Speaking up on the down-low

Disturbing news from the Institute of Business Ethics (IBE). A survey revealed that one in four (25%) employees say they know of conduct that broke the law or breached their organisation’s ethical standards in the past year. That proportion is up from last year’s 18%.

In a further worrying sign, a third of employees who knew of misconduct did not report it.

Among those in the survey, 35% say they know of abuse of authority cases and 32% say they are aware of a bullying or harassment case. One in five say they know of a sexual harassment case.

Lauren Branston, IBE’s chief executive, says, “If we’re serious about preventing the harmful workplace behaviours that we see constantly hitting the headlines, like sexual harassment and bullying, a safe speak up culture is crucial.

“When employees are afraid of retaliation or believe their concerns won’t be acted upon, serious issues can persist unchecked.”

May you leave the table?

Over in the US, it seems many company directors wants their board colleagues replaced.

A survey by PwC finds that 49% of directors would like to see one of their colleagues move on. The firm says the figure is now at record levels.

But the picture is “nuanced”. “Directors who don’t think their board’s assessment is an effective tool to enhance board performance are significantly more likely to be unhappy with their peers,” according to the survey.

The firm says the blocks on showing some directors the door include the “awkwardness and time” involved, personal relationships and a reluctance among boardroom leaders to have “difficult conversations”. Time for some tough love.

Foundering governance

Back in the UK, Anjli Raval writes in the Financial Times that directors  serving a strong-minded founding CEO may be “set up to fail”.

She points out that founder-led companies can frequently prove difficult to govern, given the over reliance on a single individual whom the world seems to consider a genius.

Perhaps the wisest comments in the article come from Jason Baumgarten at headhunter Spencer Stuart, who highlights two kinds of founder: those who want a board member’s best efforts and those who seek directors “who will not make their job more difficult.”

“Understanding which you are potentially joining is incredibly helpful,” Baumgarten says. That’s putting it mildly.

Invested in technology

A timely reminder that voting at AGMs is evolving fast. You will remember that some asset managers, among them Vanguard, have introduced tech that allows asset owners to vote their own stock.

Figures show that nearly half chose to let Vanguard vote their shares anyway. But in a letter to the FT, Georgia Stewart, chief executive of Tumelo, provider of voting tech, says this is the wrong way to look at things.

She argues 55% of assets owners used their votes to take a different line to Vanguard. And, in any case, democratisation of AGM voting takes time.

“Dismissing these efforts based on early opt-in rates,” says Stewart, “misses the point—this marks an important shift towards a more engaged, empowered investor base.” Power to the investor base, as Wolfie Smith never said.