Greed’s not good

It doesn’t seem that long ago that terms like inclusive growth and social value sat in the margins of mainstream discussions. If they were seen at all, it was as public procurement technicalities, or easy to dismiss concepts in an economic model where profits are its raison d’etre. Not so any longer.

It’s hard to avoid what at times feels like a new industry; social value and economies that benefit all, not just the entitled, are front and central in the minds of many. It may seem Damascene that many of the same people who were in the “Gordon Gecko” fan club are now talking of the importance of economic inclusion but it shouldn’t, because while the moral case of inclusion has always existed there is now the realisation that a lack of inclusion limits growth and limits everyone’s chances, including their own. I’d argue Europe’s rise in right wing populism and our own recent plebiscite are manifestations of an economic model not fit for purpose.

For some of us, and the organisations we work in, we have never accepted that profit was the objective, how it’s generated and what you do with it, that’s what really matters: profit for purpose. As a not-for-profit social enterprise, The Growth Company drives forward business, economic, personal and professional development within communities by boosting employment, skills, investment and enterprise for the benefit of all. We are at the heart of placemaking in the UK, driving inward investment and international trade by developing business relationships and partnerships between British cities and regions in developing and mature economies. While growth that is inclusive is intrinsic to all our services, we recognise that as an ‘anchor institution’ we play an bigger role in helping shape the future of the places we support.

With over a thousand employees spread across over forty sites, we needed to develop a cross-company steering group to bring all our teams together. Initially meeting quarterly for an hour, it quickly became a monthly two hour feature, creating a space where we could identify and discuss what we could do as an employer to become more inclusive, and in so doing, making us and our local communities more resilient. We identified that our employment and procurement practices offered the greatest potential for making a positive impact, while continuing our efforts to reduce our impact on the environment, the Cinderella of social value.

The approach we’ve taken follows a standard pattern: identify a potential issue; determine what we know about it; does this give us a picture and if not, what information is missing to complete it, and can we put a system in to collect the missing information? If we do get a picture, the questions change to, “what does this mean? what does good look like? and how do we know?” For example, when we asked colleagues how they got to work, 64% said they walked, cycled or used public transport. With a cycle to work scheme, season ticket loans for bus, train or tram, a flexible working policy and a city centre location, we hoped that The Growth Company’s offer was good, but it was only after asking Transport for Greater Manchester how we compared with other businesses that we knew we were good. That’s not to say we can’t do better, of course.

On the other hand, we don’t know if the fact that 71% of our staff live locally (Greater Manchester) is “good”, as comparative benchmarks are hard to find. In truth, only time will tell: only when we’ve been capturing this data for a few years will we know what the art of the possible really is. Local is great, but Greater Manchester is a big, diverse place. We’re now looking at how representative we are of those communities who feel left behind. Our new HR system will enable us to better track candidates, so we can review engagement and drop off at different stages of the recruitment process by applicant characteristics and geography.

To maximise the added value we can leverage from our supply chains, we have adopted the “Greater Manchester Social Value Procurement Framework”, which is used by the 10 Greater Manchester authorities, the Combined Authority and others. This covers six key areas where a potential supplier can make an impact:

• Employment and economic sustainability
• Raising the living standards of individuals
• Promote participation and citizen engagement
• Build capacity and sustainability of the community and voluntary sector
• Promote environmental sustainability
• Promote equity fairness

It’s early days, but we are confident that this will have the desired effect. Why? Because we’ve bid and won work in on tenders where these criteria have been set, and it really does focus the mind. Social value questions in tenders act like marginal constituencies: you have everything to fight for, and they’ll determine if you win or lose. Your bid will have good answers for the quality, governance, experience and price questions but social value…? That’s a whole new ball game. The tender in question allocated 20% to social value, which may seem high, but the commissioner, Manchester City Council, is looking to increase this to 30% going forward.

This sends a very simple message to the market: if you are not a socially responsible business, you’re not going to do business with us.