Diversity

Gender - In 2007 the representation of women in our workforce increased with 39% of all our positions now held by women. The proportion of women in our managerial grades and senior managerial positions has remained roughly consistent with the year before.

Age - Our employee age data shows a range of ages working Heathrow. The number of people in the upper age group is small and has remained stable compared to the previous year. We hope our recently-introduced flexible retirement policy will increase this figure.

Ethnicity - We are pleased to see the proportion of ethnic minorities working for BAA continued to increase in 2007.

Employee survey results
The response rate to Make Your Mark, our employee survey was disappointingly low this year. This is the second year in a row that the response rate has fallen. We believe that the fall in completion rates in 2007 is due to the response of Heathrow staff to the dispute over the proposed changes to the BAA pension scheme, changes in working conditions from increased security requirements and negative media attention.

In response to the 2006 survey findings, the executive committee identified five key areas of focus put into practice in 2007:

• The strengthening of management teams – we focused on increasing skill levels in our front line managers in 2007
• An improved system of individual performance feedback and measurement by management – in 2007 we introduced a new performance measurement system
• Improving communications – we allocated time for employee briefings in work rosters, which gives employees a better opportunity to communicate with their direct supervisor
• Improvement of the working environment and making additional improvements to make our airport clean, efficient and friendly for our passengers and people – our Fix the Basics initiative addressed issues such as repainting walls and fixing damaged floor tiles.

In response to the 2007 survey our priority areas for the coming year will be:

• Simplifying the organisation and reducing bureaucracy and unnecessary procedures
• Focusing on performance management
• Continuing to improve communications.

Issues and approach
Our plans