Barclays 2010 Annual Report Download - page 159

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The Charter of Expectations, including role
profiles for key Board positions, is available from
www.aboutbarclays.com
Evaluation Statement
Before I describe the 2010 evaluation process and its general outcomes, I provide below a summary of the Board’s progress against its 2009 action plan:
Key themes Actions
Board size and diversity The Board has reduced in size and is more diverse.
Holding additional Board meetings overseas, particularly given the
increased size of our US operations
The Board held one meeting overseas in 2010 and plans to hold two
meetings overseas in 2011.
Increasing visibility of senior executives below Board and Group
Executive Committee level
Directors have had more opportunities to interact with senior executives
below Board level via briefing sessions, attendance at management
conferences and post-Board meeting lunches. The remit of the Board
Corporate Governance and Nominations Committee is being extended
to cover succession planning at business unit level.
Improving the format of strategy presentations to the Board The form and content of strategy presentations has been revised to
include enhanced financial and risk information. In addition to the
regular monthly management accounts, the Board receives more
detailed financial information on a quarterly basis.
For the 2010 evaluation process, the Board Corporate Governance and
Nominations Committee decided again that it was appropriate for the
evaluation to be independently facilitated, given the significant strategic
issues under consideration and the pending appointment of a new Chief
Executive. Having reviewed the facilitators available in the market, Egon
Zehnder International was re-engaged to facilitate the 2010 Board
Effectiveness Review. Although we will continue to monitor the market,
the Board is comfortable that Egon Zehnder International provides an
impartial and objective service irrespective of its position as one of
Barclays executive search consultants.
The 2010 evaluation process again took the form of questionnaires
completed by Directors and key executives, followed by structured
interviews with representatives from Egon Zehnder International.
We feel that the interviews, which provide colour and context
to questionnaire responses, are an essential part of the process.
All participants were asked to complete the Board evaluation
questionnaire, with separate Board Committee questionnaires
completed by Board Committee members. The Board evaluation
questionnaire covered the following areas:
– Group Performance;
– Strategy and performance of objectives, including involvement
of the non-executive Directors;
– Reporting to shareholders and stakeholders;
– Structure, people and succession planning;
– Decision making processes, including the culture for effective
challenge;
– Information flows and presentations;
– Board structure and composition, including the experience and
knowledge of non-executive Directors;
– Board roles and responsibilities;
– Board and Management relationships, including the relationship
between the Chairman and the Chief Executive; and
– Board Meetings and Board Committees.
Fig. 6: Board deliberations are constructive, robust and vigorous
Average score out of 5.0
3.47 3.73 3.83
4.18 4.27 4.25 4.38
04 05 06 07 08 09 10
The results of the evaluation were presented to the Board in December
2010 and confirmed that Barclays Board continues to operate at a very
high level of effectiveness. One of the advantages of undertaking an
annual evaluation is that we can monitor trends in responses to questions,
as shown below.
The key themes arising from the 2010 evaluation and which will form
the basis of the action plan for 2011 are:
– Ensuring that Board dynamics remain effective following recent
membership changes, including the appointment of the new
Chief Executive;
– Ensuring that a wide range of skills, experience, background and
diversity on the Board is maintained;
– Continuing the focus on strategic decision making in light of the
evolving regulatory environment; and
– Revising the format of Board meetings to allow the Board to devote
more time to discussion of key strategic issues, including discussions
the evening before Board meetings.
Barclays PLC Annual Report 2010 www.barclays.com/annualreport10 157
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