Values

Respect

At Danone UK we respect the ability of all our employees to make a difference. We actively seek and encourage people’s opinions, as shown by our team approach to creating our company’s strategy.

We have a respect for our environment with our Danone Earth programme. Here we are increasing our use of recycled and recyclable materials in the office and even held a mug-decorating workshop to encourage employees away from throwaway cups. We also offer flexible benefits options that can offset their carbon footprint and provide low costs on bicycle purchases through our Bike2Work scheme.

Passion & Dynamism

Our employees are dynamic people who are passionate about their work and life. We harness this passion by working with our Ambassadors – employees who are instrumental in changing our company. They lead decision-making in projects, from our office design to creating our flexible benefits package.

We also recognise that employees have passions outside work. That’s why every year, employees vote for the colleague whose personal dream they want the company to fulfill as part of our Do, Dare, Dream recognition scheme.
See our Dream case studies for past winners whom we have helped support on charity bike rides, 900-mile pilgrimages and journeys to find their roots.

Trust & Honesty

We trust our employees with high levels of responsibility and autonomy, even at junior level. Ours is a risk-taking, no-blame culture because it is only through trying, and sometimes failing, that we move forward.

All our discussions are open and honest and we have a feedback culture. Employees are trained to give and receive effective feedback in a constructive manner. Latest surveys show that 96% of our employees believe they are treated with trust and honesty.

Healthiness

Our mission to get consumers thinking about their health every day is mirrored by our approach to employees. We not only build their understanding of the health properties of our products, but also help them to maintain healthy lifestyles in and outside of work.

Activities such as regular health checks, diet and nutrition training, water, yogurt and fruit provision all fall under our Danone Active Health programme. We also encourage sporting activities such as our employees’ involvement in the Danone World Cup – a Groupe Danone football tournament for employees worldwide.

Openness

We operate an open-plan, open-door policy. This includes all new starters having a one-to-one with our managing director Marnix Eikenboom and all department directors during our induction programme.

Regular newsletters and breakfast meetings allow us to share our plans with all employees and ensure everyone knows our vision and their part in it. Around 30 of our employees were also involved in the creation of our strategic plan. We conduct annual employee surveys with all results and actions fed back to the company.

People First

“Our people are our most important asset” is not just a phrase at Danone UK. We know happy, healthy, skilled employees form the basis of our company’s success. We also know our employees have a life outside work.

That’s why, alongside a full range of reward and recognition, health & wellbeing and training and development programmes, we have a large number of policies dedicated to helping employees achieve a healthy work/life balance.

These include a day off to move house or plan your wedding, time to take your children on their first day of school and opportunities for career breaks. We also offer
charity sabbaticals with up to 12 weeks of paid and unpaid leave to fulfill your volunteering dream, along with £1,000 to get you started.

Also See

• Research & Development
• Careers
• What employees think