Knight Frank unleashes diversity X factor with eight new boards

Knight Frank has put in place eight new boards as part of a new drive to enhance the diversity of the business and fast-track the company’s young talent. The KF X initiative, which was launched this week, involves 95 staff members, each of whom sit on one of the firm’s development or critical area feeder boards. The Knight Frank main commercial board, appointed in February, is made up of eight white men. At the time, the company’s new head of commercial Stephen Clifton (pictured above) said that those on the board were the best candidates available for the roles. With KF X in place it is expected that there will soon become a far broader mix of leaders within the business that can influence it and ultimately be elevated to the commercial board. Those involved across the new boards are split 50:50 by gender, as are those leading them. Each has at least one non-London based member and every Knight Frank UK office is represented. Clifton says: “When you look below the equity partnership level we have a fantastically diverse business, and that’s what makes this very exciting. My ability to change overnight what the commercial board looks like was very limited, and frankly will be for a little bit of time going forward, of perhaps a year or 18 months.” “These boards allow direct reporting on strategic issues by people who represent the amazing diversity within our business. Without changing the actual board yet, we have advisers to the board and people who will come to the board every time the board meets who can give a direction or opinion that is new.” Future leaders Every feeder board has a chair from the main commercial board who will serve as a guiding influence, but they will primarily be led by board directors – each of which have been chosen as they are considered to be future leaders. The board directors will change every 18 months, as will the vast majority of members, in order for as many people in the business to have an empowering influence, though there will be some transferring between boards. Scroll down to see the full list of boards and their directors Anthony Duggan, partner and chief strategy officer, will play a key role as counsel to all of the boards and will ensure they are linked up in their thinking without overlapping. The new boards will report to the main commercial board, which will ultimately approve or challenge projects that are proposed. When the main commercial board is listening to ideas from the new boards it is hoped that embracing and implementing them will be easier, as they will be fed in from a across the business. “The boards are made up of a proper cross section of our organisation – 50:50 male/female, all from different age brackets, from graduate and newly qualified surveyors to associates and partners and from every UK city,” Clifton says. “If we [the main commercial board] task one of these boards to look at something we know that it will come from a depth of knowledge.” The KF X boards will be supported by an implementation board, which will help deliver projects, and there will be further support from strategy and operations teams. Each will also be given a budget for general expenditure, social and off-site events and consultants. The directors of the boards will be given training sessions on resilience, get one-to-one coaching and feedback with a professional business coach, and given training on business planning. They will also be given a final review and feedback, including from those sitting on their own board. Staff retention Competition for the best talent in the industry is fierce whatever the market, and giving top performers the chance to influence the direction of the business at an earlier stage of their careers is expected to help Knight Frank retain more of its rising stars. Clifton says: “Gone are the days when people joined an organisation and thought they were spend the rest of their career there having joined at 23. “To retain the best talent it’s essential to give them a journey they are absolutely engaged with and excited about, that it is right they demand.” Clifton adds that the new system will allow such talent to stand out at an earlier stage “I have been trying to put myself in the mindset of a 29-year-old wanting to make a name for themselves in a marketplace which is almost by definition a relative silo,” he says. A bunch for 50-odd-year-old guys sitting round a table deciding how we should recruit, how we should promote, reward and retain is fundamentally wrong.” “You might be letting office space from our Leeds office and you might be fabulously successful at that. But your immediate audience within our business is also pretty specialist. “These boards allow a platform for recognition and opportunity and to demonstrate another dimension to your character or intellect or ability that might otherwise not come out particularly quickly. We are able to harness and recognise it and promote people based on this and find out about their multi-faceted brilliance way more quickly,” he adds. One of the boards will be the people development board, which will be led by director Abby Brown, partner in office agency. It will focus specifically on diversity as well as development, recruitment and the retention of talent. “A bunch of 50-odd-year-old guys sitting round a table deciding how we should recruit, how we should promote, reward and retain is fundamentally wrong,” Clifton says. When Clifton campaigned to become head of commercial he did so on a diversity ticket, and his election on that basis can be seen as a sign of the desire among Knight Frank’s partners for a change. The main commercial board may not yet be a beacon of diversity, but in KF X the company now has a structure in place that allows a far broader number of staff to feel empowered, and promises even greater transformation in the future. The KF X boards People development Director Abby Brown, partner, office agency Focus Talent, diversity, development, retention and recruitment Social impact critical area Director Rebecca Schofield, partner, logistics and industrial Focus Responsibility, community, charity, ethics and sustainability Performance development Director Fiona Wilcocks, partner, lease advisory Focus Performance, profitability, budget, risk management, efficiency, alternative delivery models and data and analytics. Client development Director Nick Cripps, partner, capital market Focus Performance, key account management, customer experience, targeting and segmentation, next gen clients and business development Brand and engagement critical area Director Richard Booth, partner, valuation and advisory Focus Engagement, go-to-market, choose Knight Frank, best-in-class and quality Service lines development Director Emily Miller, partner, valuation and advisory Focus Collaboration, cross-selling, one business, expertise and communication. Growth critical area Director Rory Paton, partner, office agency Focus Acquisitions, entrepreneurs, rainmakers, new services and start-up Tech Director Josh Morris, associate, capital markets Focus Digital, tech, website, innovation and connectivity Implementation board Director Laura Gibson, partner, commercial strategy Focus Business development, communications, finance, HR, IT, marketing, research and support To send feedback, e-mail david.hatcher@egi.co.uk or tweet @hatcherdavid or @estatesgazette