Personnel development

Every day, our employees take part in solving exciting tasks, finding and using new approaches for doing so

The team Viru Keemia Grupp consists of employees who have a high inner motivation and share the values of the Group. Ensuring their wellbeing and maximum development possibilities and recruiting and retaining the best employees are the Group’s priorities.

Tea Allikmäe
Director of Human Resources department

Main areas of work

Systemic selection and rotation of personnel
Development of a motivation system and a culture of inclusion
Growth of work productivity and the efficiency of the organisation
Training and development of competences

Main principles of personnel policy

Safety

We place the safety of employees, local residents and the environment above any economic, technical or other considerations. We ensure safe working conditions for our employees and demand the same from our partners.

Respect and no discrimination

Relationships in the Group are based on mutual respect and trust – we value every employee and listen to their opinions. The diversity of competences, viewpoints and experience aimed at our joint objective allows us to solve complex tasks.

Honesty

We comply with high ethical standards and are honest towards our employees.

Efficiency

We strive towards being as efficient as possible in our activities and recruit professionals who are the best in their field, highly motivated and determined.

Inclusion

We believe that the achievement of our established ambitious objectives is only possible through the joint efforts and concerted activities of the Group’s employees. We invite our employees to participate in corporate processes and to actively provide feedback.

About our employees

At the end of 2019, the Group and its subsidiaries had 1,792 employees. During the reporting period, 157 people joined the Group.

There were no significant fluctuations in the number of employees in 2019 compared to 2018 (+1.4%). The efficient planning and automation of production as well as our personnel resources allowed us to increase production indicators without considerably increasing the number of employees.Personnel turnover was 12.7% in 2019, which is 24 percentage points less than in 2018.

Age structure of the Group’s employees, 2019

Division of employees into categories, 2019

Ratio of men and women in the Group’s management, 2019

Division of employees by main area of activity, 31 December 2019

The average gross salary paid to VKG’s employees in 2019 was 1,629 euros, which is 16% higher than the average salary in Estonia and 38% higher than the average salary in Ida-Viru County. Employees receive extra pay for working in the evening and at night. The working time regime is in conformity with the law and the collective agreement. If the working time of an employee differs from the provisions of the employer’s general rules, the working time is regulated in the employment contract, taking into account the nature of work, the specifics of production, and working conditions. Work is organised in shifts, if the production process is longer than the allowed working day, as well as for the more efficient use of the equipment and for increasing the production volume or providing more services.

In addition to salary, a tenure bonus is paid to the employees of the company as well as a child birth bonus, an anniversary bonus, and a funeral bonus on sadder occasions. Mothers with small children can take an additional paid leave. In 2019, a total of 1.4 million euros was spent on payments to all the Group’s employees, regardless of their membership in a trade union.

We value our employees and show it with our traditions: chemists’ and miners’ days, Christmas parties, jubilee gratitude events, school bell parties for first-graders and their parents, where children are given a school bag with all the necessary school supplies.

Study of psychosocial risk factors – everyone’s opinion is important!

One of the most important events in 2019 was the extensive study conducted in all the Group enterprises for the assessment of the psychosocial risk factors of the working environment. The main aim of the study was to identify the factors that most influence the employees and the study was conducted by our partner companies OÜ Tondihobu and AS Pe Konsult. More than 50% of the total number of employees participated in the survey.

The assessment was conducted on the basis of the employee survey. People could reply both electronically and on paper. The results varied quite a lot, depending on the specifics of every enterprise. In general, the microclimate and psychosocial environment in the Group are positive, but the employees did point out that the work load has increased and the work tasks have become more tense. It was good to see that the Group’s employees noted the openness of management and the efforts to share information about the status and plans of the enterprises.

The additional psychosocial risk factors identified in the survey were mapped and added to the working environment risk analysis. As a result, various measures were taken in order to prevent health damage caused by psychosocial risk factors: for instance, the work and workplace of an employee were reorganised, work load was optimised, additional breaks were established, etc.

Pursuant to law, psychosocial risk factors include the risk of accidents and violence at the workplace, unequal treatment, bullying and harassment at work, work that does not correspond to the employee’s abilities, working alone for extended periods, monotonous work, as well as other aspects related to management, work regime and working environment, which may have an effect on the mental and physical health of employees and cause work stress.

We would like to thank all the employees who participated in the Group’s study. We spent your time on completing the questionnaire, but the results help us understand how to make the working environment even better. More than half of the employees took part in the survey. This is an indirect indicator of inclusion: the employees are interested in the development and success of the Group.

Ksenia Moskvina
Director of the Safety and Quality department

Development and training of employees

The training and development system covers all the Group’s employees and subcontractors as well as potential employee target groups – school and university students. The training programme takes into account the Group’s strategic plans and the situation I the labour market and the country as a whole.

Training programmes for different groups of employees are organised according to training need priorities and on the basis of the analysis of the needs of employees and their current level of competence.

In 2019, the Group conducted more than 70 training programmes for employees of different levels. The total cost of training amounted to more than 250,000 euros, which was 20% more than in the previous reporting period.

In order to increase the competence of mid-level managers, a special course for the heads of the Group’s production units and workshops was developed in the first half of 2019. The modern production management and planning principles were taken into account in preparing the training programme. The programme used simple, understandable and applicable practical models and methods. Within half a year, six modules of issues which production managers encounter were completed. Within the framework of the training programme, participants visited various companies where they could review the organisation of production and workplaces. The training plan was led by training instructors from training company Invicta OÜ.

The aim and mission of the training course was to create inspiring development opportunities for the heads of production units. That is the guarantee of corporate success and the sense of unity of the team. We learnt about the basics of production management, which offers us an opportunity to independently develop ourselves in the area of management. The knowledge also gives us the opportunity to analyse the production processes, identify the bottleneck and eliminate overlapping processes. All of this gives a defined value to the product to be released in the future.

Konstantin Dõkov
head of VKG Oil’s oil shale reprocessing workshop, who participated in the training programme.

A new functional study centre was opened in the Group in 2019. More than 73,000 euros was invested in the repair and furnishing of the centre. Classrooms are equipped with portable computer places and the technical equipment necessary for learning and teaching.

Our notable projects

Day of Chemists

The party to celebrate the main profession in the Group – the Day of Chemists – was held in a new format last year: in the production territory among colleagues, so that the ones to whom the day is dedicated would be in the centre of attention and the day would be special for them, as well as to ensure the participation of as many employees as possible in the event. The doors were open to all the production territory employees and subcontractors. Our remarkable chemists were festively celebrated in that homely and heartfelt atmosphere.

Racing the draisines to the pedestal of Relsiralli

Draisine competition Relsiralli is an international competition which was held for the 11th time in 2019. The 2019 competition included 15 teams from four countries and the journey took the draisine column on the route Pärnu–Lelle–Pärnu.

140 kilometres of pumping the manual draisines, self-exertions, emotion-filled extra trials, victories, disappointments, steep drops and leaps in the rankings, and the tension which lasted to the final moments. We have to admit that VKG’s Relsiralli team coped superbly at the rather tight two-day competition, achieving the powerful 2rd place in the international competition.

School Bell Party

Every year, a couple of weeks before school starts, we invite the children of the Group’s employees, who are about to start the 1st grade, to celebrate the School Bell Party together. Last year, 67 boys and girls sat at the school desk for the first time. As is our tradition, we give the children an exciting entertainment programme in Rakvere, and a school bag that contains all the necessary supplies to successfully start the school studies.

Miners’ Day

We remained true to ourselves and held a proper party which brought together colleagues, families and friends. Not just miners with their families and friends gathered at Kohtla-Nõmme to greet each other on the festive day, but their colleagues, chemists, transport workers – everyone involved in the extraction and reprocessing of oil shale – attended the event. Over the years, the Miners’ Day has also become a meeting place of the veterans of the oil shale sector and so it was also this time. Representatives of several generations got together, as miners always have things to share and recall. Musical entertainment was provided by one of the most popular Estonian performers NOЁP. The day was pleasantly ended by the performance of Uku Suviste, singer who has shown his vocal abilities in the Russian talent show ‘The Voice’.

Cooperation with educational establishments

VKG has been granting scholarships via the TalTech Development Fund since 2006. From 2006 to 2019, we have granted scholarships in a total amount more than 105,000 EUR.

VKG’s bachelor’s degree scholarships are granted to up to two successful bachelor’s students of electrical engineering, mechatronics, earth sciences and geotechnology, environmental and chemical technology or thermal engineering at TalTech’s School of Engineering. One scholarship is 1,300 euros.

VKG’s master’s degree scholarships are granted to one successful master’s student of environmental and chemical technology, fuel chemistry and technology, thermal engineering, and electrical engineering at TalTech. One scholarship is 1,400 euros.

VKG’s professional higher education scholarships are granted to up to four successful professional higher education students of fuel technology, industrial automation, machine building engineering, energy technology, chemistry technology, energy technology processes control and telematics and smart systems at TalTech’s Virumaa College. One scholarship is 1,000 euros.

VKG’s scholarships support the students’ motivation in acquiring the professions necessary in the Group and give a clear signal that we expect young specialists to joint our ranks.

The Group also places importance on working with schools and upper-secondary schools. We strive to create an uninterrupted education system ‘school – higher education establishment – enterprise’, the aim of which is to ensure the constant inflow of young specialists and the good qualification and necessary competence of specialists who start work in the Group in the future.

Cooperation with trade unions

The Group has a long-standing partner relationship with a trade union organisation called the Trade Union of Chemists. The representatives of the trade union actively participate in the development of the Group’s production safety culture, discussions on changes in the system of social benefits, and measures to create safe working conditions. Viru Keemia Grupp has a collective agreement which establishes the Group’s social obligations towards its employees. As at the end of 2019, 29% of the Group’s employees were members of the trade union and the collective agreement covered 100% of the employees.