Marks and Spencer 2016 Annual Report Download - page 39

37
ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2016
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OUR BUSINESSOUR PERFORMANCEGOVERNANCE
BOARD ACTIVITIES CONTINUED
TOPIC ACTIVITIES/DISCUSSION ACTIONS ARISING PROGRESS
Leadership &
Employees
Discussed succession,
talent development
and diversity across
management.
> Review Board composition and diversity policy.
> Continue to support executive director and senior
management development.
> Deliver robust succession planning and nurture
internal talent pipeline to provide our people
with the required skills and capabilities for today
and for the future.
> 39% of our Board members were female as
at close of the 2015/16 fi nancial year, reducing
to 36% following the retirements of Marc
Bolland and Martha Lane Fox on 2 April 2016.
> Ongoing initiatives include Leadership
Development Service, mentoring and coaching.
> Signifi cantly refreshed approach to
development of internal talent through
introduction of initiatives such as the
‘Fit To Lead The Future’ programme.
Reviewed the composition
and succession planning
procedures of the Board
and its Committees.
> Ongoing commitment to maintaining a balance
of appropriate skills and experience among the
Board and its Committees.
> Approved the appointments of a new
Chief Executive and an additional
Non-Executive Director.
Discussed employee
engagement, reward
and pensions.
> Conduct a thorough review of how we reward our
people with emphasis on fairness, consistency
and sustainability.
> Evaluate results of annual ‘Your Say’ and quarterly
‘Pulse’ surveys to identify areas for improvement.
> Proposed new approaches to pay and pensions
and initiated a period of consultation with
employees through our National Business
Involvement Group.
> Increased engagement with our people across
all areas of the business.
Customers Discussed improvement
of customer engagement
through introduction of
innovative new reward
programme.
> Introduce a new customer engagement strategy
and encourage a more centralised relationship
with the customer.
> Drive further promotion of Sparks to help
customers understand the proposition and the
benefi ts of membership.
> Successful launch of Sparks with over 4m
registered members since October 2015.
> Progress made in addressing early challenges
following launch.
Reviewed Clothing &
Home strategy.
> Drive market share growth through improved product
availability, pricing consistency and range focus.
> Support multichannel growth.
> Build foundational elements required to support
sustainable growth in Clothing & Home.
> Notable successes in refreshed style
credentials and improvements in
product quality.
Discussed development
of brand and customer
proposition.
> Evaluate new concepts and in-store enhancements
to improve customer experience.
> Consider future evolution of the M&S brand and
product proposition.
> Continue to refi ne our customer understanding.
> Directional focus on customer with emphasis
on simplicity and fi nancial responsibility.
> Ongoing rollout of refreshed store fascias
and enhancements to in-store environments.
Reviewed the performance
and progress of M&S.com.
> Review of developments during the year and
further promotion of digital mind-set as key facet
of development strategy.
> Continue to invest in building digital capability
to provide a better experience for customers.
> Progress made in embedding digital mind-set
at heart of strategy.
> Strong growth and improved returns achieved
in 2015 following challenging transitional year
in 2014.
> Continued progress in improving customer
satisfaction.
Discussed security risks
a ecting the business.
> Review of incident reporting and management
procedures to ensure ongoing security awareness.
> Delivered crisis management exercises across
UK Crisis Management Teams and ‘duty
manage with confi dence’ courses across
the International business.
Values Discussed continued
evolution of Plan A.
> 104 Plan A commitments to be achieved by 2020.
> Review progress made in 2015/16 and set priorities
for 2016/17.
> 57 achieved, 5 not achieved.
> 40 on plan, 1 behind plan.
> 1 commitment cancelled.
> Identifi ed strategic priorities for 2016/17.
Reviewed organisational
culture and improvements
to our ways of working.
> Review ways of working across stores and o ces.
> Consider implementation and business impact of
the National Living Wage.
> Evaluate M&S’s pay positioning in context of wider
retail industry.
> Introduced ‘Smarter Working’ workstream to
evaluate and improve use of o ce space.
> Proposed a new approach to future pay
positioning.
Shareholder
engagement
Encouraged strong
engagement with
investors and
stakeholders.
> Actively support engagement opportunities. > 30 largest shareholders invited to our
fi fth annual Governance Event, hosted by
the Chairman.
Reviewed feedback
from shareholders in
advance of AGM.
> Specifi c issues raised by shareholders to be
addressed in Chairman’s statement.
> Communicate progress made in key topics
raised by shareholders.
Reviewed the success
of the fi rst year’s
operation of the
Payment Plus Scheme.
> Evaluate overall performance of the scheme
during the year and consider future viability.
> Consider feasibility of extending the scheme
to nominees.
> Successful delivery of the scheme over
two dividend payments during the year.
> Ongoing assessment of the scheme’s
performance to date.
See our Board E ectiveness Review on p39