European Minerals Foundation

Lafarge has always invested in employee satisfaction and well being to retain and attract a diversity of talents. It therefore undertakes studies and audits on a number of areas:

During the Leader for Tomorrow process a series of 140 management interviews were conducted to assess the perception of global challenges to come. Following these interviews, three themes were identified by managers as process areas within Lafarge: Value creation (21.2%), Customer satisfaction (18.9%) and Performance culture (17.2%). Workshops were set up as a result involving top management people to issue recommendations on such topics as: 'Developing performance culture'; 'Reviewing the decision-making processes'; and 'Developing international and gender diversity'.

Regular surveys were conducted by Comfreca Research Institute to evaluate managers' satisfaction and adhesion to the Group's values. The results of global surveys must bring direct added value for the Group and for Divisions, therefore conclusions are drawn by the Lafarge Executive Committee to act upon managers' expectations. In addition, Divisions and Business Units are encouraged to carry out regular evaluations of employees' satisfaction. The next global survey will occur after the launch of the Leader for Tomorrow programs.

Training programs are organized at three levels to be adapted to employees' needs.

The Corporate level organizes general management and introduction training that reinforce Group cohesion, values and strategy:
- Training for top managers
  65% of our 800 top managers participated in one or two training sessions. Training sessions have covered primarily: 17% on technical issues, 17% on topics Lafarge Group wanted to promote, 22% on management, 9% on topics Divisions wanted to promote;
- Training of new managers
  16 sessions of the 'Meet the Group' 3-days seminar, designed for new managers that includes sustainability issues and the first Sustainability report is systematically given to all new managers;
- Training programs in various fields of expertise are also offered: purchasing, sales human resources, finance etc.
The Divisions provide training on integration, general management and operational aspects such as quality, maintenance, processes, products, but also safety and environment and stakeholder dialogue.

Globally, at Corporate or Division level, one manager out of six attended management training.

The Business Units level provides training to enhance personal skills of employees and performance (how to lead a team, languages, computers, safety, etc.). As training is very decentralized, global reporting has not yet been formalized.

The Corporate level aims at doubling the internal training rate from 1 / 6 to 3 / 6 at Corporate and Divisions levels over the next 3 years. The Business Units aim to develop quantitative reporting tools in line with GRI guidelines.

Men / Women
A workshop entitled 'How to retain, attract, and develop women in Lafarge' has been established to study the disparity between men and women in the Group. It will design a proposal for a policy (guidelines, targets, Key Performance Indicators), and an action plan for implementation.
Disabled People
The current approach of the Group relies on individual Business Unit initiatives. A more prescriptive approach will take place in the Group's future guidelines on diversity.




	introduction \| codes of conduct \| social audits \| socially responsible investment \| health & safety \| managing environmental impacts \| community involvement \| environmental auditing \| voluntary agreements \| reporting Social Audits Lafarge has always invested in employee satisfaction and well being to retain and attract a diversity of talents. It therefore undertakes studies and audits on a number of areas: LEADER FOR TOMORROW'S QUALITATIVE SURVEYS During the Leader for Tomorrow process a series of 140 management interviews were conducted to assess the perception of global challenges to come. Following these interviews, three themes were identified by managers as process areas within Lafarge: Value creation (21.2%), Customer satisfaction (18.9%) and Performance culture (17.2%). Workshops were set up as a result involving top management people to issue recommendations on such topics as: 'Developing performance culture'; 'Reviewing the decision-making processes'; and 'Developing international and gender diversity'. STUDIES ON EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION Regular surveys were conducted by Comfreca Research Institute to evaluate managers' satisfaction and adhesion to the Group's values. The results of global surveys must bring direct added value for the Group and for Divisions, therefore conclusions are drawn by the Lafarge Executive Committee to act upon managers' expectations. In addition, Divisions and Business Units are encouraged to carry out regular evaluations of employees' satisfaction. The next global survey will occur after the launch of the Leader for Tomorrow programs. TRAINING Training programs are organized at three levels to be adapted to employees' needs. The Corporate level organizes general management and introduction training that reinforce Group cohesion, values and strategy: Training for top managers 65% of our 800 top managers participated in one or two training sessions. Training sessions have covered primarily: 17% on technical issues, 17% on topics Lafarge Group wanted to promote, 22% on management, 9% on topics Divisions wanted to promote; Training of new managers 16 sessions of the 'Meet the Group' 3-days seminar, designed for new managers that includes sustainability issues and the first Sustainability report is systematically given to all new managers; Training programs in various fields of expertise are also offered: purchasing, sales human resources, finance etc. The Divisions provide training on integration, general management and operational aspects such as quality, maintenance, processes, products, but also safety and environment and stakeholder dialogue. Globally, at Corporate or Division level, one manager out of six attended management training. The Business Units level provides training to enhance personal skills of employees and performance (how to lead a team, languages, computers, safety, etc.). As training is very decentralized, global reporting has not yet been formalized. The Corporate level aims at doubling the internal training rate from 1 / 6 to 3 / 6 at Corporate and Divisions levels over the next 3 years. The Business Units aim to develop quantitative reporting tools in line with GRI guidelines. DIVERSITY Men / Women A workshop entitled 'How to retain, attract, and develop women in Lafarge' has been established to study the disparity between men and women in the Group. It will design a proposal for a policy (guidelines, targets, Key Performance Indicators), and an action plan for implementation. Disabled People The current approach of the Group relies on individual Business Unit initiatives. A more prescriptive approach will take place in the Group's future guidelines on diversity. EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP 'LEA' LEA 2002 represents a capital increase exclusively reserved for employees with preferential financial terms, for a maximum of 110 shares, normally held for 5 years. In 2002, Lafarge was included in the SAM Employee Ownership stock Index, which includes 30 European companies among 600 evaluated, according to the following criteria: employee ownership, internal communication, commitments and policies, transparency. introduction \| codes of conduct \| social audits \| socially responsible investment \| health & safety \| managing environmental impacts \| community involvement \| environmental auditing \| voluntary agreements \| reporting