Following the teleworking experience from the pandemic, Solvay reinvents its flexible working policy with plans to transform its workspaces to centers of co-creation.
Brussels, November 3, 2020
Solvay has announced a new global policy to integrate mobile working into the Group's work standard. The announcement comes after approximately 40% of the Group's global workforce shifted to remote working since March this year as a health measure in the fight against COVID-19.
Integrating these new ways of working looking forward, office spaces at Solvay sites will be entirely redesigned as locations for teams and colleagues to connect, co-create, meet and exchange, allowing greater flexibility and embracing many different workstyles. The aim is also to promote engaging management techniques that champion individual accountability and cross-collaboration as well as to reinvent the leadership model to best empower and inspire people, while enhancing their capabilities. Mobile working accelerates the digital workplace journey, with the adoption of new collaborative tools and equipment enabling coworkers to connect from anywhere, anytime.
Following a recent survey among staff which demonstrated strong positive feedback on the experience of remote working, Solvay's leadership has recognized the advantages from this flexible way of working, and has put forward new policies and plans to reinvent the Group's operational approach as well as the use of office spaces.
The survey, conducted among a representative population of Solvay's 10,000 employees around the world who have been home working since the beginning of the pandemic, also demonstrated how colleagues enjoyed the more flexible hours, extra time with their families, not having to commute, being more focused and more productive. The experience has also helped global cooperation, as new digital tools and creative management styles have helped bring teams around the world closer together.
“We can only see the advantages of offering mobile working to employees," explained Hervé Tiberghien, Chief People Officer at Solvay "At Solvay we know from experience that crises can reveal new opportunities. The impact this pandemic has had on the future of working is an opportunity that Solvay does not want to miss. As the world evolves, our capacity to adapt and to reinvent is what has powered our long tradition of innovation.”
As more employees adopt flexible working schedules, the total occupancy rate will undoubtedly decrease at Solvay’s facilities, which will also bring significant savings to the operational costs and allow the Group to rethink the use and design of working spaces. On top of that, a more mobile workforce will allow the company to source and leverage talent wherever they are. The new possibilities of flexibility that will be offered to Solvay employees are yet another opportunity to contribute to the Group’s sustainability roadmap, Solvay One Planet, by reducing commutes and minimizing impact on the environment.
About Solvay
Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 24,100 employees in 64 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably through its Solvay One Planet plan crafted around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and fostering better life. The Group’s innovative solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices, health care applications, water and air purification systems. Founded in 1863, Solvay today ranks among the world’s top three companies for the vast majority of its activities and delivered net sales of €10.2 billion in 2019. Solvay is listed on Euronext Brussels (SOLB) and Paris and in the United States,
where its shares (SOLVY) are traded through a Level I ADR program. Learn more at www.solvay.com.