This column is part of Globe Careers' Leadership Lab series, where executives and experts share their views and advice about leadership and management. Follow us at @Globe_Careers. Find all Leadership Lab stories at tgam.ca/leadershiplab
While the term "stakeholder" often sparks the notion of an individual with a monetary stake in your business, many leaders overlook their most prized and growing group of stakeholders, their employees. Long gone are the days when an employee's allegiance to your business falls between the hours of 9 to 5.
Now, the effect that a business has on society – on a local, national or even global scale – has a direct impact on productivity and profitability. Employees are watching, and as a business's most-valuable asset and often your principal advocates, they will hold you accountable for the decisions you make.
For an organization to achieve long-term success, business actions must not only consider the bottom-line, but also the society they operate within – they must create shared value. At Nestlé Canada our vision is to be the leading health and wellness company, helping Canadians live healthier and happier lives by making healthy choices in the food and beverages they buy. This vision extends to our employees. Ninety-five per cent of Canadian households have a Nestlé brand in their cupboards, meaning that our employees are also our customers. Our products are not simply the output of their job, but a fundamental part of feeding their families, their neighbours and their community.
The lesson here is that in order for a company to prosper and grow, it must meet the needs and values of all stakeholders involved. At Nestlé, corporate social responsibility has evolved into our Creating Shared Value (CSV) platform. This means creating superior, long-term value for shareholders and society by offering products and services that help people improve their nutrition, health and wellness (NHW). The only way to successfully instill this philosophy into our business is to ensure our employees believe in it. They are our biggest advocates and embody our values every day, at every level. This means effectively leading your employee base, whether three or 3,500, on a journey of continuous improvement. The following three pillars are necessary for any leader who wants to bring their value beyond the black and white of a report or press release into the principles of their organization:
Communication
Communicating a vision is essential. It gives employees a goal to aspire to and also provides an outline for how your initiatives will personally affect workers as well as the business. It's not just about your employees accepting your vision. They need to believe in it and see themselves as an active participant.
Be collaborative in your leadership. The only way to truly communicate is to ensure that it is a two-way street. Employees need to feel heard in order to get invested in what you're doing – you'll also benefit from their unique perspectives and ideas and can modify and strengthen your vision based on their feedback.
From annual progress reports at a town hall, to ongoing training about our nutritional commitments and how to achieve them with excellence, the rule of thumb is to share at every opportunity.
Create shared experiences
The sum of a business is always stronger than its individual parts – it works together to create an ecosystem for success. The same can be said for your employees. Silos act as barriers to instilling your vision and goals.
Show your employees that you value them as the most essential part of your business by investing in them. For example, we are committed to nutrition, health and wellness for our products, but also in improving wellness for our employees. We are training our employees in basic nutrition, to ensure they are aligned with our vision. Set an ambitious goal – we aim to train 100 per cent of employees by the end of this year – and create incentives for them to join – our employees must achieve a minimum score on their training. This ensures that we're all in it together and strengthens our culture.
Engage employees as ambassadors
By communicating your vision and effectively on-boarding your employees, you set the stage for them to become ambassadors for your brand/organization. To really make the push to adoption, make sure they experience the advantages so they can equally share in its values.
Make small changes to help employees live out the brand's philosophy in the workplace. We've done this by changing our cafeteria offering to meet our nutrition standards, offering discounted gym memberships and yoga at the office. Most recently, we've launched a "meeting-free lunch hour" to ensure every employee takes a real break to eat as well as "meeting-free Friday afternoons" to give employees the opportunity focus their time on producing great, quality work to help with their work-life balance.
Actions speak louder than words with all aspects of business but especially with your employees. Don't just tell them. Show them how you want the culture to operate and the rest will follow.
Shelley Martin is President and CEO of Nestlé Canada