ICAEW.com works better with JavaScript enabled.
ICAEW Insights In Focus

How a board should balance major strategic issues with staff retention and wellbeing

Listen now
The words 'ICAEW INSIGHTS In Focus' and the ICAEW logo on a two-tone blue background

In the second of two Insights In Focus special episodes an experienced panel discuss a dilemma facing a fictional UK-based food manufacturer.

We hear an update from the CFO about how advanced the company’s merger plans are and how this will secure their future in a competitive industry dominated by far larger global players. But the HR director has more worrying news about the numbers of staff that are quitting the company, especially the large amount of trainees leaving before they complete their training contracts. There are also concerns about stock pilfering and a largely blue-collar workforce who are struggling with the cost of living crisis. Despite the merger promising a bright future, the board can’t ignore either employee retention problems or wider issues around how to support their workforce through difficult times.

Our panel talk through the situation and provide their advice on how a board might manage a situation like this. The conversation has pointers not only for senior managers and board members who might face a similar situation but also for anyone who aspires to be in senior roles in the future.

Host Peter van Veen, Director, Corporate Governance and Stewardship, ICAEW discusses the dilemma with Sandy Pepper, Emeritus Professor of Management Practice at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Janet Williamson, Senior Policy Officer for Corporate Governance and Capital Markets at Trades Union Congress, and Leo Martin, Founder and Director, Good Corporation.

Allow SoundCloud audio

This audio player is provided by Soundcloud. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded as they place a few cookies on our site. For more information on how we handle cookies, please see our privacy policy and cookies policy. To listen to this content on the website, please accept and continue. Alternatively, you can access ICAEW podcasts on Spotify, Apple podcasts or YouTube.

Links

Host

Peter van Veen

Guests

  • Sandy Pepper, Emeritus Professor of Management Practice at the London School of Economics and Political Science
  • Janet Williamson, Senior Policy Officer for Corporate Governance and Capital Markets at Trades Union Congress
  • Leo Martin, Founder and Director, Good Corporation.

Producer

Ed Adams

Episode first published: 24 November 2022

Podcast recorded: 3 November 2022

All views expressed on this podcast are those of the contributors and don’t necessarily reflect those of ICAEW or its members.

Open AddCPD icon

Add Verified CPD Activity

Introducing AddCPD, a new way to record your CPD activities!

Log in to start using the AddCPD tool. Available only to ICAEW members.

Add this page to your CPD activity

Step 1 of 3
Download recorded
Download not recorded

Please download the related document if you wish to add this activity to your record

What time are you claiming for this activity?
Mandatory fields

Add this page to your CPD activity

Step 2 of 3
Mandatory field

Add activity to my record

Step 3 of 3
Mandatory field

Activity added

An error has occurred
Please try again

If the problem persists please contact our helpline on +44 (0)1908 248 250