November 2022
Despite widespread recognition that a strong, healthy and positive culture can lead to organisational resilience and superior performance, many Boards struggle with meeting their important responsibility of assessing and monitoring culture. In this article, we explore how boards can be effective in continuously reviewing culture in an integrated approach alongside its other responsibilities – looking for evidence, supporting or challenging information provided by management; and how individual directors can contribute to the debate based on their observations, including from their ongoing engagement with stakeholders.
In the past, Employee Engagement Surveys were typically accepted as the main or only source of information providing a gauge of the temperature of an organisation’s culture. However, in its report published in December 2021, the FRC reported there were signs that an increasing number of companies are introducing culture dashboards (which include a range of consistent metrics) in their board packs and moving towards a more sophisticated and integrated approach to reviewing corporate culture. At BE-GS, we applaud this best practice development, but believe it is not sufficient for directors to simply rely on one or two sources. We suggest there are many ways, both directly and incidental to another purpose, which allow boards and individual directors to be on the pulse in this critical area.
From our long experience of knowing what works well within the boardroom and for directors individually, we have provided a list of some very practical ways in which directors can properly gauge the cultural temperature within their organisations. NEDs, in particular, should be asking themselves whether these matters are being adequately addressed when the board chair and committee chairs consult with management on their respective forward agenda for the coming year.
At BE-GS, our extensive in the Boardroom experience can be applied to help boards to adopt a practical and integrated approach to assessing and monitoring culture, either as part of an independent Board Effectiveness Review or as a discrete exercise. Do please get in touch (at www.be-gs.com) if you would like to know more about our approach to Board Effectiveness Reviews or how Boards should better assess and monitor organisational culture.
Mark Peters
With over 25 years’ in the Boardroom experience at both large and medium-sized listed companies, Mark has advised Chairs, Executive Directors, Board members and senior management on Board effectiveness specifically and on corporate governance, stock exchange and company law matters, more generally. His experience spans both UK and non-UK listed companies, working closely with Boards at times of significant structural change or crisis, including IPOs, finance-raisings, acquisitions, sales, and hostile takeovers. Mark has always regarded a key facet of his role as ensuring Boards are provided with the tools they need to operate both effectively and efficiently. Over the years, he has conducted many internal and external Board Effectiveness Reviews. Further information concerning Mark and his career can be found at www.be-gs.com.
Derek Woodward
Derek has more than 25 years’ FTSE100/250 in the Boardroom experience and has contributed significantly to improving Board effectiveness throughout his successful career as a company secretary. Working at senior level in international companies, including (from most recent) Worldpay, Thomas Cook, Zurich, B.A.T Industries and Eagle Star, Derek has a solid understanding of the challenges faced by Boards and their Committees, and the expectations of investors and other stakeholders. Throughout his career Derek has been the trusted advisor to Chairs, other individual Directors and has successfully managed strategic change including mergers, demergers, IPOs, business transformations and group-wide cultural change, as well as dealing with “business as usual” but nevertheless fundamentally important, activities. Further information concerning Derek and his career can be found at www.be-gs.com.
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