Rob Challis
Global Head of Corporate Responsibility
Having worked with Man Group as an adviser for four years before joining the Corporate Responsibility Team full-time in November 2006, I had the chance to gain an outsider's perspective on how the Group operated and was managed.
I worked quite closely with the Group Risk team on the creation of the Group's global risk and compliance architecture, and gained an insight into the Group's commitment to identifying, evaluating and describing the risks they faced both operationally and financially in every facet of the business - a very positive experience which gave me confidence in the sustainability of this large though niche business.
I was subsequently invited to work on the creation of the Group's Corporate Responsibility Programme, strategy, policy and process architecture, as well as the creation of its first separate, full Corporate Responsibility Report, for 2006.
Coming from a risk background and having worked so closely on the creation of the Group's various risk frameworks and policies, it was clear that one of the most significant risks facing Man Group was that of reputation: the risk of contagion from a peer's activities; the risk of negative perceptions over the positive realities of their business and the risk of failing to manage in an integrated way, all the constituents which contribute to that most fundamental of the Group's assets, its reputation.
These risks were perhaps greater than those confronting other large financial services companies, less due to the nature of the Group's activities - many peers have both brokerage and asset management businesses - than the sheer scale and footprint of our global operations.
Our programmes our grounded in our strategy for corporate responsibility:
'To commit and evidence our high standards of business behaviour both corporate and individual which underpin the reputation of the Group, create and maintain trust in and loyalty to the Group by all of its stakeholders.'
This, within a risk-based, added-value strategic framework:
MISSION/VISION
(The destination, the primary objectives, the game we play)
STRATEGY
(The journey, how we play the game)
POLICY
(Our route map, the rules by which we play the game)
PROCESS
(How we implement) - this will be a table to be taken from the report vector file
The framework implied a clear discipline: each of the elements is interdependent - change one, and there will be a consequential or 'knock on' effect on one or more others. We must therefore take care not to let our strategy run ahead of our policy, nor our ability to implement it safely, and in a compliant way.
To fulfil our corporate responsibility strategy we felt it vital to have a clear idea of what constituted 'high standards of behaviour'. This led to the creation of our Corporate Responsibility Manual, which sets out our 'rules' for key corporate responsibility elements and risks, particularly our people, our 'customers', and the environment.
The processes by which we implement our programmes are also set out in our Manual (which is in the process of being updated to reflect the significant organisational changes which occurred throughout the year), and in our prior years' Corporate Responsibility Reports which may be accessed via the 'CR' link at www.mangroupplc.com
As we further developed our thinking around corporate responsibility, it became clear that, while the team would create the programme and provide, for want of a better term, 'thought leadership', for the programme to become embedded and inextricably integrated into the fabric of our business, the team should not lead; rather, we should facilitate others to lead and take ownership.
This led to our approach to, for example, the development of our Carbon Mentors programme and the Carbon Reduction Group. The Corporate Responsibility Team has all but handed over the programme to the divisions, and now has a less direct oversight role in relation to action plans arising. Similarly, whereas our first Global Employee Survey was facilitated by the Corporate Responsibility Team, divisional management have now taken on implementation, albeit within a structure created by the Corporate Responsibility Team and its advisers.
We see this as a model for future development, as we further embed corporate responsibility into the business, define and quantify its added value, and develop and refine further initiatives which will sustain the confidence of all of our stakeholders as we move into another challenging but exciting phase of our history.
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