Page 5 What makes us different


Governance and structure
Our structure is underpinned by the highest levels of corporate governance. This gives managers the freedom to be entrepreneurial and competitive in how they run the business, while giving all our Partners the rights and responsibilities of ownership through active involvement in the business.


At the top level, the Partnership has three governing authorities. The Partnership Council, unique in corporate governance, is directly elected by Partners, holds the Chairman and executives to account, and appoints five non-executives to the Partnership Board. The Board has five executives and two external non-executives appointed by the Chairman, including the Managing Directors of John Lewis and Waitrose.


Find out more about our governance authorities on www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk


(Picture of three copies of 'the Gazette' magazine with the caption:
A lively letters page in the Gazette provides a forum for any Partner to ask any question about the business anonymously if they wish. All published letters are answered by an appropriate member of management.)


Engaging with our Partners
Our ultimate goal is the happiness of our Partners, who share the responsibilities of ownership as well as its rewards, profit and knowledge. To achieve this, they need access to knowledge and the power to influence decision making and challenge performance, which between them make the Partnership a vibrant democracy.


To improve their access to knowledge, we:
>brief Partners before, or at the same time as, external audiences on any major business decisions
>hold AGMs for Partners to foster understanding and loyalty
>provide a range of local and business-wide online communication tools and printed publications, including our Partnership magazines the Gazette and Chronicles
>hold regular roadshows and presentations, including video presentations by the Chairman and Managing Director.


Partners can also influence decision making and challenge management on performance through:
>a democratic network of elected councils and committees
>local, divisional and Partnership-wide forums, such as our shop-level Branch Forums.


Our governance structure

(Organisational chart as follows:
Top level: Partnership Board Elected/Appointed
Second Level: Chairman Appointed and Partnership Council Elected
Third level: Waitrose Corporate John Lewis below Chairman and Divisional Councils below Partnership Council
Fourth Level: Branch Forums below Divisional Councils)


Partner engagement in action
Across the Partnership, 94% of our Partners (John Lewis: 94%) 62,000 in total participated in our annual Partner survey, well above our target of 85%.The survey asks Partners anonymously and confidentially for their views on a wide range of issues such as job satisfaction, pay, career development, management, their shop, the democratic bodies and the Partnership as a business. In 2007/08, our average score across the Partnership increased from 11.0 to 12.4 (John Lewis: 12.6).

These are the average scores of all responses to each question. So if, for example, everyone strongly agreed with the statement, the score would be 30; if they all disagreed strongly, the score would be -30; and if half agreed and half disagreed, the score would be 0.


John Lewis sample 2007 survey scores
'I care about the Partnership.' 20
'Overall my job satisfies me.' 14
'The Partnership is a well-led business.' 18
'I know what is expected of me in my job.' 18
'I feel proud to work for the Partnership.' 19
'I know what I need to do to improve my pay.' 9