Employee development

KONGSBERG works strategically on planning in relation to the needs of capacity and skills, to support expected growth in the coming years.

The Group is aiming to increase the exchange of knowledge and staff between the business areas. Good work processes and development opportunities are important incentives in recruiting and retaining valuable employees. KONGSBERG places emphasis on strengthening competences and is continuously working to develop its employees. The structural and long-term development of our current employees is crucial, both in terms of training and courses, and more formal education.

Leadership at KONGSBERG is about creating value and achieving results through people. The key to success lies in the combination of good management and dedicated employees. Managers shall exercise their leadership based on our values, the Corporate Code of Ethics and management principles. Our leaders shall create an environment in which our employees are able to prosper and succeed in meeting our strategic priorities. On the basis of this, we have implemented the management development programme Leadership@KONGSBERG, which will contribute to clarifying and quality-assuring processes for goal setting, follow-up and evaluation. In 2021, a large proportion of our employees worked from home due to COVID-19, which placed other demands on our leaders. Leadership training has, therefore, been important during the period. The completion rate for the annual performance assessment and development discussion was 92 per cent.

Throughout the pandemic, KONGSBERG employees have shown great flexibility and team spirit in a demanding situation. We have adopted new ways of working and have become used to operating with increased flexibility. The company wants to build on these positive experiences in the future. At the same time, our facilities are the main domains for collaboration, innovation and to nurture our common KONGSBERG culture, and will continue to be our main workplace. KONGSBERG believes that an optimised, flexible, hybrid framework will increase employee satisfaction and support our business goals. We have a common framework, while at the same time accommodating regional and local adjustments to meet the needs of the business.

Diversity and equal opportunity

We believe that diversity creates value and makes us more competitive. It expands the mindset and has a positive influence on the company’s strategy and management. The importance of this is reflected in our HR strategy, reviewed and approved by the Corporate Management and the Board. The work is monitored by the Compensation Committee. We work systematically and purposefully to recruit and develop people of different age groups, ethnicity and gender. Our focus on diversity is reflected in promotion, recruitment and leadership development, and is monitored through periodic surveys.

We at KONGSBERG want our employees to stay working  longer, and in 2021 we increased the company’s internal age limit for employees in Norway from 70 to 72. KONGSBERG is a global company with operations in over 40 countries, which means that there are many different nationalities working for the company.

The 2021 goal was to increase the share of women in leadership roles, highlighting operational positions and international operations. The proportion of female leaders in KONGSBERG has risen in recent years, and now 25 per cent (23 in 2020) of our level 1–3 leaders are women. There are a number of reasons behind this increase, but a key factor has been awareness in the hiring process. The proportion of women in the total workforce stood at 20.4 per cent (20.1 per cent in 2020).

Salary and compensation

KONGSBERG will reward its employees both for results achieved and desirable conduct. We will be competitive, but not salary leaders. KONGSBERG ensures that the salaries and conditions of all employees are in accordance with local legislation, agreements and guidelines. KONGSBERG’s global employee compensation policy describes how we maintain a legal, fair, competitive and financially responsible wage structure for our diverse workforce. Among other things, local wage adjustments can be made in accordance with local and/or central tariffs in countries where these exist. The principles and systems for remuneration of executive management are determined by the Board. The Board has a separate Compensation Committee which deals with all significant matters related to wages and other remuneration to senior executives prior to formal discussion and decision by the Board.

We have a policy of equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender. The ratio in terms of salary and bonuses at the total level is unequal mainly due to a skew in the proportion of women in senior positions. For 2021, the average salary of female employees was 84 per cent of male salaries, and average additional payments for female employees amounted to 57 per cent of the additional payments to men. The ratio applies to Norwegian employees. From 2022, we will implement an HR system that permits more detailed analysis, and we will expand reporting to show the relationship in pay between women and men at different levels and regions, and implement measures if there are differences within the same or similar job categories.

Health, safety and the environment

KONGSBERG’s vision for health, safety and the environment (HSE) is zero incidents or accidents involving our employees, visitors, customers and partners in our global operations. In order to achieve this vision, we never stop working to build a strong, proactive HSE culture. 

At KONGSBERG, safety always come first, and our employees and partners are instructed to stop work if it involves a safety risk. We believe in collaboration, where we all have a personal responsibility for making our joint HSE efforts preventive.

We place emphasis on the increased reporting of near-accidents and HSE observations, and these measures will contribute to reducing the number of injuries and accidents. On this basis, KONGSBERG has decided to introduce a central HSE reporting system for the whole Group.

In this way, we can learn from each other and encourage suggestions for improvements throughout the organisation. HSE data is collected from all companies in the Group and reported to the Corporate Executive Management and the Board each quarter.

Work has been ongoing throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to protect lives and health in the Group.

A global HSE campaign was rolled out in 2021 to focus on well-being via the year’s “Global HSE day”.

Due to extensive use of home office various digital learning platforms have been used to provide training at times when attending in person has not been possible.

Continuous HSE activities are performed in all business areas to prevent undesirable incidents.

Our challenges

We operate in about 40 countries, and security and emergency preparedness for our personnel is a top priority. Our ethical guidelines provide a clear framework for how we work, regardless of country and region. Responsible and ethically sound business conduct is essential for our licence to operate, our existence and reputation. Our international growth involves new partners and supply chains, which means increased attention on matters related to both human and labour rights.

A world of instability and multiple threats requires a higher degree of security for our information and intellectual property rights. We rely on having loyal employees who follow our standards of confidentiality and integrity. Risk management and vulnerability analysis are tools for applying the right level of security.

Due to digitalisation and accelerating technological development, our employees need to upgrade their skills continuously. Moreover, this will lead to new knowledge requirements in the future. KONGSBERG is a global company with employees located throughout the world. This leads to major variations within language, culture and ethnicity, and requires good and effective leadership. Knowledge sharing and collaboration through networks across the established structures provides added value for the company and is expected to become a more common working practice.

We must communicate effectively and through appropriate channels both internally and externally. Both our social media profile and our employees should reflect this in relation to the outside world.

None of our Business Areas have reported non-compliance or significant fines or sanctions for violations of environmental laws and/or regulations.