footprint;
- availability of benefits for certain employee categories;
- adherence to global best practices on benefit packages.
| Indicator | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apatit and its branches | 80,672 | 87,191 | 96,401 |
| Group (excluding foreign traders) | 76,741 | 83,770 | 92,442 |
| Region | Minimum guaranteed conditions provided by the Group | Actual minimum payments made in 2020 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | Men | Women | |
| Saratov region | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.80 | 1.41 |
| Murmansk region | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.18 | 1.13 |
| Moscow region | 3.32 | 1.53 | 3.57 | 2.01 |
| Leningrad region | 1.28 | 1.35 | 1.76 | 1.82 |
| Vologda region | 1.0 | 1.16 | 1.99 | 1.46 |
Due to the nature of our operations, more of our employees are male.
At PhosAgro, we believe that professionalism, sustainably strong performance and adherence to corporate values are the grounds and the only guarantee of promotion and career advancement. Our regulations on labour relations, remuneration and social benefits cover all of the Company’s employees and underpin the principle of equitable remuneration and performance rewards. We comply with the principle by implementing a remuneration framework that offers equal pay to employees in equivalent positions, regardless of their gender.
| Region | Staff | Senior management |
|---|---|---|
| Vologda region | 94 | 52 |
| Leningrad region | 86 | 25 |
| Moscow region | 80 | 91 |
| Murmansk region | 90 | 64 |
| Saratov region | 97 | 40 |
| Average | 92 | 62 |
We aim to work in line with the interests of our regions of operation. The Company’s key areas are the Murmansk, Vologda, Leningrad and Saratov regions. As a major contributor to the local economies and one of the largest taxpayers in these regions, PhosAgro helps advance their social development and protect and preserve the environment.
In developing our production and creating new jobs, we aim to prioritise local residents when filling our vacancies.
Social policy
Our sustainable development is closely linked to improving the quality of life for our employees. PhosAgro’s social policy embraces targeted programmes aimed at enhancing individual and team motivation while also providing our people with a competitive social package.
Our major social programmes
Health and Leisure
The programme aims to strengthen our people’s health, prevent occupational diseases, ensure full rehabilitation, and boost performance through healthy nutrition, recreation and fitness.
Improvement of Working Conditions
The programme aims to enhance labour productivity and operating culture, protect employee health, optimise workplaces and streamline the approach to arranging working and amenity areas.
Corporate Housing Programme
The programme aims to improve living conditions of employees to attract and retain highly qualified personnel, employees from the Company’s succession pool and young talents, and to retain professionals with hard-to-find skills and motivate the personnel to perform better.
Hosting Mass Cultural Events
The programme is designed to plan and host cultural and recreational events, industry-related and festive occasions, anniversary celebrations, and joint activities with local communities, authorities and non-profit organisations.
Engagement with Trade Unions
The programme is meant to provide financial support to trade unions, hold joint wellness and fitness events, and engage with youth and veterans’ organisations.
Social Benefits
The programme aims to ensure sustainable labour relations and social security and covers employee incentives and financial aid.
| Programme | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial aid to employees | 41,86 | 43,63 | 48,26 | 57,28 |
| Recreation. rehabilitation. health resort treatment and VHI | 332,56 | 394,73 | 225,93 | 437,93 |
| Improvement of working conditions | 95,48 | 403,26 | 80,71 | 223,48 |
| Corporate housing programme | 61,18 | 68,02 | 67,51 | 123,30 |
| Other social benefits and guarantees | 201,94 | 215,04 | 84,64 | 384,11 |
| Corporate and cultural events | 93,22 | 150,78 | 72,34 | 168,35 |
| Support to the trade union (special purpose funding and bonuses) | 137,66 | 164,17 | 151,94 | 181,62 |
| Total | 963,90 | 1 439,63 | 731,33 | 1 576,07 |
Our focus on training and developing our people also helps us hedge against a potential shortage of talent at all levels. The Company’s personnel training framework is mainly designed to help the employees unlock their career potential and ensure ongoing improvement of their professional and managerial competencies.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and external restrictions in 2020, we completely transformed our personnel management processes both on the operational and strategic sides. Personnel training, evaluation and development all went online, helping to develop distance learning and evaluation. In 2020, PhosAgro implemented new solutions such as employee potential assessment used along with managerial competency assessment to decide on whether an employee should be promoted; personality tests and questionnaires for white-collar workers and executives to quickly identify risk areas in personnel management and fine-tune the cycle of management initiatives for higher operational efficiency.
Programmes for upgrading employee skills and transition assistance
PhosAgro relies on its Talent Pool initiative as a means of identifying talented staff with the potential to step into senior positions. Eligible employees are provided with additional training they need to succeed. The programme includes management training courses on personal and business skills such as decision-making, leadership and delegation, conflict management, project management, communication skills and staff mentoring.
2020 saw the launch of the Senior and Middle Management Mentoring Programme, with the senior executives (mentors) sharing their expertise and knowledge and taking the Company’s management culture to the next level. This is a unique opportunity for those included into the talent pool (mentees) to learn the skill of management from the best professionals. The programme involves over 30 managers.
As part of the Line Manager programme, the Company’s middle and junior managers attend training courses and development initiatives on personnel management, planning, goal setting, organisational activities and oversight, results-oriented thinking; decision-making; effective communication; and mentoring.
| Indicator | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volkhov branch | 487 | 552 | 1,609 |
| Balakovo branch | 1,469 | 2,393 | 2,638 |
| Kirovsk branch | 1,309 | 2,771 | 5,405 |
| Apatit | 3,548 | 8,769 | 6,518 |
| Group total | 6,813 | 14,485 | 16,170 |
| Additional online training | n/a | n/a | 21,566 |
| Group total including additional online training | 37,736 |
| Indicator | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | Average per employee in 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volkhov branch | 30,145 | 41,533 | 71,747 | 80.8 |
| Balakovo branch | 81,399 | 92,531 | 107,669 | 88.8 |
| Kirovsk branch | 313,125 | 365,680 | 302,713 | 55.9 |
| Apatit | 367,138 | 504,270 | 375,219 | 93.4 |
| Additional online additional training for the Company’s employees | 59,230 | 3.5 | ||
| Apatit and branches total | 791 807 | 1,004,014 | 916,578 | 79.5 |
| hours, total | hours per employee | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | F | Total | M | F | Total | |
| Blue-collar workers | 477,991 | 141,460 | 619,451 | 99.5 | 73.5 | 92.1 |
| White-collar workers | 63,950 | 62,582 | 126,532 | 46.0 | 34.7 | 39.6 |
| Executives | 86,144 | 25,221 | 111,365 | 68.8 | 71.8 | 69.4 |
| Total | 628,085 | 229,263 | 857,348 | 84.4 | 56.2 | 74.4 |
In 2020, we launched new mandatory courses and training programmes, including those covering IT skills and information security, for all the employees. A course consists of four large modules, with the total number of individual training cycles involving one or more modules exceeding 21,500.
| Indicator | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Training expenses | 170,505,002 | 236,089,189 | 199,683,856 |
| Training expenses per employee | 16,064 | 21,695 | 11,830 |
In 2020, most of the activities previously attended in person went online, achieving financial and time savings. The Company’s personnel training budget for 2020 was spent by 71%, with all the planned activities implemented in full. Our employees highly appreciate the new opportunities they have for self-development and training using distance learning technologies, which allow them to train and improve their competencies anywhere at any time.
Personnel evaluation
To assess HR management and make efficient decisions, we continuously monitor relevant metrics and analyse the structure of staff costs, labour productivity, along with the performance of social, training and other programmes.
| Indicator | Management | White-collar workers | Blue-collar workers | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | ||
| Volkhov branch | 11 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| Balakovo branch | 16 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 31 |
| Kirovsk branch | 71 | 4 | 17 | 8 | 36 | 3 | 139 |
| Apatit | 20 | 7 | 41 | 55 | 7 | 3 | 133 |
| Group total | 118 | 21 | 73 | 70 | 43 | 6 | 331 |
| Indicator | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Volkhov branch | 3.9 | 2.2 |
| Balakovo branch | 2.9 | 1.9 |
| Kirovsk branch | 3.0 | 1.2 |
| Apatit | 3.3 | 3.3 |
| Group total | 3.1 | 2.4 |
Mentoring
The programme’s key objectives are to:
- improve onboarding;
- create a system to accumulate Company-wide expertise to help develop the competencies of new hires;
- identify, evaluate and develop the initial potential of employees and leverage their professional experience in line with the Company’s requirements;
- improve labour productivity;
- reduce workplace injuries;
- improve professional skills of employees;
- reduce the number of errors, defects and other failures at work.
To organise the process, we identified a pool of mentors of over 1,500 people. The main selection criteria included qualifications and professional experience; perception by the team; organisational and training skills; commitment and motivation to share experience and knowledge.
When implementing the programme, we developed and approved the mentor’s competence model and evaluated most of the participants using competency-based interviews. That was followed by comprehensive training to help learn more about personnel development and training approaches.
The mentoring programme will serve to improve the professionalism of our employees and reduce personnel turnover and recruitment costs while at the same time enhancing employee loyalty and engagement. The programme is expected to play a major role in building the Company’s profile as an attractive employer.
Investing in future talent
PhosAgro Classes and PhosAgro Schools
Launched in 2013, PhosAgro Classes are part of the Company’s education and training programme to build a future talent pipeline by supporting young people in their journey through school and university education to employment. The project covers 10th and 11th graders in five schools across the Company’s footprint and offers them advanced programmes in physics, chemistry, mathematics and computer science. On top of that, the PhosAgro Classes curriculum includes economics, management, ethics, leadership, career planning and other disciplines.
Taking the success of PhosAgro Classes further, we launched PhosAgro Schools. They provide career-related learning as early as in primary school and rely on greater funding from PhosAgro, with PhosAgro Classes still enjoying popularity among both students and parents as one of our key educational and career guidance projects.
Since 2013, the Company has invested over RUB 600 mln in PhosAgro Classes, including RUB 400 mln spent on renovations and equipment.
In September 2019, a total of nine former PhosAgro Classes students joined the Company as employees, including five in Cherepovets, two in Balakovo and one in Volkhov and Kirovsk each. In 2020, 17 former PhosAgro Classes students accepted job offers from the Company’s facilities. All of them will pursue engineering careers, having demonstrated a high level of qualification from their first days on the job. We expect to hire over 30, 40 and 45 former PhosAgro Classes students in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively.
More than 100 PhosAgro Classes 2020 graduates have been admitted to higher educational institutions, with the St Petersburg Mining University enjoying the most popularity among them (eleven graduates). Some graduates selected technical courses to study disciplines relevant to PhosAgro. Since 2015, a total of over 600 graduates of PhosAgro Classes have been enrolled in higher educational institutions, with technical careers gaining more traction among them every year.
In September 2020, 125 new students started their 10th grade programme at PhosAgro Classes, marking the eighth admission round since the project launch.
Agro Class project
Launched in 2020, the Agro Class project is based on a trilateral agreement signed by PhosAgro, Voronezh Secondary School No. 102 and the Voronezh State Agricultural University. The project focuses on facilitating early specialism in school education, career guidance for schoolchildren, their motivation to choose an agricultural profession and obtain the necessary in-depth knowledge in natural and exact sciences. The project targets 10th and 11th graders of Voronezh Secondary School No. 102. In 2020, the programme’s first students were enrolled in the 10th grade.
- better quality of knowledge demonstrated by school graduates;
- an increase in applicants to obtain degrees in targeted areas;
- a rise in contracts assigning students to partner enterprises.
Educational activities as part of the project include:
- lectures and practical classes in agronomy;
- research projects in agronomy in school and university labs;
- meetings with professionals and tours to the sites of partner companies.
The programme provides for 32 lecture classes. In addition to theory, the project includes practical lab classes held at the Voronezh State Agricultural University. There are also visits planned to the sites of agribusiness companies. To ensure an industry immersion experience, the students will have an opportunity to meet with agribusiness professionals.
Collaboration with technical colleges
Since 2013, as part of its focus on nurturing talent from secondary schools to employment, PhosAgro has been partnering with technical colleges across its footprint, including:
- Kirovsk branch of the Murmansk Arctic State University (Kirovsk, Murmansk region);
- Cherepovets College of Chemistry and Technology (Cherepovets, Vologda region).
These joint efforts cover:
- setting up testing grounds and labs for students to acquire hands-on experience using real equipment;
- internship programmes at PhosAgro’s facilities with highly-qualified mentors;
- undergraduate and graduate thesis research;
- sports, educational and research initiatives, competitions, and Olympiads.
PhosAgro also supports a regional Training Centre at the Cherepovets College of Chemistry and Technology that offers express programmes in chemistry and associated fields to nurture talent for most in-demand jobs. In 2020, some 1,000 students and employees completed training and professional development courses at the Training Centre in Cherepovets.
Collaboration with universities
We maintain strong relationships with universities as part of our commitment to improving access to quality education and supporting academic research.
As part of its collaboration with universities, PhosAgro:
- sponsors advanced training for graduates of PhosAgro Classes in the fields relevant to PhosAgro (subject to their commitment to future employment at the Company);
- offers scholarships to the most talented students (based on exam results);
- runs tours for students to see the industry in practice at one of the Group’s many companies;
- offers students a job in one of the Company’s popular specialisations after they graduate;
- allocates money for repair and equipment of chemistry laboratories at dedicated universities.
High-Potential Graduates
We build upon the foundation laid by PhosAgro Classes and PhosAgro Schools by partnering with universities through our High-Potential Graduates programme. This helps better reach out to university students potentially interested in career opportunities with PhosAgro. We offer programme recruits a competitive salary, as well as relocation and housing support, and we assign them a mentor upon their employment by the Company. The programme’s key tasks are to build a talent pool for key positions within the Company and to identify career paths for young talented professionals to prepare future executives.
In 2020, PhosAgro recruited 71 young specialists through the High-Potential Graduates programme. As a result, the total number of graduates who have joined the Company through this programme since its launch in 2012 has reached 389. Over 300 of these employees are still with PhosAgro today, pursuing careers in mineralogy, geology, hydraulic engineering, chemistry, thermal energy and electricity production, rail transport, open-pit and underground mining, and mine surveying.
Over 30% of the programme participants employed by PhosAgro received promotions and/or were included in our talent pool, with many of them successfully completing the projects they were assigned upon recruitment.
Employer brand
Every year, PhosAgro participates in various events, contests, and conferences, including international ones.
In 2020, the Company’s most spectacular victories included: