Bob Munro, Director,
Business Performance
“I think there is an increasing association with Reed Elsevier, a growing understanding of how the group fits together, and a recognition that Reed Elsevier as a whole is worth significantly more than the sum of the parts.”
With 30,000 employees and hundreds of products and services, each with their own strong brand identity, it might at first seem a tough decision to make “boundarylessness” one of Reed Elsevier’s key values.
But, according to Bob Munro, director of business performance, it is a vital necessity and, increasingly, people in Reed Elsevier have a sense of this company as one organisation.
“I think it is to be expected that most people associate first and most strongly with their brand, product or operational business area, and then the RE division of which they form part. I certainly believe this, and the focus and passion which individuals continually demonstrate towards customers, products and service, represents a significant strength of our organisation.
“At the same time there is an increasing association with Reed Elsevier, an understanding of how the group fits together, and a recognition that Reed Elsevier as a whole is worth significantly more than the sum of the parts,” he says.
There are “numerous” examples of how Reed Elsevier is harnessing the combined strengths of the business for the good of the company as a whole. The ability of the group to bring its combined financial strength behind important strategic investment and acquisitions is a “high-level” case in point.
Across the divisions you see it, he says, in the way common IT infrastructure, procurement and real estate management programmes are bringing cost and efficiency benefits. At a more local level, individual brands are benefiting from best practice and skill sharing in key areas such as product innovation, design and production.
Bob has had three principle roles in a 12 year career with Reed Elsevier – two in London and one in Amstrerdam – allowing him to build both his financial and operational management skills.
People are becoming increasingly mobile within and across the company’s businesses. “There have been countless cases where we have moved individuals across divisions, within divisions, across units and internationally to provide new challenges and opportunities.”
He believes Reed Elsevier’s community and corporate responsibility programme have played an important role in creating a sense of “one company”.
“It has proved very effective in bringing individuals together, cutting across business functions and organisational hierarchies and supporting them to make real contributions to the communities in which we work,” he says.
So is it easy for individuals to make a contribution to Reed Elsevier, as a whole? “The short answer is yes, and at all levels,” he says. “I think we work in an organisation which respects the contribution of individuals and teams in all areas of the business. This is an organisation that places a high value on professionalism and quality – on doing a good job.”