Marks and Spencer 2009 Annual Report Download - page 51

Communication
We have had to make some difficult decisions
this year, and we recognise that it is more
important than ever to clearly communicate
with our employees. We have a range of
channels to do this:
The Top 100 briefing is designed to deliver
Head Office messages to the top managers.
Director Breakfast meetings have been
increased so that colleagues in-stores can
meet the leaders of different business units.
In-store listening groups ensure issues
can be communicated to Head Office; and
Quarterly results broadcasts to all M&S
employees to keep them abreast of
Company performance.
Additionally we communicate with all of our
employees through the M&S intranet and
employee magazine. The annual employee
opinion survey, Your Say, which has a response
rate of over 90%, looks at a range of issues
from job satisfaction to management
performance. We now have three sets of
results – from 2006 to 2008 – to compare
and we can see trends emerging showing
us where we are making progress and where
we need to do better. Our overall positive
score for 2008 remained consistent with
previous years at 70% and we will be striving
for the same when the 2009 results are in.
Representing staff views
More than 3,500 elected employee
representatives from every part of the
business sit on our Business Involvement
Groups (BIG). In this challenging year BIG
has played an increasingly important role
in representing colleagues views on
matters relating to work and employment.
Critically, BIG led the consultation process
for stores and Head Office, successfully
submitting counter proposals on behalf
of employees that were accepted by
the business and resulted in changes
to Company proposals.
Additionally, BIG developed initiatives to
improve overall business profitability and
efficiency; for example focusing on ‘fill’
productivity – the process of getting stock
onto shelves. Working with store colleagues,
BIG developed ideas to simplify the fill process
which has helped contribute to £4m in
savings and to noticeably strengthen product
availability in stores.
Looking ahead
Despite the tough trading conditions, there
is much to look forward to in the months ahead.
Our employees will join in our anniversary
celebrations, and are in the midst of a major
fundraising challenge to raise £1.25m for local
charities in just 125 days. Colleagues in every
store and office have selected their charities
and are coming up with creative ways to
reach our target, so that we can give
something back to the communities that
have supported us through the years.
We look forward to tallying the results
in September 2009.
Our business relies on people, and we
have worked hard to earn the reputation of
an employer of choice. We have a clear
plan in place to ensure we recruit, train,
retain and develop talent, and in turn create a
high performance business. These initiatives
have been designed, developed and are now
being implemented to build for the future.
They will stand the test of time.
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EMPLOYEE FOCUS
216 GRADUATES RECRUITED
705 MARKS AND START PLACEMENTS
26 EMPLOYEE VOLUNTEER AWARDS
612 EMPLOYEES CELEBRATED 25 YEARS
WORKING FOR M&S
44 EMPLOYEES CELEBRATED 40 YEARS
WORKING FOR M&S
165,000 HOURS OF TRAINING
1,029 PEOPLE ATTENDED 330 WORKSHOPS
IN OUR FOOD AND GM ACADEMIES
40,000 GREAT SERVICE AWARDS FOR STAFF
WHO HAVE EXCELLED IN THEIR ROLE
125 YEARS OF INNOVATION
Above: There’s no accounting for taste In his
12 years at M&S, Simon Allison has gone from
sampling sandwiches and sushi to pet food. He
now manages a team of 10, who develop our
grocery, household goods, savoury snacks, beer,
spirits and wine. In his words, everything you need
for the party, and to clean up afterwards.
The M&S twist Flora Benenson was recruited in
1932 as champion of the Staff Welfare Service.
In a report to then Chairman, Simon Marks, she
says: “The youngsters should be allowed to use
record players in the luncheon breaks and even
given facilities to ‘twist’ if they would like to...”
125 YEARS OF TRUST
Below: Your views BIG represent staff views at
a local, regional and national level.