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The Board believes that companies have a responsibility to play a constructive part within the community at large, and that social, environmental and ethical matters are part of the investment mix in order to create a long term sustainable business. The Group has been a leader over the last five years in highlighting the importance of employer brand equity when attracting the new generation of leadership talent. Being a member of the Harvey Nash team also means being a valued contributor to society. Our employees are enthusiastic about people and are always ready to support programmes that benefit the community.
The Board’s view is that shareholders and employees must make their own personal choices; it is not the Group’s responsibility to do this on their behalf. The Group is not aligned to a particular political party and neither does it make political donations or material charitable grants. However, personal political affiliation, participation in the democratic process and financial support for worthy charities and community projects by employees is actively promoted.
Detailed policies and activity is available for each country as appropriate; however a few examples of recent activity and the Group’s general policies are described below:
(a) Environmental policy
The Group’s operations, being services, are inherently less damaging to the environment than other business sectors. However, the Board recognises that the business must minimise its impact on the environment and utilises recommendations from the Carbon Trust to reduce the carbon footprint of the organisation. The Group’s environmental policy statement commits our company to:
- Re-cycling - reducing the overall amount of waste being sent to landfill by separating out materials for recycling,
- Water – making use of mains water supply for personal consumption through on site water filtration and purification
- Efficiency - optimising the operation of building cooling and heating systems,
- Energy - introducing low energy lighting wherever appropriate and feasible,
- Technology hardware and software - software which automatically shuts down computers to reduce power consumption and heat output,
- The introduction of ‘eco-fonts’ – these use less ink on printed matter, with only a marginal impact upon quality,
- Travelling: promoting the use of public transport and increased use of video teleconferencing and online webinars to reduce the impact of business travel upon the environment.
- Procurement – processes are in place to ensure that the procurement of goods, services and material capital items such as property include a review and rating of the carbon impact of these acquisitions seeking wherever possible to reduce the Group’s footprint.
(b) Charitable, political and work in the community
A number of senior Director’s in the business are involved with projects and work in the community.
Harvey Nash staff on not-for-profit advisory boards
Nick Marsh, Managing Director Executive Search, UK. Board member of Byte Night the IT industry’s annual sleep out in support of Action for Children.
Noorzaman Rashid, Director of Harvey Nash Executive Search - Government and Public Services UK, is chairman of E-ACT, one of the largest education charities in the UK.
Magnus Tegborg, Sweden, the Managing Director of Harvey Nash’s Nordic business, is a Director on the City of Stockholm Board,which is responsible for the city’s public utilities, tourism, culture and the arts.
Charitable activity
In the lead up to Christmas 2010 Harvey Nash staff across the UK chose to support charities instead of a traditional Christmas party. Local offices participated in selecting the organisations and charities, included Shelter, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Help for Heroes to name just a few.
The Midlands office took take part in the 3 Peaks Challenge; an endurance event where they scaled the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales, raising £6,200 for CARE International.
Teams in London and Edinburgh took part in Byte Night the IT industry’s annual sleep out in support of Action for Children as well as three fun runs in aid of the the British Heart Foundation.
The London office also took part in “Movember” raising over £1000 for prostrate cancer 1000.
Teams in The Netherlands supported the Semmy Foundation,a charity helping children and families suffering from Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, while raising awareness and money to finance studies that will lead to a cure for paediatric brain cancer.
In Germany the money saved by sending e-cards instead of paper cards was donated to “BISS”, the homeless charity.
Employees participated in a company run of Nuremberg as well as a 24 hour shared cycle ride on a static bike, both activities contributing to several charity organisations.
In Vietnam we equipped Saigon Children’s Charity with a Ford 4X4 to enable them to support children in education in the countryside of Vietnam. This has extended their reach to enable them to get more children into secondary education from remote villages. We have also developed their Global website to enable them to raise additional funding to support disadvantaged children into further education. This is supported through our staff who have given up some of their time to help develop this.
In Sweden staff carried out pro bono work to set up the advisory board of Save the Children Sweden, as well as made a Christmas donation to the charity.
In October 2010 the annual Harvey Nash CEO cycle ride comprising a multi-national team led by Alumni Sweden Partner Jan-Erik Arntzen, undertook a 90 mile charity ride from Oxford to Cambridge raising over £2,500 for various charities in addition to the £1,000 raised for Cancer Research during CEO Albert Ellis’s participation in the world famous amateur version of the Tour de France, “le’Etape Du Tour.”
(c) Employee engagement
The Group is a strong meritocracy, where talent comes first. An attractive culture and strong corporate values are at the heart of what we do. Integrity, transparency, fairness, passion and excellence in delivery are just some examples of the professional attributes to which we all aspire. We wish to work in the longer term interests of our clients and candidates and we know this, in turn will work in the longer term interests of our shareholders.
The Group underlines this commitment with our membership of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation which requires the Group to observe the highest principles of ethics, equity, integrity, professional conduct and fair practice.
The Group’s commitment to its employees means that it takes actions to achieve a common awareness of all employees in relation to the financial and economic factors that affect the performance of the company. Employees are also systematically provided with information on matters of concern to them and are consulted on a regular basis to ensure their views can be taken into account when making decisions that are likely to affect their interests.
(d) Equal opportunity and diversity
The Harvey Nash Group fully supports the aims of the UK Equalities Act 2010. We believe equality and diversity is necessary for:
- individuals: everyone has the right to be treated fairly and the opportunity to fulfil their potential.
- the economy: a competitive economy and successful organisations draw on all the available talents and ability
- society: a more equal society offers more stability in the long term which is attractive to business
In the USA we established Network 4 Net-Worth - a young professionals networking organization focused on building lasting professional and personal relationships through group networking and personal development sessions, mainly focusing on Generation Y with an emphasis on the promotion of diverse talent pools.
The fastest growing senior professional network within the executive recruitment sector, Inspire was established by Carol Rosati, Alexa Bailey and Christine de Largy in 2008 using the Harvey Nash Group’s resources and contacts. Inspire is a unique forum for senior business women to meet and exchange ideas and experiences with their peers with a mission to promote female Board and Executive participation. Membership has grown to over 1,000 board level members in London, New York and Sweden. Through our events, forums, white papers and influence, Inspire is delighted to play a major role in promoting gender balance in the board room and within the company. This is achieved through an active extension of the pool of talent in which shortlists are put together. Harvey Nash Scotland’s participation in the “Girl Geek” dinner network is also aimed at supporting the community of business women in the technology and creative sectors.
In the UK, Harvey Nash actively engages with the government of the day and other businesses through its CBI membership and headline sponsorship of the flagship CBI conference. Each year the conference brings together the government, the opposition parties and business in one place to debate the pressing issues facing the nation. The CBI works with the UK government, international legislators and policy-makers to help UK businesses compete effectively.
Harvey Nash regularly chairs and hosts trade delegations to Vietnam. The Group also recognises the valuable contribution made by the government of Vietnam in enabling increased investment and trade between Europe and Asia and is actively involved at ministerial level, not only lobbying on behalf of business but also engaging with the Vietnamese leadership on the strategic challenges and opportunities facing South East Asia.
Harvey Nash not only ensures that employment decisions are made consistent with equal opportunities legislation in each country, but, the Group actively encourages a diversity consciousness among its management, staff and clients. One of our key principles is that the Group’s senior management is made up of nationals in the country in which they operate, who understand the market and are naturally integrated in the local business culture.
Due consideration is also given to the recruitment, promotion, training and working environment of all staff including those with disabilities.
(e) Health & Safety
It is the policy of the Group to take all reasonable and practicable steps to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of its employees, visitors and other persons who may be affected by its activities.
The Group:
- assesses the risk to health and safety,
- implements safe systems at work,
- provides information, instruction and training,
- regularly reviews its policies.
(f) Supplier payment policy
It is the policy of the Group to agree appropriate terms and conditions for transactions with suppliers (from standard terms to individually negotiated contracts) and that payment should be made in accordance with those agreed terms subject to compliance with the agreed contractual supplier service levels.
The Group endevours to pay sub-contractors providing technology services within 25 days (2010:27 days) of receipt of their invoice. This contrasts with the Group’s trade debtors who settled their invoices within 45 days (2010: 46 days). Other trade creditor days of the Group for the year ended 31 January 2011 were 64 days (2010: 63 days) based on the ratio of Group trade creditors at the year end to the amounts invoiced during the year by trade creditors. The company has no trading activity.
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