New report finds significant skills gaps across all levels of UK business

According to a recent report by our partner The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) in conjunction with the Financial Times, companies continue to struggle to recruit people with sufficient skill sets and of the right calibre throughout all levels of their business – from the ‘shop floor’ to the top. This is particularly evident at board level where increases in legislation have had a significant impact on the level of skills required.

The FT-ICSA Boardroom Bellwether is a twice-yearly survey which seeks to gauge the sentiment inside UK boardrooms. The aim is to develop a definitive business barometer, which shows how boards are positioning themselves to address the challenges of the economy, and the wider business and social climate in which they operate. Now in its third edition, the report has found that 31 per cent of respondents reported difficulty in recruiting sufficient people in the UK with the standard of education and skills required for roles throughout their business. Only six per cent believed that sourcing adequate talent was very easy.

The research also found that this challenge was exacerbated at the highest level, with almost half of respondents (46 per cent) reporting considerable difficulty in recruiting high-calibre board level candidates. Absolutely no respondents found that sourcing talent at this level was very easy. Undoubtedly, part of this problem stems from the perception of 93 per cent of respondents that board positions – both executive and non-executive – now carry a higher level of reputational risk compared to five years ago.

It is also possible that the shortage of board-ready women is a contributory factor companies to recruit sufficiently skilled candidates to the board – with 53 per cent of companies reporting that their female executive pipeline is insufficient to provide board level talent.

What’s your view? Is there a shortage of board-ready talent in your organisation? And if so, why? Please let us know by commenting below.

Gender Diversity: is our female executive pipeline sufficient?

According to a recent report by our partner The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) in conjunction with the Financial Times, two thirds of companies will not meet Lord Davies’ target of 25 per cent of women on boards by 2015.

The FT-ICSA Boardroom Bellwether is a twice-yearly survey which seeks to gauge the sentiment inside UK boardrooms. The aim is to develop a definitive business barometer, which shows how boards are positioning themselves to address the challenges of the economy, and the wider business and social climate in which they operate. Now in its third edition, the paper has found that almost 50 per cent of respondents believe their board is not sufficiently diverse in terms of gender, and few believe that this will improve.

The survey results show that respondents considered their board to be more gender diverse than last year. But despite this slightly more positive outlook, indications are that companies may still not be making sufficient progress in an area which continues to form a key part of the Government’s agenda. Indeed, most recent commentary suggests a definite slowing in momentum.

The research suggests that just a third of companies expect to meet Lord Davies’ target of 25 per cent for women on boards by 2015. If the target is not met, the UK would need to implement the EU Directive to address gender imbalance on boards if the current proposals are approved. The Directive includes provisions for targets, but only 11% of companies think that the UK Government will introduce quotas.

Furthermore, companies now appear less confident that the female executive pipeline will provide a sustainable pool of talented, board-ready women, with results slightly lower than 2012. This points to an emerging policy dilemma for the Government in terms of the further action it may consider necessary to deliver the diversity agenda.

So what is the solution? Please let us know your thoughts by commenting below.

Investor engagement: does your board have a strategy in place?

According to a recent report by our partner The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) in conjunction with the Financial Times, just over half of companies have a stewardship engagement strategy in place, despite recent recommendations by the Institute.

The FT-ICSA Boardroom Bellwether is a twice-yearly survey which seeks to gauge the sentiment inside UK boardrooms. The aim is to develop a definitive business barometer, which shows how boards are positioning themselves to address the challenges of the economy, and the wider business and social climate in which they operate. Now in its third edition, the paper has highlighted the fact that almost half of company boards don’t have a strategy in place to engage with major ‘stewardship’ investors about long-term company strategy as recommended in the ICSA report on Enhancing Stewardship Dialogue.

The research also found that over half of boards said they wanted to see an end to quarterly reporting, reflecting the emphasis in the Kay Review on policy initiatives to encourage and support long-term thinking. In fact, some companies – most notably Unilever – have already taken steps to challenge the traditional quarterly reporting convention.

What are your views? Does your firm actively engage with stewardship investors? And are quarterly reports a valuable communication tool? Or simply outdated? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below.

New report finds global optimism in the business environment looking up

According to a recent report by our partner The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) in conjunction with the Financial Times, almost a third of companies anticipate that their overseas headcount will increase throughout the next year.

The FT-ICSA Boardroom Bellwether is a twice-yearly survey which seeks to gauge the sentiment inside UK boardrooms. The aim is to develop a definitive business barometer, which shows how boards are positioning themselves to address the challenges of the economy, and the wider business and social climate in which they operate. Now in its third edition, the report has found that there is greater optimism in respect of global economic conditions when compared to the UK, with headcount projected to grow accordingly overseas.

The research found that despite the fact that a quarter of companies predict that their UK headcount will increase slightly in the next twelve months, almost a third anticipate that they will recruit for their overseas operations in the coming year. Areas experiencing the highest levels of optimism include the Asia Pacific region, where 42% of organisations expect to expand their presence in the near future and Brazil, where 30% of companies are looking to grow.

Areas which can expect the greatest reduction in presence include continental Europe, where 13% of companies are planning on shrinking their workforce and the UK, where 8% of businesses are scaling down. According to the report, no companies are planning on reducing their presence in China or Brazil over the next year.

What is your experience? Is your company planning on expanding its presence overseas in the near future? And if so, where? Please let us know by commenting below.

Cyber security: are you doing enough?

According to a recent report by our partner The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) in conjunction with the Financial Times, just one fifth of companies have significantly mitigated their exposure to cyber risk. Does your business have an effective cyber-security strategy?

The FT-ICSA Boardroom Bellwether is a twice-yearly survey which seeks to gauge the sentiment inside UK boardrooms. The aim is to develop a definitive business barometer, which shows how boards are positioning themselves to address the challenges of the economy, and the wider business and social climate in which they operate. Now in its third edition, the paper has highlighted the reality that in the age of big data, BYOD and cloud based systems; many organisations are simply not addressing the issue of cyber security adequately.

The research found that despite the fact that almost all boards think their company’s specific exposure to cyber risk is increasing – only 21% of companies have taken action and significantly mitigated risk. Boards do not appear to be giving this high-profile and increasing-visible risk the attention it requires, with only 13% of boards having discussed and acted on the Government’s published Cyber Security Guidance, and with around 75% reporting that boards had either not discussed or even seen the guidelines.

Has your company reviewed the official guidelines? And do you believe your business is doing enough to protect itself from breaches in online security? Please let us know by commenting below.