Finally, employees given a voice with the 2018 UK Corporate Governance Code
The Financial Reporting Council clearly see the correlation between economic growth and a strong relationship between leaders and the workforce, and have put their money where their mouth is with the 2018 UK Corporate Governance code.
The code came into force for accounting periods that start on/after 1stJanuary 2019 for all UK listed and AIM companies with more than an average of 250 employees in a year. The code calls on organisation to engage with employees and the wider workforce to enhance the ‘employee voice’ in the boardroom.
Directors reports must cover employee involvement in company affairs, explain how the board engages with employees and ensure the interests of the workforce are considered in decision making. Workforce policies must be consistent with company values and long-term sustainable success.
The code includes ensuring culture is aligned to company values, succession and diversity measures to ensure the right mix is achieved, and remuneration policies and governance for transparency and fairness.
On the topic of engagement by the board with their workforce, it is recommended that one of the following actions are undertaken:
- Appoint a worker to the board
- Designate a non-exec director to liaise with the workforce
- Have a formal workforce advisory panel
Alternatively, the board can advise on alternative measures put in place and explain why they deem this to be more effective.
The 2018 UK Corporate Governance Code is very welcome news and not before time. The benefits of higher levels of employee engagement have long been proven to improve the operational, commercial and economic performance of an organisation. Use our Engage ROI Calculatorto find out what driving levels of engagement higher could do to your bottom line.
The Engage role in the 2018 UK Corporate Governance Code
Engage is a web-based and mobile application specifically designed as a platform to give employees a voice and to directly connect leaders to the workforce regardless of how large or diverse.
The simple and intuitive design ensures it’s easy to use for all employees to use, even those who may not be as tech savvy as the rest, for total inclusion.
Realtime analytics enable you to keep your finger on the pulse, measure the temperature of the mood in the workforce, draw insightful comparisons and identify potential problems sooner before they get out of hand.
The Word on the Street feature allows you to seek thoughts and feelings from all or a selection of employees, on important board topics. Hundreds and thousands of results can be presented on one single page in a 3D format to give leaders quick, credible and invaluable insights from across the workforce. Full drill down capabilities are available to get to the grass roots of feedback provided from employees.
Employees themselves can also raise important topics for the attention of the board, giving leaders an unparalleled view of hot topics from the workforce perspective that they could otherwise go unnoticed to the detriment of the organisation.
Measure engagement levels with engaging, interactive and fun quizzes to test employee understanding of key topics to ensure full comprehension of the topics you are requesting feedback on and reward those who regularly appear at the top of the reward leaders’ board.
These are just a few of the Engage features that can put you ahead of the 2018 UK Corporate Governance code curve.
Engage has a zero digital footprint being completely web and mobile based. Employees can download the app onto their own devices and select to participate anonymously if desired.
HR, Comms and Management users find it exceptionally easy to set up unlimited quizzes and send notifications delivered in seconds, both email and mobile, providing information and requesting insights and feedback.
For more information and a demonstration to show how Engage could work in your organisation and give all employees a voice, please request a demo via our contact form.
