Business leader challenges boards of UK plc to take on the business case for race

Chairman of Race for Opportunity, Allan Leighton has marked the publication of the fifth annual benchmarking report on the business case for race with a strong call to action to senior executives and board members to take on the issues of race in organisational and business development.

ìGone are the days when private and public sector organisations could ignore ethnic minorities in this country. I challenge all chairs of boards and chief executives to champion for race on behalf of their organisation. UK plc has to reflect the ethnic diversity in this country and this action has to come from the top down.î

Mr Leighton said that not only is this course of action about reflecting contemporary society in the UK, but it is also about winning on the bottom line.

îDeveloping business practice that addresses race is a no-brainer. The ethnic minority population in the UK has an annual disposable income spending power of 32bn. Cater effectively to this sector and you will see rewards on the bottom line.î

Of the 113 private and public sector bodies benchmarked this year, 40 indicated an estimated 13.3 billion in profits could be attributed to the impact of their activities around race.

The financial sector leads in terms of action on race and has developed some innovative schemes such as financial programmes that conform to the requirements of the Sharia (Islamic law). Lloyds TSB was judged as best performer overall this year, while the West Bromwich Building Society, HSBC Bank plc, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Barclays Bank all feature in the top ten overall performers. The British Army tops the public sector list with the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and the West Midlands Police all making it into the public sector top ten.

By the end of this decade ethnic minorities will account for over half the growth in Britainís working age population[1]. Currently over 180 private and public sector organisations across the UK, with a combined workforce of over two million people, work with Race for Opportunity to realise their objectives on race.

Since its formation ten years ago, Race for Opportunity has tracked the development of diversity on the business agenda, the development of appropriate HR practice and the impact of race on company profits. In 2001 only 38% of RfO members could show a clear case business case for race - in 2005 this has risen to 91% of member organisations.

RfO Director Sandra Kerr says business attitudes to diversity have changed markedly over the past decade. ìTen years ago many organisations in both the private and the public sector would ask us why there should be a need for diversity, now newcomers to the network can see the benefits of diversity and are asking how they can improve their performance in this area.î

Allan Leighton and Sandra Kerr believe the imperative for the next ten years is to increase the private and public sector membership of Race for Opportunity in order to assist organisations in developing their business plans in this area. They also see an increasing emphasis on researching the issues of race for businesses operating in a global context.

Key findings in this yearís report Action ñ Accountability ñAdvantage include:

91% of companies state they now have a clear case for race and 85% have put in place clear action plans on race directly linked to their business objectives.

78% of companies state that their race activity has resulted in heightened brand awareness in their markets.

95% of organisations stating they have effective community programmes, compared to 86% in 2004.

90% of organisations state the impact of their diversity objectives can be measured in terms of their positive profile in the wider community.

84% of businesses said they put aside identifiable budget for achieving their goals on race ñ compared to 79% in 2004. The amalgamated budget for race/diversity across these organisations stands at 48.7m per annum.

93% of organisations have developed marketing tools to talk to target customers in their own language.

69% of private sector companies surveyed have made commitments to engaging with different ethnic minority customers. This is up from 47% in 2004.

While only 58% of organisations have a supplier diversity policy in place, RfO member organisations have spent on average 80m a year with ethnic minority businesses.

Top performers Lloyds TSB are delighted to have been ranked as best performer overall but believe there is still some way to go. They also believe that their involvement with RfO has been invaluable. ìRfO benchmarking is pivotal to us tracking and improving our practices relating to staff, customers and communities,î comments Mike Fairey, Deputy Group Chief Executive, Lloyds TSB Group.

The National Portrait Gallery is an interesting newcomer to RfO benchmarking and is showing how the case for race affects the UKís cultural and creative sectors. Sandy Nairne, Director of the National Portrait Gallery and Chair of the National Museum Directorsí Conference Cultural Diversity Group says:

îFor our museums as a whole, engaging with issues of race and identity is a very current concern. A number of national museums have come together to consider staffing, governance, audiences and collections.î


Top 10 overall Performers in 2005 are:

1. Lloyds TSB
2. West Bromwich Building Society
3. BT
4. HSBC Bank plc
5. HBOS plc
6. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group
7. British Army
8. Barclays Bank
9. Pearson plc
10. Arriva plc


Top 10 performers in the Private Sector are:

1. Lloyds TSB
2. West Bromwich Building Society
3. BT
4. HSBC Bank plc
5. HBOS plc
6. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group
7. Barclays Bank
8. Pearson plc
9. Arriva plc
1o.West Midlands Co-operative Society


Top 10 performers in the Public Sector are:

1. British Army
2. Department of Trade and Industry
3. Department for Work and Pensions
4. Royal Air Force
5. Royal Navy
6. Devon Fire and Rescue Service
7. HM Customs & Excise and HM Inland Revenue
8. West Midlands Police
9. Environment Agency (England and Wales)
10. Leicestershire Constabulary


Best Newcomers to RfO Benchmarking:

Credit Suisse First Boston
KPMG LLP
National Portrait Gallery
Office of Fair Trading
IBM UK
Hays Plc
Michael Page International
Wragge & Co LLP
City of Bristol College
Pertemps Ltd


Most Improved ñ Public:

HM Treasury
Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust
Advantage West Midlands
Environment Agency (England & Wales)
The Law Society
Royal Mail Group
University of Teeside
The National Assembly for Wales
Leicestershire Constabulary
University of Birmingham


Most Improved ñ Private:

BUPA
Ernst & Young LLP
Cummins Engine Company
Lehman Brothers
Nationwide Building Society
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group
West Midlands Co-operative Society
CadburyTreborBassett
Goldman Sachs
Enterprise Rent-A-Car