john-lewis-partnership-plc-annual-report-2015

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John Lewis Partnership plc Annual Report and Accounts 2015
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PRINCIPLE 7
THE COMMUNITY
CREATING VALUE BEYOND
THE PARTNERSHIP
Principle 7 of our Constitution outlines our approach to
our social responsibilities in the community “The Partnership
aims to obey the spirit as well as the letter of the law
and to contribute to the wellbeing of the communities
where it operates.”
Our principle in action
We participate in a number of volunteering
initiatives, with Partners across the country
sharing their skills with local charities. In 2014/15,
we volunteered over 120,000 hours.
The Golden Jubilee Trust is our unique
flagship Partnership volunteering programme.
This gives Partners the opportunity to
volunteer full or part time with a UK-registered
charity for up to six months, on full pay.
Since it launched in 2000, more than 700
volunteers have dedicated around 278,000
hours to 690 charities, spanning causes such
as youth education, care of people in need,
environmental protection and the arts.
We are one of very few businesses who
have committed to give their employees the
opportunity to have such a deep and lasting
positive impact in the community, by regularly
providing volunteers in this way.
Benefiting our local communities,
Partners and business
This year, we asked 80 Partners who’d
volunteered in the last five years about the
impact they felt the programme had had on
them. In addition to strengthening community
relationships, the vast majority of Partners
felt this experience had deepened their
understanding of our Constitutional Principles,
and that it had enriched them personally.
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86% said they had either gained new
skills or had developed existing skills during
the secondment, which helped them
in their day-to-day job with the Partnership.
These included communication, leadership
and adaptability skills.
65% of Partners agreed that the
experience had a positive influence
on their performance at work.
60% asserted the experience had
influenced their career choices
and progression since, or they thought
it would in the future.
MY VOLUNTEERING EXPERIENCE
HAS GIVEN ME MUCH MORE
CONFIDENCE IN APPROACHING
DIFFICULT SITUATIONS, AND I AM
CONVINCED THIS HAS PLAYED
A ROLE IN MY RECENT PROMOTION.
KNOWING THAT THE WORK I HAVE
DONE HAS MADE A REAL IMPACT
ON SO MANY PEOPLE, GIVES ME
A FEELING OF GREAT SATISFACTION.
Nicola Storey
Section Manager John Lewis, York
The personal and social value of volunteering
has an economic value, estimated to be worth
around 3.5% of annual UK GDP – the same
as the UK energy sector’s contribution. 1
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Speech made by Chief Economist, Bank of England,
Andrew Haldane to the Society of Business Economists,
London in September 2014.