BAE-annual-report-2014

Strategic Report
Our employees
Our employees are integral to our success.
We value the talents and skills that our
global workforce of 83,400 1 people in
40 countries brings to our business.
Engaging and developing our workforce
for current and future business is key to
delivering our strategy successfully. We are,
therefore, committed to attracting, selecting,
developing and retaining the best people to
deliver this.
Global training and development
programmes support employees in making
the most of their talents. Programmes are
focused on continuous learning and
development, using a blend of e-learning,
classroom training and partnerships with
academic institutions.
We work with the education sectors in each
of our markets to help shape the workforce
of the future with a particular emphasis on
encouraging young people to pursue careers
in Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics (STEM).
During 2014, we recruited 275 graduates
and 583 apprentices to support the talent
pipeline in the UK.
The US business contributed in excess of
$2m (£1m) to support accredited institutions
and organisations that develop teachers
and our future workforce by encouraging
students to pursue and thrive in STEM
disciplines. BAE Systems, Inc. recruited
approximately 2,400 employees within the
STEM disciplines during 2014, representing
approximately 40% of employees recruited.
GENDER DIVERSITY DATA AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2014
We are committed to creating an inclusive
work environment where a diverse range of
talented people can work together to ensure
business delivery. Diversity amongst our
workforce is a significant force for innovation.
We focus on our goal of building a diverse
workforce which reflects that of the
populations we recruit from. A particular
current focus is increasing female
representation in the pipeline for senior roles.
Engaging our employees to help them make
the fullest contribution to the business is
important. Through a variety of media, we
seek to listen to employees’ views and
opinions, and keep them informed about
developments and prospects for the
business. Regular internal communication,
including e-enabled channels, leadership
blogs, newsletters, management and team
meetings, monthly team briefs and the
intranet, keeps employees informed,
involved and engaged.
The Group welcomes employees becoming
shareholders in BAE Systems and offers
a number of employee share plans to
support this.
During 2014, employees had the opportunity
to provide feedback via our engagement
survey (see page 20).
Safety of our employees, and anybody who
works on, or visits, our sites, is a key priority.
We continue to embed a ‘safety first’
approach by providing training and tools that
help employees to understand the importance
of a safe workplace, and encouraging
employees to take responsibility for their
own safety and the safety of those around
them. Senior leadership plays a key role in
maintaining the focus on safety and leading
through example.
Number
of males
Number
of females
Total
number
Board 9 2 11 82 18
Executive Committee 9 2 11 82 18
Senior managers 2
Employees in senior executive positions 3 235 38 273 86 14
Directors of subsidiary companies
(excluding employees in senior executive positions) 84 12 96 88 12
Total senior managers 3 319 50 369 86 14
Total employees 4,5 61,000 15,000 76,000 80 20
1. Including share of equity accounted investments.
2. Senior managers are defined as employees who have responsibility for planning, directing or controlling the activities
of the Group or a strategically significant part of the Group and/or who are directors of subsidiary companies.
3. Excludes executive directors.
4. Excluding share of equity accounted investments and rounded to the nearest thousand employees.
5. See summary of Deloitte assurance on page 47.
DIVERSITY IS KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
In 2014, the Executive Committee
progressed actions to grow the female
talent pipeline at senior executive levels:
Fostering a culture of inclusion – further
to the unconscious bias training for all
leaders which was rolled out during 2013,
there was a focus in 2014 on raising further
awareness and understanding. This included
a UK-wide ‘Diversity and Inclusion Week’,
which was the first targeted awareness
campaign for all employees in the UK. In the
US, a month-long celebration of the UN’s
‘Do One Thing for Diversity and Inclusion’
campaign and ‘Going Global’ engagement
events were conducted at several sites.
Accelerating the development of
high-potential women – an Executive
Committee mentoring programme was
launched in 2012 providing support and
development to 46 participants in two
cohorts. The programme has supported 90%
of the first cohort and 50% of the second to
promotions or moves into broader roles.
Increasing leadership diversity – to ensure
diverse candidate lists for leadership roles,
where possible, executive search firms
were employed with a track record of open
and inclusive recruitment processes, and
drawing from an appropriately diverse pool
of candidates, with the overall aim of
appointing the best person for the role.
During 2014, the percentage of external
female candidates hired in the leadership
population was 20%.
Measuring performance – on a national
basis, defined goals and actions have been
put in place to increase gender diversity.
Gender diversity in leadership positions
and succession plans is monitored.
Male
%
Female
%
STRATEGIC REPORT GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
BAE Systems
Annual Report 2014
45