Kranj, July 28, 2010 – following a three-year operational phase for 14 measures that have gone live in Sava’s business processes, the external auditor Alojz Bitenc, MSc, a member of the Council of Experts within the Family-Friendly Company project, has conducted the final audit of the implementation of these 14 measures to obtain the full Family-Friendly Company certificate. In accordance with the Rules and Procedures to obtain a “Family-Friendly Company” certificate, the external auditor determined that the selected measures at Sava have been effectively introduced and the objectives accomplished. The final opinion on the eligibility to acquire the full Family-Friendly Company certificate shall be given in autumn 2010 by the Council of Auditors on the basis of the external auditor's report. The official conferral of the certificates shall follow.

In the Sava Group, we realize the importance of reconciling family and working life, and we accept the need for social responsibility over our employees and the community at large. In 2007 we became one of the first companies in Slovenia to initiate the Family-Friendly Company project. Upon accepting this commitment we introduced 14 measures into our business processes regarding the reconciliation of the home and working lives of our employees, and consequently received the basic “Family-Friendly Company” certificate.

According to Alojz Bitenc, MSc, external auditor and member of the Council of Experts within the Family-Friendly Company project:

“The last audit of implemented measures prior to a full Family-Friendly Company certification proved that the Sava Group had successfully brought into effect all 14 measures, and that they are fully supported by company management. In many domains Sava has been innovative and even exceeded the standard procedures. There are numerous companies within the Sava Group, operating in different locations, and therefore it was not easy to rely upon a harmonized implementation of the measures. However, thanks to a sound and flexible organizational approach using competitive centres and excellent know-how, Sava has successfully introduced the measures into its subsidiaries and attained good results in applying the measures. Sava’s efforts at creating sports clubs, for example, have outmatched many other Slovenian as well as foreign companies, both in the number of members, employees and family members, as well as in the range of organized sports activities. This area is of special significance as a person must be physically active to be able to cope with rising challenges. Another measure of great importance is soft-skills “coaching” training for management, where managers acquire new soft skills and endeavour to promote their wider adoption.

I would like to highlight various tools of internal communication concerning the activities of the Family-Friendly Company project, particularly the Savček bulletin, with its unique content that stands apart from solely informative bulletins found in many other companies. Our intranet also has a special, FFC project-dedicated site, wherein the most important information relating to the project can be found. Further, I would like to praise the “Open Door Day” which until now has been organized in individual companies, but this year for the first time will take place in a single location. The number of meetings and the large concourse of employees, family members and pensioners prove that the measure has truly begun to thrive. All of the above demonstrates that you are really able to bring your ideas to life.”
On the occasion of the audit, the Sava Group was given some useful recommendations that we shall incorporate into our measures. “Now that the external audit has finished, I can point out that during the basic certification, the Sava Group had truly excelled. This was proven by the fact that the Family-Friendly Company project was not simply treated as a project by itself; its measures have been successfully integrated into numerous operational processes of the company,” emphasized Mr. Bitenc.

After having considered external auditors’ reports on the companies which successfully passed the external audit, the Council of Auditors –  composed of representatives of the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs, the Employers' Association of Slovenia, the Slovenian Association of Free Trade Unions, the Family Association operating within the Slovenian Association of Friends of Youth, and the Faculty of Social Sciences –  shall issue the full Family-Friendly Company certificate for the next three years, probably in September. Meanwhile the companies will have to supplement their range of measures with additional ones. After three years, the implementation of all the measures shall be audited again. By introducing new measures, the companies shall upgrade their level of sustainable development of human resources management, which is essential for maintaining prosperous long-term business operations.  

The studies of the Family-Friendly Company project's implementation have shown good results in various areas: improved employee motivation, increased feelings of company loyalty and greater productivity, enhanced satisfaction of employees and reduced stress, reduced costs due to staff turnover, an enhanced corporate reputation amongst business partners, customers and society, as well as increased competitiveness of the company.

According to Emil Vizovišek, a member of the Sava, d.d. Management Board:

“During the 90 years of its operations, Sava has placed great emphasis upon sustainable business efficiency. The company understands that its success and vision depends entirely on its staff. When a company builds itself through sustainable development, its employees must be oriented towards creating its sustainable prosperity in addition to being satisfied at the workplace and at home.  Only a well-balanced staff will be able to yield good results, and therefore their acceptance of the company’s values is crucial. With the continuous extension of the years of service, employees are frequently exposed to psychosocial stress. We are well aware of this situation, and that is why Sava has become one of the first Slovenian companies to introduce a program to examine the psychosocial motivations of its employees, as well as their satisfaction and their competences. We have developed a comprehensive system to eliminate psychosocial risk factors, which is based upon our values of honesty, responsibility, knowledge, creativity, and excellence as drivers of our operations. One of our activities to reduce psychosocial factors and focus attention upon the significance of company membership and keen interest in work, as well as to increase work commitment and concentration, is certainly the Family-Friendly Company project, which is strongly integrated into our work processes.”

Sava, d.d.
Corporate Communications