Wickland Westcott

Hanson - Helping Boards Deliver High Performance

Hanson, one of the world's largest suppliers of aggregates and heavy building materials and a FTSE 100 plc, retained Wickland Westcott to help carry out a robust, rigorous, objective review of the performance of its Board.

The approach adopted focused not just on the structure and processes of the Board but also on the behavioural and team dynamics that are critical for high performance.

The evaluation process started with a tailored questionnaire taking into account work undertaken by the Board in previous years. The questionnaire also focused on the manner in which the Board was operating together interpersonally, setting the scene for the second phase of review - individual face-to-face discussions with all the Board Members. This was the core component of the evaluation.

The results showed that the Board and its Committees were operating effectively but identified some areas which would help the Board provide a higher performance. These covered areas such as the process for developing strategy; the dynamics of the Board; talent management; and enhancing the involvement of the Board with the operations. These improvements were introduced shortly after this review.

Wickland Westcott fielded a team of experienced practitioners in the evaluation and development of high performing Executive teams, well qualified to cover all the dimensions of these conversations and explore the intricacies of plc Boards.

The outputs were presented to the Board and in line with good practice the review process was commented upon in the company's annual report. The Chairman of the Plc further stated that "the process was excellent and I was delighted with the output".