Business lobby group the CBI says a majority of its members have shown their confidence in the organisation following a crunch vote.
The group said 93% of members who voted at this afternoon's extraordinary general meeting backed a motion saying that changes made to the organisation - and promised reforms - were enough to give them confidence in the wake of a high profile sexual misconduct scandal. A statement issued shortly after the meeting said of the 371 votes cast, 7% rejected the motion. And 23 members withheld their votes.
It comes after several major companies have already quit the CBI due to the allegations - including John Lewis, Aviva and ITV - and are not taking part in the vote, while the Government has also suspended its engagement with the group. However, the CBI went into the vote having gained public backing from around a dozen companies, including Siemens, Microsoft and Esso.
Read more: Law firm to receive £7m boost after agreeing Volkswagen settlement
In an interview with BusinessLive in the past fortnight, CBI director general Rain Newton-Smith said the organisation needed to "earn the right to again be loud".
Following today's London meeting, she said: "After an incredibly tough period, I’m deeply grateful for the faith shown in us by our members. We’ve made real progress in implementing the top-to-bottom programme of change promised by the board and, while there remains work to do, today’s result represents an important milestone on that journey. Even an organisation as established as the CBI is only as strong as its members. That support is something we have never taken for granted. We will work tirelessly to repay the faith shown in us and are committed to living the values and changes we have proposed.
"Let me be clear, we have listened, we have acted, and we will leave no stone unturned to be the best voice for business inside and out. We also heard another important message from members. That they want us to bring our breadth and depth of expertise, as well as our unique convening power, to bear on the economic challenges of the day."
As part of plans to reform its "governance, culture and purpose" the CBI has said it will speed up its search for a new president, create a new-look board, stop late-night parties, review its governance processes and set up a new board subcommittee on culture, among other things.
Ann Francke, CEO of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), said: "While the CBI has won some much-needed breathing space, the difficult challenge of cultural transformation still lies ahead. Committees and consultants don't transform organisations; leaders and managers do, through what they say and what they do each and every day.
"Both businesses and government will now want to see clear evidence that the CBI is delivering on its promise to change. A mandate from the members is not enough, on its own, for the CBI to believe it can draw a line under the management failures that led to the events of the last six months and move on. Leaders at all organisations should view this sorry episode at one of the country’s most high-profile bodies as a chance to learn from the mistakes of others and ask themselves if they need to revisit their own workplace to make sure they are getting their culture right.
“We wish the new team at CBI well as they embark on their ambitious transformation of building an inclusive and transparent leadership culture."
READ NEXT:
