Transparency and the Sustainability Agenda | FTSE 100 Website Reviews
March 10, 2010
General Industrials is one of those catch all phrases within the London Stock Exchange. It’s not quite an “and everything else” hold all, but neither is it particularly specific about what the companies do. They just do industry.. generally.
There are only two General Industrial companies within the FTSE 100: Smiths Group, and Rexam.
Smiths focuses upon threat & contraband detection, medical devices, energy, communications and engineered components, while Rexam is the world’s second largest consumer packaging group and a leading global beverage can maker.
There’s no particular reason for them to be in competition with each other, other than the fact they both fit into this “other” category. Read more
Sustainable Business | Still A Long Way To Go
February 16, 2010
School. Everyone has their own memories of school, how well they did or didn’t do, and why.
I’ve recently been talking to my eldest about school. He’s at the end of primary school (year 6) and I was attempting to explain how important it is to take full advantage of your years in school for your future life and prospects.
The chat was successful and we now recognise that a lot of effort is required from both of us over many years before he matures into the job-wielding adult of our dreams and aspirations.
All of which sprung to mind as I looked over a list of the 859 companies kicked out of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) at the start of this month: a lot more time and effort is required, by all parties concerned.
Read more
Amlin PLC — Corporate Websites Done Right
June 26, 2009
Amlin is a world class insurance company. The first place I visited, like most, was the About Us section–
The design is minimalist but the content is robust. The left navigation contains most of what you might want from an About Us section. The right navigation gives you more content.
Access an an HTML version of the Annual Report. Noteworthy is their upfront statement that they delivered robust performance despite the economic crisis. Right to the point, no hype, compelling, you want to learn more about this company.
All stakeholders will find useful information. This is an excellent example of knowledge management and transparency.
Amlin, like other companies, displays its strategy. But unlike other companies, it goes into substantive detail. Also, unlike other companies it displays its performance against its strategic goals–
This display is only for Amlin’s first goal, there are more Key Performance Indicators. Not surprising that they won PriceWaterhouseCooper’s Building Public Trust Award “For Telling It How It Is” in the FTSE 250 award in 2008.
“Excellent reporting from many different perspectives. All narrative disclosures are underpinned by clear strategic information linked to key performance indicators, with good detail on management of resources and relationships. Comprehensive forward-looking information, including market trends and targets. This is a very complex business, but the overview and use of colour-coding make its annual report easy for anyone to navigate and understand. Well done!”
I could not find this award on Amlin’s website. Suggestion to Amlin — post this award and apply for others.
I further investigated the website to find out more about what makes this company tick. I only had to click on the PEOPLE navigation that appears on the topline navigation.
You must visit View Staff Case Studies and click on the names below Meet Our Staff and view an hourly view of a day in the life of the staff member. Also View Survey Results to view the results of staff surveys. This is the first time I have seen this displayed on a corporate website.
Well done indeed Amlin Plc.
How Major U.S. Networks Stack Up: CBS, NBC, ABC Compared
May 14, 2009
Corporate media is a popular and busy animal. Never a dull moment, there is always something to report, something to analyze, good news to share and rumors to dispel. And since there is always something to be shared at all times, I curiously went to three of the major U.S. television network sites to see how they fare in reporting the “media” part of media relations to the public and to the online world. Here’s what I found:
Grade: B-
The main CBS home page for media relations was very easy to find. Now initially, I almost became frustrated because I couldn’t find the link to get to the media information, but after more scanning I located it. I found out too that the reason that I could not readily find the link was because it was buried within more links. Not a problem though, and actually quite alright. When I clicked on the links within the media section, I immediately saw that there were more links within each sub-section of the media’s section. I like the way that they organized the sub-folders and how it guides you to where you need to be exactly.
The CBS site gives a journalist everything he needs to make a story. Good links, easy-to-navigate pages and clear directions on how to find everything.
Grade: B-
The site at NBC was a little more difficult to navigate, as things weren’t quite readily accessible as you would imagine. Although I’m sure it must be there somewhere, I simply cannot find the dedicated media section for the network. I actually sent an email to the website developers department to see if they can give me some guidance on locating the information. I’m sure someone will contact me right away, since I’m assured that the media relations section has to be buried away somewhere.
Now, what I did like about the NBC site though was the value of information that is on the site. The links that were seemingly connected to media (or news) were full of information, just enough to get a good story. But, you have to work for it. Hard.
Grade: A
The ABC site has links and information that pointed directly to their media relations sections. There was (and is) a press release and dedicated media section that provided a wealth of information and articles for reporting and researching. Again, good information and easy to find for journalists and bloggers.
All three of the networks offered some good and some not-so-good elements that make their media relations efforts workable. How do your media relations links look for your corporation? Are they easy to find? Will guests become frustrated when they visit? How can you improve your site?
A Model Of Transparency — Keppel (Singapore)
March 4, 2009
I found a company that won a Transparency Award in Singapore — Keppel Land. Yet the company states a humble view –
Good governance – beyond winning awards
Winning awards and accolades from the investment community for Keppel’s outstanding corporate practices are feel-good boosters for Keppelites.
Beyond that, these awards serve duly as an important indication that Keppel is moving forward the right track in its admirable goal to achieve a rooted culture of good corporate governance.
While the “look and feel” of the site is not up to world standards, the Corporate Governance content is comprehensive and is a global model of Transparency.
Keppel not only shows its Strategic Direction and objectives, it displays actions it has taken to execute its strategy. This is remarkable, since many companies do not display the details of their strategy and the few that do, don’t go into the details as does Keppel. There may be a risk that the company is showing the “corporate jewels”, but the risk is offset by the information value for existing and potential investors.
Keppel exhibits its extensive Corporate Governance system starting with this page
and continues for 10 pages of content about Board membership, attendance, compensation, performance and more. The navigation bar options on the left expand to other Governance topics that provide information for just about any item concerning Governance.
The only flaw that I see is a problem with website navigation. Keppel’s good Corporate Governance content isn’t available from the main site navigation, but is “hidden” in the main menu under “annual Reports” (see 2007); it should be brought out and highlighted.
Humbleness is a laudable virtue, but Keppel has a compelling Corporate Governance story and they should flaunt it.
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