A rethink of parental leave policy

Sponsored Feature Sandvik high-tech engineering solutions are deployed around the world in sectors like component manufacturing, mining and infrastructure. But it's perhaps the company's approach to human resource management which demonstrates its greatest innovation.

Sandvik products are designed to enhance productivity, profitability and sustainability, and range from equipment and tools to digital solutions. They include metal-cutting and mining equipment as well as more service-led solutions, all of which are designed to help customers improve efficiency, lower environmental impact and enable greater automation. As of 2023, the company had sales operations in about 170 countries and employed approximately 41,000 people. And keeping a workforce of that size and geographic spread happy and productive necessitates some bold thinking, as we shall explore later.

Creative use of AI

Much of the company's success is down to its use of leading edge technology, it says. Recently, for example, it has been deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) in new and creative ways. While AI has been integral to Sandvik products and services for several years, the company has more recently been putting additional resources into the development and implementation of AI-based systems, as well as hiring additional data engineers and data scientists to work on AI-based developments.

With the establishment of the Sandvik Artificial Intelligence and Automation Center for Enablement (CFE) it has been able to expedite the adoption of AI and automation across many of its business areas, with the aim of improving efficiency and productivity for its customers, and ultimately generating new revenue streams for itself.

One example of successful use of AI is its Remote Monitoring Service. By using advanced analytic AI models, potential problems in mining equipment can be flagged up by Sandvik and information passed on to the customer before difficulties occur. And by being alerted to perform certain inspections, mine operators can put themselves in a position to prevent costly failures. This kind of AI-driven 'predictive maintenance' involves not only foreseeing what might fail but offering a remedy at the same time. The revolutionary ability to understand data through AI models at this kind of scale is key to this.

There are other ways in which Sandvik is helping customers to shift towards greater digitalization and automation. In sectors like manufacturing, mining and infrastructure, there is a growing demand for smarter equipment, able to gather data and use it to improve productivity and sustainability. By harnessing Big Data and sophisticated analytical tools, Sandvik has shown that it is possible to create exciting new business opportunities says the company.

In the mining industry for example, Big Data can enable advanced analytics to help optimize processes and increase productivity and reliability, all the while reducing total cost of ownership. Sandvik digital solutions can also aid 3D mine design, scheduling, operations planning as well as geological mapping.

The manufacturing industry is keen to deploy technology to deliver enhanced collaboration and better customer value. Sandvik's end-to-end digital offering is built to automate and connect the manufacturing value chain, from design and planning to preparation, production and verification. Real-time decisions can enhance the machining process and boost shopfloor efficiency and recycling.

14 weeks of paid parental leave

As previously mentioned, Sandvik is demonstrating its commitment to innovation in other ways, notably through a ground-breaking approach to parental leave. Its new gender-neutral parental leave benefit enables full time and part time employees around the world to take 14 weeks of paid leave. The program offers 90 percent of base salary to all employees with new babies, including adopted and surrogate ones, unless the parents are fortunate enough to live in a country where this level of parental leave provision already exists. Since a lot of countries where Sandvik is active provide a comparable benefit to women, the new program is expected to mainly benefit male employees. The program was launched in the summer of 2024, at first in Canada, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. The plan is now to roll it out to the rest of Sandvik's footprint over the next few months.

The initiative is the brainchild of Sandvik CEO Stefan Widing who saw his own spells of parental leave as hugely affirmative experiences. He was furthermore convinced that better parental leave allowances are ultimately for the benefit of the employer and the workplace.

"One of our strategic objectives is to be the employer of choice," stated Widing. "We believe that it is crucial for us to be successful as a company to be able to attract, retain and develop our employees. And we believe that work-life balance is very important for that. With this benefit we think we can improve the work-life balance for new families and people whose families are growing."

Widing believes the policy will be particularly attractive for Sandvik's IT workers and programmers, given that the nature of their work makes flexible working hours and generous employment terms of especial value. His home country of Sweden is well known for its generous leave allowances for new parents, something Widing believes should be a right extended to other locations.

"I spent six months at home with each of my boys when they were between six and 12 months old," he explained. "It was a very rewarding experience. It allowed me to connect with them at a very young age in a way that I wouldn't have otherwise. This also helped me at work because of the personal development I experienced. So I am really happy that we can now provide this benefit to all our employees no matter where they are located and who they are."

Commitment to inclusion and employee health

Nidhi Gokhale, VP and Head of HR with Sandvik Manufacturing Solutions, believes that the extension of the benefit globally is a big step towards Sandvik's wider commitment to inclusion and the support of employee health and well-being: "We support growing families," she stated. "We believe in and support our people, so they bring the best to work and home. It's important that we have gender neutral parental leave for all our employees globally. Whether you're a mum or dad, or wherever you live across the world, you will still be able to bond with your newborn and share the parenting responsibly together."

Gokhale notes that there is huge variance around the world in the parental leave allowed by law. "It varies considerably from country to country, influenced by cultural, economic or political factors," she continued. "Some countries, like Sweden, already offer generous benefits. But there are many countries that are far less generous and where parents have to save up their vacation allowance of up to three or four weeks in order to bond with their new baby. Our hope is that as awareness grows around the world or equal parental leave, more companies and countries will move towards comprehensive family-friendly policies. We're hoping we can set a standard here."

Feedback from Sandvik's base of employees has so far been highly positive, added Gokhale: "There is a sense of pride that we have been one of the first companies in the world to offer such benefits – not the only one, but one of a small number. There is especial excitement among new dads, as in most countries they get little or no leave when they are new parents. This will help to normalise the sharing of parental responsibilities around the world and lay a foundation for the whole family to spend the time with the new baby at home."

Independent experts in the field of human resource management agree with her. Dr Richard Petts is professor of sociology at Ball State University in Indiana, and an expert in parental leave policies. "The right policy here is a win win – for workers and employees," he believes. "For employees, it's about time away from work to focus on parenthood. It is linked to a host of health benefits for the mother and child and to greater father involvement, as well as more stable relationships between mothers and fathers. For the employer, there are studies that show a connection between paid parental leave and better workplace productivity, also better employee retention and job satisfaction. When employees feel more supported by their employer, they are more committed. This leads them to be more invested in their work and more productive."

Sandvik's progressive approach to parental leave promises what might well prove to be a harmonious and productive future, particularly when allied to its extensive investments in next generation technologies. It is perhaps particularly appropriate that a company so heavily invested in digital solutions should be introducing a human resource policy that will be of such value to IT workers and programmers.

Interested parties can visit this link to learn more about Sandvik career opportunities.

Sponsored by Sandvik.