At the Roundtable, we regularly hear from employers about the top issues they are navigating. In recent months, Roundtable members have explored what role, if any, employers should have in response to social issues. After hosting two convenings following the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Roundtable has observed several common considerations and best practices applied when employers have contemplated engaging on social issues.

Common Considerations: Check out this blog from summer 2022 including common considerations expressed by Roundtable members when navigating social issues.

Best Practices: Following a fall convening on this topic, the Roundtable identified best practices expressed by members who have chosen to respond to social, racial, and economic challenges. As employers explore this topic, the Roundtable thought to highlight a few of these best practices as a resource to the business community.

  • Affirm your company culture and values: Most employers have a commitment to promoting mutual respect in the workplace. As violence, hate, and political threats circulate, employers must recommit to and broadcast their company values.
  • Be responsive to employees: The prevailing theme from all members is that they engage to be responsive to employees and prioritize internal communication regardless of whether they respond publicly to social events. Roundtable members engage their existing employee resource groups and review their internal benefits and policies to ensure their employees are supported.
  • Build a process for engaging: Many employers have developed criteria and frameworks to help determine when they choose to engage on an issue. These frameworks ensure adherence to core values and can also help to identify the tactics for when and how to respond.
  • Focus on your core mission: As members shared their processes for engaging, many underscored that their approach depends on the issue and how it connects to their core mission and operations. For example, a health care company may be more likely to address barriers to health care access, or a company with operations in a community affected by violence may respond to local events.
  • Lead with fortitude: Employers should be prepared for backlash, both internal and external, and even if they choose not to engage on a social issue, which makes the best practices above even more critical. Members shared how they weathered past pushback because they had already committed to their employees, mission, and culture.

Additional Resource: Employers have considered whether taking a stance on social issues has an impact on attracting and retaining talent, and the state’s competitiveness. The recently released Force for Good survey commissioned by Bentley University and Gallup collected data from nearly 6,000 respondents on how people view the impact of business in making the world a better place and show that most Americans believe businesses have a positive impact on people’s lives. This resource may be helpful for employers evaluating engagement as a business imperative.

Roundtable members agree that the current political and social environment will continue to prompt questions among businesses about how to best respond to their employees, and the Roundtable will continue to convene discussions about how employers can effectively engage on these issues.