Co-operative Social Responsibility

Maxine SharmanHead of Community Engagement

About Midcounties

Who we are• We are a consumer co-operative owned by our members, and

part of the global co-operative movementWhat we do• We operate a range of businesses in Food, Travel, Pharmacy,

Funeral, Childcare, Energy, Employee Benefits and Post OfficesWhere we trade• Our heartlands are in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire,

Buckinghamshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Wiltshire and Worcestershire. However, our Energy, Childcare and Flexible Benefits businesses trade across the UK

Our Aim

• Our aim is to be a successful consumer co-operative working towards creating a better, fairer world, and to enhance the lives of our colleagues, members, customers and the communities we serve

Democracy

Openness

Equality

Social Responsibility

Our Values

Our Social Goals

• Developing young people• Supporting our communities• Defending the environment• Developing co-ops across the world

Social

EnvironmentalEconomic

Social

Economic

Environmental

Our key difference

• We only ever do three things with our profit:– Re-invested into the business

– Returned to our members– Used for community and co-operative

investment

Projects

Volunteering

School Engagement

Grant Giving

Charity Partner

Volunteering

• All colleagues have three days each year to participate in volunteering

• 56% active participation

• 40,000 hours delivered last year

• Fantastic way for colleagues to live our values

• Drives colleague engagement

Projects

• Stand alone pieces of work linked to specific areas affecting communities

– Alcohol Misuse– Teenage Relationships – Dental Health

Charity Partner

• Teenage Cancer Trust

– Elected by our colleagues – Target of £200,000 for year one– Record ‘Give at the Till’ event raised £87,000

in one weekend

Schools Engagement

• Developing Young People

– Strategic partnerships with five schools– Academic achievement – Employability– Co-operative Trust Schools and academies– Outward Bound Bursary

Our partnership with Sutherland Business and

Enterprise School

Why?• Partnership began 2008

– Supporting Co-operative Trust Schools• Lessons learnt

– Find sustaining ‘reasons why’ for the engagement

– Always have a named ‘account manager’ from both organisations

– Meet regularly, even if you don’t think there is anything new to say

– Ensure commitment from the leaders on both sides

Why?• Business Aims

– Increase sales & membership locally – More volunteering opportunities– Attract and retain colleagues– Develop ‘best practice’ model for use elsewhere– Generate positive PR

– Lessons learnt• Have clear measures, and report on them • Determination – relationships and mutual trust

take time to build

Why?• Educational Aims

– Improve attendance levels– Raise attainment– Improve behaviour– Create a membership model to engage parents– To have a business sponsor to support governors and

trustees

– Lessons learnt• The school needs to have a ‘hands on’ approach to the business

engagement• Agree what you are planning to do with the head/link person

How? • Financial Assistance

– Lessons learnt: Allocate a specific budget, whatever the amount. Be clear in advance of the terms of reference to avoid being seen as a cash cow

• Colleagues into school– Reading, mentoring, painting, gardening, supporting

lessons– Governor and trustee roles

• Pupils into business– Work experience, presentations, interview practice,

AGM visits

How? • Workplace to school

– Business meetings with students attending

• Gaining mutual understanding– work experience, teacher/colleague mentoring

• Having fun– Outward bound, prize giving, involvement in community

programmes

Lessons Learnt• Engage with all parts of the business• Don’t expect to get everything right first time• Do possibility thinking, there will be more than you thought• Fix as a permanent item on key meeting agendas

Telford Multi Academy Trust

• Don’t expect things to run smoothly with schools! Results go up and down, pupil numbers change and so do Government Ministers…

• Continuing our work as a partner to the new MAT

• New BITC Business Class cluster being established in Telford

Grant Giving

• The Midcounties Co-operative Community Fund was set up in 2011 using dormant member share capital

• General grants of up to £2,000 and one grant per county, per year of £10,000

• In Telford this was used to support ‘Silver Threads’ a Donnington Community Centre

Delivers our social goals

Put our DOES valuesInto action

Make a difference to our communities and to

our business

Differentiates us, giving us a competitive

edge

Make our colleagues

and members proud

Social Responsibility Engagement Cycle

And finally…

• We are in the Times 100 Best Big Companies to work for three years running

• We are Platinum members of BITC’s Corporate Responsibility Index

• IIP Gold accreditation across the whole of our business

• Just hit £1Billon turnover

If you like what we do, why not join us? www.midcounties.coop