Annual report and accounts 2023 - Flipbook - Page 80
A.G. BARR p.l.c. Annual Report and Accounts 2023
Corporate Governance Report continued
Key Stakeholder
Form of Engagement
How This Stakeholder Group Influenced Board/Committee Discussions and Decisions
Suppliers
continued
During the year we engaged with key suppliers on matters
related to climate change, including innovation in sustainable
packaging.
Engagement with key suppliers during the year informed the Board’s discussions and
decisions regarding the annual budgeting and long-term strategic planning processes
for the Group.
The Company complies with the Prompt Payment Code
guidelines, paying in excess of 90% of its supplier invoices
on time.
Monthly cross-functional supplier performance scoring is
conducted; the results are shared with suppliers and discussed
at review meetings. Regular review meetings are held with key
suppliers to review various KPIs, including performance, risk
management and ESG objectives. An annual cross-functional
supplier review meeting is held which informs our sourcing
strategy for the following year. Quarterly credit checks are
carried out on suppliers to assess their financial health.
Employees
The Group is committed to engaging employees at all levels
regarding matters which affect them and the performance of
the Group. This is achieved in a number of ways, including the
use of regular briefing procedures, which twice yearly include
a report on trading results. Regular communication meetings,
including “town halls”, are held to keep employees up-to-date
with Group performance. Leadership team “hangouts” take
place on a monthly basis to keep this group updated and to
provide the opportunity for them to ask questions on business
related matters. Consultation meetings also take place when
the Company is making decisions that are likely to affect
employees’ interests, at which employee representatives’ views
are taken into account. The Group’s intranet site provides
up-to-date information regarding the Group’s activities. In
addition, an employee engagement survey “Your Voice Matters”
is carried out on an annual basis, which seeks feedback from
all employees on a range of areas; action plans are created in
response to the results of each survey. Employees’ opinions are
sought on various specific topics throughout the year.
In addition to the Company’s existing employee engagement
mechanisms, and as required by the UK Corporate Governance
Code, during the year the Nomination Committee reviewed
and approved the Board’s current mechanism for workforce
engagement, being a designated non-executive director,
as an appropriate mechanism for workforce engagement.
Z.L. Howorth was the designated workforce engagement
director during the year.
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The continued appointment of a designated non-executive director as a mechanism for
workforce engagement strengthens the link between employees and the Board, helps
to build an open and transparent culture and to ensure that all employees have a voice
in the Company’s future success. It also helps the Board to make better informed
decisions based on the broad perspectives of the workforce. Updates on progress
regarding workforce engagement are provided at Board meetings throughout the year.
It was reported that, overall, the good level of workforce engagement had continued
during the year and feedback from the employee engagement sessions was generally
positive, with a high level of employee engagement and commitment to the business.
Discussion areas during these sessions included the ongoing impact of Covid-19 on the
business and employees’ health and safety and mental wellbeing in the early part of the
year, hybrid working arrangements, health and safety generally, employee
communications, employee pay and benefits, how executive remuneration aligns with
wider Company pay policy, Company purpose and leadership development. The Board
discussed the updates provided to it by the workforce engagement director throughout
the year and were supportive of the Covid Steering Group’s decisions during the early
part of the year regarding the health and safety of our employees.
The Board regularly reviews various employee metrics throughout the year, including
turnover and absenteeism data.
The results of the “Your Voice Matters” employee engagement survey carried out during
the year were presented to and discussed by the Board. The results of the survey were
generally positive, with a high employee response rate and overall employee
engagement score; the continued strong results in the area of health and safety and the
improvement in the area of diversity, equality and inclusion year-on-year were
particularly pleasing. The Board were supportive of local action planning activities which
would take place in response to the results of the survey.
