Why Tarkett?

Safety, respect and integrity

Safety is without question Tarkett’s highest priority. Safety training throughout our organization is required for every employee, adapted to the workplace environment in which they operate. Systematic implementation of safe practices is driven through our World Class Manufacturing methodology, which continues to be deployed throughout our plants worldwide and is reinforced through internal auditing and individual accident reports which are sent to the Executive Committee and the CEO.

This commitment to safety is reflected in our results: since 2008, the number of Lost Time Accidents has been divided by more than 2 on a comparable basis.

Proactive employee communications and dialogue

Tarkett also maintains ongoing communications with its employees. Employee feedback surveys and monthly newsletters complement an ongoing communication effort driven by the internal communication team.

To evaluate teams’ motivation and implement the most appropriate initiatives site by site, Tarkett has implemented since 2008 an internal employee survey of its employees conducted every 2 years. In 2012, over 81% of employees speaking 16 different languages have voiced their opinion in this global survey.

Beyond the very high response rate, the survey showed that Tarkett employees are significantly more motivated and satisfied than the average industrial workers - the answers are compared to a wide range of companies which responded to the same questions (Mercer Poll). In particular, on questions related to pride in belonging to the company, management and communication, satisfaction is higher than the industry average. These numbers are steadily progressing, rewarding the efforts made on these topics by Tarkett.

Communication activities are conducted at all levels of the company to ensure understanding and adherence to the company's strategy:

• The group publishes a monthly newsletter that shares the company’s news, successes and important projects.
• The Group’s CEO communicates quarterly with all management teams by audio-conference to share the Group's results and to answer questions.
• Each site, each entity develops internal communication initiatives to address local expectations.

Social dialogue

Tarkett promotes social dialogue at all levels of the company. Thus, the European Works Council (called Tarkett Forum) meets quarterly, either in plenary or informal meetings.

 “The Tarkett Forum is Tarkett’s European Works Council, a genuine platform for dialogue and exchange to facilitate European integration. Its creation in Frankenthal, Germany, in 1996, was necessary, even crucial, given the Group’s growth. The Group’s new international scope, a more customer-oriented sales strategy, and joint international projects with other companies in such fields as marketing, logistics and R&D were all elements requiring reinforced cooperation  between management, employees and staff representatives across Europe.” Alfons Kohl, General Secretary of the Tarkett Forum