BITC public

reporting Guidelines:
Employee Wellness and Engagement

Kindly sponsored by
 Contents
Heading

1. Executive Summary 3

2. Business in the Community (BITC) 4

3. BITC Workwell Campaign 5

4. Public Reporting Guidelines 7

5. BITC Workwell Campaign Steering Group 9

6. Company Public Reporting Framework and Case Studies 11

7. Metrics Framework Definitions 26

8. Employee Narrative Reporting 31

9. Other Useful Resources 33

 1. Executive Summary
Heading

Key Recommendations in which to interpret the information. Companies

• Employees are a critical company asset as they
are the means by which companies function.
How companies manage their staff can determine
business performance, and its ability to succeed
long term.
• Investors believe companies need to demonstrate
how they are managing this asset effectively
as they believe robust employee practices can
contribute to strong long-term business success.
Specifically investors consider employee wellness
and engagement matters to be investment relevant.
• Other stakeholders are also interested in how
companies manage employee issues. Potential
future employees are increasingly looking to work
for companies with progressive employee practices.
The global war on talent is an increasing challenge as
companies seek to recruit and retain the best staff.
• Public reporting is a means by which investors,
potential employees and other stakeholders can
gain insights into how companies manage their staff,
and as such companies should report more on such
matters in a frank, accurate and consistent manner.
also need to ensure their reporting begins with a
description about the ‘employee footprint’ of the
organisation, which again provides the starting
context for assessing the company’s employee
challenges and resulting management practices
and performance.
• Companies are encouraged to take into account
and adopt BITC Public Reporting Guidelines in
their reporting on employee wellness and
engagement efforts.
• Public reporting on employee wellness and
engagement is an evolving work in progress and
as time passes and practice becomes embedded,
so the definitions for what constitutes an entry,
an intermediate and a mature profile will shift. The
intention is for the Public Reporting Guidelines to
be updated periodically in an iterative process to
reflect changing best practice thinking. BITC would
welcome feedback and interest from companies and
other stakeholders on their experiences using the
Public Reporting Guidelines and on how to improve the
Company Public Reporting Framework going forward.

• The BITC Workwell Model provides an ideal

framework for public reporting on employee
wellness and engagement as it represents a
strategic, integrated and holistic approach.

• BITC’s Workwell Campaign Steering group has

devised a Company Public Reporting Framework
which is aligned to the four quadrants, and central
segment of the BITC Workwell Model. It outlines
corporate input and output characteristics, and
associated metrics companies are reporting which
are linked with three different states of maturity
of management of the issue: entry, intermediate
and mature levels. As well as reporting quantitative
metrics, the Framework stresses the need for
companies to accompany this with narrative
reporting which will critically provide the context

BITC Public Reporting Guidelines 3

 2. Business in the Community (BITC)
Heading

Business in the Community

stands for responsible business
We are a business-led charity with a growing
membership of 850 companies, from large
multinational household names to small local
businesses and public sector organisations.

We advise, support and challenge our members to

improve their performance to create a sustainable
future for people and planet.

Our members work with us to define what

responsibility looks like in the workplace, marketplace,
environment, and the community – and we share
what we learn about driving performance through
responsible business practice.

Business in the Community is one of The Prince’s

Charities, a group of not-for-profit organisations
of which The Prince of Wales is President.

We work locally, nationally and internationally

through a network of partners world-wide and have
28 years’ experience of working with communities
in greatest need.

4 BITC Public Reporting Guidelines

3. BITC Workwell Campaign
Heading

BITC Workwell Campaign

• A common good, business led campaign
• Business case led, values driven
• Elevates employee wellness and engagement
to being a boardroom issue
• Proactive approach to employee physical,
psychological and social health
• A strategic, integrated and holistic approach
to employee wellness and engagement
• Promotes public reporting on employee wellness
and engagement as key objective
• Responsible business practice – mission critical
to long term sustainability

The campaign’s vision is ‘To create the most

engaged workforce in the world’ by inspiring every
organisation to help their people flourish by:
• Proving the case
• Spreading good practice
• Providing support

BITC Public Reporting Guidelines 5

 BITC’s Workwell Campaign

The bitc workwell model

Business benefits

Employee actions
recommended by Foresight
Mental Capital Report
PRODUCTIV
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➡ BE
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* Using ‘good work’ criteria defined by

Coats and Lehki (September 2008)

about the model Wellness is comprised of the mutually supportive

Developed by business for business, the BITC
Workwell Model reflects the realities of the
workplace and the complexity and interrelatedness
of the factors that influence employee wellness
and engagement. The Model is evidence based,
widely endorsed and positions employee wellness
and engagement as a strategic boardroom issue
linked to securing business objectives.
It provides a proactive, integrated and strategic
framework for promoting employee wellness and
engagement and articulates the inextricable link
between wellness and engagement to driving
sustainable performance.
relationship between the physical, psychological
and social health of the individual. (Towers Watson)
Engaged employees work with passion, commitment
and trust to drive and sustain their flourishing
organisation. (BITC)
Engagement combined with wellness enables
sustained employee performance.
The Model focuses on four principles that contribute
to wellness and engagement. These are better work,
better relationships, better specialist support and
better physical and psychological health.

The Model outlines actions that employers can take It demonstrates the top line business benefits of
to provide a context for their people to flourish. It also investing in employee wellness as better engagement,
promotes 5 ways to wellness that employees can take better recruitment and retention, better brand image
to improve their own emotional and physical resilience. and higher productivity.

6 BITC Public Reporting Guidelines

 4. Public Reporting Guidelines
A strategic boardroom issue
BITC Public Reporting Guidelines are about
moving the agenda on from basic health and
safety compliance, to elevating wellness and
engagement to become a boardroom issue.
Improved reporting on employee wellness and
engagement will become an essential part of
responsible business practice as it is the hallmark
of a sustainable business that is managing for
the long term.
An investor perspective
Henderson Global Investors is an independent fund
management company with £61.6 bn in assets under
management (as of 31st December 2010). For over
30 years, we have been active in managing money
on a Sustainable & Responsible Investment (SRI)
basis (assets total £749.7m). Our SRI philosophy
can be summed up as ‘doing well by doing good’, we
believe taking into account how companies manage
environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters
can not only add value to investments, it is also the
right thing to do.
Specifically we have long held the view that there
is a direct link between good employee practices
(or human capital management, HCM, as it is
referred to) and strong business performance.
Given investing in successful businesses is at the
core of what we do, getting an understanding of
how companies manage their staff is important
in identifying good investments.
Over the years, we have worked to explore this
link, and generate useful insights for our investment
activities. Aside from exploring specific HCM issues
such as gender pay and workplace stress, we have
continued to push more generally for greater public
disclosure by companies. Contributions in this
latter area are much needed, as through our own
experiences, we have found a lack of quality HCM
reporting by companies. This in turn makes it
difficult to determine the relative effectiveness
of management practices and how this links to
business performance. So often companies publicly
proclaim in their financial annual reports that
“employees are our most important and valuable
asset,” and how “our staff are critical to our success,”
yet most fail to elaborate on this, asking investors
and other stakeholders to take it on faith that they
are managing this effectively.
Our recent efforts with regards HCM has included
working with BITC’s Workwell Campaign on developing
toolkits for UK companies on health, safety and
wellbeing management, as well as on the development
of reporting guidelines for companies in this area. On
the latter point, we felt it was important to participate
in the guideline development process to ensure the
outputs would also be meaningful and useful for
investors. We hope the Guidelines will stimulate
debate and innovation and lead both to continuous
improvements in HCM management and reporting by
companies and as a consequence, to better business
performance and better investment decision-making.
In this time of global recession, despite the temptation
to roll back or delay HCM programmes, we would
argue it is even more imperative that companies
maintain if not step up their efforts. The recession
represents an opportunity for companies to gain
competitive advantage over peers. The business
environment is only going to become more
competitive as it becomes more global. Although the
world population continues to grow, it also continues
to age (particularly in the industrialised economies),
and its constituents increasingly discriminatory about
who it works for. We are convinced that employee
wellness and engagement as an issue is fast becoming
a key challenge for the companies we invest in. In
turn, this requires a more strategic response in terms
of board commitment, integration into core business
processes, along with clear communication and
reporting to investors. The prize is not just to stop the
waste that ill-health and low motivation represents,
but to grasp the business potential of enhanced
employee engagement and productivity.
My-Linh Ngo, Associate Director, SRI Research,
Sustainable & Responsible Investment (SRI)
Henderson Global Investors.
Henderson is a strategic partner of the BITC
Workwell Campaign, and member of the Steering
Group for BITC Public Reporting Guidelines.
BITC Public Reporting Guidelines 7
Investment community consultation
A set of draft BITC Public Reporting Guidelines,
developed by BITC Workwell Campaign Steering Group,
was previewed with investors at an event hosted by
BITC, Henderson Global Investors, and UKSIF, the
sustainable investment and finance trade association,
on 21st March 2011. Given investors are a key audience
for the data, the Steering Group wanted investors
views to feed into the final version of the Guidelines.
Delegates were invited to give feedback on:
• The quality and relevance of current reporting
on employee wellness and engagement based on
Ipsos MORI research and their own experiences;
• Their thoughts on the need for positioning
of reporting in terms of link back to securing
business objectives;
• The key issues and metrics they would suggest
companies prioritise reporting to help investors
better evaluate how companies are managing
this issue.
Feedback
Overall, there was a strong consensus by investors
that how companies manage employee wellness
and engagement was very important as it has a
correlation with business performance. Investors
believe such issues are relevant to all companies,
although they recognise different aspects of the
agenda have different levels of applicability for
companies in different industries and geographies,
and of different stages of maturity.
Investors want to see a business focus. They are
not interested in reporting for reporting’s sake.
A clear message was that a company should not
be reporting against every criteria in the Company
Public Reporting Framework – only those that are
the most relevant to its business and its sector.
Wellness and engagement is even more relevant
at a time of global recession, as it represents an
opportunity for companies to gain competitive
advantage over peers.
Despite the need and desire for such information,
the feedback overall from investors was that current
public reporting on this issue was “not very good”,
both in terms of the low level of reporting, as well as
the quality of what was reported, as well as the lack
of consistency in what was reported which prevented
8 BITC Public Reporting Guidelines
benchmarking efforts. By standardising metrics
investors can benchmark companies within and
where helpful, across, different business sectors.
Investors were clear that reporting on employee
wellness and engagement needed to demonstrate
its connection with business strategy, and as such
analysis to quantify the risks and benefits was
important, alongside more qualitative narrative.
Evidence demonstrating impact is crucial. One
investor observed, “Company reports have
insufficient KPIs and too many words saying
what is done without demonstrating the metrics.”
Another wanted to see “specific activities they
undertake for the benefit of their employees.”
Investors wanted to see reporting that identified:
• Health and safety risks to the business;
• Evidence of talent management being used to
build a strong skills base;
• Employee engagement leading to improved
employee satisfaction and retention (staff willing
to “go the extra mile”).
Reporting Guidelines should be:
• Relevant for public and private sector organisations;
• Across all business sectors;
• Applicable to international businesses and to
medium enterprises.
Evidence of wellness and engagement can
be reported as:
• Reducing the accident rate;
• Minimising absenteeism;
• Motivating staff to deliver a better customer service;
• Reducing workplace stress;
• Improving the speed at which getting return to work
after injury.
Investors recognised and urged companies to use
their reporting to create a clear narrative around
their “journey of improvement” – setting out the
stages in developing a best practice model.
 5. BITC Workwell Campaign Steering Group
Members
Dr Paul Litchfield, Chief Medical Officer,
BT Group (Chair)
Dr Frank Fox, Head of Occupational Health,
Anglo American
Kay Talbot, Business Manager Health Services,
British Airways
Jason Powell, CEO for Premier Medical Group,
Capita and Dr Mark Ratnarajah, Business
Development Director, Capita
Tricia O’Neill, Group Health Services Manager,
Centrica
Rosalind Minto, HR Business Partner,
London & South East, Compass Group
Sue Cruse, Director, Leadership Health
and Sustainability, GSK
Russell Turner, Operations Manager for
Occupational Health, Marks & Spencer
Andy Buxton, Health & Wellbeing Manager,
National Grid
Amanda Owen, Group Head of Safety,
Health, Wellbeing and Diversity, RBS
Strategic Partners
Ben Willmott, Senior Policy Adviser, CIPD
My-Linh Ngo, Associate Director, SRI Research,
Sustainable & Responsible Investment (SRI)
Henderson Global Investors
Jenny Dawkins, Research Director, Reputation
Centre, Ipsos MORI
About the Steering Group
The Steering Group was convened by BITC and
is drawn from senior practitioners from FTSE 100
companies identified by Ipsos MORI as exemplar
reporting companies in its research findings on
Public Reporting Trends May 2010. All of the
companies represented are members of BITC
and have provided thought leadership and overall
direction for the Public Reporting Guidelines.
Steering Group Strategic Partners
CIPD, Henderson Global Investors and Ipsos MORI
are strategic partners of BITC.
Purpose of Partnerships
Henderson Global Investors
The Henderson SRI team has been active over the
years in addressing human capital management (HCM)
issues, working with companies to encourage them to
manage it as well as report publicly on their efforts.
We have been engaging with BITC on HCM issues for
some time, and recently took a more involved role by
participating in the Workwell Campaign as a member
of BITC’s Boardroom Reporting Steering Group,
(which helped input into the development of the BITC
Workwell Model), and the subsequent Steering Group
for the development of these Guidelines to ensure
they are useful for investors. We will seek to raise
awareness of, and encourage uptake of the Guidelines,
by both investors and companies.
For more information about Henderson SRI, visit:
www.henderson.com/sri
BITC Public Reporting Guidelines 9
Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development (CIPD)
CIPD research consistently highlights the importance
of high quality leadership and people management
skills to sustainable organisation performance. This
has been supplemented recently by the government-
commissioned MacLeod review, which highlighted
the link between enhanced employee engagement
and improved business performance.
However evidence suggests UK people management
capability lies behind that of our main competitors
and that we as a nation invest less in management
development.
Effective Human Capital Management reporting
can highlight the link between effective people
management, employee engagement and wellbeing
and improvements to business performance and
consequently encourage organisations to invest in
the management and development of their people.
CIPD is working with its members to encourage and
support HR practitioners to generate high quality
people management information to help build the
business case for investing in people management
and development.
However it is equally important to raise this key
agenda within the wider business community if there
is to be a step change in the quality of HCM reporting
across UK plc.
BITC’s Public Reporting Guidelines provide an excellent
springboard for achieving much greater understanding
and profile at boardroom level of this key issue.
We believe that the CIPD, together with BITC and
Henderson Global Investors, are ideal partners in this
aim. Together we represent the HR, business and
investor communities, all of which need to be engaged
if there is to be substantive progress on this agenda.
10 BITC Public Reporting Guidelines
Ipsos MORI
Ipsos MORI’s Reputation Centre has long been
helping to provide evidence of the case for companies
engaging in responsible business practices and
communicating their progress to key stakeholders.
Our research often shows the impact of these issues
on a company’s reputation, and over the last few
years we have been working with BITC on various
statistical analyses to try and find links between
best practice responsible business and enhanced
financial performance.
We have conducted previous research for BITC’s
Workwell Campaign on FTSE 100 companies’ public
reporting on employee wellness and engagement.
Therefore, we were delighted to participate in the
Steering Group to further develop the analysis of
reporting on these themes and update the research
showing where the gaps are in current public
reporting on this agenda. It is good to see the key
gaps addressed in these Guidelines, and we hope to
see progress in the quality of future public reporting
to reflect this timely advice. Ultimately it is about
providing investors with more useful information on
this key area of business performance, and helping
companies to realise the full benefit from approaching
employee wellness and engagement strategically.
 6. Company Public Reporting Framework
introduction
In developing a Company Public Reporting Framework,
the Steering Group looked at what companies are
currently reporting on wellness and engagement
based on their own practice, the FTSE 100 reporting
trend research conducted by Ipsos MORI (March 2011),
as well as consider the latest thinking on best practice.
Common threads emerged such as staff survey results,
staff turnover, sickness absence trends and talent and
skills development.
A clear and early conclusion was that one size
doesn’t fit all when its comes to employee wellness
and engagement reporting. As such there was no easy
way of benchmarking this data. Frequency of reporting
varied as did the amount and detail of management
information reported on publicly. Companies were at
different stages of implementing employee wellness
and engagement policies. Different companies in
different sectors will use different interventions
that support the demographics of their business.
Our steering group covers mining, air travel, energy
supply, pharmaceuticals, retail, business services /
outsourcing, food service and banking.
The Steering Group recognised that aligning company
reporting to the BITC Workwell Model is a means of
adding value. This leads to greater consistency of
reporting and creates a platform for benchmarking
company performance on wellness and engagement.
The Steering Group set out to construct a framework
for reporting on wellness and engagement linked to
the BITC Workwell Model. The aim was to map for each
of the four quadrants, and central segment of the
Model, the corresponding:
• Input or management characteristics – e.g. the
company approaches, policies and initiatives.
• Output or outcomes characteristics – e.g. the
resulting actions demonstrated in the workforce and
/ or organisation as a whole, and their corresponding.
• Metrics – e.g. the quantitative measure report that
provides hard evidence that management (and
investors) need to see to determine whether the
interventions were working.
The metrics selected were kept as generic as
possible (rather than by sector specific, although
companies are encouraged to consider and explain
why some metrics are more relevant to their business
than others) and were graded according to different
levels of practice – entry level, intermediate level,
and mature level. This categorisation illustrates
the evolutionary stage at which a company is at
with regards management of employee wellbeing
and engagement:
• Entry level is often no more than a statement
of values, or intent to shift company culture or
workforce behaviour. It is linked to very basic
supporting metrics.
• Intermediate level is where we start to see wellness
and engagement practices embedded within the
company and results flowing from that commitment
to long term change.
• Mature level is where business benefits start to flow
from actions and where companies can be seen to be
taking strategic and long term decisions supported
by hard metrics that include return on investment.
The Framework contains simple descriptors which a
range of disciplines from HR, health and safety, talent
management or employee engagement can interpret
silo metrics to gain a picture of how sets of measures
add up to a holistic and integrated policy that will
impact on business performance.
BITC Public Reporting Guidelines 11
Employee footprint
Accompanying the reporting suggested in the
template Framework below, companies are
recommended to provide some narrative reporting
on the past, and existing, employee composition and
dynamics, or the ‘employee footprint’, to draw the
parallel with carbon footprinting, where companies
map out their carbon impacts along the value chain.
Such employee audit information is useful for the
audience as it provides the context on which they
can judge the effectiveness of future management
practices and associated targets.
The proposed metrics are intentionally generic
although there is a recognition that a ‘one size fits
all’ to metrics development is not possible. However
these metrics do represent a useful basis on which
to considering reporting. As such companies are
encouraged to ‘comply or explain’ why, in their specific
instances, such a proposed metric is not appropriate,
and propose alternatives.

Narrative commentary complementing the

metrics reporting
Companies should not rely solely on reporting
quantitative metrics. Narrative reporting should
accompany the statistic, given the context for
interpreting the data. The commentary should be
open and frank, highlighting the ongoing challenges
as well as the successes.

Metrics
Such metrics may be in an aggregated or
disaggregated form, and may include a combination
of management (process) metrics and performance
(impact) metrics. There should be time series data
associated with the metrics so the audience gets
a sense for the performance trend and trajectory
of travel. Performance metrics should also include a
balance of leading and lagging indicators. The audience
is looking for evidence which demonstrates the costs /
risks avoided as well as the benefits realised. In some
instances, qualitative narrative, in the form of case
studies, can be helpful in demonstrate the impact
of company efforts.

12 BITC Public Reporting Guidelines

The BITC workwell model

Business benefits

Employee actions
recommended by Foresight
Mental Capital Report
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* Using ‘good work’ criteria defined by

Coats and Lehki (September 2008)

Principles
Employee wellness and engagement management
best practice is defined according to the following
principles:
1. Demonstrating a robust employee wellness and
engagement strategy linked to securing business
objectives.
2. Ensuring a strategic approach to skills and talent
that meets current and future business needs.
3. Ensuring employee communication and voice
supports engagement.
4. Taking a proactive approach to building physical
and psychological resilience to support sustainable
performance.
5. Providing a safe and pleasant environment that
supports wellness and productivity.

BITC Public Reporting Guidelines 13

 BETTER WORK
Creating a happy, engaging environment ‘good work’ which, according to a Work
Foundation report by Coats and Lehki (September 2008) is characterised by:
• A management style and an organisational culture that
promotes mutual trust and respect
• Employment security
• Talent management
• Job design: task and variety challenge
• Autonomy, control and task discretion
• Non monotonous and repetitive work
• Employee voice
LEVEL Input characteristics
The company demonstrates:
ENTRY Clear values and principles
for employee behaviour.
Skills development policies
and training programmes.
Attention to job design.
Formal mechanisms for
consultation with employees.
Intermediate Board director with direct
responsibility for employee
wellness and engagement.
Leadership and people
management training.
Mature Management scorecards
that include performance
on employee wellness and
engagement.
* Note: Only additional metrics (to the Entry Level) are listed for each progressive evolutionary level.
14 BITC Public Reporting Guidelines
Output characteristics
The workforce / organisation
demonstrates:
A culture of respect
and ethical behaviour.
A learning culture of
continual development.
A sense of empowerment.
A collaborative team
working ethos.
Collaborative behaviour
with evidence of taking
personal responsibility
for health and wellbeing.
Understanding of and
alignment with business
priorities.
Joint initiatives between
the company and employee
representatives to promote
health and wellbeing.
Metrics
(Mix of management,
impact KPIs)*
Company funded training
time per person.
Results of annual
job satisfaction or
engagement survey.
Length of tenure of staff.
Proportion of senior positions
filled by internal applicants.
Trend results of annual
engagement survey and
intermediate pulse surveys.
Trend for engagement aligned
to the strategic goals of the
company as measured through
multiple channels at least
quarterly.
 BETTER WORK – case studies
Mature LEVEL
Glaxo Smithkline
Glaxo Smithkline (GSK) is one of the world’s leading
research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies
and is headquartered in London. Created in 2000 out of
the merger of GlaxoWellcome and SmithklineBeecham,
GSK operates in more than 70 countries and employs
over 90,000 people worldwide.
Specific issue – improving organisational style and
management culture
Leaders need to better empower staff. GSK has established
a link between leadership behaviours, business strategy and
delivery on the corporate mission which is to improve the
quality of human life by “enabling people to do more, feel
better and live longer.”
Rationale
Energy for Performance is a short training programme
for senior leadership within GSK UK and worldwide in
maximising energy levels through increased self awareness
and skills in managing the quantity, quality, focus and force
of their energy. The programme positively impacts key
leadership behaviours such as flexible thinking, developing
people and building relationships.
Management focus and metrics
Employee surveys improved scores across the leadership
behaviours that empower and engage. The improvement
was statistically significant. Staff whose leaders had taken
the course were a lot more positive when commenting on
management’s behaviours than those whose leaders had not.
Reporting frequency
The results of the employee survey are covered in the
annual CSR report available online and in printed format.
There are internal management reports.
Lessons learned
You need critical mass to transform the business
environment and sustain this transformation. Benefits from
training are maintained when all leaders in an area of the
business have completed Energy for Performance training.
GSK now see this training as a part of leadership
development not solely a health and safety initiative.
Mature LEVEL
Compass Group
Compass Group is a multinational business specialising
in catering, cleaning and facilities management. It fulfills
big in-house contracts to provide catering in the education,
healthcare, business and industry, facilities management,
defence, offshore, in store and sports and leisure sectors
and has a high-end luxury catering operation, Restaurant
Associates.
Specific issue – expertise and competence (talent
management)
Compass Group is creating an internal talent pool to
expand the business and meet growing customer demand.
This reverses a previous tendency to hire externally.
Rationale
In 2009 Compass launched Evolve in the UK, an
internally assessed Level 4 qualification in business and
administration. Middle managers are selected by interview
and assessment centre and numbers of candidates are
linked to business forecasts. Evolve combines externally and
internally taught modules with in-company placements and
stretch goals.
Management focus and metrics
Over six months, 50 per cent of Evolve candidates move on
to bigger and better jobs within Compass. A comparison of
business unit performance reveals profits rose on average
6 per cent in parts of the company where there are Evolve
candidates. The cost of recruitment has fallen.
Reporting frequency
A quarterly HR report details the number of candidates
going through the Evolve programme. The HR team receive
a monthly report on Evolve. There is no mention of Evolve
in the Compass annual reports as this deals only with global
matters.
Lessons learned
The business needs to map its internal skills against a
qualifications framework. A company needs to become an
approved centre of a national awarding body. In Compass’s
case it uses Edexcel. Compass has called on an external
consultancy to deliver specialist training.
BITC Public Reporting Guidelines 15
 BETTER relationships

Good relationships – at work and at home – provide the ‘social capital’

which individuals need to maintain mental health and engagement.
Promoting and enabling better communication and social cohesion
to support good relationships in the workplace particularly among:
• Line manager
• Team colleagues
• Support networks
Relationships outside work (family and friends) can also be supported through
flexible working practices and through involvement in social initiatives.

LEVEL Input characteristics Output characteristics Metrics

The company demonstrates:
ENTRY Flexible working policies
including job shares.
Family-friendly policies
(maternity and carer
responsibility) and facilities
(e.g. crèche)
Promotion of team working.
The workforce / organisation
demonstrates:
Flexible attitudes to changes
in work practice.
Loyalty to the company.
Pride in the job.
(Mix of management,
impact KPIs)*
Proportion of workforce with
flexible working arrangements.
Proportion of women returning
after maternity leave.
Proportion of take-up of
paternity leave.
Grievance cases as a spot rate.

Intermediate Managers’ appraisals that
are linked to their people
management capability.
An employee volunteering
policy.
Promotion of working across
organisational boundaries.
Mature Managers that are developed
to be coaches / mentors.
A perception of organisational
justice.
Personal development with
skills learnt in the community
brought back into the company.
Pride in the team.
Continuous improvement in
skill levels and performance.
Trend data for grievances
upheld.
Volunteering commitment.
Proportion of requests for
flexible working accepted.
Performance trend
in external surveys of
employee engagement.

Promotion of external Pride in the company. Proportion of entitled staff

relationships with taking up maternity leave
professional bodies and sharing arrangements.
academic institutions.

* Note: Only additional metrics (to the Entry Level) are listed for each progressive evolutionary level.

16 BITC Public Reporting Guidelines

 BETTER relationships – case studies
intermediate LEVEL
British Airways
British Airways is a global airline and has recently
merged with Spanish airline Iberia. BA is now part
of International Airlines group, a merger that was
completed on 1 January 2011.
Specific issue – good relationships at work –
promoting and enabling better social cohesion
BA is committed to building an inclusive and diverse
culture where every colleague feels valued and respected
and drawing on the different knowledge and perspectives
within its business to create innovative and flexible thinking.
It is important for the airline to attract and retain the right
people and to ensure that it reflects the diversity of its
customer base.
Rationale
There are established policies in place that cover mobility
and disability as well as age, race, gender, religion and
sexual orientation. The Diversity and Inclusion Team provide
training guidance and specialist advice to ensure that all
colleagues understand how to apply discrimination law in
the workplace. The team also work with local champions to
ensure that the company maximises talent and delivers best
practice around inclusion in the workplace. BA publishes a
monthly e-newsletter updating colleagues on current issues
around inclusion, and diversity training is mandatory for
all managers. An inclusive culture can directly impact on
BA’s customer perception and increase its reputation for
excellent customer service.
Management focus and metrics
BA’s colleague survey collects information about
the diversity and demographics of its workforce. In
addition, trend data is reported, to look at any areas
of disproportionate representation.
Reporting frequency
Workforce diversity in terms of percentages of different
groups is included in the company’s CSR report, two board
reports and an annual report.
Lessons learned
The Diversity and Inclusion Team are continuously working
to further embed and integrate diversity and inclusion
into the business. There are five employee network groups
covering gender, disability, faith, ethnic background and
sexual orientation. They provide invaluable advice to other
colleagues help with designing new products and offer
guidance on cultural differences linked to new routes.
The current focus of work is around managing conflict
resolution to drive greater dignity and respect into the
workplace and using the opportunity of London 2012 to
drive greater improvements in the journey process for
all BA’s disabled customers.
intermediate LEVEL
Marks & Spencer
British retailer Marks & Spencer has over 700 stores
in the UK and over 300 spread across more than 40
countries. It specialises in selling clothing and luxury
food products. In 1998 it became the first British retailer
to make a pre-tax profit of over £1 billion.
Specific issue – employee community engagement
The company wanted to communicate with the entire
workforce, to help people adopt healthier lifestyles and
not just focus on the tiny minority (3 per cent) of sickness
absence cases.
Rationale
Marks & Spencer developed a platform, planahealth.com,
to create social support networks, and promote volunteering.
The website offers advice on wellbeing including healthy diet,
exercise, and better work life balance. The site contains a
telephone helpline as well and a list of external healthcare
specialists. Staff sign up to health pledges.
Management focus and metrics
Staff joining the scheme complete a health questionnaire
to assess their general level of health. One in seven of
the Marks & Spencer workforce has signed up to a health
pledge many involving communal activities such as a
day a month volunteering for the charity of their choice.
Staff undertaking pledge activities are monitored every
two weeks.
Reporting frequency
Use of the site is fed back to Marks & Spencer occupational
health on a monthly basis enabling management to pinpoint
potential healthcare issues at regional or branch level. Details
of employee health pledges appears under “How We Do
Business” in the company’s annual report.
Lessons learned
Pilot the project. Get a feel for what employees want and
keep the offer simple. Do not try to do too much too soon.
Return on investment is not measured.
Do not be influenced by preconceptions. Virtually all Marks
& Spencer workers had access to a PC at home and many
were accessing the website on their i-phone or i–pad.
Today every business is looking for ways in which it can
maintain shareholder value and the rate of change and the need
for innovation is relentless. Marks and Spencer have always
realised that business success directly corresponds to the
happiness and health of its people. A health framework which
is as focused and innovative as our business strategy enhances
our ability to deliver the healthy and engaged people who will
bring that success.
Russell Turner, OH Operations Manager UK and International,
Marks & Spencer
BITC Public Reporting Guidelines 17
 BETTER relationships – case studies

Mature LEVEL

Nationwide Building Society

Nationwide Building Society provides financial services
both directly, and through approximately 750 high street
branches. Nationwide is a major provider of both mortgage
loans and savings in the UK. It has remained in the
ownership of its members and was the only major building
society to retain its mutual status.
Specific issue – consultation and motivation
Nationwide has a very low staff turnover (around 12 per
cent) and many employees have been with the business
for between 20 and 30 years. HR’s brief was to deliver high
levels of employee engagement across the business and
provide the basis for leadership development.
Rationale
A detailed staff satisfaction survey completed by more than
80 per cent of staff provides management insights. 360
degree feedback on managers provides a leadership profile
of the qualities that inspire staff and drive the business.
Management focus and metrics
Survey results give insight into where employee wellness
and engagement is highest. For example, branches with the
lowest levels of sickness, highest levels of staff turnover
and branches where highly engaged staff deliver higher
sales and customer satisfaction.
Reporting frequency
Survey results are aggregated for internal management. A
broad summary is published in Nationwide’s annual report.
Lessons learned
Leaders can create a demotivating environment. Feedback
from staff satisfaction survey prompted a new leadership
programme for middle managers around motivating and
retaining staff.

Nationwide has always taken a real interest in employee

engagement because not only is it the right thing to do (being
a good corporate citizen) but our people insight data clearly
shows a tangible link between engagement levels and high
levels of business performance. We want to remain Number
One for service in retail financial services and engaging with
our people is one of the keys to delivering that.
Andrea Cartwright, Head of HR, Nationwide

18 BITC Public Reporting Guidelines

 BETTER specialist support
Better specialist support can help teams manage health issues at
work or facilitate a more efficient return to work for those off work.
Better support and interventions to manage health and wellbeing
can be provided by:
• Occupational health
• Human resources
• Employee assistance / counselling
• Training for line managers and employees
LEVEL Input characteristics
The company demonstrates:
ENTRY Attendance / absence
management policies
that are not punitive.
Access to occupational
health advice.
Manager defined adjustments
to aid rehabilitation and speed
return to work.
Intermediate Health and wellbeing policies
linked to enhanced personal
and business performance.
Access to Employee
Assistance Programmes
(EAP) that provide a broad
range of advisory services
on a confidential basis.
Access to specialist
adjustments advisory services.
Mature A comprehensive framework
of resources and services that
address prevention, early
intervention and rehabilitation
for both physical and
psychological health issues.
* Note: Only additional metrics (to the Entry Level) are listed for each progressive evolutionary level.
Output characteristics
The workforce / organisation
demonstrates:
Fewer spells of short term
absence and shorter duration
of extended absences.
Increased trust in the
company and its agents.
Improved cooperation
with return to work plans.
Improved physical fitness and
psychological resilience.
Greater responsibility in
addressing issues that
might impact on work.
More flexibility in adapting
to work and customer
requirements.
A shared responsibility for
overcoming obstacles to
delivering high performance.
Metrics
(Mix of management,
impact KPIs)*
Sickness absence as
a spot rate.
Uptake / utilisation rate for
occupational health service.
Sickness absence as
a trend over time.
Uptake / utilisation rate
for Employee Assistance
Programme (EAP) and
related schemes.
Duration of extended absences.
Sickness absence trends
broken down by major causes
and benchmarked against
relevant indices.
Rate of rehabilitation into
their own job for workers
absent for an extended period.
Customer satisfaction
of employees making use
of services provided.
BITC Public Reporting Guidelines 19
 BETTER specialist support – case studies

intermediate LEVEL intermediate LEVEL

Centrica
With almost 37,000 employees, Centrica is the UK’s
biggest energy supplier.
Specific issue – attendance management
(interventions in / treatments of existing conditions)
Centrica reports on the results of triage offered to British
Gas engineers suffering musculoskeletal disorders.
Rationale
Triage is designed to help people return to work and it
involves prioritising interventions according to severity
of the condition. It comprises:
• telephone based advice from a physiotherapist ;
• written health guidance;
• face-to-face physiotherapy.
Management focus and metrics
Triage has contributed to a reduction of absence for
work related musculoskeletal disorders from 37 days
in 2008 to 25 days in 2009.
Reporting frequency
Externally Centrica reports on the results of this
support within its corporate responsibility and its
annual board report.
Lessons learned
Significant organisational change takes 6-12 months to
impact on someone’s wellbeing. Building the resilience of
individuals is building the resilience of the organisation
and its ability to respond to change.
Capita
With a £2.7 billion turnover and 36,800 employees
Capita Group Plc is the UK’s leading provider of business
process outsourcing and occupational health services.
Specific issue – attendance management
Formal “day one” absence monitoring and case
management.
Rationale
Capita is moving towards paperless reporting and is in
the process of rolling out an online CRM platform which
will provide real time data capture and analysis.
Management focus and metrics
A training programme designed to support line managers
has resulted in a 30 per cent reduction in absence over
2 years and £400 savings per employee.
Reporting frequency
Internal reporting on absence data and case information
is fed back to managers constantly.
Lessons learned
In time, Capita and its customers will be able to “dashboard”
key employee welfare information and health outcomes data
to inform corporate strategy and governance.

Employee wellbeing is a key factor in determining an

organisation’s long-term profitability. Centrica’s health and
wellbeing strategy recognises that we need preventative
and speedy access to remedial interventions when needed,
to ensure we meet our business commitments. Good
musculoskeletal health is key for many of our employees
in their day to day activities and we invest in preventative
activities to keep people well and active. Additionally, by
providing access to early physiotherapy advice and treatment
our employees recover more quickly and receive information
to manage their ongoing musculoskeletal health.
Graeme Collinson, Group Director, Health,
Safety & Environment, Centrica

20 BITC Public Reporting Guidelines

BETTER specialist support – case studies

intermediate LEVEL

Royal Bank of Scotland

The Group, with over 148,000 employees in 50 countries,
has responded to the global financial crisis by embarking
on a strategic plan to return it to stand alone strength. In
doing so, the Group embarked on a significant restructuring
programme that has directly and indirectly affected a
large number of employees.
Specific issue – support our people through change
The Group proactively promoted and utilised the counselling
service provided by Lifematters in assisting those employees
and their families affected by the restructuring programme.
Rationale
In addition to promoting the support services available
through Lifematters, RBS worked closely with their service
providers to produce support packs intended to develop
the capability of managers in effectively communicating
change, dealing with emotions at work, delivering news
of redundancy and rebuilding morale after restructure.
Management focus and metrics
Quarterly statistics on Lifematters usage are analysed
to identify any issues and shape the health and wellbeing
strategy and interventions. Employee feedback is invited
on the service provided by Lifematters and the annual
employee opinion survey invites feedback on wellbeing
within the Group. In 2010, 68% of employees indicated that
the senior management of their business was interested
in their wellbeing
Reporting frequency
The company publishes a Safety, Health and Wellbeing
Report, a downloadable document linked to its corporate
website. Headline data are also available through RBS’s
sustainability report.
Lessons learned
Line Managers have a key role in the health and wellbeing
of our people. RBS’s intent is to provide Line Managers with
the knowledge, information, tools and supporting services
that they need to support their teams.

We recognise the important role that Line Managers

play in the health and wellbeing of our people. Our intent is
to provide Line Managers with the knowledge, information,
tools and supporting services that they need to support their
teams, particularly through periods of change.
Amanda Owen, Head of Group Safety,
Health Wellbeing and Diversity

BITC Public Reporting Guidelines 21

 BETTER physical and psychological health
Create a safe and pleasant work environment by:
• Promoting a physically safe working environment with optimal air
quality, temperature, noise, lighting and layout of work spaces.
• Promoting healthy behaviours such as emotional resilience which
builds self esteem, healthy eating, physical activity, smoking cessations,
sensible drinking and avoidance of drug misuse.
LEVEL Input characteristics
The company demonstrates:
ENTRY Suitable and sufficient health
and safety training for workers
and managers.
Provision of advice on personal
behaviours that promote
improved health and wellbeing.
Intermediate An internal quality
management system for
health and safety with
analogous requirements
placed on contractors.
Provision of company
programmes and campaigns to
promote health and wellbeing.
Mature A certificated, externally
validated health and safety
management system (e.g.
ISO 18001) with analogous
requirements placed on
contractors and suppliers.
Provision of an integrated
health promotion system
that addresses both physical
and psychological wellbeing
and incentivises sustained
improvement.
* Note: Only additional metrics (to the Entry Level) are listed for each progressive evolutionary level.
22 BITC Public Reporting Guidelines
Output characteristics
The workforce / organisation
demonstrates:
Awareness of risks to
themselves and others
impacted by their activities.
An understanding of key
behaviours on current and
future health status.
Acceptance of some
responsibility for the health
and safety of themselves
and others they are working
with directly.
Participation in programmes
and campaigns to improve
their own health and wellbeing. health status.
Commitment to shared
responsibility to prevent all
avoidable harm to themselves,
their colleagues and the public.
Sustained behavioural
change that benefits their
own health and wellbeing and
that of those around them.
Metrics
(Mix of management,
impact KPIs)*
Statutory health and safety
reporting.
Workforce demographics
marking health status.
Trend health and safety data.
Trend in workplace
demographics marking
Trend health and safety
data aligned to strategic
commitments and measured
through multiple channels.
Trend in objective measures
of health and wellbeing.
BETTER physical and psychological health – case studies
intermediate LEVEL
Openreach
BT employs some 89,000 people in the United Kingdom
of whom around 26,000 engineers work in the Openreach
division which is responsible for installation, support and
maintenance of the “first mile” access network from the
door to the exchange.
Specific issue – promoting emotional resilience through
change management
Openreach is in the middle of a major planned technology
infrastructure build to create a high speed fibre network
which will provide super fast broadband to most of Great
Britain. This has led to a phenomenal pace of change in
ways of working which runs the risk of increased levels
of employee stress.
Rationale
BT has developed an integrated approach to wellbeing
that links health and safety with managing change well
and protecting mental health. An integral part of that has
been the development of a mental health toolkit to provide
practical support in the prevention, early intervention and
rehabilitation of employees. Openreach has tailored the
toolkit to meet its own specific needs and has incorporated
it into its management of change.
Management focus and metrics
Openreach measures change management capability
through annual and quarterly satisfaction surveys which
are completed by around 60 per cent of staff. Emotional
resilience is measured through both these surveys by
the level of sickness absence and the number of bullying
and harassment instances and the number of grievances
brought by employees. Figures are broken down by region
and managers focus on identifying the areas of the business
where employees are impacted the most and tackle this
by a range of measures including the mental health toolkit.
Reporting frequency
Monthly figures are available on absence and grievance.
Quarterly reports provide detail on employee engagement
and are published internally for managers at a unit level.
Lessons learned
Openreach often has to go beyond the metrics to get the
insight. Its employee survey asks specific questions such
as “does my manager do a good job in explaining reasons
behind major decisions.” A manager’s role is to help their
staff cope with change and mitigate its effect. If change
isn’t managed sickness rates go up.
The pace of change in society is accelerating and that is
particularly evident in the business world. Telecommunications
is widely regarded as being at the forefront of technological
and commercial change which brings pressures on all working
in the sector. Creating a comprehensive mental health
framework to prevent problems as far as possible and
to support people who do become unwell has been a key
element in BT’s successful transformation.
Dr Paul Litchfield, Chief Medical Officer, BT Group
intermediate LEVEL
National Grid
National Grid is an international electricity and gas
company and one of the largest investor-owned energy
companies in the world. National Grid owns the high-
voltage electricity transmission network in England and
Wales and operates the system across Great Britain. It
also owns and operates the high pressure gas transmission
system in Britain and its distribution business delivers
gas to 11 million homes and businesses.
Specific issues – cardiovascular risk and engagement.
National Grid has developed and implemented an
engaging, multi layered approach to helping employees
understand and address some of their cardiovascular risks
by implementing a range of assessments, wellness kiosks,
activity programmes, educational material and workshops
as part of its developing wellbeing strategy.
Rationale
Cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and stroke
is the biggest killer in the UK. There are many lifestyle
factors that can impact upon an individual’s risks and this
provided a strong platform for National Grid to engage all
its workforce, allow employees to take responsibility for
their health and capture a number of individual programmes,
(e.g. weight, activity, smoking cessation, blood pressure,
cholesterol, etc.) under one strategic health issue.
Reporting frequency
Each participating employee has an individual report on
risk level, biometric data and improvement options / further
specific support. Engagement levels are reported to the
lines of business every six months. Outputs from individual
programmes like our Shape Up National Grid activity
campaign are reported at their conclusions. A broad account
of activity, participation, impact and investment is made
to our Executive on an annual basis and within our Annual
Reports and Accounts, and Corporate Responsibility Report.
Lessons learned
Engaging a workforce on a well designed cardiovascular
management programme as part of an integrated wellbeing
campaign provides the basis for employees to understand
their basic health numbers (blood pressure, cholesterol,
weight etc.) to which small adjustments to their lifestyle (diet,
activity level etc.) can have significant impact upon their
quality of life and performance, both at home and at work.
Cardiovascular disease is a major course of ill health
in the UK. National Grid recognises the beneficial effects of
investing in health interventions including cardiovascular risk
assessments, and campaigns that encourage positive lifestyle
change, and is committed to helping employees improve their
health and wellbeing.
Dr. James Mackie, Company Medical Adviser, National Grid
BITC Public Reporting Guidelines 23
 BETTER physical and psychological health – case studies

mature LEVEL

anglo american
Anglo American is one of the world’s largest mining
companies. Its South Africa mining operation, Anglo
Platinum, employs 54,000 people, 34,000 of them
working underground.
Specific issue – workplace design and health and safety
Anglo Platinum is committed to building a safer working
environment and reducing the accident and fatality rate
for mine workers.
Rationale
The company is investing £60 million a year on stabilising
mine roofs with rock anchors, increasing headroom and
containing rock falls caused by blasting with strong cargo
net fixed overhead. The net is capable of holding 2-5 tonnes
of loose rock. Anglo Platinum is investing heavily in replacing
pneumatic drills with much quieter electric drills.
Management focus and metrics
Mining is inherently dangerous. Anglo Platinum’s licence
to operate depends on a commitment to health and safety.
Investment in safety has reduced the fatality rate to .058
deaths per million shifts, half of the industry average.
Reporting frequency
Safety reporting is done on a daily basis internally. Injury
and fatality rates are reported as rates and as absolute
numbers. They are included in the company’s annual report
as injuries per 200,000 man hours.
Lessons learned
Safety first is a core company value. Improvements to safety
and the environment are comprehensive and integrated.

Safety is and will always remain our number one priority.

I believe that zero harm is achievable. I am absolutely
committed to achieving this and I expect everyone to share
that commitment.
Cynthia Carroll, CEO, Anglo American

24 BITC Public Reporting Guidelines

 Working well (central segment)

Position employee wellness and engagement as a boardroom issue.

Wellness is comprised of the mutually supportive relationship between the
physical, psychological and social health of the individual. (Towers Watson)

Engaged employees work with passion, commitment and trust to drive and
sustain their flourishing organisation. (BITC)

Engagement combined with wellness enables sustained employee performance.

Characteristics of a company that is working well include:

• Employees feel trusted and that their work is valued and makes a difference.
• Employees believe their views are respected and considered.
• A proactive approach to employee physical, psychological and social wellbeing.
• Customers and business partners proactively want to work with the company
and its employees.
• Employee and company aims and objectives are aligned in a way that generates
win-win for both parties.

LEVEL Input characteristics Output characteristics Metrics

The company demonstrates:
ENTRY Recognition of the link between
employee engagement
and wellness to business
performance.
The workforce / organisation (Mix of management,
demonstrates: impact KPIs)*
A culture that values having Staff turnover as a spot rate.
a happy, healthy and engaged
workforce in terms of the
benefits to the business.
External awards.

Intermediate Invests material resources,
meaningful time and
commitment to the
implementation of employee
wellness and engagement
efforts.
Plans developed for achieving
business objectives require the
need to take HCM practices
into account.
Board level director can
speak competently and
provide evidence to illustrate
how employee practices are
impacting on achievement of
business objectives.
Innovative collaborations
and partnerships with other
parties to develop thinking
and implementation of best
practice.
Staff turnover as a trend
over time.
Impact assessment of
programmes conducted to
demonstrate effectiveness
and, where possible, return
on investment.

Mature Addressing the challenges of
presenteeism and resilience
within its HCM policies.
Board level directors Staff turnover as a trend over
proactively communicate time, differentiating between
on such issues with external category of leaver.
stakeholders such as investors.
Employees regularly and Employment equity (gender,
proactively engage with ethnicity, sexual orientation,
management and external disability, age, etc) at multiple
stakeholders in a constructive organisational levels.
and positive way.
Company demonstrates
ability to quickly and easily
adapt and evolve working
practices in light of changing
business needs and operating
environment.

* Note: Only additional metrics (to the Entry Level) are listed for each progressive evolutionary level.

BITC Public Reporting Guidelines 25

 7. Metrics Framework Definitions

The following section gives some examples of how
the metrics included in the Company Public Reporting
Framework might be calculated by large companies.
These are not intended to be definitive, rather they
are suggestions which some companies may wish to
adopt. There may be equally valid metrics relevant
to specific companies and specific industry sectors,
and equally valid methods for expressing the metrics
included in the Framework. Of course, it is important
for companies to explain the basis of their calculations
so that investors can accurately interpret the data
included in public reporting.

BETTER WORK
Results of annual job satisfaction or engagement Calculation
survey (Entry)
Employee opinion survey conducted annually and gauging Number of PiP responding positively x 100
the proportion of People in Post (PiP) satisfied with the
company, their job and wanting to stay. Number of PiP responding to survey

Trend results of annual engagement survey Calculation

and intermediate pulse surveys (Intermediate)
Staff engagement as measured by a standardised question EEI shown as a mean response on a 1-5 scale
set, administered at least annually to the whole workforce and reported over (minimum) of 3 years.
and supplemented by intermediate sample surveys, to
construct an Employee Engagement Index (EEI) reported
over multiple years.
Trend for engagement aligned to the strategic Calculation
goals of the company as measured through
multiple channels at least quarterly (Mature)
Staff engagement dashboard measured by standardised Composite dashboard of EEI, Wellbeing, Performance
question sets, administered quarterly to the whole workforce Support and Confidence in Leaders shown as a mean
and / or representative samples, to gauge Employee response with confidence intervals on a 1-5 scale and
Engagement Index (EEI), Wellbeing Index, Performance reported over (minimum) of 3 years.
Support Index and Confidence in senior leader decisions
and direction and reported over multiple years.
Company funded training time per person (Entry) Calculation:
Internal and external training funded by the company Total training days completed during year
expressed as days per People in Post (PiP) per year.
Average PiP for the year
Length of tenure of staff (Entry) Calculation:
Staff retention shown as length of service in proportion to Average length of service shown by 10 year age bands.
the demographics of the workforce and expressed as average
tenure by age band.

Proportion of senior positions filled by internal Calculation:

applicants (Intermediate)
Internal appointments to senior positions expressed as Posts filled by internal candidates per year x 100
percentage of vacant executive level posts filled by internal
candidates per year. Vacant executive level posts in same period

26 BITC Public Reporting Guidelines

Better Relationships
Proportion of workforce with flexible working Calculation
arrangements (Entry)
Number of staff per year with agreed flexibility PiP with flexibility arrangements x 100
in work location and / or working hours expressed
as a percentage of the total People in Post (PiP). Total PiP at same point in time

Proportion of requests for flexible working Calculation

accepted (Intermediate)
The number of flexible working requests acceded to
expressed as a percentage of the number of requests made.
Proportion of women returning after maternity
leave (Entry)
Number of women per year returning to employment
for at least 12 months on completion of their agreed spell
of maternity leave (including adoption) expressed as a
percentage of all women taking maternity leave in the
same period.
Proportion of take-up of paternity leave (Entry)
Number of men per year taking up their full allowance
of paternity leave (including adoption) expressed as a
percentage of all men entitled to paternity leave in the
same period.
Number of flexible working requests
accepted per year x 100
Number of people making a request
for flexible working per year
Calculation
Women returning from maternity leave per year x 100
Women taking maternity leave in the same period
Calculation
Men taking paternity leave per year x 100
Men entitled to take paternity leave
in the same period

Proportion of entitled staff taking up maternity Calculation

leave sharing arrangements (Mature)
Number of people who take up their entitlement to share Number of people sharing maternity leave
maternity leave expressed as a percentage of people entitled per year x 100
to make such an arrangement.
Number of people entitled to share maternity
leave per year
Grievance cases as a spot rate (Entry) Calculation
Number of people raising a formal grievance in the year Number of people raising a formal grievance x 100
expressed as percentage of People in Post (PiP).
Average PiP for the year

Trend data for grievances upheld (Intermediate) Calculation Over (minimum) of 3 years
Number of people whose formal grievance is upheld Grievance cases upheld per year x 100
expressed as a percentage of the total number of people
raising a grievance per year reported over multiple years. Grievance cases raised per year

Volunteering commitment (Intermediate) Calculation

Volunteering undertaken in paid company time expressed Volunteering days completed during year
as days per average number of Full Time Equivalent staff
(FTE) per year Average FTE for the year

Performance trend in external surveys of employee Calculation

engagement (Mature)
Participation in external benchmarks and / or surveys Trend data showing ranking in external benchmarks
for high performing companies (e.g. Great Places to Work, or surveys of employee engagement reported over
Gallup G12, Towers Watson, etc) demonstrating improving (minimum) 3 years.
and / or sustained performance with external recognition
(e.g. CIPD, CBI, Observer, etc).

BITC Public Reporting Guidelines 27

 Better Specialist Support
Sickness absence as a spot rate (Entry)
Number of days lost per year due to sickness
absence expressed as the percentage of the working days*
available for the population in that period.
Calculation
Working days lost to sickness per year x 100
Working days available in the same year

*Organisations that measure calendar days rather than working days can convert the rate as follows – exclude from the
denominator average leave entitlement, public holidays and other non work days (e.g. weekends) for the whole population
being measured.
Sickness absence as a trend over time (Intermediate) Calculation Over (minimum) of 3 years
Number of days lost per year due to sickness absence Working days lost to sickness per year x 100
expressed as the percentage of the working days available
for the population in that period showing retrospective data Working days available in the same year
for multiple years.
Sickness absence trends broken down by major causes Calculation Over (minimum) of 3 years
and benchmarked against relevant indices (Mature)
Number of days lost per year due to sickness absence Working days lost per year by disease category* x 100
expressed as the percentage of the working days available
for the population in that period showing retrospective data Working days available in the same year
for multiple years. Data to be broken down by major disease
categories aligned to a recognised classification system *A subdivision of this data into work related and non work
(e.g. ICD 10) and benchmarked against published sources of related time lost is desirable where “work relatedness”
information (e.g. CIPD, HSE, CBI, etc). Main categories are is determined by an objective observer (e.g. occupational
likely to include musculoskeletal disorders and mental health physician) against predetermined inclusion criteria.
problems; differentiating between work related and non work
related absences is desirable.
Uptake / utilisation rate for occupational health Calculation
service (Entry)
Number of personal cases dealt with by the occupational Completed OHS referrals* per year x 1,000
health service in providing support to the company and the
workforce expressed as completed referrals per 1,000 People Average PiP for the year
in Post (PiP) per year. *A subdivision of this data into self referral, management
referral and occupational risk related health surveillance
would raise the maturity level to Intermediate (I)
Uptake / utilisation rate for Employee Assistance Calculation
Programme (EAP) and related schemes (Intermediate)
Number of personal cases dealt with by the Employee Completed EAP cases per year x 1,000
Assistance Programme, or equivalent, in providing support
to the workforce expressed as completed cases per 1,000 Average PiP for the year
People in Post (PiP) per year.
Duration of extended absences (Intermediate) Calculation Over (minimum) of 3 years
The average duration of spells of absence lasting more Working days lost to spells of sickness lasting
than one month for people returning to work expressed xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx over one month per yearxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
as days absence and shown as a trend over multiple years.
Spells of sickness absence of over one month in the same year
Rate of rehabilitation into their own job for workers Calculation
absent for an extended period (Mature)
Proportion of workers per year who have been absent through Workers returning to own job after extended
illness or injury for more than 3 months that return to work xxxxxxxxxxxxxabsence per year x 100xxxxxxxxxxxxx
in their substantive post and remain employed for at least 12
months expressed as a percentage of all closed* absences All extended absence cases closed* in the same period
exceeding 3 months. *Closure includes redeployment, termination, retirement, etc.
Customer satisfaction of employees making use Calculation
of services provided (Mature)
Satisfaction of employees using support services with the Number of service users rating services “good”
resource provided by the employer expressed as a percentage xxxxxxxxxxxor above per year x 100xxxxxxxxxxx
of those rating services “good” or better in a representative
customer satisfaction survey against the total number of Number of service users responding to the survey
those responding to the survey. in the same period

28 BITC Public Reporting Guidelines

Better Physical & Psychological Health
Statutory health and safety reporting (Entry)
Level of health and safety incidents which are reportable by
statute (e.g. those defined under the Reporting of Injuries,
Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations [RIDDOR])
per year expressed as a rate per million working hours and
benchmarked against sector performance.
Trend health and safety data (Intermediate)
The trend for all lost time health and safety incidents (LTI)
expressed as a rate per million working hours showing
retrospective data for multiple years and benchmarked
against all industry performance.
Trend health and safety data aligned to strategic
commitments and measured through multiple
channels (Mature)
A dashboard showing the trend for all incidents (including
near misses and motor accidents) broken down by type (e.g.
slips / trips / falls, work at height, struck by moving object,
etc), benchmarked externally against high performers,
targeted for improvement and reported over multiple years.
Workforce demographics marking health status
(Entry)
Self reported data showing the prevalence of behaviours
(e.g. smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise levels) and
anthropomorphic characteristics (e.g. Body Mass Index
(BMI), waist size, etc) known to influence health outcomes
expressed as a percentage of the People in Post (PiP) at
the time of the survey.
Trend in workforce demographics marking health
status (Intermediate)
Description of workplace health promotion programmes with
participation rates and evaluation including the impact on self
reported health physical and psychological factors expressed
as rates measured over time.
Trend in objective measures of health and wellbeing
(Mature)
Description of workplace health promotion programmes
with participation rates and evaluation including the impact
on objective measures gathered through activities such as
health screening and expressed as a dashboard of established
risk factors* (e.g. blood pressure (BP), cholesterol, glucose,
impaired mental health**, etc) measured over time.
*Risk factors may be consolidated into a single Health Risk
Assessment score provided the methodology is a valid
instrument subject to peer review and benchmarkable.
Calculation
RIDDOR reports per year x 1,000,000
Total hours worked* in the same period
*Total hours worked can be measured directly from
timesheets or a standard conversion factor per FTE can
be used based on the anticipated number of working days
multiplied by the standard daily hours. Where available,
overtime hours should be included in the calculation.
Calculation Over (minimum) of 3 years
xxxxxxLTI per year x 1,000,000xxxxxx
Total hours worked in the same period
Calculation Over (minimum) of 3 years
Incidents / Near Misses / Vehicle Accidents per year
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 1,000,000xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Total hours worked / miles driven in same period
Calculation
Number of Smokers, Obese*, etc (x 100)
Total PiP at same point in time
*Obesity classed as having a BMI in excess of 30
Calculation Over (minimum) of 3 years
[Number of Smokers, Obese, Stressed*, etc] x 100
Total PiP at same point in time
*Stress as a self reported description
Calculation Over (minimum) of 3 years
[Number with elevated BP, cholesterol,
glucose, impaired mental health**] x 100
Total PiP at same point in time
**Impaired mental health assessed using a validated
psychological tool (e.g. GHQ, PHQ9, etc) and graded
according to established cut off points.
BITC Public Reporting Guidelines 29
 working well
Staff turnover as a spot rate (Entry) Calculation
Annual turnover of staff expressed as percentage of Number of leavers during year x 100
People in Post (PiP) leaving the business in a year.
PiP at start of year

Staff turnover as a trend over time (Intermediate) Calculation Over (minimum) of 3 years
Annual turnover of staff expressed as percentage of Number of leavers during year x 100
People in Post (PiP) leaving the business in a year showing
retrospective data for multiple years. PiP at start of year

Staff turnover as a trend over time, differentiating
between category of leaver (Mature)
Annual turnover of staff expressed as percentage of
People in Post (PiP) leaving the business in a year showing
retrospective data for multiple years and differentiating
between wanted and unwanted attrition.
Calculation Over (minimum) of 3 years
Number of leavers during year x 100
x(wanted and unwanted attrition)xx
PiP at start of year

External awards (Entry) Calculation

The success rate in achieving external recognition by Number of awards gained per year x 100
external bodies for health, safety and wellbeing expressed
as a percentage of the number of awards gained against Number of awards entered per year
those entered (must be accompanied by a narrative to
explain the context of the programme and the achievement
highlighted by the awarding body).
Impact assessment of programmes (Intermediate) Calculation
The impact of programmes to improve health, safety [Pre-programme measure – Post-programme
and wellbeing as assessed by pre and post programme xxxxxxxxxxxxxxmeasure] x 100xxxxxxxxxxxx
measurement of key attributes as expressed by a percentage
change. The impact may be on health measures (such as Pre-programme measure
smoking status), performance measures (such as productivity)
or financial measures; reporting of the last can be adjusted to
show a return on investment for the programme.
Employment equity (gender, ethnicity, sexual Calculation Over (minimum) of 3 years
orientation, disability, age, etc) at multiple
organisational levels (Mature)
The proportion of potentially disadvantaged groups employed Number of people in equity group x 100
by the company as expressed as a percentage rate of people in
post (PiP) at multiple levels of seniority within the organisation Total PiP at same point in time
measured over time.

30 BITC Public Reporting Guidelines

 8. Employee Narrative Reporting
Why the narrative is as important
as the numbers
CIPD research shows that investors are interested in
human capital management (HCM) information if it
is rooted in a business context. We agree. Context is
critical in terms of explaining the company’s current
operating environment as well as the challenges it
faces and the drivers of performance – past, current,
and future.
Context provides a perspective in which to interpret
the data and evaluate management effectiveness.
It also impacts on the appropriateness of different
approaches at different times. This means that the
narrative accompanying any published HCM measures
or metrics is arguably as important as the numbers
themselves.
Human capital management is interested in
data which provides useful benchmarking with
organisations within the same sector and of
comparable size as well as trend data which
tracks changes within an organisation over time.
How this data is interpreted depends on many factors.
The state of the labour market, wage settlements,
inflation, the extent to which people feel secure in their
jobs and the state of the jobs market will all have an
impact on employee relations, absence levels, turnover
and numbers of disciplinary and grievance cases.
This is why narrative reporting is as important as
numbers. Telling a story is a way companies can share
their interpretation of the data with their investors.
A clear narrative sets the scene in terms of where
the company has been and where it is heading.
Some metrics will be more important at different times
in specific instances e.g. within some financial services
organisation issues of leadership and staff morale
have come more into focus following the financial
crisis. Narrative reporting should reflect that.
Disaggregating the raw data by business units or
sub groups of employees, companies can shed light
on how they are addressing key issues. For example,
figures on short-term tenure rates among high
potential staff, can be used to construct a narrative
that shows the organisation is focusing on talent
management as a priority.
Or to take another example: CIPD research into
employee absence levels showed that average
employee absence levels across the UK dipped
significantly during the recession of 2008 as
heightened employee concern over job security had
the effect of improving attendance. Any business
reporting on absence levels would have needed to
reference this wider trend in relation to what had
happened within the organisation in order to provide
context and meaning for its reported employee
absence rates.
The narrative should put HCM metrics in the
context of:
• Trend data
• Benchmarking data with organisations of
same size / sector
• National / local statistics on:
– Employee absence / causes of absence
– Wage settlement data
– Employment relations – increase or decrease
in working days lost to strike action
– Employment tribunal numbers
Where organisations operate internationally they
will also need to provide national comparisons on
key data in the different countries they operate in
order to provide insight into the performance of
very diverse business units.
It will also be important to provide information on
the political and regulatory landscape within different
countries as this will have a significant impact. The
variety in different employee relations landscapes
and legal frameworks across the different countries
a business might operate in means that the narrative
is critical in making sense of the numbers. Legal
requirements can also interfere with consistent
reporting: for example, reporting on age profile is
difficult in the US because of discrimination laws.
Ben Willmott, Employee Relations Adviser, Chartered
Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)
CIPD is a strategic partner of the BITC Workwell
Campaign, and member of the Steering Group for
BITC Public Reporting Guidelines.
BITC Public Reporting Guidelines 31
Ongoing challenges of employee
wellness and engagement reporting
Employee wellness and engagement reporting, and
HCM reporting more broadly, is part of an iterative
process and will constantly evolve. As expectations
and practices of companies advance, what today is
regarded as intermediate level reporting metrics, may
soon be regarded as entry level. New aspirations will
be set for what a mature reporting model looks like.

Because of the evolving nature of reporting, this poses

a potential barrier for widespread benchmarking.
As measurement becomes more sophisticated, issues,
such as resilience and presenteeism, could become key
metrics. Therefore, BITC Public Reporting Guidelines
will be reviewed and updated accordingly.

Another challenge, but also an opportunity, is for

companies to demonstrably illustrate how their
efforts are impacting on financial performance.
Demonstrating the ‘business case’ is not straight
forward, and finding the appropriate corresponding
‘proxy’ metrics can be difficult. However, companies
should continue to explore this as the ability to show
a win-win in terms of employee satisfaction and strong
business performance is worth working towards.

32 BITC Public Reporting Guidelines

 9. Other Useful Resources
Online resources, reports and indices on employee
wellness, sustainability and ROI. Those listed are
just an illustration and not intended to be an
exhaustive one.
BITC Workwell Campaign Resources
BITC Workwell Model, available at:
www.bitc.org.uk/health
Managing Emotional Wellbeing – Building
Team Resilience, available at:
www.managingemployeewellbeing.com/bitc
Other topic specific toolkits:
• Emotional Resilience
• Healthy Eating
• Physical Activity Toolkit
• Skills Health and Wellbeing
• Working Joints and Muscles Toolkit
• Healthy People = Healthy Profits
All toolkits are free to download online at:
www.bitc.org.uk/workplace/health_and_wellbeing/
health_and_wellbeing.html
FTSE 100 Public Reporting on Employee
Wellness & Engagement, Ipsos MORI Research
Findings March 2011
Available at: www.bitc.org.uk/workplace/health_and_
wellbeing/health_and_wellbeing.html
Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development (CIPD)
CIPD has an extensive range of research, practical
tools, information pages and guides on Human Capital
Management. These can be found on the CIPD website
by searching for ‘Human Capital Management.’
Available at: www.cipd.co.uk
Accounting for people: report of the Task
Force on Human Capital Management
Task Force on Human Capital Management
(October 2003)
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.
uk/20080726222840/http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/
file38839.pdf
The Taskforce was set up in January 2003 by the UK
government to review the metrics currently used to
assess investment in human capital, consider best
practice in HCM reporting and performance measures
that would be useful for stakeholders, and promote
the business case for reporting.
Building the Case for Wellness
DWP / PricewaterhouseCoopers (February 2008)
www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/hwwb-dwp-wellness-report-
public.pdf
A systematic review of relevant UK case studies
provided by the Health Work Wellbeing Executive.
Key costs and benefits associated with wellness
programmes and interventions. Identification of
trends and best practice, including a tool on return
on investment from wellness programmes.
HWWB’s Workplace Wellbeing Tool is a free resource
designed to help you understand the specific health
and wellbeing issues within your organisation.
www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=
1084516235&type=PIP&furlname=wwt&furlparam=w
wt&ref=&domain=www.businesslink.gov.uk
Does the Stock Market Fully Value
Intangibles? Employee Satisfaction
and Equity Prices
Alex Edmans, Wharton School, University of
Pennsylvania: (December 2007, and forthcoming
follow up analysis in the Journal of Financial
Economics)
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_
id=985735
The 2007 paper analyses the relationship between
employee satisfaction and long-term stock
performance, based on data associated with the ‘Best
Companies to Work For’ as defined by the Great Place
to Work Institute data to 2005. Concludes employee
satisfaction may improve corporate performance, that
stock markets do not fully value intangibles, and that
SRI screens need not reduce investment returns.
The 2010 updated analysis (data to 2009) strengthens
the idea that employee satisfaction appears to be “an
SRI screen that can improve returns.”
Dow Jones Sustainability Index
www.sustainability-indexes.com/
The first global index designed to track the financial
performance of leading sustainability driven
companies worldwide.
FTSE4Good Index Series
www.ftse.com/indices/FTSE4Good-index-series
The FTSE4Good Index Series has been designed to
objectively measure the performance of companies
that meet globally recognised corporate social
responsibility standards.
BITC Public Reporting Guidelines 33
Human Capital Management – an analysis
of Disclosure in UK Reports
ACCA, CIPD (2009)
www.accaglobal.com/pubs/general/activities/library/
sustainability/sus_pubs/tech-tp-hcm.pdf
This report, which has been produced in partnership
between ACCA and CIPD, looks at the role of human
capital reporting in sustainability reports and the
extent to which sustainability reporting recognises the
impact of people as drivers of sustainable performance.
Tomorrow’s Global Talent: a new talent
agenda for the UK
Global Talent: how will leading global companies
create value through people?
Tomorrow’s Company (February 2009, February 2010)
www.forceforgood.com/Uploaded_Content/
tool/2842009134430515.pdf
www.forceforgood.com/Uploaded_Content/
tool/2222010152042737.pdf
The global report states talent has never been more
important. It looks at who has it, where it is, how it
can be harnessed and engaged. It asserts that a new
mindset must recognise that we all have talent, and
that talent is not just about the ‘top’ tiers.
The UK report sets out what the changing pace
of change, and the ‘globalisation of value creation
and talent’ means for UK companies. It strongly
suggests that all remnants of a legacy based on the
fortress mentality need to be dispelled, and replaced
by a new and shared sense of common purpose.
View from the city: how can human capital
reporting inform investment decisions?
CIPD (2010)
www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/research/human-
capital-management-inform-decisions.aspx
CIPD commissioned Dr Zella King of Henley Business
School to interview investors, senior HR practitioners
and representatives from the financial sector to
find out what sort of information they are looking
for, what they find most useful and how they will
use the data available to them to inform decisions
about performance.
The report summarises both the key issues raised
by the research and the practitioners’ views and
responses. It also presents the CIPD view on human
capital reporting including recommendations for
government action. Finally it suggests some actions
34 BITC Public Reporting Guidelines
that practitioners might consider taking to improve the
quality and usability of their human capital information
for external stakeholders, and ensure they can report
the kind of information investors might find useful in
their decision-making about future organisational
performance.
Workplace Wellness Alliance
World Economic Forum
www.weforum.org/issues/workplace-wellness-alliance
The World Economic Forum recognises health as an
important part of long-term economic development
and engages its members and other stakeholders to
advocate health as an investment.
The Financial Impact of Corporate Health
results from the USA
Medstat Group Inc.
www.enterprise-for-health.org/fileadmin/texte/Ron_
Goetzel_BM_BusinessCase_10-29-01.pdf
This presentation covers making the business case for
health. It includes a report of The European Network
of Enterprise for Health October 2001.
Healthways
www.healthways.com/solution/default.aspx?id=539
Hosts webinars on a wide range of health improvement
topics including return on investment for employee
wellness.
The New Discipline of Workforce Wellness:
Enhancing Corporate Performance by
Tackling Chronic Disease.
www.bcg.ru/documents/file40624.pdf
A report by Boston Consulting Group / World Economic
Forum 2010
HCM reporting – examples: Infosys and Deutsche
Telecoms
http://www.e-paper.telekom.com/hr-
report-2009-2010/
www.infosys.com/sustainability/talent/Pages/index.
aspx
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