Marks and Spencer 2016 Annual Report Download - page 43

41
ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2016
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OUR BUSINESSOUR PERFORMANCEGOVERNANCE
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 2015, 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/plana2016.
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, changes
to the Board were made during the year to
2 April, experienced two retirements and one
resignation. Despite the reduced overall size
of the Board, the percentage of women on
the Board remains strong at 36% at time of
publication. The charts on page 33 provide
a clearer picture of our Board diversity.
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 is also 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 2016, M&S was again listed in The Times
Top 50 Employers for Women for the sixth
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 remains
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.
> A thorough refresh of our approach to
talent development through the
introduction of new initiatives, including
the ‘Fit to Lead the Future’ programme,
Fit For the Future Leadership journey,
Line Manager focus and Emerging
Leaders approach.
> 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 successional needs of the
Board in respect of its non-executive
directors, and continues to work closely with
executive search agencies 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, all of whom 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
2015/16 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 worked closely with Egon
Zehnder and JCA, and maintained our focus
on the targets and ambitions around female
representation on the Board. The Board
confi rms that neither Egon Zehnder or JCA
has any 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.
> Continued involvement in the
government-backed 30% Club, an
organisation committed to increasing
female representation on UK Boards.
> The MBA Leadership Programme is in its
fi fth year, recruiting and developing
talented MBA graduates from international
business schools; to date intake into the
programme has been over 50% women.
> 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 centres.
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
2015/16 Board evaluation and the Action
Plan are on page 39. 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 challenges women face in reaching
regional management positions and
above, within the business.