The correlation between workforce management and company performance means institutional investors have a key role to play in encouraging better workplace policies at organizations in their portfolios, particularly Canadian retail companies, according to a new report by the Shareholder Association for Research and Education.
The report, published in the lead up to the World Day for Decent Work on Oct. 7, reviewed disclosures from five Canadian and seven global retail companies, including Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., Canadian Tire Corp., Loblaw Companies Ltd., Metro Inc., Carrefour S.A., Costco Wholesale Corp., the Home Depot, Marks & Spencer PLC, Tesco PLC and Walmart Corp.
It found that Canadian retail companies lag behind their global peers in the disclosure of key workplace metrics, including approaches to remuneration and wages, strategies for achieving workplace stability, and efforts to measure and understand how employees impact business performance and contribute value.
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As a result, the report says Canadian retail companies need to provide institutional investors with better quality information on how they are managing and protecting their workers. There is a significant opportunity, it notes, for institutional investors to enhance their ability to integrate environmental, social and governance factors into the selection and stewardship of the companies in their portfolios by seeking enhanced reporting on labour practices and workforce management.
“Investors recognize that information on how companies value their workers provides important insight into corporate management and its priorities,” says Peter Chapman, executive director of SHARE. “Better disclosure is the starting point for investors to be able to identify those companies that are genuinely committed to decent work practices.”
SHARE is exploring opportunities for investor collaboration in Canada and internationally to secure better workforce reporting from companies.
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