Barclays 2007 Annual Report Download - page 76

Corporate sustainability
74 Barclays PLC Annual Report 2007
Barclays as an employer
One of our guiding principles is to develop the best people, and in such an
intensely competitive industry we want to find, develop and retain the best
talent. We are committed to diversity as a way of helping to ensure we are able
to attract the best people. We have a wide range of development and leadership
programmes for employees, and a policy that ensures that they are all treated
with respect, regardless of age, race, sexuality, gender or disability.
We use our employee opinion surveys to understand and engage our
employees. We continue to score well but we are working to improve
our scores further.
As we grow internationally our workforce becomes ever more diverse,
reflecting the worldwide markets in which we operate. The percentage
of UK ethnic minority employees has increased significantly from 7.2% in
2001, to 12.3% in 2007. As we grow we are determined to build the local
talent base in the markets in which we operate, we see this as a crucial
success factor for us in emerging markets. In the UK we also continued to
invest in the disability mentoring and ‘reasonable adjustments’ schemes
in 2007, and have again been ranked in the top 20 of Stonewall’s list of the
best employers for lesbian, gay and bisexual people.
These are clear successes; but we have much more work to do on our
gender balance, especially at senior level: 20.6% of our senior managers
are women. The drive to improve this comes from the very top of the bank.
Barclays in the community
Barclays has always been a proud and committed investor in its communities.
In 2007 we invested £52.4 million in communities around the world
and 44,000 Barclays employees in 26 countries were involved in our
fundraising and volunteering initiatives. Our flagship programme, Banking
on Brighter Futures, enabled us to use our skills and expertise, as well as
our money, to maximum effect helping people improve their economic
prospects, especially those in poverty, disadvantage, and debt. Projects
ranged from supporting elderly people in the UK who are in financial
difficulty through to helping Ugandan women affected by HIV/AIDS to set
up their own businesses. This is not just about good works: the more we
help individuals and communities improve their economic circumstances
and financial literacy, the better the environment in which we operate.
We are investing $150 million over the next five years in the Banking on
Brighter Futures programme. 1,500 projects will be supported around the
world, and employees will be encouraged to volunteer 150,000 hours of
their time on projects focusing on financial education, entrepreneurship,
employment and financial inclusion.
Governance
Corporate responsibility is firmly established as one of the Barclays
Principal Risks, which means that it is managed within a robust framework
of internal control, governance, and risk management processes.
Responsibility for Barclays Corporate Sustainability Strategy rests with the
Group Executive Committee, with oversight by the Board. The Group Chief
Executive has primary responsibility for embedding corporate sustainability
throughout Barclays, supported by the Group Executive Committee.
This includes ensuring there are effective processes for identifying and
monitoring all the business risks or commercial opportunities that have
a significant social, environmental or ethical dimension.
The Brand and Reputation Committee is a sub-committee of Group
Executive Committee, and is chaired by Sir Nigel Rudd, Deputy Chairman
and a Non-Executive Director on the Board. This Committee’s role is
to identify and manage issues that could have a significant impact on
Barclays reputation. It met six times during the year and dealt with issues
ranging from Barclays presence in Zimbabwe to new areas of commodities
business and the fee structure for Barclaycard.
The Community Partnerships Committee, chaired by Gary Hoffman, sets
the policy and provides governance for our global community investment
programmes, and the Environmental Steering Group gives direction
and governance to our environmental and climate change strategies.
The Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) Forum, chaired by our Consumer
champion, Catharine French, monitors compliance across all retail and
wholesale business units, UK and non-UK, to embed TCF principles in our
relationships with customers. Taking this wider approach to TCF goes
significantly beyond our regulatory requirements.
Barclays – an international picture
2007 2006
FTE by world region
UK 61,900 62,400
Africa & Middle East 51,748 44,326
Continental Europe 9,750 8,100
Americas 6,413 4,905
Asia Pacific 5,089 2,869
Total 134,900 122,600
Global employment statistics
FTE 134,900 122,600
Total employee headcount 141,885 133,529
Percentage of female employees 56.3% 60.6%
Percentage of female senior executives 13.7% 12.2%
Percentage of female senior managers 20.6% 20.8%
Percentage working part time 12.4% 13.6%
Turnover rate 18.3% 16.9%
Resignation rate 12.3% 10.9%
Sickness absence rate 3.0% 3.6%
Barclays UK employees
2007 a2006 b
UK employment statistics
Total employee headcount 61,900 62,400
Average length of service (years) 9.7 9.8
Percentage working part time 16.8% 21.8%
Sickness absence rate 3.0% 4.0%
Turnover rate 16.6% 19.0%
Resignation rate 11.1% 12.0%
Women in Barclays
Percentage of all employees 58.0% 61.0%
Percentage of management grades 28.4% 33.0%
Percentage of senior executives 13.0% 12.9%
Ethnic minorities in Barclays
Percentage of all employees 12.3% 12.7%
Percentage of management grades 10.0% 8.1%
Percentage of senior executives 6.6% 6.1%
Disabled employees in Barclays
Percentage of all employees 3.4% 5.0%
Age profile
Employees aged under 25 16.5% 17.4%
Employees aged 25-29 17.0% 15.9%
Employees aged 30-49 54.2% 56.0%
Employees aged 50+ 10.3% 10.7%
Pensions
Barclays Bank UK Retirement Fund active members 53,473 55,558
Current pensioners 48,607 43,754
Notes
a2007 UK data – includes 1,000 BGI employees
b2006 UK data – excludes 800 BGI employees