By Jodi Prohofsky, Ph.D., LMFT, Senior Vice President, Health Management Operations, CIGNA

How many times have we heard someone say that people are a company’s most important asset? While it’s true that no company can survive without great talent, let’s add a little twist to this bromide.

A company’s most important asset is actually the health, well-being, and productivity of its employees. If employees are absent because of illness or come to work too sick or distracted to perform their best, that’s an economic loss for the company. Employers need to protect their most important asset now more than ever, and one of the best ways is to invest in corporate wellness programs.

Helping employees manage their health potentially can save millions of dollars in health care and disability costs. For example, when someone quits smoking that saves approximately $1,623* in annual medical costs; and when an overweight or obese employee becomes more active that can save approximately $499**  in total costs. It all adds up!

Making healthy lifestyle changes isn’t easy, but corporate wellness programs can be successful with the right approach.

First, commitment to health and wellness has to start at the top with the CEO, and it needs to filter through all layers of management, including line supervisors. When employees see that the company’s leadership supports health and wellness, so will they.

Second, companies need to be smart about targeting the programs they offer to the needs of their employee population.

Read more…

Ok, this is really cool: I open up my Tweetdeck account this morning and see an update from Monster Keep America Working (@MonsterKAW) that says, “Post your location and the job title you’re looking for today and we’ll try to find a match for you with our new…” (remember the 140 character limit).

I check out MonsterKAW’s Twitter timeline and see a bunch of updates addressing people by first name and state/city, and directing them to a specific job opening that matches their title and location requirements. Turns out, all week long Monster has been using its Twitter and Facebook profiles to ask its followers what jobs they’re looking for and where, and then Monster staff use the company’s Power Search tool to investigate openings and report back to the people who have inquired.

With unemployment still hovering near the double digits, this is a great use of social networking tools to help people and communities get back on track. For more information about Monster Keep America Working, including upcoming dates and locations for jobs fairs, visit Facebook, Twitter, or Keep America Working’s website.

Our final post in this four-part CSR and competitiveness  series (see Environment, Education, and Health/Wellenss) tackles the issue of jobs creation, perhaps best addressed by the organizations on the front lines of putting people to work.

In the words of Angela Blanchard of Neighborhood Centers Inc.:

Many companies talk about corporate citizenship and issue annual reports about their activities. Most of these are about corporate philanthropy or charitable giving — a one-way transaction. Yet more companies are beginning to capture the true nature of corporate citizenship or social investing: a two-way conversation between company and community.

That’s why I’m so glad to see the topic of the upcoming BCLC conference. I hope we’ll have real conversation and frank discussions about partnerships among equals.

At Neighborhood Centers Inc., we’ve had some great partnerships and some not-so-great ones.  ARAMARK is one of those corporations that “gets it.” 

Our relationship is built on mutual respect and commitment to long-term results. From the very beginning, the folks at ARAMARK have been interested in planning, executing, and delivering results that make our community better.

They not only help us prepare our neighbors for the workforce, they work with us to put people to work. In fact, at job fairs they organized with us last year, nearly 40% of the participants were hired on the spot. These results come from a relationship in which people are willing to take the time to understand the challenges in our community and plan with us for a successful outcome.

I hope we hear from more companies at the conference that share that same approach to corporate citizenship.

[Editor's note: Leading companies and partner organizations will address this topic -- and other competitiveness topics such as the environment, education, and health and wellness -- at BCLC's conference, Provide and Prosper: Corporate Citizenship and Competitiveness in the 21st Century.]

In the February e-newlsetter, Lydia Ashanin of Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) drew a very compelling connection between the health and wellness of today’s youth (future employees) and the future productivity and competitiveness of the companies that employ them. Her commentary is below.

(See also: CSR and competitiveness posts on Environment and Energy , Education and Jobs Creation.

[Editor's note: Leading companies and partner organizations will address this topic -- and other competitiveness topics such as the environment, education, and jobs -- at BCLC's conference, Provide and Prosper: Corporate Citizenship and Competitiveness in the 21st Century.] 

HCSC's "Organ Wise Guys" teach kids about health.

Chronic diseases account for 75% of all that we as a society spend on health care. And obesity is the leading contributor to chronic disease. With those two facts in mind, business needs to begin investing in childhood wellness because the (unhealthy) 10-year-old children of today will be the (unhealthy) 25-year-old employees in only 15 years. 

Globally competitive American companies need healthy employees to maintain a productive workforce and to control benefits costs. Managing costs is key to profitability and therefore, investing in health and wellness is ultimately a strategic investment in cost control. 

Achieving that healthy workforce tomorrow demands an investment today. At Health Care Service Corporation, (HCSC) we’ve long been focused on childhood wellness as part of our mission. As a member-owned mutual legal reserve health plan, we can take the long view and invest in supporting health changes that may take a generation to become apparent. For that reason, we’ve committed to working with our key stakeholders to help address childhood obesity.

Read more…

Our first post on CSR and competitiveness highlighted commentary by Waste Management’s Nancy Nalence, who addressed environment and energy issues. In this post, Buzzy Thibodeaux and Rick Franke of Junior Achievement discuss how corporate education partnerships are helping create globally competitive students, businesses, and future employees.

[Editor's note: Leading companies and partner organizations will address this topic -- and other competitiveness topics such as the environment, health and wellness, and jobs -- at BCLC's conference, Provide and Prosper: Corporate Citizenship and Competitiveness in the 21st Century.] 

Astute business leaders recognize the priceless advantage of experience.

As the nation’s leader in economic and free enterprise education, Junior Achievement also recognizes the value of experience and has applied this approach when inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in the global economy. Nearly 175,000 passionate volunteers from across our country share their experiences and bring business life for JA students, adding a powerful dimension of relevance and experience to the core programmatic themes of workforce readiness, entrepreneurship education, and financial literacy. Currently, more than 4 million U.S. students benefit from this engagement, using JA’s hands-on approach to active learning.

While JA’s purpose has remained relatively constant over the past 90 years, the programs and delivery channels have changed dramatically to meet the needs of the rapidly changing economic landscape. JA has expanded beyond being a provider of strictly after-school programs for senior high students, to a leader and innovator in K-12 classroom program implementation. More importantly, independent evaluations prove that JA students have a greater comprehension of economics and business than their non-participating peers.

This unique and powerful learning model not only contributes to America’s global competitive advantage, but also ensures that our nation’s young people have the tools they need to be successful in the classroom and in life.

BCLC’s February e-newsletter included a piece by Ben Erulkar, BCLC’s senior advisor for Corporate Community Investment, that weaves together commentary from four business and community leaders working at the intersection of CSR and competitiveness.

According to Erulkar: “Today, unprecedented challenges and opportunities reshape how businesses compete and communities grow. Companies of all types continue to pioneer innovative, sustainable solutions to these real-world challenges. Corporate citizenship programs can be highly effective when they’re fully leveraged within a company’s value proposition, making these programs well positioned to handle the leading competitive challenges of today: education, energy, health care and job creation.”

Nancy Nalence of Waste Management gave us her thoughts on environmental challenges and opportunities.

[Editor's note: Leading companies and partner organizations will address this topic -- and other competitiveness topics such as the education, health and wellness, and jobs-- at BCLC's conference, Provide and Prosper: Corporate Citizenship and Competitiveness in the 21st Century.] 

Waste-services providers have a unique opportunity to contribute in critical ways to environmental and competitive business challenges. As North America’s largest waste-services provider, Waste Management has been not only expanding our services to meet changing community and customer needs, but partnering with experts in business, education, and industry to develop technologies and programs for sustainable energy and environmental solutions.

These efforts include working with equipment manufacturers to develop vehicles that will improve our fuel efficiency and significantly reduce our fleet emissions; doubling our waste- and landfill-gas-to-energy production; and increasing the amount of recycling we handle – much of it though single-stream technology – to more than 20 million tons. We are also partnering with solutions providers on projects aimed at producing diesel and alternative fuels, as well as electricity, from landfill gas.

Knowing all businesses face similar challenges, the company formed its consultation group, Green Squad, to help customers implement and enhance their own sustainability initiatives by reducing resource consumption, managing materials and developing overarching sustainability strategies.

Read more…

First Lady Michelle Obama announced the Let’s Move campaign this week to help tackle the growing epidemic ofchildhood obesity.  Businesses are stepping up to join her efforts, including ARAMARK, Kraft, Burger King, Disney, NBCand Viacom, just to name a few.

The businesses community has been tacking childhood obesity and health and wellness issues for some time, including these noteworthy programs:

Health Care Service Corporation: Since 2006 HCSC has partnered with OrganWiseGuys Community Outreach program to inspire children to follow four rules — “low fat, high fiber, lots of water, exercise!”

Kraft: Kraft’s Pantry program brings delicious, fresh and nutritious food directly to those in need, and along with the National Latino Children’s Institute, Kraft created the first healthy lifestyles program for Latino families, Salsa, Sabor y Salud.

Read more…

On November 12th I posted notice of the opening of the 2010 Siemens Sustainable Community Awards nomination process.

Almost four months later, I’m posting one final notice about the 2010 nomination period (though there have been posts in between). After a two-week extension due to the Haitian earthquake, Award applications are due this Friday at 5:00 p.m. EST - you can get the nomination form here.

Don’t panic, there’s still time to craft your 1,000-word submission essay. You can then email your submission and as long as we receive it by 5:00 sharp on Friday, it will be considered (late nominations won’t be accepted).

The U.S. Chamber BCLC and Siemens seek applications from communities that have committed to achieving complementary economic, environmental, and social goals that will help build long-term competitiveness and success. Criteria are further described in the nomination form.

Meanwhile, information and photos from past winners are available online. Please email BCLC if you have any questions about the awards.

Last week, I opened my email and found an advertisement from Ralph Lauren featuring the Haiti Relief Polo with 100% of the proceeds being donated to the humanitarian effort in Haiti through the United Way Worldwide Disaster Fund. As I spent several minutes browsing through the choices, I was somewhat surprised that this was the first apparel company I had seen putting out a product to support the victims of the Haiti Earthquake.

Having my share of Project Red items from working for Gap Inc., products sold for humanitarian issues are nothing new; in fact, it is almost expected for apparel companies to give through what they know best — clothes. Much like GlaxoSmithKline donating medical supplies or transportation companies shipping relief products, companies can respond best through their core competencies.

My curiosity, however, was peaked last night while watching the seventh season of Project Runway which featured Campbell’s partnership with The American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women® movement. I believe what intrigues me so much about this partnership is it strays away from Campbell’s core competency and instead brings a food company together with a nonprofit through the art of fashion.

Campbell’s joined the Go Red for Women campaign in 2007 through auctioning off a dress designed by Michael Vollbracht and worn by Lorraine Bracco with the proceeds going to support the Go Red for Women® movement. Since then, they have unveiled a signature dress every year to heighten the awareness of heart health in women.

This year Campbell’s asked for dress design submissions inspired by a “heart-health hero” with the three finalists showcased on their website and voted on by the public. In addition to the winning design being created and featured on the red carpet at the Woman’s Day Red Dress Awards, Campbell’s is also giving $1 for every click on their “Click with your heart” webpage up to $625,000 to the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women® movement.

Today, February 5, 2010, is National Wear Red Day 2010. I hope you remembered to wear red, eat your Campbell’s heart healthy soup, and clicked through Campbell’s website to read personal stories and help Campbell’s support those hearts that matter most to you.

If you are planning to submit a nomination for the 2010 Siemens Sustainable Awards, please note the application deadline is extended until Feb. 12th (original deadline – Jan. 31).

In the past two years, 16 U.S. communities have ascended to national attention for their local efforts to blend economic, environmental, and social priorities and advance the overall sustainability and long-term success of the community. This is what the Siemens Sustainable Community Awards is all about.

Here is the type of information we seek for the 2010 nominations:

Read more…