Human resources
Workforce
As of 31 December 2019, STIB had 9,420 employees (i.e. 9,203.6 full-time equivalents). This represents a 4.2% increase in the workforce compared with 2018.Throughout the year, 965 new employees joined the Brussels public transport company. These new recruits included driving staff (39.8%) and non-driving labourers (37.41%).These hires were intended to replace colleagues going on retirement. They also enable STIB to expand and improve the public transport service in Brussels and implement network development projects.
Increasing numbers of women
The number of women in the company continues to grow. At the end of 2019, STIB had 1,053 female employees. They now represent 11.18% of the staff, compared to 10.71% in 2018. Of the 965 new recruits, 17.3% are women.The number of women working at STIB increased by nearly 40% between 2015 and 2019. This increase is significant, especially for driving staff. At the end of 2015, there were 225 women (6.53% of the driving staff) compared to 345 women (8.41%) in 2019. In 4 years, the number of women drivers has increased by 53%.This is the result of the various actions launched by STIB, which pursues an active policy aimed at attracting more future female employees: participation in job fairs and targeted recruitment campaigns, co-opting programme to encourage the hiring of profiles that are harder to find (female employees but also technicians) through staff members, etc.
More than 900 positions to be filled in 2020
With 965 employees recruited in 2019 and 922 new posts planned for 2020, STIB is increasingly positioning itself as a key employer in the Brussels region. With the extension of the network and the arrival of new vehicles, STIB is looking for 700 new male and female driving staff and technical workers trained in electromechanics, electricity, construction, etc.To attract these new recruits, STIB continues to increase the number of channels it uses: trade press, social media, participation in employment fairs, organisation of its own Job Events, LinkedIn presence, etc.In total, in 2019, the STIB participated in 16 employment fairs. The company organised two Job Days for male and female technicians (in electromechanics, electricity, mechanics, etc.). STIB also took part in several events in schools, including a workshop organised with the non-profit association Tada, dedicated to mechanics in all its forms. It was a unique opportunity to explain the various technical professions at STIB to around 60 students, aged between 11 and 15.STIB is also continuing its Young Starters programme, which offers young graduates or junior profiles the opportunity to carry out three missions in different STIB departments, with the possibility of obtaining a permanent contract.
Simbus: innovating to recruit
In October, STIB launched Simbus, an app that can be downloaded for free from the App Store or Google Play, which allows you to try driving a STIB bus. The app uses real images from the network and features various levels of increasing difficulty. It allows people to test their driving skills on three real bus routes. The player must perform the right actions within the time limit in order to continue on their route. They can then share their score on social networks. The people who score well are invited to visit the jobs.stib.be website.It is an original and fun way to discover the bus driving profession and to help men and women discover their vocation. Three months after its launch, the app had more than 50,000 active players and more than 100,000 open sessions.
CFOu, a historic agreement
On 10 May, the management and unions of STIB signed, in a joint committee, a historic agreement for the introduction of a new job classification and remuneration system for labourers, abbreviated to CFOu. This system will be implemented in successive phases between 2019 and 2021.Simpler and more transparent, this new classification will allow for better internal mobility and better valorisation and recognition throughout an employee's career. It also intends to encourage people to learn and use the two national languages in performing their work.Otherwise, STIB is one of the first Brussels companies having introduced the possibility for its staff to benefit from a Career Savings Plan (“Compte Epargne Carrière”/”Loopbaansparen”) as part of the “Peeters law”, reforming the right to work in Belgium. This system allows the workers who want to save up their time – more precisely extra-legal holidays or voluntary overtime – and to convert them afterwards in holidays, to be able to manage temporarily their working time, in favor of a better work-life balance or to manage their end of career.
Socio-professional integration
In order to respond to the shortage of candidate technicians, STIB entered into a partnership with the Institut Cardinal Mercier in 2018. The aim was to launch a training course for maintenance staff in electromechanics, and targeting jobseekers interested in technical professions. At the end of this first year of training, which consisted of theoretical and practical courses as well as two internships in the STIB workshops, 9 new members of maintenance staff were hired. In view of these positive results, STIB decided to continue the experiment, this time from September 2019 to September 2020. 13 candidates have been selected for this new session, which this time will include three internships in different bus depots.In 2019, STIB also continued its collaboration with Actiris, the Brussels Regional Public Employment Organisation. Around 100 low-skilled young people were able to enjoy their first professional experience with some of STIB's multimodal agents. This year-long support allowed STIB to attract and train new employees and allowed young agents to experience the reality of the world of work. At the end of this period, a reorientation interview gave them the opportunity to apply for a permanent job. In total, 115 first employment contracts (CPE in French) were signed for the functions of a multimodal agent, as well as 12 transitional internships (STE in French).
Top Employer for the 5th year
STIB was awarded Top Employer 2019 certification, for the 5th year in a row. This certification highlights the companies that are committed to providing the best possible working environment for their employees through innovative human resources practices.To obtain this label, STIB underwent a rigorous independent study. The evaluation covered the HR strategy and processes, but also elements such as internal communication, the values and the way they are conveyed and experienced throughout the business, together with the mechanisms in place for promoting exchanges between employees.
Training employees
In addition to recruiting additional personnel, STIB is also investing in training its employees. Employees take thousands of hours of training every year: training in driving and technical training, as well as stress management, communication, languages and managerial attitudes, etc. In 2019, 531,846 hours of training were provided throughout the company.Driving hybrid and electric buses, ever more numerous on the network, requires specific training. A real challenge for the STIB Training Centre. In 2018 and 2019, almost 2,000 drivers were trained in flexible driving, in order to optimise the environmental performance of this type of vehicle. An equally large challenge for the technical teams of the Bus Business Unit, where 300 technicians follow a specific training course.In 2019, STIB also developed a new leadership model. This model is a veritable frame of reference and enables managers to better mobilise and develop the skills of their employees. The model will also be used to support leadership development pathways and training, to ensure coherence, unity and transversality in the development pathways for the entire STIB organisation. This model will be implemented during the course of 2020.
Become a bilingual whizz
In January 2019, STIB launched the Language Plan. This offers the company's employees a genuine opportunity to master the second national language and, as a result, ensure a better approach in dealing with customers and colleagues. Following an online test to determine their level of proficiency, employees have the possibility to follow classroom courses during working hours, but also to access a digital platform which offers a wide range of exercises, so that everyone can learn easily, at their own pace and according to their preferences. Throughout 2019, 2,251 employees took the online test to assess their level of proficiency, and 929 attended the training course.Digital learning is on the rise in many companies, and STIB is following suit! Following the launch of the Altissia platforms for the Language Plan and ENI for MS Office, 3 other digital training courses are now available in the catalogue of STIB Academy: prevention of alcohol and drug consumption in the workplace, cyber security and personal data protection (GDPR).
Diversity
At STIB, diversity is the result of a long business tradition that the public transport company wants to preserve and strengthen at all costs, as it is a gauge of success, harmony and well-being. It does this on a daily basis through the actions set out in its 2017-2021 Diversity Strategy, which aims to uphold and support diversity in all its forms: cultural, linguistic, gender, generational, physical, sexual orientation, etc.This strategic plan sets very ambitious targets for 2021: promotion of employment for women and for Dutch-speakers, improved distribution of people presumed to be of foreign descent within the business, keeping senior citizens employed, reduction of the gap between workers and employees, affirmation of non-discrimination and equal opportunities, and integration of people with disabilities.In 2019, STIB's Diversity Council was given a new lease of life with the renewal of its members, the veritable ambassadors of diversity within the company.
Initiatives rewarded
On the occasion of 8 March, International Women's Rights Day, STIB organised a 'Women Afterwork', for the third consecutive year. During the previous week, the company honoured its female employees through a recruitment campaign in which they were the leading figures. In addition, the various sites hosted a stand at the Centre for Equality of Women and Men, while a karaoke bus allowed anyone in the mood to support the presence of women in the company by singing.STIB's diversity initiatives are also praised outside the company. Indeed, STIB won a "Belgian Diversity Award", presented by the anti-racism association Ucobel (United Color of Belgium). One of its employees won a Diwan Award, in the "Engineer and IT" category. This award highlights talents from diverse backgrounds.Finally, STIB once again took part in the "DuoDay" campaign, to promote the employment of disabled people. During a one-day training course, it welcomed André, who has autism. This enriching experience for both André and the STIB teams led to the signing of a first 3-month Professional Adaptation Contract (CAP), which allows André to put all his knowledge of the network at the service of the customer experience.
Ensuring well-being at work
Improving the well-being of its employees is a constant concern for STIB. For many years, various psycho-social support measures have been put in place within the company: a team of 7 social counsellors present on the ground, assistance to victims of assault and accidents and a psycho-social assistance service that can be reached 24/7 by employees and/or their families. STIB also conducts cross-cutting campaigns aimed at its staff: preventing stress and burn out, prevention of addiction, promotion of lifestyle habits that foster well-being, etc.In 2019, STIB laid the first foundations for a cross-cutting programme aimed at reducing the absenteeism rate within the company. To curb this phenomenon, which is on the rise in all companies, a multidisciplinary team was set up to develop an action plan. The first step was to identify the determining causes of absenteeism, by better understanding the phenomenon. In the course of 2020, a diagnosis will be drawn up by Securex via a quantitative analysis based on key absenteeism figures and a qualitative analysis by listening to the experiences of employees in each of the company's divisions. Recommendations will then be formulated, taking into account the various stakeholders, including trade unions. Projects will then be gradually implemented and evaluated through preventive and remedial measures.
The new look of the staff
In total, more than 5,000 employees wear the company's colours as part of their job. On 2 May, the look of STIB's staff changed radically with the arrival of a new uniform. STIB called on the talent of the Belgian fashion house Olivier Strelli to design this new uniform. They proposed a new cut, new colours, new materials and new pieces.The designer chose a colour palette dominated by STIB's own tones: blue and red. Grey and white were incorporated into these. Depending on the job or function, colour variations or accessories were added to the uniforms.Particular attention was also paid to the quality of the materials, the comfort of the uniforms, the femininity of the female uniforms, and the identity and functionality of the pieces, so that the staff feel good in them and embody the modernity of the public transport of today and tomorrow.
Manneken Pis wears the new uniform
Like STIB, Manneken-Pis is an integral part of Brussels culture. It is therefore only natural that the most famous kid in Brussels also donned the new STIB uniform on 3 May, one day after the staff. This new outfit adds to his impressive wardrobe: it was his 1,023rd costume!It was not the first time the little man has worn the colours of STIB. In 1985, he was kitted out in the STIB uniform for the first time. In 1993, he became a conductor and in 2014, he wore the grey uniform of the driving staff, to mark STIB's 60th anniversary. The new driver's uniform, received on 3 May, is his 4th costume donated by STIB.