Reed Elsevier’s most important resources are its intangible publishing assets and its workforce of some 35,000 employees
Market leading brands
Reed Elsevier’s businesses own numerous market leading brands, imprints, titles and technology platforms.
Within Elsevier, ScienceDirect is the world’s largest database of scientific, technical and medical journal articles and delivers almost half a billion full text article downloads annually. Many of Elsevier’s journals are the foremost publications in their field and a primary point of reference for new research. The workflow tool Reaxys is the world’s largest online compilation of chemical reactions. Users of MDConsult, Elsevier’s online clinical reference tool, conduct on average nearly 1.5 million searches per month and view more than nine million pages of clinical content. The Lancet has been publishing medical research, news and analysis since 1823. Similarly, Elsevier’s booklist contains numerous pre-eminent and long standing titles.
Within LexisNexis, lexis.com is recognised as one of the foremost online research tools for practising lawyers, providing subscribers with access to seven billion searchable documents. The Shepard’s Citations Service is a well known and highly reputed reference resource (“Shepardizing” is a common process for lawyers checking the authority of cases or statutory references).
Many of the Reed Exhibitions shows, which include World Travel Market, Mipim, MIDEM, Batimat and the JCK Jewellery shows, are acknowledged as the premier marketing events in their field.
Reed Business Information’s well known magazine titles such as Variety, Estates Gazette and Elsevier are widely read for their authoritative content and up to date industry intelligence.
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Investment
Reed Elsevier maintains and enhances the value of its intangible assets through continuous investment in the brands and imprints, new publishing, innovative product and market development, and in the technology platforms and publishing infrastructure on which they are based. Increasingly, investment is being made in developing digital workflow solutions.
Elsevier has made substantial investments in health information segments, including a wide range of electronic solutions that improve clinical outcomes and reduce costs for payers, physicians and hospitals; deliver enriched learning experiences for nursing trainees and practitioners; and increase the effectiveness of business development and promotional activities for pharmaceutical companies. Other significant investments in recent years have been in the ScienceDirect platform, digitisation of the archive of almost nine million research articles, e-books, the Scopus database, online editorial and production systems, and industry-specific solutions for corporate R&D markets.
In LexisNexis, substantial investment has been made in Total Solutions offerings such as Total Litigator and Total Practice Advantage. Alongside this, major investments have been made in technology, in particular in online research functionalities and in the development of the global online delivery platform. These investments are critical to providing integrated workflow solutions to our customers. Significant investment has also been made in new content development and in expanded sales and marketing activities. Investment in recent years in a major second data centre has expanded operational capabilities and is providing greater flexibility in continuous delivery.
A new investment programme now underway is aimed at transforming the productivity of US legal research with modernised technology and advanced algorithms and functionality to provide much more powerful contextual solutions for customers and at greater speed. Combined with this is a major upgrade in back office infrastructure and customer service and support platforms to provide an integrated and superior customer experience across our US legal research, client development and solutions products.
Reed Exhibitions has continued to grow its portfolio through launching events and through geographical expansion, with 24 show launches in 2008, primarily in the BRIC countries and the Middle East. The business continues to develop new online products, including on-line communities which compliment and widen the footprint of existing events and brands. The latest such community is INTERPHEX365.com, which aims to become the Life Sciences industry’s most in-depth and comprehensive online resource for gaining insights on the news, companies and technologies shaping the life science industries.
Reed Business Information has continued to develop and expand its online advertising and paid data services. Investment supports a strong mix of online products including lead generation services, recruitment sites, webzines and paid data tools and services. Recent online developments include the investment in BIM technology to enhance the US construction data business, strengthening the core and specialist job boards of Totaljobs Group, continued growth in online lead generation and business directory services eMedia and Hotfrog, and ongoing enhancement of the online community webzines.
These investments are largely embedded within the cost base of the businesses as new product development and market initiatives are a continuous activity.
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Workforce
Reed Elsevier’s workforce is highly skilled and a large proportion are graduates. It includes some 3,000 IT specialists and developers, 8,000 editorial staff, and some 11,000 specialist marketing, sales and customer service staff. Reed Elsevier aims to be an employer of choice, known for its best practices in recruiting and developing employees.
We seek to employ a workforce which reflects the diversity of our customers and communities. Our labour and employment practices are consistent with the Principals of the United Nations Global Compact regarding fair and non-discriminatory labour practices. Every two years or so we conduct a global employee opinion survey to identify areas for improvement. Every employee in the company takes part in the annual Personal Development Programme, which reviews skills and performance and identifies opportunities for recognition and advancement. The Personal Development Programme is also the primary tool for assessing and planning employee training.
Reed Elsevier’s remuneration policies are designed to attract, retain and motivate employees of the highest calibre and experience needed to shape and execute strategy. The remuneration packages of the directors and senior executives comprise a balance between fixed remuneration and variable performance related incentives, including a variable annual cash bonus based on achievement of financial performance measures and individual key performance objectives, and longer term incentive schemes. Pension scheme membership is offered to all employees in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States and a number of other countries.