Holiday Inn 2007 Annual Report Download - page 12

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10 IHG Annual Report and Financial Statements 2007
Business review continued
Communicating and measuring progress
Great emphasis is placed on employee communication,
particularly on matters relating to the Group’s business and
its performance. Communication channels include global
management conferences, team meetings, informal briefings,
in-house publications and intranets.
Regular employee feedback is obtained to ensure that IHG
meets expectations and delivers on its commitments. The Group
conducts a twice-yearly survey that measures employee opinion
and attitudes. This survey covers employees in owned and
managed hotels, corporate offices and reservation centres.
The first survey in 2007 achieved a very high response rate of
83%, with over 77,500 employees participating. IHG’s key measure
is the engagement index. This is constructed from a set of
questions which measure advocacy, retention and effort.
During 2007, IHG’s engagement index improved by 5 percentage
points to 65%. The survey also reported that nine out of
10 people are proud to work for IHG and 84% of employees
would recommend IHG as a good place to work, a figure that
is 10 percentage points higher than external benchmark data
(source: TNS).
The survey highlights that initiatives undertaken during the year
on Winning Ways and Room to be yourself are strongly correlated
to employee engagement.
Continuing skills development
During the year, IHG continued to place importance on the
growth and development of its people in the owned and managed
hotels, and within its corporate and reservation offices, and
ensured training programmes were available to all of its
employees. The Group’s internal surveys indicate that the
majority of employees agree that IHG delivers training to
assist with both current roles and future skills development.
Rewarding people by offering competitive compensation
and benefits
IHG’s compensation and benefits programmes are designed
to be competitive and to recognise and reward achievement.
The benefits offered to employees vary according to region.
IHG contributes to both mandatory and company-sponsored
retirement plans to ensure benefits are competitive within each
local market. The majority of employees believe they are fairly
paid for the work they do.
Leveraging technology
IHG is leveraging technology to improve communications and
engagement with employees. In 2007, the Group introduced
an upgraded corporate intranet site, ‘Merlin’, which provides
continuous access to people information, policies and news.
A best-in-class recruitment management system, e-Careers,
reduces time to access and hire the most qualified candidates.
Ensuring health and safety
IHG applies high standards of health and safety equally to
all employees and guests. The Group strives to provide and
maintain a safe environment for all employees, customers
and other visitors to its premises and to comply with relevant
health and safety legislation. Further details can be found in
the Corporate Reputation section of the Annual Review and
Summary Financial Statement 2007 and in the online
CR Report at www.ihg.com/responsibility
Celebrating diversity
IHG benefits from the diversity of its employees, owners, business
partners and guests. The Group regards diversity as a fundamental
factor in its success in operating as a global organisation and this
principle is embedded in IHG’s Winning Ways.
The Group is committed to providing equality of opportunity
to all employees without discrimination and continues to be
supportive of the employment of disabled persons. Where existing
employees become disabled, it is the Group’s policy to provide
continuing employment wherever practical in the same or an
alternative position.
Code of Ethics
Among the Group’s core values is the concept that all employees
should have the courage and conviction to do what is right. The
Group’s global Code of Ethics and Business Conduct consolidates
and clarifies expected standards of behaviour and communicates
the ethical values of the Group. The code is applicable to all
employees and is available on the Company's website at
www.ihg.com/corporate