Britain’s most prominent lobby group, the Confederation of British Industry, has put forward proposals for its future to its members amid the fallout from a series of sexual misconduct allegations.
In a prospectus shared with members, the CBI sets out a range of changes to the group’s culture along with steps to rebuild ties with government at all levels across the UK before a crunch meeting and confidence vote by its members on 6 June.
Voting opens on Wednesday, with the results expected to be announced soon after next week’s meeting.
The plan comes after an open letter to members in April in which the CBI’s president, Brian McBride, conceded the organisation had “failed to filter out culturally toxic people during the hiring process”.
Developed while the group mothballed its activities in April and May, the turnaround plan aims to “transform” the CBI’s culture in the long term, the group said. It follows an independent investigation into its handling of complaints by the law firm Fox Williams and an examination of its culture by the ethics consultancy Principia Advisory.
“We are making radical and rapid changes to upgrade our governance structures and processes,” said the group’s new director general, Rain Newton-Smith.
She added: “Principia’s expert findings show that while our purpose and hard work to influence and inform on behalf of our members gives us a strong identity and motivates our staff, that focus has come at a cost. Blanket accusations of the CBI’s culture being toxic are not correct, but we have work to do to embed a consistent set of values for all of our staff.”
The CBI said it had consulted with more than 1,000 business leaders on the plan and that they valued its ability to “bring together sectors and multiple parts of government, both local and national, including the major economic regulators”.
On Wednesday, McBride said: “The need to bolster the CBI’s governance structures is something that has come through loud and clear during this period.
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“We are making significant and fundamental changes to improve our organisation for the better and for the people working in it. We remain determined to restore the confidence of our members, and that of our many stakeholders, in the CBI.”
More details soon …
