Organisation and change

Organisation & change: performance 2007/08

We have:

Developed a Global Change framework
The Framework provides a set of best practice steps and processes to support us in managing change consistently across the business. See organisation and change.

Helped our employees deal with business restructuring
In 2007/08, there were 2,848 involuntary leavers (company initiated leavings) and 6,640 voluntary leavers (employee initiated leavings) across the Group. The average turnover rate was 15.2%. Changes in the market and our business in 2007/08 resulted in significant reorganisation within Group functions and in several operating companies. We describe this restructuring in detail below and outline the assistance provided for affected employees.

Reorganised our Global Technology function
Following an organisational review in December 2006, the Global Technology function was reduced by 530 employees in 2007. A total of 36 people were made redundant. We also reduced the number of contractors working in this function. All affected employees had one-to-one meetings with their manager and a member of the Human Resources team. They were given outplacement support and invited to attend recruitment events to find new positions within the Company. Most of the employees affected were based in Germany and the UK. An employee forum was set up in the UK when the reorganisation was announced and we held regular discussions with the Works Council in Germany.

Continued the outsourcing of Applications, Development and Maintenance IT functions
Vodafone made a strategic decision in 2006 to outsource its Applications, Development and Maintenance (ADM) IT functions. Between June 2006 and April 2008, around 85% of IT staff in 12 local operating companies were outsourced to our new partners, EDS and IBM. More than 1,200 employees and 3,500 contractors have transferred to our partners. The reorganisation was carried out in compliance with local legislation and in consultation with local unions, Work Councils and employee representatives. We communicated with employees through Group events and every employee affected had a one-to-one meeting with Human Resources. There were no redundancies as a result of this reorganisation. Transferred employees are protected from redundancy for 12 months, and protected from any adverse effect on their terms and conditions for 24 months. We also ensured employees affected were given an equivalent remuneration package by our partners.

Conducted significant reorganisation in several local operating companies
Vodafone Italy began a strategic partnership with a customer care company, Comdata Care, in November 2007. Approximately 900 back office and credit management employees were outsourced to the partner company with no redundancies as a result. Vodafone Italy has agreed that these employees will be protected from redundancy for the duration of its seven-year contract with Comdata and there will be no change to the current employment terms. These agreements were developed in consultation with trade unions and the Italian Government. To facilitate a smooth transition, selected managers were trained on how to support people affected by this change.

In March 2008, Vodafone UK announced a reorganisation to improve customer service and respond to new market challenges. This is likely to affect 450 existing employees, as well as creating new jobs in customer service roles. Vodafone UK consults with employees through one-to-one meetings with managers and through a Collective Consultation Forum of employee representatives. Affected employees are offered redeployment and outplacement support.

Vodafone Germany restructured its sales function in 2007/08, affecting 1,600 employees. Around 2,000 call centre employees in Germany were given training to adapt to new management structures. These changes were made in agreement with the Works Council.