RU
Irina Antonova,
HR Director, Member of the Executive Board
NSD’s employees are part of the company’s capital. At NSD, we pay special attention to staff development and engagement, as well as their social support.
As of end 2020, NSD’s headcount amounted to 521 employees1. 96% of our employees have a degree from higher professional education establishments. The general turnover rate decreased as compared to the previous year and remains lower than the average figures across the financial sector, amounting to 5% of the average headcount.
In 2020, the number of male vs. female employees was 43% and 57%, respectively. The proportion of female executives in the total number of executives2 was 55%. The remuneration level at NSD depends on the job functions and position level. The pay level across similar positions for males and females is equal. This indicates gender equality and equal career opportunities.
In 2020, employee social support was as relevant as never before. To protect our employees against the new coronavirus disease, COVID-19, the NSD management team allowed as many employees as possible to perform their job duties remotely, having left the minimum required number of staff in the office to support business-critical processes. In the office premises, sanitary measures were taken to disinfect work and common areas and to provide the employees working in the office with personal protective equipment. Once in two weeks, health workers visited the office premises to test the employees for COVID-19. Measures were taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the office, including social distancing, sound office space zoning, and the opportunity to shift the workday start time. In addition to voluntary medical insurance programs, as well as critical disease and accident insurance traditionally provided to our employees, they could get financial aid to cover the costs of treatment of the new coronavirus infection and post-COVID rehabilitation. An important contribution to the employees' social security was a decision made by the NSD management team to pay sick pay in the amount of 100% of an employee’s salary if they had an acute respiratory viral infection regardless of the duration of their sick leave.
Year after year, NSD maintains a competitive level of remuneration to its employees and monitors the salary trends for a variety of professional categories. Despite the tough market situation in 2020 and an overall decrease in incomes both in Russia and globally, the company did maintain the current wage rates for its employees and even revised them to increase pay depending on performance indicators.
The 2020 project involved activities for diagnostics of the existing employee incentive program and development of a customized value offer for a category of key employees, who had worked in the company for a long time and gained deep expertise in their field, to retain them and provide them with additional incentives. These activities will be continued in 2021.
NSD pays great attention to aspects that affect employee engagement and their job satisfaction. In 2020, we conducted an employee engagement index survey. It showed that the NSD’s employee engagement level was 86.2% and corresponded to that of the most successful financial companies. The main drivers for employee engagement at NSD are: corporate culture based on trust and good communication between employees, excellent personal skills of an employee’s immediate superior, and a clear corporate strategy.
In 2020, NSD continued to develop its internship program and invited students of major Russian universities as interns to the company, 70% of them in the field of IT. The company wants to make sure they grow into real professionals and get to know the basics of the Central Securities Depository’s activities. This approach both attracts young technical specialists to the company and ensures they get a good idea of how everything works.
Using the internship program, NSD seeks to promote its image of an attractive employer not only among future financial experts, but also among future software developers, system analysts, and test engineers.
Despite the changes in the working environment, employee development still remains one of NSD’s key priorities. To enhance their professional expertise and personal effectiveness skills, the company completely switched to online training format. NSD provided training programs for both line employees and executives.
The training focused on how to work with a distributed team, carry out management under uncertainty, and deal with stress. Each program took into account the changing working environment and helped the employees deal with most complicated situations due to having to work from home.