Human capital

Why human capital matters

The people of A.P. Moller - Maersk (Maersk) are the foundation of our success and the ones who deliver on our customer promises including Environmental, Social and Governance commitments.

Our ability to deliver on these promises depends on highly engaged employees, and internal capabilities in critical areas. We therefore need to ensure we can attract, engage and retain the right talent to take our global, integrated logistics vision all the way.

Our workforce

We employ 100,000+ people across almost 130 countries in the world. Our team includes:

Office-based professionals and technology experts who develop and bring Ocean, Logistics & Services, and Terminals offerings to life.
Frontline workers who fulfil our customers’ logistics needs such as warehouse staff, truck drivers, terminal operators, and aircraft maintenance teams.
13,000+ dedicated seafaring colleagues sailing our vessels.

Our people

100,000+ colleagues

170+ nationalities

Employees by region

32%

Europe

26%

Asia Pacific

20%

Indian subcontinent, Middle East & Africa

12%

North America

10%

Latin America

Our ambition

Our ambition is to ensure that our people thrive at work by providing a safe and inspiring workplace.

Learn more

Maersk’s People strategy

Our People strategy outlines the people principles which are our North Star for all people practices and policies. It includes employee attraction, development and engagement activities to ensure workforce continuity and stability, while unleashing employees’ energy, focus and commitment to execute our strategy. The priorities of Maersk’s People strategy are to:

Enable teams that collaborate, to deliver with passion towards goals, maximise individual and team results, pursue continuous learning and growth
Lead with intent, embodying our leadership commitments
Scale frontline capability to drive growth, create competitive advantage and great work-places for all
Drive a culture of empathy, care and compassion, which empowers everyone to perform, lead and deliver

Our targets

Employee Engagement Survey score in the top quartile of global norm by 2025

Highlights in 2024

65th Percentile Employee engagement score

A solid increase from our 60th percentile score at the end of 2023.

Continued learning and development focus

The Maersk Academy framework was launched, attracting over 750,000 visits during 2024, and our expanded mentoring solution attracted 2,400 participants.

Priorities and actions

To fulfil the purpose of our Global Integrator strategy, we need engaged employees and significant new capabilities. These include talent areas such as technology, data analysis, leadership, and sales and marketing – areas where competition for talent is fierce. Our focus on human capital reflects these priorities.

Maersk People Strategy

Our People Strategy outlines the principles which are our North Star for all people practices and policies. Our People Strategy’s priorities include:

Maximising individual and team results, with continuous learning and growth
Leading with intent, embodying our leadership commitments
Scaling frontline capability to drive growth and ensure a great workplace for all

Our key ambition is to nurture a knowledge-driven organisation that is capable of reliable execution and made effective by the power of empathy.

Nurturing talent for the transformation

We will drive the sustainable transformation of our company by:

Attracting and retaining empathic, ambitious, purpose-led and values-driven leaders who inspire our employees to do their very best.
Continued investment in the development of all employees and outsized investments in strategic areas that fuel our Global Integrator strategy and drive customer outcomes.
A strong employer brand and talent acquisition processes that help us attract the right skills.

Featured highlights and case stories

Employee engagement in focus

We evaluate our progress on employee engagement using mainly two key metrics – our biannual global Employee Engagement Survey (EES) and our voluntary attrition rate.

In 2024, EES engagement scores improved to the 65th percentile, compared to the 60th percentile at the end of 2023. Another noteworthy positive trend is that 92% of colleagues participated in the EES in 2024, compared to 85% in 2023. These improvements suggest that more leaders are dedicating time to review performance, recognise good work, and encourage development.

Developing talents at Maersk

Attracting and retaining talents is a key lever for delivering on our strategy and in line with our purpose and value.

In 2024, teams in all regions across the company participated in the High Performing Teams journey we launched in 2023, with the vision of helping every team reach their full potential through a standardised, global approach to team development.

Annual Report 2024

For the first time, we are reporting on our sustainability performance as an integrated part of Maersk's Annual Report. See the report for more information on progress towards environmental, social and governance commitments.

Annual Report 2024