Diversity in the boardroom helps mitigate the “group think” that contributed to recent financial disasters, and leads to better decision making and better use of the talent pool, a conference on corporate governance has heard.

Presenting the findings of a research paper on diversity in boardrooms, TCD professor Blanaid Clarke said there was considerable evidence to show that diversity in boardrooms resulted in better corporate performance.

However, she said that unless sufficient market incentives are in place for companies to change, they won’t do so. This can be seen in the case of Spain which introduced an equality law in 2007 requiring companies with 250 employees or more to develop gender equality plans with clear implications for female appointments to the board. However, because no dissuasive sanctions are in place the law is not really working there, Prof Clarke said.

She told the European Corporate Governance and Company Law Conference in Convention Centre Dublin that EU recommendations and charters on diversity in the boardroom had not worked.

She said the EU has found that the only tangible progress on the issue was in member states where there are legally binding obligations concerning the percentage of women on boards. This was seen in Norway, where just under 40 per cent of people on boards are women, significantly higher than the EU average of 13.7 per cent.

Former O2 chief Danuta Gray said the issue boiled down to whether the chief executive and chairperson want to make an actual difference regarding diversity, adding that quotas aren’t the best way to get women into the boardroom.

“Some companies just want to tick a box – tokenism – rather than having a genuine desire to make a difference in the boardroom,” she said. She was in the “soft law camp” when it came to the implementation of diversity in boardrooms, but said there should be naming and shaming of companies that don’t achieve targets.

In this article from the Daily Telegraph, from February 2012, Peter Kelly the Enterprise Director at Vodafone is quoted as saying that the top 3 'team-building' requests are:

• provide a more supportive atmosphere at work
• enable better team communication
• offer tools for flexible working 

He goes on to say: "Many genuine team-building activities can be valuable, but ultimately, to achieve better teamwork, businesses need to get the basics right first." 

We would have to agree!

Team building doesn't improve work
Office "team-building'" exercises only succeed in leaving staff feeling more awkward about dealing with their colleagues, according to a survey.

We may pride ourselves on being a nation of good sports, but most employees think that doing more company team-building events would not help improve how they work. The survey carried out by Vodafone UK and YouGov suggests workers feel that some organised team-building activities can be a waste of time, and at worst, are toe-curlingly embarrassing.

Workers would much prefer being able to communicate with each other better at work rather than being forced to build rapport with their co-workers by sharing adrenaline experiences or performing 'trust' exercises.

The research among more than 1,000 British employees with colleagues uncovered some excruciating examples of awkward and silly team-building activities, including enduring bikini-clad 'bed baths' and massages from colleagues, holding lingerie parties, and eating crickets as part of a 'bush tucker trial' style event.

While the majority of workers surveyed (66 %) have been made to do some form of team-building activity, more than half (54 %) don't feel that doing more would help them work better with their colleagues. "British companies are spending a huge amount of time and effort in building more effective teams," says Peter Kelly, Enterprise Director at Vodafone UK. "This research confirms that people place more value on open, collaborative and flexible ways of working every day than one-off team-building exercises."

According to the survey, adrenaline experiences like speed-boating and bungee jumping are considered the least effective team-building activities, followed by trust exercises such as being blindfolded and led by colleagues. Those deemed most effective are social events like going out for a drink or a meal, followed by volunteering and charity work.

Rather than potentially waste money on frivolous team-building exercises, respondents with a negative view of team-building suggest that companies should instead focus on providing a more supportive atmosphere at work, enabling better team communication and offering tools for flexible working as their top three priorities.

"Many genuine team-building activities can be valuable, but ultimately, to achieve better teamwork businesses need to get the basics right first. Employers need to focus on how their employees work day-to-day, and give staff the tools they need to be able to do their job best. Employees also want to be able to work smarter - and that means easy access to customers, colleagues and information wherever they are," said Mr Kelly.