OUR PEOPLE
ENERGIZING VIETNAM
Our Approach
We owe our success to the high quality of our workforce. Through their expertise, hard work, and dedication we have been able to meet our strategic objectives. From the safe and successful completion of the construction of Mong Duong II ahead of schedule in 2015 to the achievement of major industry awards, sustainability milestones, and operational improvements in 2016 and 2017, our young and diverse team in Vietnam has consistently demonstrated high-caliber performance that we are very proud of
Our Talent Management Strategy ensures our people develop their competencies fully and take charge of their advancement within the organization. To do this, we focus on the following key areas to do this: formal learning programs, on the job training programs, assessments and career planning, and practical experience and exposure to the global network of AES businesses.
We attract and retain the best and the brightest by rewarding their positive contributions to the company. We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package that is on a par with market rates and often exceeds statutory contributions and leaves mandated by Vietnamese law. These include performance bonuses, subsidies for continuing education, medical care and insurance benefits, among many others.
In adition to employee teambuilding activities on Values Day, Safety Day, Year-end Party, etc, one of our most expected events is the annual Family Day when the employees and their families are invited to a 2-day vacation with a gala-diner and fun activities. Through the Family Day, all emplyees and their families are better connected with the company and its culture.
Empowered Workforce
A sustainable energy sector needs a high-tech local workforce. In late 2016, AES-VCM launched the Mong Duong II Localization Plan, which develops the capability of local engineers through technology and knowledge transfer as they get exposed to the world-class technical expertise. Materials Handling Team Leader Duong Thuc Son and BOP Team Leader Nguyen Xuan Dieu share their views and experience.
Bui Thanh Huyen,
HR Supervisor
Stakeholder Viewpoint:
Materials Handling Team Leader
Materials Handling Team Leader
Mr Duong Thuc Son, Materials Handling Team Leader
I have been with AES-VCM for eight years now and was a civil engineer before I became a team leader. I am very happy with this promotion.
I believe it’s important for more Vietnamese to take leadership positions in the company. A Vietnamese leader can close the cultural gaps when communicating with team members, and we encourage more communication. It motivates them to develop themselves more. I know I need to develop myself more.
A Team Leader must be a role model to his team members, and he must work hard to build a strong team. I want to encourage my team members to contribute their ideas and creativity and learn from each other so that they become leaders in the future as well.
I commit myself to these goals, and AES-VCM trusts and empowers its employees to meet their goals. It is a very safe and professional working environment. The values guide all employees’ actions and we are trusted and empowed us.
BOP Team Leader
BOP Team Leader
Mr Nguyen Xuan Dieu, BOP Team Leader
I joined Mong Duong 2 Power Plant in 2013 as a chemist. Over the 4 years, I have always aimed for personal and career development and, for me, the promotion to team leader serves as foundation for future success. More importantly, I saw how the promotion to team leader through the Localization Plan was a powerful motivator for my co-workers.
While the foreigners’ leadership helps us learn and manage new technology and improve our technical skills. Vietnamese leadership, in turn, can reduce the cultural gap and be more hand-in-hand when working with their subordinates.
Now, as a team leader, I want to develop more soft skills, especially in motivating employees, handling personal conflicts, and changing unproductive work habits. I think AES-VCM provides us with a positive work culture where we are able to share lessons, be more creative, and work better together. It has a safety culture that I have not seen in other companies and its sustainability program helps us to build trust in the organization, enables the development of our personal goals and encourages the spirit of creativity and long-term commitment to the organization.
The caliber of a country’s power sector depends on the skills of its local technical workforce. It’s not about boilers and turbines. It’s about talent. Yes, it’s about technical capability, but it’s also about the culture. And a strong local team helps create ownership that, ultimately, benefits the company.
Kevin Pierce
Mong Duong II Plant Manager
Working as Chief Accountant and Country Controller in energy business is very different to other sectors as you are energized by making the power generation possible every day. After more than 4 years at AES-VCM experiencing all critical periods from construction and transition from construction to the operation, I feel as I still learn unique knowledge and experiences from a best team with diversifying team members. I get inspired by working with the best people from leadership team and business partners who work together to ensure our investment deliver value. I am empowered by my peers and team members who happen to be women in majority.
I lead the finance team of 8 female team members who manage all company assets and resources in compliance with financial local regulation, business strategies, international lenders requirements by setting and maintaining a strong and transparent accounting, finance and internal control system while remain focus on maximizing profit and increasing shareholder return. Our effort was rewarded with Recognition from Quang Ninh People Committee for AES-VCM’s significant contribution to the state budget and social welfare of Quang Ninh Province in 2016.
I believe strong financial performance anchors in operational excellence, robust safety programs and strong ethical conduct.
Tran Minh Ly
Chief Accountant Country Controller
Workforce Highlights
Employee Profile
100% of employees are subjected to annual performance review and parental leaves
Team Leader localization progress
2016
2017
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Expatriate (person)
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Local (person)
Women In Leadership
30.4%
20%
2016
32%
20%
2017
Percentage of women
Percentage of women in leadership roles (managerial and supervisory)
Employee breakdown according to rank and gender
2016
Executive Leadership Team
Department Managers
2017
Team Leaders
Team Members
Training for Empowerment
At AES-VCM, we believe that everything starts with the person, so we focus on developing the individual aligned with the goals and the business strategies of the company. Each employee knows his/her strengths, areas for improvement, and ambitions. We harness their self-knowledge and desire for success and provide them with the right environment and guidance to reach their full potential, find fulfillment in their work, and help the business meet its objectives.
Our achievements attest to an empowered workforce. This is why AES-VCM provides its employees with a set of powerful tools that helps them take charge of their own career development and receive the necessary guidance and mentoring from their leaders. Through AES-VCM’s Individual Development Plan (IDP), employees have access to a full spectrum of learning modalities, such as participation in cross-functional projects, real-work experiences, leading in important meetings, and not just formal training. The goals in the IDP are created in alignment with our business strategy and required competencies.
Managers and team members commit to specific job performance objectives on the following categories, which are important success factors in our business: Safety, Financial Performance, Efficiency, Growth, and other job-specific goals.
When we identify gaps in our employees’ competencies, we address them in the most appropriate and effective way through coaching and mentoring, and in-house, on-the-job, or external training. Midyear and year-end performance reviews and development assessments are an opportunity for people to chart and plan their progress in the workplace. Employees who wish to advance in their chosen field may avail of our Continuing Education Program, which assists them in their enrollment for a masters’ degree and/or licensure review classes.
Harmony within the Workplace
Open and clear lines of communication are critical to a harmonious workplace and people empowerment at AES-VCM. We have policies, procedures, and tools that promote a culture of transparency.
We cascade our organizational goals, objectives, and activities, including changes in the operations, to our employees through various communication tools including monthly meetings where we update employees of policy changes, organizational activities, employee movements, and recognition.
We protect everyone’s rights to raise issues, concerns, and feedback anonymously and without fear of retaliation or harassment. Our established voice mechanisms help facilitate productive and constructive dialogues among AES-VCM People.
Training Hours
Attrition
A Strategic, Long-term Commitment To Our Communities
Our Approach
With energy comes progress. By providing safe, reliable, and sustainable electric power, we bring development to society. We also make sure that our presence in our local communities contributes to an improvement in their quality of life.
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We strengthened our CSR agenda over the reporting period when we created the Social Policy and Strategic Framework to help institutionalize our strategic and long-term commitment to our communities. We create and implement strategic CSR programs guided by this Policy and Framework to make sure that they are relevant to the needs of the local communities while contributing to our business objectives. These include strategic interventions in education, health care, environment protection and livelihood development.
Our CSR team regularly engages with the local authority and community to identify their interests, concerns and needs. We have addressed all complaints made by local people in a timely manner, following on our grievance mechanism. All our CSR initiatives have made significant contributions to the social and economic development at the local level, and are highly appreciated by local community.
Local authorities and third parties review our projects to make sure we remain aligned with the local development policies. Because of our approach to CSR, our stakeholders are able to maximize the economic, social, and environmental benefits from our operation.
Local Community Prosperity
Number of direct beneficiaries / participants (2016-2017)
Investment on Community Development (2016-2017)
Education
Health
Environment
Livelihood
Charity
Almost 16,000 trees planted in the area of the Power Plant and Housing Colony
300 fruit tree seedlings and fertilizers to 30 households in Cong Hoa commune to set up model farms in support of the New Rural Development Plan
Almost 1,000 people received First aid training and motorbike helmets
1 fully functional culture playground at Cong Hoa Commune
392 local hires from project-affected people working for 9 contractors
120 scholarships
Fulfilling Our Promise to Restore Lives
Our goal was humble. When AES-VCM built Mong Duong II Power Plant and made land acquisition from 68 households for the construction of Ash Pond 2, we set up a Livelihood Restoration Plan (LRP) to restore the living conditions and quality of life of the people affected by the project equivalent to or higher than pre-existing livelihood levels.
Our Livelihood Restoration Completion Audit, conducted in December 2017 after three years of implementation of the LRP, shows that we have surpassed our goal.
The monthly incomes in all affected households have exceeded the regular monthly expenditure, which help indicate a more sustainable livelihood for the affected communities. This, in turn, helped the residents to meet their average monthly expenditures, unlike in 2015, especially in Cam Hai and Cong Hoa.
Difference in the Monthly average income
2015 baseline survey
Mong Duong
Cam Hai
Cong Hoa
Expenditure and proportion of poor households between 2015 and 2017 of 68 affected households (*unit: US$)
Average monthly income
Average monthly expenditure
Poor household portion
Mong Duong
Cam Hai
Cong Hoa
2017 completion audit
As the LRP comes to its completion, we intend to continue to support our local communities in their development, guided by our Social Policy and Strategic CSR Framework. We are committed to the sustainability of the livelihood initiatives that we helped create and ultimately improve their quality of life for the long term.
Ms. Tran Thi Huong
Ha Chanh Village, Cong Hoa commune
Skills Training
We offered vocational training courses that equip the villagers with skills that improve their employability. These courses are based on the continuous consultations of our CSR team with the villagers, local authorities, and local education and training agents.
Continuing Education Program
A high school diploma is the minimum work requirement in most local jobs in the province. Our three-year continuous education program provides 25 young people who had dropped out of school with a chance to complete their high school education to open up more job opportunities for the participants.
Employment Creation
We work with our contractors, businesses in the area, as well as employment agencies to provide qualified residents with employment opportunities and recruitment information. Specifically, ADEN, our housekeeping and maintenance contractor, supports the job creation activities and now employs 97 people who were displaced.
“It’s my great honor to work with the community and contribution to local social and economic development. I highly appreciate the significant support that our contractors extended to our local community, especially our ADEN contractor, who is hand-in-hand with AES-VCM in our CSR activities, such as the provision of job opportunities for affected households. We consider them as family.”
Mr. Bui Khang Ninh
Government & Public Reflations Officer
Lighting Up a Brighter Future
Stakeholder Viewpoint
Life for Le Trung Son was about home, school, and his part-time job. A diligent student, Son had always dreamt of working in the energy industry. It was an interest that was sparked by his father’s work at Mong Duong Coal Stock Company in Quang Ninh Province. Growing up in Cam Pha city, the province’s key coal mining area, Son learned more about coal and electricity from his father’s stories at dinner. Soon, the flicker of interest fired up into a passion for electrical energy that he carried with him since high school. He went on to become a thermoelectric major at Electric Power University (EPU), and was a senior student when he became one of the recipients of the AES-VCM Energy Career Scholarship. Son knew his life had changed after receiving the scholarship.
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Today, Son has received his degree from EPU. Energized by all the knowledge, experience, and skills received from the scholarship, Son, the boy with the dream, is now a man ready for a brighter future in the Vietnam energy sector.
Le Trung Son
Thermoelectric Major,
Electric Power University
My life has become more fun, exciting, and more memorable. The opportunities that are offered, especially the visit to Mong Duong II Power Plant, have given me much more motivation to pursue the energy industry. When I learned that Mong Duong II, with its modern technology, was developed right in my hometown of Quang Ninh, I dreamed of working as an engineer at the Power Plant. The staff and technicians are young, active, and friendly, and it seems that there is no limit to them. They share knowledge and many stories honestly and intimately. After the trip to the power plant, I received specialized knowledge and other useful things. The real-life technology is much more advanced than what I’ve learnt in the university. As senior student, I really want to have an opportunity to work in an environment like this. I am very happy and proud to receive this AES-VCM Energy Career Scholarship from AES-VCM. This scholarship means a lot to me not only because of the financial support but also the soft-skills to equip me for the future career readiness. This support would surely be an engine to advance my dream career.
Lighting Up a Brighter Future
AES-VCM Energy Career Scholarships is a signature CSR program that combines AES-VCM’s strength in responsible power generation with Vietnam’s requirement for an equipped high-tech workforce that will power the country’s growth.
Our Energy Scholarship invests in the education and training of 20 promising university students from Quang Ninh Province, majoring in power and electricity from Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) and Electric Power University (EPU). In its first year, the AES-VCM Energy Career Scholarship provided its scholars from HUST and EPU with financial assistance as well as training in soft skills and fluency in English as second language as part of the support.
For the engineering scholars, one of the highlights of the scholarship is the field visit to Mong Duong II where they were exposed to state-of-the-art power plant operations and facilities. The students received safety training and a tour of the power plant where they learned directly from the engineers about highly efficient technologies that minimize impacts on the environment. They also learned about the broader social development agenda of the company, of which the Energy Scholarship is part, as AES-VCM’s commitment to contribute to an improvement in the quality of life in communities where we do business.
