and have the best possibilities of permanence over time.

Transcription

1 It is clear that businesses that enjoy good working relations are the most successful and have the best possibilities of permanence over time. is the line of work that has guided Bci. ANNUAL REPORT 2002 BCI 46 47

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3 BCI, A GOOD PLACE TO WORK This part of the report has to begin by emphasizing the distinction expressed by the Bci s own staff in stating that the Bank is among the best places to work in Chile. The opinion survey was made by The Great Place to Work Institute, U.S.A, a consultancy and research firm with 20 year s experience in making this survey, today in 21 countries, with offices in Brazil, England, South Korea, Denmark and Chile. This year, the survey covered close to 3,000 businesses in Chile, measuring numerous variables considered as the most important for employees of the company for which they work, like management credibility and competence, open communications, respect for employees, promotion of professional development, benefits, training, impartiality, pride in the work and the company and fellowship among employees. Work meeting The Great Place to Work prize-giving FRANKLIN COVEY SYMPOSIUM The Franklin Covey company of Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A, invited Bci to take part in a conference to analyze labor relations, which was held there in October Bci s participation, in the person of the general manager Lionel Olavarría Leyton, received special recognition from Doctor Stephen Covey in front of more than 1,200 executives from different companies from 40 countries In particular, Bci s presentation was well received by the executives present and even led to executives from Panama and Venezuela to invite Bci to present its case in their respective countries.

4 BENEFITS Bci granted its staff permanent long-service benefits in 2002, complemented by an extraordinary bonus in recognition of the results obtained by the Bci Corporation in In anticipation of the coming into force of legislation that reduces the working day in Chile, Bci reduced its staff s working hours from 48 to 45 a week, allowing them to leave at 18:05 hours from Monday to Thursday and at 16:25 hours on Friday, on the understanding that they have finished their tasks and responsibilities. Apart from having more free time, staff managed to reduce overtime working. Bci invested Ch$793 million in 2002 in internal training activities involving 83% of the total staff who dedicated an average of six days to professional preparation. 8,098 people attended the various courses in more than one discipline per person which included the preparation and training of supervisors, the diffusion of values and habits of functional effectiveness and the development of sales skills. For some years now, Bci has annually distinguished the best head of a branch with the Juan Yarur Lolas Prize and the best employee with the Jorge Yarur Banna Prize, for their outstanding working behavior and respect for the values and principles that inspire the company. In order to motivate the education of children of staff members, Bci has instituted a prize for scholastic performance which it awards annually. This recognition consists of granting numerous distinctions to students with excellent marks in basic and middle school and in university, and also in the academic aptitude test. Apart from these prizes which are presented in the presence of their parents, two exchange scholarships were awarded this year for study abroad and fifty scholarships for the most outstanding university students in their different courses. Training In the survey organized in 2002 by La Segunda newspaper into the most outstanding companies in Chile, Bci occupied third place in Commitment to the welfare of its workers following Compañía Manufacturera de Papeles y Cartones and Corporación del Cobre de Chile. BCI, ATTENDED BY ITS OWN SHAREHOLDERS The share placement process among Bci s staff continued in 2002 under the five-year compensation program established following the capital increase that included this facility which was approved by the shareholders meeting of 17 April Of the staff members interested in taking part, 1,478 have subscribed and paid for 1,399,658 shares, with 397,335 shares pending subscription. ANNUAL REPORT 2002 BCI 48 49

5 NATIONALS OLYMPICS Sports and healthy lives are activities that Bci promotes because they contribute to consolidating corporate values. One of the activities that serve this purpose is the holding of a great national Olympics. The fourth version of these was held in 2002 in the comfortable facilities of Santiago s Military School. Sportsmen and women were taken to Santiago from Arica to Punta Arenas, organized in ten teams, and competed in various Olympic disciplines in the company of their families. The teams were encouraged by happy and festive fans and the event also included numerous entertainments for the young and old. Sports participants and Olympics ceremony 2002 The closing ceremony of the Olympics was held on the central court of Santiago s National Stadium with a musical recital by well-known Chilean artists which attracted a large audience of staff and their families and where the principal Olympic prizes were presented.

6 MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN On the occasion of Bci being elected as among the best companies to work for in Chile, the chairman, Luis Enrique Yarur, spoke to the managers and sub managers of the Bci Corporation and to head office departmental heads. In addition to talking about aspects of the survey where Bci appears weak in comparison with the other companies surveyed, the chairman said: Doing well in this area reflects a form of business behavior and philosophy that has lain behind its management for many years. By being coherent with the philosophy that we have defined in our mission and value framework, it is not only an ethical imperative but also an important aspect in good business progress as it is proven that companies that enjoy good labor relations are the most successful and those that have the best expectations of permanence over time. And they are, because these companies create the conditions for people to give to the best of their abilities, given that there is no more powerful stimulus in an organization than motivating people to progress. If therefore we wish to continue being a successful company, we have to understand that maintaining an excellent level of human relations within the organization and trying constantly to improve them, is a substantial and intrinsic part of the way of facing the business itself, not an additional requirement that each one chooses to assume. ANNUAL REPORT 2002 BCI 50 51