Annual Report and Accounts 2015
John Lewis Partnership plc
97
Councillors also have their own online community for regular sharing of opinion, questions and links to articles. As well as posting to each other in between meetings, Councillors are usually members of several other online communities, typically including their local Forum or PartnerVoice, and frequently post updates – both verbal and photographic – before, during and after meetings. This more personalised addition to the live streaming introduced in recent years has enhanced constituents’ engagement with the Council and there is perhaps a growing expectation that the live “capturing” of views from across the Partnership during a Council meeting could further enliven the sense in which Partner opinion is driving the Partnership forward.
Holding to Account
The Council has a formal responsibility to hold the Chairman to account twice a year for his leadership of the Partnership. The proposal on which Councillors vote judges three elements:
a The Chairman’s report, which includes the financial results for the year or half year
a The Chairman’s leadership a Progress towards achieving Principle 1
Although Councillors take into account the views of their constituents, they are not delegates and must make up their own minds, often with the advantage of additional information and discussion which their constituents will not have been privy to. Dissatisfaction with any of the three elements outlined above might lead a Councillor to decide not to support the proposal. The votes were as follows:
a October 2014 – carried with five votes against
a March 2015 – carried unanimously
Partnership Council actions
As well as holding to account, there can be robust challenge at other times, such as whenever the Chairman is involved in debates on the Partner Survey, not least because the results include scoring on specific questions about the Partnership’s leadership and Partners’ interaction with their managers. This July’s discussion brought to a head the Council’s desire to see more progress in supporting line managers to deliver a better Partner experience – one that fully reflects our co-ownership principles and mirrors the impressive customer experience that all Partners strive to deliver on a daily basis.
As a result of Councillors’ robust and vocal feedback the Chairman commissioned a special report from the Partners’ Counsellor on line management. A summary of that report and the executive’s response to it was presented to a packed Council meeting in October before being shared more widely with the Partnership’s management. Subsequent updates, both at Partnership Council and within the divisions, have enabled Partners to see clearly the energy and investment now being devoted to this key aspect of every Partner’s experience of the Partnership.
It’s your voice
Partnership Council is re-elected every three years. A new Council will be elected in June 2015. In the current term (2012 to 2015) Partnership Council has met formally on 12 occasions, had five specialist briefings, three conferences and a ‘Council of Councils’ with divisional representative bodies.
Line management
There have been five Google communities established this year, enabling Councillors to engage with each other and ensure Partner opinion is constantly being shared.
In July 2014, the Council discussed the cumulative impact of change and the pressure on line managers across the business.
In a nutshell...
Our Partners’ Counsellor, Jane Burgess, shares the Partnership Council’s key actions and achievements in the year.
Introduction
Partnership difference
Principles
Strategy
Performance
Governance
Financial statements
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