Engaging with our employees

Being a relatively small company of approximately 130 employees operating in one location, there is a high level of visibility of the Board by employees and vice versa. Given this high level of visibility, the Board has decided not to adopt any of the three specific employee engagement methods referred to in the 2018 UK Corporate Governance Code at this time. Instead, we have adopted the following employee engagement arrangements which the Board believes have operated effectively during the year to provide it with regular formal and informal employee feedback for consideration as part of the Board’s decision making process: – a formal programme of breakfast meetings between the

Non-Executive Directors and members of the Executive

Committee and senior management. These meetings have no fixed agenda and provide a useful forum to discuss what is happening in day-to-day operations and the associated challenges which might not be significant enough individually to warrant formal reporting at

Board meetings; and – a Non-Executive Director, on a rotational basis, presenting to all employees in a discursive format approximately twice yearly on a particular theme, followed by a Q&A session.

To facilitate these sessions we have set up an online portal for employees to raise questions, anonymously if they wish, in advance of the event. Employees are also invited to ask questions and to share their views on the day. These sessions are also designed for Board members to provide the Board’s views, as appropriate, on matters raised through employee engagement, and feedback from the sessions is reported to the Board. Our latest sessions were led by Vicky Jarman in December 2021 and by Nick Hampton in April 2022, each of which are described below.

An audience with Vicky Jarman

One of our ‘Audience with…’ sessions this year was held with Vicky Jarman, hosted by Janine Cole, our Sustainability & Social Impact Director.

Janine opened the session by exploring how Vicky’s career evolved into that of a Non-Executive Director, which led to an engaging discussion on diversity, equality and inclusion in the workplace, the benefits this brings and how GPE can drive further progress in this area, also learning from other industries. The feedback received has supported the development of GPE’s new People Plan and ongoing Board discussions on this subject.

Vicky discussed sustainability in the property sector, the challenges this presents and the opportunities for GPE, working closely with its suppliers, to innovate and take a market lead on sustainability matters.

Vicky also provided her insights on the future of the workplace, the importance of GPE’s Customer first approach and the increasing role that technology and data can play in supporting our customers and differentiating GPE from its competitors. Vicky answered employee questions and discussed views on the benefits of hybrid working. Following subsequent feedback from separate focus group sessions, we were pleased to launch our new Hybrid Working Policy from 1 April 2022.

There was an opportunity for employees to ask questions and share views across a broad range of topics that affected them, making it an engaging and interactive session.

The event, which received positive feedback, was well attended by employees and a number of members of the Board.

The session with Vicky Jarman was a great opportunity for all employees to hear first-hand the views of a NED on the key challenges currently faced by GPE. Furthermore, it was inspiring to hear how Vicky, as a successful female business leader, proactively progressed her career at the same time as raising a family.”

Hilary Baikie

Tax Compliance Manager

In addition to these arrangements, direct Board engagement with employees during the year has included the following:

– in September, property tours of Newman Street, 16 Dufour’s Place and Hanover Square as part of the annual Board Property tour involving our Development,

Project Management, Leasing and Occupier and

Property Services teams; – presentations made to the Board by the Executive

Committee team at scheduled Board meetings; – Board presentations and Q&A sessions by Heads of Department and other employees on key matters including acquisitions, our flexible office model, cyber security, health and safety, sustainability, financing, leasing, investor relations, diversity and inclusion and corporate governance; – Charles Philipps and Emma Woods attended our

Capital Markets Day with employees, stakeholders and analysts in April 2022; – mentoring sessions between Non-Executive Directors and members of senior management as part of our

Non-Executive Director Mentoring Programme; – all-staff Quarterly Review meetings led by our

Chief Executive which provide an informal forum for employees to discuss and raise questions regarding key events at GPE; and – following the success of the initiative introduced during the pandemic, all employees are invited to attend a weekly update call on Monday mornings, led by our Chief Executive and other Executive Directors, to discuss key developments and concerns.

While the impact of COVID-19 continued to present operational challenges for all businesses, we adopted a number of initiatives and activities to maintain levels of employee engagement, wellbeing and feedback throughout the year which we continue to evolve to further support our people.

See more on pages 52 to 55

An audience with Nick Hampton

Our latest ‘Audience with…’ session was held with Nick Hampton, hosted by Steven Mew, our Customer Experience and Flex Director.

Steven commenced the session by asking Nick about his career path and motivations.

Nick explained his continuous focus on learning and development throughout his career and discussed how everyone at GPE could look to solve problems and make a difference in an inclusive culture.

Following the pandemic and global events, Nick spoke about leading with courage, humility and trust in an uncertain world. He also shared his insights on the power of a strong purpose and vision to drive and differentiate a business whilst making a positive societal impact.

In view of changing patterns of working behaviours, there was an interesting conversation about the evolving role of the office as a place for connection, creativity and collaboration.

Employees were keen to discuss the challenges and opportunities of business transformation as GPE continued to evolve its operations. Topics discussed included the need to work differently and innovate, to develop new skills and capabilities, to execute at pace and to embed a Customer first mindset and culture. Nick highlighted how Board discussions had evolved over recent years and how the composition of the Board had developed to align with GPE’s future strategic needs.

Nick talked about the role of technology in supporting business transformation and enhancing customer service, noting that it was important to focus on technology that could add real business and customer value.

Nick also discussed and answered questions on a range of matters including customer service, branding, climate change, his role as a Non-Executive Director, the UK’s economic outlook and London’s magnetic appeal.

The event was well received with high levels of employee attendance, as well as attendance by the Chair and other members of the Board.

The event was a fantastic opportunity to hear and discuss views on how GPE can evolve and make a real difference for our customers in an inclusive culture, and it was great to engage with Nick as one of our Non-Executive Directors.”

Leila Gadsden-Chaiboub

Company Secretarial Assistant