Corporate Social Responsibility

NCC Group takes its corporate social responsibilities very seriously and recognises the important contributions to the business made be the wider community of stakeholders, in particular employees, clients, suppliers and the local communities in which we operate. 

The Board takes into account social, environmental and ethical issues in its discussions and decision making and makes the health and safety of employees a priority. Careful consideration of the introduction of metrics has been considered, but for a business such as this it is not seen as being applicable or in certain instances measurable or beneficial, but clearly with each major decision made we consider any relevant environmental, social or governance issues that may apply.

Stakeholders

Employees
People are at the heart of the Group’s business and the support and involvement of the talented individuals who form our team is vital to the continued success of the Group overall. The Group has a policy of keeping employees informed of, and engaged in, its business strategy through the Intranet, regular employee briefings and divisional meetings. Comments and suggestions from employees on the Group’s performance and management are actively encouraged and a free flow of information between the Directors, managers and employees ensures that everyone has an opportunity to contribute.

Clients
NCC Group values each and every client and is proud of the long standing nature of its client relationships. Continuing client satisfaction is central to our ongoing success and is regularly measured and monitored through the ISO 9001 certified quality programme. This includes written and telephone satisfaction surveys each month. Rare instances of negative feedback are treated with the utmost seriousness and dealt with swiftly by management through to resolution. Each Operational Director takes direct responsibility for customer satisfaction, with the CEO investigating directly
where Divisional performances fail to meet the 80% threshold.

The Community
We are committed to ensuring that as well as delivering consistently strong results as a business, we give something back to the local community. We continue to support charitable organisations and actively encourage the involvement of our employees in fundraising by covering expenses and awarding additional days’ holiday.

For the last twelve months the Group very actively supported Breast Cancer and Prostate Cancer Charities bringing the two together under the “In It Together” campaign to raise funds for both, raising in excess of £50,000.

As the Group has evolved, the decision has been made to support more local less obvious charities that can deliver directly into the community. In the US it is common to commit employee time to good causes and this will be incorporated in the Group’s next set of charity objectives.

Suppliers
The Group’s policy is to pay suppliers in accordance with terms and conditions agreed when orders are placed. Although the Group does not follow any code or standard on payment policy, where terms have not been specifically agreed, invoices dated in one calendar month are paid close to the end of the following month. At 31 May 2011, the Group had an average of 40 days purchases outstanding in trade creditors (2010: 46 days).

The Environment
Although the impact of the Group’s operations on the environment is limited compared with other industries, we recognise our responsibility to respect and limit damage to the environment. In 2006, the Group first introduced an environmental policy outlining the responsibilities of the Group and each employee to act in an environmentally responsible manner, in particular through efficient route planning, recycling and sustainable procurement. The Group also actively encourages employees to think about the environmental impact of journeys they take, encouraging the use of public transport as well as actively promoting the cycle to work scheme which has been taken up by a large number of Group employees.

We promote recycling in all offices as well as sourcing from sustainable resources and any office refurbishments takes advantage of all of the energy saving technologies that are available and appropriate at the time.

Moving in to the new financial year, we intend to take an even more proactive view on the green opportunities available to the Group and we are now constructing and implementing a full environmental policy, under the guidance of the Group Finance Director. This will cover the expectation that our suppliers will be required to be similarly minded.

Key Policies

Ethics Policy
The Group recognises and understands that our relationships with those who we deal with are the key to our success and, as such, we take our obligations and commitments to those people and organisations very seriously. Our independence,reputation as a supplier of quality services and the trust of our clients are all key assets that we aim to protect at all times. We aim to engender in our employees principles of honesty and integrity and the desire to work to the best of their ability.

All of these values and principles are founded on an ethics policy which permeates everything that we do.

Equal Opportunities and Employment Policy
The Group is committed to offering equal opportunities to all; no employee or potential employee receives more or less favourable treatment due to their gender, age, race, national or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, sexual orientation, or marital status. The Group is committed to the training and development of all employees and to providing a productive working environment.

Should an existing employee’s circumstances change, it is the Group’s policy, wherever practicable, to provide continuing employment under normal terms and conditions and to provide training and career development and promotion wherever possible.

Health and Safety Policy
The Group is committed to the good health and wellbeing of its employees and strives to provide and maintain a safe and pleasant environment for all employees, clients and visitors to its premises and to comply with the relevant health and safety legislation. Continued investment is planned in the coming financial year to enhance the working environments of employees in our offices. No Health and Safety incidents arose in the year (2010: nil).

By order of the Board.