Board succession and appointment of new Non-Executive Directors
The Board’s Nominations Committee appointed two new Non-Executive Directors in the year and provided a full induction programme.
All new Non-Executive and Executive Directors joining the Board undertake a formal and personalised induction programme which is designed to provide an understanding of the Company’s business, governance, management and its stakeholders.
The inductions for both Rosie and Lesley-Ann began shortly after the announcement of their appointment on 6 November 2020. Given the restrictions imposed by Covid-19, meetings with staff and external advisers were held remotely.
Board Evaluation
As part of our three-year external Board evaluation cycle, this year, our Board and Committee evaluation process was externally facilitated by Fidelio.
Selection of the external evaluator
interviews with directors, the company secretary and members of the executive committee
findings presented to the board and implementation plan agreed
- The value that the Board brings to Workspace;
- Board accountability and directors’ duties;
- Risk and oversight;
- Board leadership and company purpose;
- Strategy and the Board’s contribution to its formulation;
- Composition, succession and evaluation;
- Effectiveness of the respective Board Committees;
- Engagement with shareholders and other stakeholders;
- How ESG considerations are fully integrated into the strategy and business model;
- The effectiveness of the Board in its oversight of diversity and inclusion.
The review was focused on:
Creation of the Risk Committee
The Risk Committee oversees the effectiveness of risk management throughout the organisation, advises the Board on risk appetite, tolerance and strategy and provides recommendations to the Board on the Group’s approach to risk management and the effectiveness of the internal control environment.
Employee Engagement
Throughout the year the Board meets and receives feedback from a wide range of employees across the business. This year, efforts were made to increase open engagement between employees and the Board.
Chairman’s breakfast sessions
Employees were invited to put themselves forward for monthly breakfast sessions with the Chairman, Stephen Hubbard, to discuss the Workspace business. Hosted in small groups across a variety of business centres, the engagement events were positioned as a forum for employees to provide candid feedback or suggest ideas:
- Each session involves a different and diverse group of eight junior employees.
- Chatham House Rules apply, meaning notes are taken but comments remain anonymous.
- Groups were chosen to represent a diverse cross section of the Company from both centre and head office staff.
The discussions proved especially useful in gauging employee sentiment regarding working from home, effectiveness of social-distancing measures, how our Covid-19 customer support has been received and views on the competitor landscape.
Ideas discussed are fed back to the Board and ultimately help inform improvements to the business.
A review of the executive remuneration framework and new Remuneration Policy
At Workspace, we incentivise our people through competitive remuneration aligned with the experience of our stakeholders and with the Workspace culture.
- Alignment with our strategy and purpose
- A focus on performance
- Transparency and simplicity for the benefit of all stakeholders and
- Consistency of application.
WORKSPACE’S KEY REMUNERATION PRINCIPLES:
The Committee built on the foundations of our previously well-received Remuneration Policy, seeking to strengthen our strong and well-respected approach to governance.
Remco focused on the development and refinement of the new Remuneration Policy, as well as the implementation of the current policy.