Andrew White

Managing Director, Aircelle

Aircelle LimitedSuccessfully Growing in Manufacturing

Overcoming the Attraction and Retention Challenge

Andrew White – Managing Director16 June 2011

Aircelle - Who are we and what do we do?• A division of the international, high-

technology SAFRAN Group (€11bn T/O, 54 000 employees)

• European leader and Global No.2 in the design, integration and manufacturing of Aero Engine Nacelles and Thrust Reversers – From Business Jets to the A380 Super Jumbo

• World-wide presence for after-sales services

• 3 000 people across 7 sites in France, Morocco and UK

• Aircelle Ltd is the only UK manufacturing site within Aircelle Group (£130m T/O, 800 employees)

My Approach to this Workshop – A Journey…

• Where we were

• What we identified as our challenges…and our opportunities

• What we did to change

• What have been the results

• What is next for us

Where We Were

Our Business Context• The Aerospace Market has a high

growth forecast – 5% per annum• The UK has a positive reputation for

high technology design and manufacture

• The Safran Group were happy to invest but concerned about the ability of the business to respond to the challenge

Our Core Issues

• Major opportunities existed to achieve significant business growth…• IF we could take advantage of them…

• Employees were unhappy and disinterested – Low Pride

• Lack of recognition of the positives internally or externally

• Skills pipelines were dry….and worsening

• Too reliant on the stories of the “good old days” – a very traditional business

• Lack of “new blood”

What we did to change

We tried to look at the same problems…

• differently to other people & other businesses

And

• differently to how we ever had done before

in order to

• get a different result

Some “A-Ha Moments” for us…

Community & Education• We could utilise relationships within

our local community to build employee pride

• We needed to consider how the skills pool was fed – Schools, Colleges, Universities – and how we could influence

• Our senior teams needed to be personally visible and committed to the community we were in (role-modelling the way)

Organisational Culture

• We had an opportunity to combine BOTH agendas to develop a unique and special business, focussed on our future and not our past• Our leadership team and employees needed to buy-in and be engaged for it to work

• We had to create internal and external pipelines to plug our future skills gaps recognising the changing skills mix and emerging skills needed within the aerospace sector

• Dignity, respect and trust were key deliverables for our employees

• We needed to value and develop leadership skills AND technical skills within our business

• HOW WE WORK is as important as WHAT WE MAKE

•

What we did to changeResearched our town and region’s biggest

issues - how could we add value ?

Defined what we wanted to be famous

for - “Building a Sustainable Business

in Burnley”

Placed our focus on developing long-term pipelines for skills - a

strategic Win-Win for Aircelle and community

Networked with key players within our local community - Education,

Council, Universities, Businesses

Utilised our employees as our

“Ambassadors” within the local community

Placed senior leaders on local, regional and national

Industry Boards, and encouraged employees to become School GovernorsChose “STEM” (Science,

Technology, Engineering &

Maths) to be our key focus area for collaboration

Asked employees to play a part in making

school fun and enjoyable for young people in our area –

“bringing work in manufacturing to life”Focus on Inspiration as well as Education

Re-established our apprentice programme (8 per year for Craft, 2

per year Technical)

Improved our workplace for our own employees

Reviewed all HR policies, established a Dignity @

Work agenda, strategy of Health & Well-Being etc.

What we did to change

Clarified what we expected of our leaders and reviewed

how we developed leadership skills

Placed more value on what people were “best at” – senior

specialist AND generalist roles developed

Defined what it means to be a successful leader within

Aircelle – “Our Leadership Brand”

Amended our HR processes to attract, recruit, develop,

reward and grow these people skills

Trained 65 managers to NVQ Level 5 in Management

Developed both Leadership and Technical Pathways to

provide visibility of progression options

What we did to change

Opportunity to develop into a senior role

Route 1 Route 2

Asked ourselves - did career pathways really exist for

specialists?

Risk of underperformance in role or loss of skills, due to specialists being “wrongly-

placed” in leadership positions

Opportunity to provide tailored pathways and

development solutions for individual employees

Strategic need to develop and retain highly-technical

skill base

What have been the results

Strong engagement with all 5 local high

schools, 6th form college, FE college and

UCLAN

To date – 70 events involving over 4 000

young people across 50 schools

30 Ambassadors supporting local Burnley

schools

Developing leadership skills for senior

managers of schools

Employee representatives on all local School, College

and Training Providers Governor Boards

Annual sponsor of The Manufacturing

Institute’s “Make It Challenge”

What have been the results - business

2008Lancashire Business of

the Year

2009Burnley Business of

the Year

Investors in People Accreditation

2010Best Environmental

Practice AwardNorth West

2011Nominations for ....

NW Business Class AwardBurnley Large Business of the

year

Burnley Environmental Sustainability Award

Burnley Staff Training & Development Award

Burnley Business Commitment to the Community Award

What have been the results - people200+ jobs created within

Burnley since 2007

Over 400 employees gained/working towards

work-based qualifications

Over 150 employees participating in external

activities or cultural activities on site

Labour turnover 5% in 2010

(2005 – 15%2007 – 13%)

50% reduction in disciplinaries and

grievances since 2007

“Pride of Aircelle” – an annual event designed to recognise employee

commitment and development

Average Recruitment Costs - £609

(2005 - £4730)

What is next - creating a business where our employees want to be…

• Our Goal is to create “A Great Place To Work”a place where employees " TRUST the people they work for,

have PRIDE in what they do, and ENJOY the people they work with "

• Scores from our Survey in March 2009:

“I want to work here for a long time” 81%“ When I look at what we accomplish,

I feel a sense of pride” 83%“I am proud to tell others I work here” 83%

• Our next survey is planned for late 2011

Our Key Question:

“Overall, I think this is a Great Place to Work”

56% in 2007

70% in 2009

TBC% in 2011

What is next - attracting the right skills and talent for the future – “targeting” our offer

To an Engineer

?

To a Graduate ?

To a Specialist

?

To a Leader ?

To a Shop Floor

Employee ?

This document and the information contained are Aircelle property and shall not be copied or disclosed to any third party without Aircelle prior written authorization

Questions and Discussion

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

For further information, please contact:Andrew White Managing Director 01282 419390Helen Gopsill HR Director 01282 419326