Working with stakeholders

Employees

We recruit the best people regardless of age, gender, disability or ethnicity. We aim to attract employees who will be committed to a long-term career with the Group, offering a competitive reward package and career development opportunities within a strong organisation with sound values.

Our commitment to developing and maintaining a diverse and inclusive culture is part of HSBC's heritage. We recognise that diversity brings business benefits. Read more about Diversity at HSBC.

Our annual Global People Survey acts as a barometer for employee engagement and satisfaction. The latest survey, showed that 81% said that they were proud to work for HSBC.

HSBC encourages employees to take part in local volunteering programmes. Our key community investment initiatives incorporate opportunities for employees to get involved by giving their time and sharing their expertise.

Non-governmental organisations and charities

We work closely with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and charities globally. We engage with NGOs to understand their concerns and to share our approach to managing sustainability risk. HSBC also participates in industry-specific initiatives such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a certification scheme for ensuring a legal, sustainable supply of palm oil. HSBC is a member of the RSPO's Executive Board as a representative of the finance sector. Another initiative in which HSBC participates is the Malaysian Forest Dialogue which is a forum for stakeholder discussion of the sustainability issues facing the timber industry and exploration of possible solutions.

HSBC works with a number of voluntary organisations around the world to help customers learn about and manage their finances. This reduces the risk of customers defaulting on loans and mortgages, helping them to maintain home ownership.

Governments and regulators

HSBC's Group Chairman and senior executives engage with governments and politicians around the world to promote regulation that encourages efficient, competitive, vibrant and stable economies.

Customers

HSBC aims to offer customers around the world a consistently high quality service and experience using the benefits of our scale, geographic reach and strong brand.

Our aim is always to treat our customers fairly and to ensure that our fees, charges and terms are competitive. We manage our customers’ deposits responsibly and our lending criteria are strict, taking into consideration the customer’s ability to repay their loans.

We carry out market surveys and communicate directly with our customers on a regular basis to ensure we are aware of their views and can better meet their needs.

When customers have difficulties making loan or mortgage repayments, we try to do our best to help them. Sometimes this means restructuring or refinancing their debts, and offering counselling on an individual basis.

Shareholders and analysts

We engage with our shareholders on an ongoing basis, holding regular meetings with fund managers and analysts including those with a special interest in the Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) sector.

We respond to, and participate in, surveys and indices from the following organisations:

• BankTrack
• Carbon Disclosure Project
• EIRIS
• Sustainable Asset Management
• Sustainalytics
• Oekom
• Ethibel
• RiskMetrics

Suppliers

We expect our suppliers to abide by HSBC's Ethical Code of Conduct. We require them to respect the rights of their employees, as well as national laws and regulations. We carry out regular audits of suppliers' factories and if we find a problem, we help the supplier to develop a plan to put it right. Ultimately, we will stop working with suppliers who fail to improve.