Healthy corporate governance and health-related focus areas

The Board of Ósar and subsidiaries is aware of the increased requirements that companies face when it comes to responsibility towards the community. The Board, therefore, emphasises healthy governance and to constantly develop and strengthen its management since this forms the foundation for responsible governance, high-quality decisions, and solid communication.

The governance of the Group describes how the inner organisation promotes an active and healthy management with the goals of the Group leading the way. We want to influence society and promote the ability of individuals to maintain health and well-being, and to improve their quality of life for the future. The Group’s corporate governance takes account of these goals and is reflected in health-related focus in terms of policy formulation, decision making, goal setting, and culture, both within and outside of the company.

  • The Board of Ósar and its subsidiaries is composed of two men and two women, and thereby fulfills the provisions of Article 63 of the Companies Act on Gender Ratios on the Board. The CEO of Ósar is a man, and the CFO is a woman.

  • The company’s corporate governance is primarily based on Act No. 2/1995 on Public Limited Companies and the Group’s Articles of Association, and with regards to and for guidance, i.e. the Board of Directors’ Handbook (2nd edition) is followed, as well as the Guidelines on Corporate Governance.

  • The Board of Ósar and its subsidiaries has established rules of procedure defining main tasks and its scope of authority and the corporate governance of the Group.

Comprehensive risk management and active quality control

The Group’s operations are in many ways dependent on external conditions, such as the important influencing factor that a large part of it lies within the defined framework of the healthcare system. The operations are thus subject to laws, regulations, and official supervision that call for good working practices in all respects. Healthy governance includes risk management and monitoring. The Group’s Board of Directors therefore places great emphasis on comprehensive risk management and active quality control, as part of the Group’s day-to-day operations, as increasingly rapid changes in the corporate environment involve increased risk.

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Areas of focus in quality control in 2022

,,With the founding of Ósar, an opportunity to coordinate policies and procedures, and thereby strengthening the quality control system of the corporation. In 2022, an emphasis was placed on cooperation within the Group in putting together quality manuals for the companies in a joint quality control system that was implemented and certified by the end of the year. The quality control system incorporates the quality manuals of the companies in a professional manner, with all the access control that is needed, and promotes an even more efficient and secure quality control work and vigorous training of employees. The Group maintains professional competence and continuous progress by alertness and continuous education that allows the Group to operate in a satisfactory manner in a professional environment.”

Hálfdan Gunnarsson, Managing Director of Quality Devision at Ósar

The nature of the operations calls for the companies and their employees to adhere to the strictest standards, laws, and rules when it comes to ethical behaviour and communication of employees with stakeholders. Employees enforce a Code of Conduct and Ethics that reflects how employees conduct their dealings with consumers, suppliers, customers, colleagues, regulators, shareholders, competitors, and society as a whole. The purpose of the Code is to work towards social responsibility, promote honesty, fairness, and fairness in business, and strengthen trust in Ósar and its subsidiaries.

Ósar and its subsidiaries conduct honest and responsible business where no kind of bribery or corruption is practiced or tolerated. The Group has established a policy designed to ensure that the Group has an appropriate framework and protection against corruption and bribery.

The Group’s value chain is based on ethical and responsible values. Through the implementation of supplier assessments and audits, Ósar and its subsidiaries can have a long-term social impact on their partners and surroundings, and choose to work with suppliers and service providers who work according to the same values as the Group.

Good health and ways to promote health are at the forefront of all our work. We know that well-being in the workplace increases quality of life, and we emphasise creating a safe and good working environment and promoting the health of employees, in various ways. For this reason, we have made an increased effort to direct our focus towards an organised, internal occupational work by adding to the knowledge and awareness of managers and employees on health and occupational issues.

We are aware of that the information and data, that employees receive, collect, record, and work with etc., together with support processes, systems, networks, and other resources, is one of the Group’s most important operational assets that needs active protection against various threats. Over the past year, we have therefore placed the main emphasis on information security issues in a broad sense.

The Group has adopted an Information Security Policy and procedures to support it, which is intended to support the continuous operation and maximise the security of information values. The policy is thus intended to ensure compliance with requirements concerning information security, and the processing of personal information, e.g. requirements set out in laws and regulations, and in agreements with customers and partners.

The utmost security is maintained in the handling of personal information, and the companies’ Privacy Policies describe the responsible handling of such information. The role of Ósar’s Data Protection Officer is to assist the management and provide advice when it comes to handling personal information within our operations, but the DPO has an equally important role to play towards employees, e.g. in providing information, education, training, and other general security awareness among employees. The Group has established a policy on the privacy of employees, and special emphasis has been placed on information provision to employees.

Helga Björnsdóttir

Helga Björnsdóttir is the Group’s lawyer and Data Protection Officer. Here, Helga talks about the role of DPO, e.g. when it comes to training and providing information to employees.

Decent work and economic growth

A long-term and sustainable economic growth is a driving force for progress, creating good employment and improving living standards. With healthy corporate governance we want to keep on developing a solid and progressive workplace that attracts, keeps, and empowers excellent employees. We want to create a safe and good working environment that supports employees in professional and personal growth alike.

The Group employs a dynamic group of people with diverse backgrounds, varied education, and extensive experience and knowledge of various areas of society. At the end of 2022, the total number of full-time equivalent positions was 192, compared to an average of 194 during the year. The average age of employees is 41 years.

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The average age of employees
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241 individuals who received a salary during the year (2022)
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193 individuals who received a salary during the year (2022) and were permanent.

The Group’s emphasis on equality is reflected in the Equality Plan of the corporation that was published at the end of 2021, and is effective for three years. The Equality Plan emphasises equal rights and the equal status of employees, regardless of gender.

At the end of 2022, the gender division of employees was as follows:

  • Men: 33%
  • Women: 67%
  • Other: 0%

Gender division broken down by individual companies within the Group:

Icepharma

Parlogis

Ósar

The Equal Plan is followed, along with an Equal Pay Policy that has the goal of guaranteeing all employees equal salary and the same terms for the same or equal job, so that there is no wage gap. If there is an unexplained wage gap, efforts must be made to eliminate it.

Our goal is for the gender pay gap to be below 2%.

No integrated equal pay analysis was carried out for the year 2022.

The year 2022 was the first whole year where Ósar – the lifeline of health ehf. operated as one Group, and the new organisation of the parent company and its subsidiaries Icepharma and Paralogis took its form.

Support services in the field of financials, quality control, HR, and IT was strengthened significantly and employees found the rhythm after the considerable organisational changes that took place the previous year. An emphasis was placed on active information supply in the change process, and active employee participation where possible.

Solveig H. Sigurðardóttir, Managing Director of Human Resources

Ósar Staff Council was established yearly in the year. The Council gathers regularly and is composed of both managers and employees, with the main purpose of serving as a platform for discussions and open exchange between managers and employees. The Council discusses various issues and communicates views that are related to the interests of employees, such as the working environment, social activities, events, education and training, and HR Policies.

Job satisfaction is one of the most important aspects of any workplace. It is therefore important to measure and monitor employees’ experiences of their own work, the work environment, and well-being in the workplace. In our opinion, measurements like these are a very important tool, especially in times of change, where employees can use the survey as a voice to convey suggestions quickly and easily. The results are then presented to staff and used as an opportunity for improvement.

In April, the HR assessment was, for the first time, sent out to all employees of the Group. Around 83% of employees took part in the survey that had a very positive outcome, the overall success measured 4.36 out of 5, which is the best results we have had since we started measuring job satisfaction. The results show that our employees are generally happy at work, they feel they are a part of a successful team, and can recommend the workplace to their friends.

It is our experience that regular HR measurements help to increase employee efficiency and support management skills, but these are key factors in maintaining a good work ethic and reducing employee turnover.

It is a fun fact that, in spring 2022, Ósar and subsidiaries received a sleep certification following a screening with questionnaires made by Betri svefn, consisting of questions about the length and quality of sleep. Employees that were diagnosed with sleep problems were offered consultation and treatment as needed. The initiative raised awareness among employees of the importance of sleep.

In the autumn, a new service team called “Miðjan” was founded within in the HR Division. The key project of the service team is to promote lively morale and workplace culture via support for managers and employees, organisation of meetings and events, and positive inner marketing. The service team’s responsibilities include the phone lines, reception of guests and new employees, recruitment assistance, travelling and gifts etc. The team is located in the heart of the company and all employees have access to its services.

In the last part of the year, special emphasis was placed on employee education and training. An ambitious education programme was introduced during autumn that included, among other things, special courses for defined groups and open courses or lectures, where all employees could participate. Two large training programs were launched at the same time, one for leadership training for all managers of the Group, and the other for sales training for business managers of medicinal and health products. Each employee received an invitation for training of some sort, in addition to regular education and lectures, with the focus on health and prevention. All in all, it turns out that 90% of employees took part in the training, one way or the other.

Focus was placed on introducing departments and divisions, including operations and product range. This was partly done to meet the requests of employees, who have sought to gain insight into the work of each other.

Workplace was activated in an increased manner during the year and currently plays an important role in the provision of material and information on health promotion and exercise of employees, education and training, and other information relevant to employees. The platform is also used for introductions to new products and services, notifications regarding new employees, and various games and competitions, as we are generally a competitive bunch! This has worked well, and there is a lot of activity and feedback on the medium, which in turn is indicative of good morale and people’s interest in each other and each other’s work.

On that note, 2022 was first and foremost an entertaining and rewarding year, full of innovation and opportunities. We can safely say that employee participation reached an all-time high.

Creating opportunities to grow and prosper in life and work

With our corporate governance, we want to create opportunities for employees to grow and prosper in life and work, and therefore, the emphasis is on offering a variety of education and training that is suitable for a diverse group of employees.

Our Education Policy aims to enable employees to increase their skills and make full use of their talents at work at any given time. The policy is, furthermore, meant to offer employees access to varied education that supports the holistic well-being of the employee and their loved ones. This way we ensure the maximum benefit of the training and education that is invested in.

The education programme for the year 2022 is divided into 7 categories:

  • Health
  • Leadership training
  • New recruit training
  • Personal data protection
  • Sales and customer services
  • Communications and teamwork
  • IT
  • Project management
  • Safety Issues

Number of events on the education programme in 2021 was 41. Number of events on the education programme in 2022 was 627.