 Corporate Social
Responsibility Best Practices
When you take care of your employees, they take care of
you
By Debra Faulk
Today, the practice of corporate social responsibility
touches every aspect of business. No longer confined to
traditional “green” projects within the silos of
environmental performance or responsible business
practices, CSR permeates all business functions,
including policies, strategies, planning, and
performance. CSR strategies are a part of everyday
transactions, governance and management, as well as
community investment and social performance.
Within the area of social performance lies employee
health and wellness. In today’s 24/7 society, workplace
pressures continue to mount. Productivity demands,
information overload, and increasing pressure to balance
work and home lives take a toll on employees’ health and
well-being. Job stress alone is estimated to cost U.S.
industry $300 billion a year in absenteeism, diminished
productivity, employee turnover, and direct medical,
legal, and insurance fees. Focusing on health promotion,
ensuring the health and well-being of your workforce, is
not only the right thing to do; it also makes good
business sense as a corporate business strategy.
A good defense is a healthy offense
Companies responding to the business challenge of taking
care of their employees are creating workplaces that do
more than just improve productivity — they are building
a strong, vibrant, organizational culture that supports
the company itself.
Workplace health promotion may sound expensive, but it
doesn’t have to be. The cost of implementing a health
program varies on how little or how much a company wants
to do (and spend).
Here are a few quick ‘n easy ways to implement health
initiatives in the workplace:
-
Launch a walk challenge -
Have employees wear a step counter and measure their
daily walking distance. Prizes, like a new pair of
walking shoes, are nice incentives. (Your neighboring
running store may donate prizes in exchange for
workplace promotion.)
-
Host on-site wellness
seminars – Ask your health insurance provider to
coordinate a series of lunchtime programs or ask a
nonprofit organization (American Heart Association,
American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association
etc.) to do the same.
-
Sponsor on-site cooking
workshops – Help employees make the right food choices.
Invite your local supermarkets, caterers, or gourmet
meal preparation shops to offer a lunchtime learning
experience in exchange for self-promotion and exposure.
-
Support interdepartmental
sports competitions – During lunch or after hours,
coordinate volleyball, soccer, or kickball games. In
addition to the physical fitness benefits, it is a great
way to encourage people from different departments to
get together! Don’t have enough employees to field your
own team? Create a cooperative with other small
businesses, in and out of your industry.
-
Free medical checks – Look
for organizations that bring blood pressure, glucose,
and obesity and body mass index screenings to the
workplace. Or give employees an extra hour or two (paid
time off) to attend a free health screening event like
the Sister to Sister Women’s Health Fair.
Remember, implementing
employee health and well-being initiatives is one thing;
getting it right is another. Make it work for your
company. If you are a company with multiple locations,
make it work for each site. Don’t offer something unless
there is value to the receiver. Otherwise, it is a waste
of everybody’s time and resources. Work with employees
to learn which wellness perks will most benefit them.
Ask the employees what they want.
Taking care of business
There are no dividing lines between good business
practices — internally and externally — and being a
responsible company. Today it is all-inclusive. Embrace
that link between employee health and well-being and
organization performance and you will develop a
high-performing workforce that, in turn, creates a
competitive advantage for your company in the
marketplace.
Advocate a healthy lifestyle
Invest in the health of your employees by giving them a
couple of hours of paid time off to attend the Women’s
Heart Health Fair at the Tampa Convention Center on
Tuesday, March 4, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sponsored
by the Sister to Sister: Everyone Has a Heart
Foundation, at this event attendees’ free screenings for
blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, blood
glucose, Body Mass Index (BMI), and waist circumference
are followed by immediate, on-site counseling. With
heart disease being the #1 killer of women in the United
States, business participation in this event can make a
significant impact in employees’ health for an extremely
minimal cost.
Sister to Sister is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization
dedicated exclusively to the prevention of heart disease
in women. Tampa is the 17th city to join Sister to
Sister’s National Women’s Heart Health Campaign and
honorary co-chairs for this inaugural event are Tampa
Mayor Pam Iorio and University of South Florida
President Judy Genshaft. For more information, visit
www.sistertosister.org/fairs/tampa.php.
Debra Kent Faulk is principal of Tampa-based DKF
Connects, a socially conscious marketing services firm
specializing in public relations, social marketing, and
strategic partnerships. As a volunteer, she is a member
of the Tampa Sister to Sister Community Council, working
to support a heart healthy community through the
promotion and implementation of free cardiac screenings.
For more information call (813) 258-2599 or visit.
www.DKFconnects.com.
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