ForUS Board - The Future's Now

It’s hard to talk about the FORUS Board without first acknowledging two key points. One, we wouldn’t be where we are now, at the very beginning of the journey for our eight elected members, without the support of the whole business engaging with the process – so, thank you again. And two, without some understanding of why we created the Board in the first place.

---

History

The concept was initially shared with the business just over two years ago, and some in the business I’m sure, will still remember that very Quarterly Business Review (QBR) back in 2019. Alex Marriott and her team at the time, pulled together a People Strategy for the business, much of which still forms the foundation on which the current strategy’s based. Within this, was the concept of a Board made up of professionals and emerging leaders, whose knowledge and ideas would help shape the business.

Initially, the plan was to have our first Board sit from the Summer of 2019 however, since then, two major events happened. Fortus was created, and with it, brought new regions, new people, a different tone of voice to the market, and a brand that aimed to disrupt. This took the focus for much of 2019, then the small matter of a global pandemic followed in 2020. There we were, two years later, with a concept which all the senior team still thought had huge potential and an opportunity which we couldn’t afford to pass up.

---

So, what was that opportunity?

Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Our company value of INCLUSIVE’s a testament to that, and one we’re unwavering on, and will always uphold. Our business relies on the support of everyone in our team to take it to the next level. Feedback’s an important part of the process, through the likes of TinyPulse and QBRs, but we felt like we needed to do more. We felt we needed a voice at the top table which was representative of our team. This is why we handed the power over to you, alongside your colleagues and peers, to elect a Board who you felt represented you. We needed those ideas, challenges and perspectives in order to really unlock the potential of the business.

---

3 Year plan

The 3 Year Plan’s (3YP) been a significant investment for the business, particularly resource-wise to ensure we get this right and take advantage of the opportunities available to us. The Board will be a vital cog in delivering this plan. Supporting key projects, highlighted and created such as client experience and service delivery, as well as the likes of infrastructure decisions, people development, diversity and inclusion.

The long term future of our business relies on developing people who are better than those currently doing the job. We shouldn’t be afraid of this. We’ve done our job if the next cohort of leaders come through the business better prepared, with broader skills, a greater level of perception, the ability to think much wider and the courage to challenge the thinking and direction, when necessary. The current Executive Board’s largely reflective of an investment group as we’ve grown as a business with new regions coming on board, the 3YP inputs delivering a new dedicated layer of focus on client & people development through new appointments. The 3YP’s all about the future, now – the investment will be provided to support the ForUS Board as a new leadership group, bringing that notion of development for the future to life.

The elected eight carries with them huge expectations to deliver, but more than that, to begin to form the blueprint and foundation for all future ForUS Boards. They’ll ultimately decide the success of this group and the concept itself on making an impact on our business and will have the full support of everyone to do so.