Marks and Spencer 2015 Annual Report Download - page 45

OUR BUSINESS
OUR PERFORMANCEGOVERNANCE
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
43
ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2015
Our assessment of diversity in terms of
experience and background is covered in
further detail below. We also reviewed our
diversity policy this year to ensure it remains
fi t for purpose.
BOARD DIVERSITY POLICY
Since the launch of the Board Diversity Policy
in 2012, the Board has made progress in
broadening the diversity of the Board and
senior management. In 2014, the Board
reviewed the policy to ensure that it
continues to drive the benefi ts of a diverse
Board and workforce across the business.
The Board agreed that the ambitions and
objectives set out in the policy remain
relevant targets against which to measure
our progress.
For further information on employee
diversity, including gender, ethnicity
and age, see p23 of our Plan A Report
marksandspencer.com/plana2015.
BOARD DIVERSITY: PROGRESS UPDATE
Maintain a level of at least 30% female
directors on the Board over the short to
medium term.
As highlighted earlier in the report, the Board
made two appointments during the year
following one retirement and one resignation.
The appointments of Helen Weir and Richard
Solomons increased the female/male
balance on the Board from 31% female
membership at the star t of July l ast year
to 38% in April this year.
The Board remains committed to maintaining
at least a 30% female representation on the
Board, whilst ensuring that diversity in its
broadest sense remains a central feature.
However, the Nomination Committee will
continue to recommend appointments
to the Board based on merit, measured
against objective criteria and the skills and
experience the individual o ers.
The Board remains committed to
strengthening the pipeline of senior female
executives within the business and has taken
steps to ensure that there are no barriers to
women succeeding at the highest levels
within M&S.
In 2015, M&S was again listed in The Times
Top 50 Employers for Women for the fi fth
year running.
Assist the development of a pipeline of
high-calibre candidates by encouraging a
broad range of senior individuals within the
business to take on additional roles to gain
valuable Board experience.
During the year, the Board continued to
focus on strengthening the pipeline of
executive talent in the Company. It
committed to learning and building on
existing programmes while introducing new
initiatives to broaden and develop the strong
talent which exists across the business.
Key initiatives include:
> A comprehensive talent review presented
to the Board annually, mapping
successional candidates and opportunities
across all senior roles within the business.
> The Leadership Development Service has
been in place for two years and continues
to identify and partner key senior talent
across the business, broadening their
skillsets and experience to prepare them
for future opportunities. This has been
supported through greater boardroom
exposure, non-executive and Trustee
roles outside of M&S, and participation
in mentoring schemes.
> Access to International Business
School Training.
> Senior management mentoring and
coaching schemes, including individual
leadership assessments, and non-
executive director sponsored lunches
and breakfasts.
Consider candidates for appointment as
non-executive directors from a wider pool,
including those with little or no listed
company board experience.
During the year, the Nomination Committee
discussed the Board’s successional needs,
and continues to work closely with executive
search agency JCA in compiling long and
short lists of candidates. During the search
for the most recent appointments, the
Board identifi ed and interviewed a range of
candidates from various backgrounds and
industries, and all candidates were measured
against criteria agreed at the start of the
process. The Chairman also meets informally
with a range of people introduced by third
parties or through direct approaches.
Although we do not currently openly
advertise our non-executive director
positions, we appreciate the benefi t of this
approach and will keep this under review.
Ensure long lists of potential
non-executive directors include 50%
female candidates.
The Board remains committed to ensuring
that high performing women from within the
business and from a variety of backgrounds,
who have the requisite skills, are given greater
exposure to the nomination committees of
FTSE100 companies. Once again, the Board
met its commitment, and all non-executive
director long lists in 2014/15 included 50%
female candidates.
Only engage executive search fi rms who
have signed up to the voluntary Code
of Conduct on gender diversity and
best practice.
The Board continues to support the nine
principles of the Executive Search Firms
Voluntary Code of Conduct on gender
diversity, demonstrated by remaining
committed to only engaging executive
search fi rms who are signatories to this code.
During the year, we continued to work closely
with JCA, and maintained our focus on
the targets and ambitions around female
representation on the Board. The Board
confi rms that JCA has no other connection
with the Company.
Report annually against these objectives
and other initiatives taking place within the
Company which promote gender and other
forms of diversity.
The Board has made strong progress against
the key policy objectives during the year, as
reported above.
In addition, the business has continued to
promote diversity with the introduction or
continuation of key initiatives:
> The annual Board evaluation process
includes an assessment of the Board’s
diversity including gender, helping to
objectively consider its composition
and e ectiveness.
> The M&S Inspiring Women’s Network,
launched in 2014, continues to support the
progress of women in our business, giving
access to a range of role models, providing
informal mentoring and networking
opportunities, and creating a forum for
discussion to explore and address the
career challenges women face.
> Taking part in a number of pilot schemes
including cross-business mentoring for
senior women, run by the government-
backed 30% Club, a female only
development programme.
> The MBA Leadership Programme is in its
fourth year, recruiting and developing
talented MBA graduates from international
business school s; to date intake into the
programme has been over 50% women.
> Partnering with a local school to provide
one-to-one mentoring support for around
50 female students between the ages of
15 and 17.
> A number of programmes to help people
in our communities, including Marks & Start,
Marks & Start Logistics, and Make Your
Mark, are successfully helping young
people, the homeless, lone parents and
those with disabilities, to fi nd work in our
stores and distribution centre.
Report annually on the outcome of the
Board evaluation, the composition and
structure of the Board as well as any issues
and challenges the Board is facing when
considering the diverse make-up of the
Company.
We continue to regard the Board evaluation
process as an important means of monitoring
our progress. Full details of the 2014/15 Board
evaluation and the Action Plan are on page 41.
We remain committed to getting the right
balance of internal versus external hires and
work towards understanding and managing
some of the challenges we face, such as:
> International management experience
refl ective of the customers and
communities we serve; and
> Any main challenges women face in
reaching regional management positions
and above, within the business.