Attract & retain talent
Attracting and retaining talent is critical for Cordeel because it helps to build a strong and capable workforce that is essential for meeting the challenges of today's business environment and achieving long-term success.
Attracting young talent
Collaboration with schools and universities
To promote and raise awareness for our work at Cordeel, we partner with schools and universities at a national level. Among the universities we collaborate with are UAntwerpen, UGent, UHasselt and KU Leuven.
Dual Learning
It is becoming increasingly challenging for schools to keep up with technological advancements in the workplace. The fundamental technological competencies that students acquire in school are often insufficient to be immediately applied in a company setting.
As a learning organization, we want to make our experience and expertise available to schools and students to address this issue.
Through a dual learning program, the student is given the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the work environment in a comfortable manner, allowing them time and space to integrate and learn. In this way, the student can expand their knowledge in a realistic yet protected work environment.
We regularly employee students following the dual learning program, mostly at our C-tech division.
Youca Action Day
Each year in October, as part of the YOUCA Action Day, secondary school students work in various companies within the Cordeel Group in Belgium. Along with over 14,000 other students, they swap their classroom desks to work for a day to support charity. The wages they earned have been entirely donated to projects committed to making a difference for young people around the world.
Welcoming our new colleagues during the onboarding day
Our goal is to make sure that new employees feel welcomed and integrated into the Cordeel Group right from the start.
As a part of our onboarding process, we organise a special day for newcomers, where they have the opportunity to get to know the company alongside a diverse group of employees from our various subsidiaries.
This not only helps to broaden their network but also provides a chance to learn more about the Cordeel group as a whole.
Find a video online: https://www.youtube.com/embed/JOUX-c9egYo?controls=1&mute=1
C-coach as mentors
We have made adjustments to our mentoring program so that each new employee is paired with a designated C-coach during their initial weeks and months on the job. The specific roles and responsibilities of C-coaches are clearly defined. These include among others:
- Giving all sorts of practical information
- Giving a tour of the building
- Explaining where relevant information can be found and how to use the company portal.
The C-coach program is mainly about making sure that the new colleagues have a good start and that they have an additional point of contact, next to their superior that can help out with all kinds of questions.
We want to make sure that every new employee gets one of our 71 dedicated C-coaches.
Policies related to own workforce
We expect all employees and directors across the Cordeel Group to act in line with our Code of Conduct, which addresses human rights (including the prohibition of forced labor, human trafficking, and child labor), diversity, non-discrimination, and freedom of association, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
We are committed to providing a safe and healthy work environment and provide ongoing safety training and resources. We also maintain policies on flexible homework arrangements and data protection (GDPR).
Our Code of Conduct and safety policies apply to all employees across the Group. Certain policies (Whistleblower, Homework, GDPR) are primarily implemented in Belgium, with local entities expected to maintain equivalent arrangements in accordance with local legislation.
Employees can report concerns to their managers, the Group Legal Counsel, or anonymously via Whistlebox, with protection from retaliation. All policies are communicated to employees via our company portal.
CSRD:
Characteristics of Non-Employees
At the end of the reporting period, the Cordeel Group engaged 30 freelancers as part of its own workforce, reported in full-time equivalents (FTEs). These are primarily freelancers and self-employed professionals deployed across the Group’s subsidiaries.
In addition, the Group works extensively with subcontractor personnel across its construction projects. The number of subcontractors varies significantly depending on project progress and workload, which is inherent to the construction sector.
For partially owned entities (C-tech Holding, C-bimco, C-battery, Imtech, and Imtech Engineering Poland), this disclosure was not yet reported.
The Group’s reliance on non-employees and subcontractor personnel reflects the need for flexible labour capacity typical of the construction industry.
CSRD:
Engagement with own workforce and workers’ representatives
Cordeel Group maintains an open culture with short communication lines. Engagement with the own workforce takes place through monthly works council meetings, project and department meetings, toolbox talks, annual all-employee meetings, performance and development cycles, individual HR conversations, and employee satisfaction surveys.
Employee perspectives inform decisions on working conditions, workload, training, safety, and organisational development, leading to concrete improvements such as workload redistribution, digital tool investments, and enhanced safety procedures.
The group gains insight into vulnerable workers’ perspectives through individual support during illness or personal circumstances, active HR monitoring of wellbeing signals, a committee for employees with disabilities, and confidential handling of reports of unequal treatment.
Employees can raise concerns through HR, their direct manager, trade unions, works councils, a group-wide whistleblowing tool, or a trusted neutral person. Reports follow a structured procedure: assessment, investigation, corrective action, and remedy where appropriate. Effectiveness is monitored through tracking of use, outcomes, resolution timelines, and employee feedback.
The group respects participation rights in line with national law and collective labour agreements. No Global Framework Agreement has been concluded during the reporting period.
CSRD:
Social protection
All employees across the Cordeel Group are protected against loss of income due to major life events, including sickness, unemployment, employment injury and acquired disability, and maternity leave.
Protection is provided through the national/public social protection systems in each country of operation (Belgium, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, and Poland), supplemented where applicable by employer-funded arrangements such as collective insurances and pension schemes.
There are no countries of operation where employees lack coverage for these major life events.