People 52 Annual Report and Accounts 2001/2002 More than 40% of the BBC’s expenditure is on people. Some 25,000 of them are on the payroll – 18,606 in the BBC Home Services, 1,797 in the BBC World Service and 5,165 in the BBC’s commercial divisions. So to motivate and encourage them, to train and develop them and to recruit the right people into the organisation is perhaps the most important challenge we face. Only by getting this right can we achieve the constant process of creative renewal that is the key to the BBC’s present and future success. New talent Kasey Clarke was working as a waitress in a pizza bar when she heard about BBC Talent. She is now working as a broadcast assistant on 1Xtra, the BBC’s new digital radio station devoted to black music culture. After successfully presenting Lifting the Bonnet Sangita Myska is moving to Holiday and Summer Holiday on BBC One and David Garrido is a sports reporter on BBC News 24. In the past year BBC Talent has offered 300 people like Kasey, Sangita and David from across the UK their first break in the broadcasting business – as presenters, reporters, actors, writers or in behind-the-scenes roles. Its aim is simple: to attract the next generation of new talent to work for the BBC and, in the process, improve the BBC’s contact with young people and other groups who often see it as out of touch, distant and old fashioned. BBC Talent began in 2000 with six schemes and has mushroomed since then. In 2001 it doubled to 12 schemes and attracted an extraordinary 140,000 applications.With BBC Drama Series it visited 12 cities and auditioned 12,000 actors for roles in top series like Casualty and EastEnders.Thirty-three were offered contracts as a result. All 39 BBC local radio stations in England joined forces to discover new presenter talent, many with unusual backgrounds.The BBC’s Urban Music Great programmes are only possible because of the dedication and creativity of all the people who work for the BBC.The BBC sinks or swims on the strength of their ideas and their collective endeavours as performers, presenters, producers, writers, journalists, editors, cameramen, studio technicians, press officers or accountants. Above: Sangita Myska, presenter of Lifting the Bonnet and Holiday, was recruited through BBC Talent. Right and far right:Twelve thousand actors were auditioned across the UK for parts in top BBC dramas EastEnders and Casualty. Annual Report and Accounts 2001/2002 53 Scheme held a nationwide search for the best new performers on the black music scene. The third year of BBC Talent has now been launched with 16 schemes, including opportunities for interactive presenters, film makers and animators for BBC Choice and presenters for BBC One science programmes. More locations than ever before – 70 in total – will be used for auditions in 22 different UK towns and cities.This year’s website has already received 2.5 million hits. Other BBC talent schemes included the New Writing initiative, which has helped the script editor on Doctors identify ten new writers as the series expands to a year-round drama, and Northern Exposure, a major new initiative to find and nurture drama and comedy writers across the north of England. Run in partnership with regional theatres, it has worked with more than 4,000 writers in its first year. Diversity The changing face of Britain today creates several challenges for the BBC. Firstly, because as a public service broadcaster, we have specific obligations to meet the needs of minorities and special interest groups. Secondly, because research suggests minority ethnic groups tend to use BBC services less than the majority of white audiences.Thirdly, because if the BBC fails to reflect in its programming the multiculturalism that the young in particular now take for granted, there is a real danger of becoming irrelevant to major parts of our audience. The BBC’s workforce is open to everyone irrespective of their race, colour, creed, ethnic or national origin, marital status, gender, disability or age.This is not a matter of simply complying with relevant legislation, or of so-called political correctness, but a clear business imperative if the BBC is to provide an equally relevant service to all licence payers.We aim to create a BBC where diversity is seen as an asset, not an issue; which is open to talent from all communities and all cultures; and which reflects the world in which we live today, not the world of yesterday. The steady increase in the number of women in management positions across the BBC has continued in the past year. By March 2002 the BBC had achieved its targets at senior executive and, for the first time, at middle manager levels. Targets for ethnic minorities were raised last year. Against the new target of 10% employment by the end of 2003, figures rose from 8.4% to 8.9% by March 2002. For senior staff, where the target is now 4%, the level rose to 3.2%. To help the BBC meet its targets by next year, diversity action plans, monitored quarterly, have been put in place in every division. A new Ascend development scheme has been created providing bespoke training courses for, to date, 80 ethnic minority staff members to help them develop their potential to move to higher grade employment. A major success of the past year has been a Diversity Roadshow. 1,700 BBC journalists attended awareness-raising seminars as it travelled round the UK. Sixty-seven per cent of those attending said they were “likely to change their editorial approach” as a result. BBC Scotland has set up a second diversity traineeship, designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to television, radio and online production, and the appointment of Community Affairs Researchers at each of the BBC’s 11 English regional news centres has helped build stronger, more credible links with under-represented communities across each region. Journalistic experience was not a criterion for these jobs; an enquiring mind, research skills and a background of community involvement were. While progress in terms of gender and ethnicity has been encouraging, staff with disabilities remain under-represented. Different perspectives 1,700 BBC journalists across the UK took part in diversity awareness seminars in the past year Diversity: proportion of women in management % Target for 2003 30.0 31 March 2002 36.7 31 March 2001 36.9 Target for 2003 40.0 31 March 2002 35.5 31 March 2001 34.1 Target for 2003 40.0 31 March 2002 40.1 31 March 2001 38.0 Source: BBC HR Management Information. Senior executives Senior managers Middle managers and senior professionals People The Northern Exposure talent initiative is working with new writers across the north of England. Above: On the lookout – Ian Wright leads the hunt for new BBC talent. Two specific measures have been taken to try to bring more disabled people into the BBC workforce. New guidelines have been produced on recruiting and employing disabled people, ensuring that the legal responsibilities laid down in the Disability Discrimination Act are met in full.The BBC has established an Access Unit and set aside funds to help meet adjustment costs. In addition, the Extend work experience scheme, which offers three months’ work experience for qualified disabled people, has created many new opportunities. Out of 43 placements to date, 23 have been completed and 13 participants have subsequently gained paid work with the BBC. Human resources The One BBC approach, first set out by Greg Dyke in April 2000, has put less money into running the BBC and more into programmes. It has also galvanised the BBC’s internal culture to become more collaborative. But there is further to go if the innate creativity of BBC people is to achieve its full potential. The Making it Happen initiative, announced this year, is designed to take this forward, to encourage more risk taking, to explore new ways of working and to seek out new and fresh ways of connecting with our audiences. A significant achievement this year was gaining Investors in People (IiP) accreditation across the whole BBC, which is one of the largest and most complex organisations to have attained this important quality standard. 5,511 people joined the BBC in the past year.A further 6,699 changed jobs within the organisation. As part of a full overhaul of human resources operations, a new specialist recruitment department has been established and, for the first time, a comprehensive approach to induction is being introduced for all new joiners, including a common, four-day course for staff at every level. At a time when many organisations are closing such schemes, the BBC remains committed to its final salary pension scheme, open to all permanent staff. Succession and development planning remains an organisational weakness that will be addressed as a priority in the coming year, together with a more systematic approach to staff development and training, modernised to meet the BBC’s changing needs. Investment will be increased further from last year’s spend of £38million, which included 38,000 days’ training for some 18,500 people inside and outside the BBC. Staff in all areas have access to a growing range of opportunities through coaching, courses, workshops, online learning and secondments. The BBC monitors staff views through an annual staff survey. It also has various consultation mechanisms, including at corporate level, the BBC Forum. Regular meetings are also held with the recognised unions: BECTU (Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematograph and Theatre Union), the NUJ (National Union of Journalists) and AMICUS (formerly the AEEU). Internal communication Progress in improving internal communication is measured by an annual survey of staff opinion conducted by MORI. The latest of these, conducted in December, shows a further increase of 5% in the overall quality of communication and puts the BBC into MORI’s top ten organisations for the first time.There is, however, still more to be done to embed communication as an integral part of the leadership role across the BBC. Health and safety The welfare and safety of BBC staff has been a primary consideration in a year dominated by major stories at home and abroad, from foot-and-mouth disease to Afghanistan. 54 Annual Report and Accounts 2001/2002 New faces, new voices Over 300 people have been given their first break in broadcasting by BBC Talent Annual Report and Accounts 2001/2002 55 Specialist training for staff has been a priority and the BBC also contributed to the development of safety practices within the industry. The number of reportable incidents in the past 12 months fell from 72 to 62, of which 15 were classed as ‘major injuries’.The BBC was not subject to any HSE enforcement action and had no convictions for health and safety offences. The BBC-wide health and safety policy was revised during the year, in line with the Government’s Revitalising Safety challenge to industry, and relaunched in November. Its focus is on ensuring commitment, clear responsibilities, knowledge and skills, employee involvement and improvement throughout the BBC. A new corporate Health and Safety Committee operates with formal delegated authority from the Executive Committee and has agreed the safety plan for the coming year. Within each division, a nominated Board member has responsibility for health and safety, and staff and elected Safety Representatives contribute to developing a safety culture. Formal arrangements, including safety forums, ensure consultation and co-operation. There were 7,446 recorded attendances at formal safety training sessions, representing about 30% of employees, and a significant expansion of the material on the BBC’s Gateway intranet site has made it more easily accessible to staff. BBC Group London Home Services BBC World Service Scotland Wales Northern Ireland English Regions % Target for 2003 10.0 31 March 2002 8.9 31 March 2001 8.4 Target for 2003 10.0 31 March 2002 9.6 31 March 2001 9.4 Target for 2003 10.0 31 March 2002 27.8 31 March 2001 27.4 Target for 2003 3.0 31 March 2002 1.6 31 March 2001 1.2 % Target for 2003 6.0 31 March 2002 2.1 31 March 2001 1.5 Target for 2003 2.0 31 March 2002 1.0 31 March 2001 1.0 Target for 2003 8.0* 31 March 2002 6.1 31 March 2001 5.0 *Average figure: English Regions have set individual targets for each region. BBC Ventures’ staff based outside London are included in Nations and Regions totals. Source: BBC HR Management Information. Diversity: proportion of people from ethnic minorities in the workforce