People & Culture
Solar power to the people
We believe in a clean energy future. We also believe that human energy is the best there is. Committed to trust and transparency, we forge long-lasting relationships with partners on the path towards a brighter, greener tomorrow. This trust, this longevity, is made possible by our dedicated team. All specialists in their own fields and personalities in their own right. Therefore, we put great effort into treating them right. We see them, we hear them. We value them. We encourage and empower them. We are them.
Values
We bring together excellent people and enable them to thrive. What kind of people? What do we have in common? First and foremost, a shared sense of responsibility to contribute actively to the realization of a sustainable energy system. Furthermore, we select our (future) colleagues based on our four values. These values define our way of working together and getting along. They ensure Sunrock remains an inspiring, inclusive and safe space to work and grow.
1. We do good
We care about people and about our planet. We are a diverse team of equals, taking responsibility in every small and big way we can.
3. We love winning
And ’we’ is the most important word in that sentence. Winning at Sunrock is about lifting each other up to reach new heights.
2. We’re entrepreneurial
We are game changers and always find a way to make it happen. And if we don’t? Then we learn from our mistakes.
4. We enjoy the ride
We celebrate every milestone and every occasion. Come to think of it, we celebrate whenever we get the chance.
2023: Benefit from shared success
Financially, we had a remarkable year in 2022. Thanks to all Sunrockers. Therefore, we were able to kick-off ’23 with some additional benefits. Depending on their contract and office location, co-workers receive a bonus and can count on the following benefits:
unlimited time off and holidays (output is what matters)
daily catered lunch
personal trainer at your service
pension-plan and participation in new bonus system
fully covered public transport expenses
bike plan
We grew from local start-up to international scale-up. How to preserve that feeling of belonging? Of knowing each other? Of social safety? That takes time and effort, but everything grows where the attention goes. Here’s an impression of the group-festivities we organized in ’23:
Work smart, play hard
We opened our new Amsterdam office as well as a new one in Düsseldorf. We celebrated these milestones together with the entire team.
For those (and for those that just want to support them or ride a sleigh) we visited the snow as a team. And even had our own ski-song for the occasion. Sounds like team-spirit!
Just before the summer break at the end of June, we took part in our own spectacular 'Olympic games’ at the Netherlands seaside. We cannot help it, we love to win.
Sunrock Germany grew big in 2023. New faces. New clients. Time for a team bonding off site! We rocked it.
From year 1, we have been celebrating the arrival of Sinterklaas, a typical Dutch tradition. Sinterklaas is the one day at the office that revolves around the children of our big Sunrock family. They all get gifts, also the French and German kids, who are clueless about the whole story.
The Netherlands celebrated Christmas by having breakfast together with a special edition of the Pubquiz. The German en French team had lovely Christmas diners together. Everyone was there.
‘23 Highlight: THE SUN
Employee survey
Pilot: Well-being
In December 2023, the memorable first edition of Sunrock’s company yearbook was published. Magazine The Sun was made by and for Sunrockers. Fun to read as well as fun to make. Full of interviews, insights and sightseeing tips around our new offices.
We took it to the test. And guess what? The ’23 Sunrock people engagement survey scored 79%.
This means 79% of Sunrockers:
would recommend Sunrock as a great place to work
feel motivated to go beyond what’s expected
are proud to work for Sunrock
rarely think about looking for a job at another company
see themselves still working at Sunrock in two years time
Along with this 79% happiness score, there were also issues raised in the survey. Mainly this one: a lot of Sunrockers experience work pressure. For example: they lack focus or feel overwhelmed with the amount of meetings and processes. Professionalizing the organization has sometimes taken its (personal) toll.
In 2022, 64% of the employees indicated in the engagement survey that they often felt overworked and only 63% gave a positive response when asked about their overall wellbeing. Sunrock’s People Welfare group felt it was important to take action.
Therefore in 2023, 25 (random) employees participated in a pilot. They were invited to an external platform designed to help people take care of their mental health. This third party platform offers a range of services and products that help employees improve their wellbeing. From coaching to yoga to sports. For 3 months, the trial group was offered a budget to sign up for activities.
After the trial, we evaluated. The participants agreed that there was a great variety of activities available and the platform was easy to use. However, over 52% of them indicated this platform did not provide enough added value to the current benefits of Sunrock.
So, as the 2023 survey did show employees experience work related stress, we decided to put them in the driving seat on the actions to be taken to help reduce and mitigate this.
Taskforce: Less pressure
To make people better and better, we decided to co-create. Together we derived 5 focus areas based on the survey together. Each of those domains were picked up by a taskforce group of 3 - 5 colleagues.
The 5 taskforce groups revolve around:
Service & quality focus
Meeting rhythms
Well-being
System & resources
Feedback & accountability
Their findings and solutions are scheduled throughout 2024!
Participation rate
82%
Engagement rate
79%
Culture
93%
Achieving an inclusive culture is part of our People strategy. t is truly up to us to take action, to not take what we have achieved so far for granted. IE&D means making plans, making time and making an effort.
In 2022, Sunrock signed the Diversity Charter through which we committed to increase diversity across (at least) gender, ethnic background and age.
In 2023 the People and Culture team paid extra attention to the events of Sunrock. To make sure they included everyone and represented the diversity of our colleagues. Moreover, we undertook some special activities to promote IE&D as shared in the next section.
Inclusion, equity and diversity (IE&D) in action
‘23 Highlight: Different tastes
‘23 Highlight: Workshop bias
We wanted to celebrate Diversity day 2023 in a way that would include everyone. The winning idea was the Sunrock cookbook. Full of recipes by Sunrockers with a story about the origin, personal meaning and of course instructions and ingredients. This way it became a platform for colleagues to learn about each other's background, culture and context in a fun and tasteful way.
Sunrock organized a company-wide workshop to raise awareness about unconscious bias and to provide tools and tips for addressing such biases. This took place with the help of an external professional and made room for a perpetrator as well as a victim perspective.
Financial equality
Inclusive recruitment
During the 2023 annual salary review, we placed special emphasis on addressing potential salary imbalances among employees in similar roles. This focus during the review process enabled us to have discussions and take steps to rectify any unexplained salary gaps that were identified.
Gender pay gap analytics for 2023: Calculated by subtracting the average salary of women from the average salary of men, and then dividing the result by the average salary of men. The identified gap shown below is at a high level and is not specific to roles.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
16,6%
15,5%
15,9%
15,1%
15,2%
11,7%
10,6%
10,6%
10,3%
15,8%
12,5%
14%
0
10%
15%
5%
20%
Pay gap in 2023
To ensure that Sunrock’s workforce includes underrepresented groups, our recruitment team took specific actions to disseminate our vacancies through recruitment platforms for people with diverse backgrounds. Additionally, they particularly reviewed the language of our vacancies. We wanted to remove any potential bias that may be present in the choice of words. These efforts paid off with an increase in gender and ethnic diversity in colleagues (see statistics at chapter We are Sunrock)
2023 Training and skill development
Sunrock firmly believes in the importance of a learning environment and a growth mindset to allow people to thrive. We follow an annual development cycle, defining training and workshop opportunities based on the personal development goals of all employees, regardless of tenure, age, or seniority.
Throughout 2023, Sunrock offered a wide range of workshops and training sessions. From specific skills such as negotiation, product-owner training, presentations and conversations, to personal coaching for individuals. Additionally, in-house training sessions took place to facilitate knowledge transfer among employees.
Also in 2023, Sunrock launched the 'School of Leadership,' a program aimed at nurturing and motivating leaders within the company. Particularly focusing on those who uphold Sunrock's leadership principles amidst a rapidly changing environment, the initiative emphasizes personal development through the application of Sunrock's leadership principles. Colleagues from different departments and levels within the company participated.
Furthermore, Sunrock provides weekly Dutch language courses for international colleagues based in The Netherlands. Participation in these courses was free and optional for employees, with several levels of proficiency offered to cater to varying language abilities.
Participants of the Sunrock school of leadership program in 2023/2024
A group of Sunrock’s internationals participating in Dutch lessons at the office
Gender diversity in Dutch language course offered by
Sunrock for non-Dutch speaking employees
Female (50%)
Male (50%)
14 participants
Wellbeing, Health & Safety
The growth of Sunrock as a company has led to new challenges, requiring set ups to meet the specific needs of the country teams. In 2023, we worked on the solid foundation for health & safety in our offices as well as project sites.
One of the major improvements we made was the implementation of a new registration system. The forms in user platform The Rock allow us to keep better track of new incidents. At the international event of the Dutch and German Operations teams, we took the opportunity to learn together. Project managers worked in small teams on a case, based on a real event. We evaluated the approach to the incident, the internal incident registration and communication. After the exercise there was room for discussion. It was a great example of sharing experiences and learning between the international teams.
Sunrock project managers working on the cases
2023 HSE registration
We classify HSE registrations ias observations, near misses, incidents or major incidents.
Observations serve as encouragement for everyone to be alert on situations or behaviours that stand out because they’re either safe or unsafe. They help avoid potentially dangerous situations.
Near misses are situations in which something happened, but there were no negative impacts. These usually startle people into action and are important to take note of to improve the situation.
Incidents are events that do have a negative impact on either people, environment and/or material.
Major incidents describe situations in which people are hurt and need medical attention (excl. first aid), when the environment is somehow damaged or when there is material damage that leads to costs over 5K.
“In 2023, we were challenged by external factors such as storms and cable thefts. We are not able to prevent all incidents but, we do work hard on the aspects that we can influence.
The incidents we encountered served as a reminder that we still have work to do to secure a safe working environment for our employees and partners. It is a topic for which we need to work closely with our contractors and make use of their expertise and inputs. The safety of us all is our top priority and together we will take action to create a safer work environment.”
15 major incidents were reported
1 person required medical attention after an accident on location
0 incidents resulted in environmental damage
14 incidents resulted in damages over EUR 5,000
All of the major incidents took place at project sites
Jessica Jonker
Quality, Health, Safety and Environment Manager
Volunteering and donating
95,577 EUR
Donations raised by Sunrockers for charity, including grants and matching by COFRA Foundation
55 Charities worldwide benefited from Sunrock/COFRA Donations in 2023
365,5 volunteer hours recorded by Sunrockers in 2023
‘23 Highlight: Sopowerful
Sopowerful develops solar projects in Malawi, Tanzania and Lebanon. Countries that encounter difficult grid struggles. For example, the instability of the grid causing blackouts. Sopowerful has developed solar installations on multiple schools and hospitals in the aforementioned countries and helped them get a more stable source of energy.
In 2023, Sunrock teamed up with Sopowerful to support the development of a PV installation at the Mlambe hospital in Malawi. This hospital is in the southern region of Malawi and treats over 47.000 patients a year. The development of the project will increase the operating hours and decrease the amount of patients that need to be transferred to other facilities due to unreliable power supply.
Sopowerful involves the community to create a feeling of ownership. Together with local contractors and (technical) teams of the beneficiary they create a good solution specific to the needs of the location.
Not only do they take care to work with local contractors on the set up but, they also organize best practice days with their contractors to share knowledge. Sunrock contributes to these sessions.
In 2023 the contractors of BNG have started the construction of the PV installation at the Mlambe hospital and they are expected to finish the construction in Spring 2024.
Scan the QR code to watch the video
‘23 Highlight: The Pollinators
In recent years, biodiversity has been diminishing. The decline of pollinators like bees and butterflies is one of the greatest problems we face together. In ‘23, Sunrock took action and decided to support the Pollinators in their efforts to reverse the tide. The Pollinators organize activities to increase biodiversity and create more habitable space for pollinators. In 2023 we participated in ‘Feed the bees’. All Sunrockers received flower seeds to be planted in gardens, for raising awareness and - obviously - boosting local biodiversity!
In autumn ‘23, we again got our hands dirty, volunteering for a food forest in Amsterdam. Together with the Pollinators, de Natuurkamer and food forest Sloterplas we prepared the park for the winter season. Over 60 Sunrockers worked through heavy rains to create fences, trim trees, plant vegetation and even put on wading suits to carry out water works.
