BE Group strives to be an attractive and reliable employer where employees thrive and can develop. It is the employees who, with their expertise and commitment, form the foundation of BE Group. The corporate culture is based on what is defined as the Group’s core values. These values shall permeate the entire organization and create security and understanding, provide guidance in how we should relate to one another and to our surroundings, and form the basis for clear communication, both internally and externally. BE Group has focused on three key words for this work; Dynamic, Transparent and Sustainable.

The average number of employees in BE Group in 2024 amounted to 640 (678), where the decrease is primarily attributable to the closure of the Baltic unit. The percentage of women among the average number of employees was 10 percent (10). The distribution of men and women is an industry-related challenge and work is continuing to map how the operations can create conditions to attract more women employees and managers. However, there are considerable differences between the percentage of women on the white-collar side and in production. As of December 31, 2024, the percentage of women among white-collar workers was about 26 percent (27) and for production it was about 2 percent (2). Work is continuing to increase the diversity of workplaces and to create balanced teams with individuals with different genders, ethnic backgrounds and ages.

BE Group offers market-based pay and terms of employment and, in accordance with Swedish law and current collective agreements, conducts annual salary mappings in the Swedish operations to ensure that all salaries are set on objective grounds. The salary process in Finland is conducted in accordance with national legislation and collective agreements.

Group-wide employee survey

Every year, a Group-wide employee survey is conducted to ensure that the strengths and improvement areas that exist in the work environment are highlighted and in 2024, 92 percent (90) of the employees participated in the survey. This shows a great commitment to contributing to the development of the operations. The survey is conducted at the end of each year and as the units in the Baltics and Poland are being phased out, only the employees in Sweden and Finland participated. It measures five different indices: commitment, effectiveness in teams, leadership, organizational and social work environment and management and, in all of the indices, we saw a positive development during the year. It is very pleasing that the survey this time showed a very positive trend in the eNPS value (recommending BE Group as an employer). Once the results have been compiled, the important efforts of follow-up and working with improvement measures will begin in the working groups. In addition, individual performance reviews are conducted regularly and the goal is for the employee to be able to influence his/her work situation and development.

In the performance reviews discussions are held, among other things, regarding the opportunity to develop in the work role and this includes skills improvement efforts, both external and internal. The units work continuously with local professional training, such as introductory training and various working environment training programs.

Health and safety

A large part of the operations involve the production and handling of heavy materials. For many years, health and safety have been a priority area for BE Group and the goal is that no one should be injured or get sick at work. Consequently, a safe working environment is the foundation of our operations and all employees, seasonal workers, temporary workers and others who are present at BE Group’s units must feel safe. There is a policy with a zero vision for workplace accidents called Safety First where the basic idea is that all accidents can be prevented and safety must come first at all times. The units work locally to assess and address risks in the operations and to prevent accidents. Governing documents have been established and regular follow-ups, workplace meetings, safety rounds and training are implemented. Every incident and risk observation is reported, evaluated, resolved and followed up.

In 2024, 8 accidents (11) that resulted in more than one day’s absence were reported. Developments in BE Group’s units have consistently moved in a positive direction since work on Safety First began six years ago and for the first time, two production and warehousing units in Finland and the three units in Sweden had a year with no accidents that caused an absence from work. The goal is to create a strong safety culture among employees and it is clear that risk awareness has increased. An increasing number of risk observations continue to be reported and this leads to units being able to increasingly work proactively with improvement projects. As a result, even the more serious incidents that almost became accidents decreased over the year.

The largest warehouse and production facility in Sweden is certified in accordance with ISO 45001, an international management system standard and a tool for organizations that want to work systematically to strengthen their physical and social health at the workplace. The standard imposes for example requirements on risk management, management commitment and employee participation. Participation is a focus area for all units and is a prerequisite for successful safety work since behavior that violates the rules is a major cause of workplace accidents. In the 2024 employee survey, 91 percent (91) of employees said that they experienced that their manager always puts safety first and 90 percent (89) feel they can tell a colleague if they feel that they are not complying with safety regulations.