Last month we were proud to announce our newest partnership with the spoken word artist, Gary Turk, We All Pay. My colleague, Andrea, described how the poetic video reframes the issue of bribery: It’s not only illegal, it has a direct impact on the quality of life of real individuals all around the world.

You could say the video holds up a mirror to our business culture — to individuals and corporations alike — and asks, “Is this who we are?” And when a company chooses to highlight a video like this one, it is answering that question: “We are a company who cares about social justice.”

Every single time you communicate with your employees — whether it’s a new video from the CEO or even just a reminder email — you’re telling them a part of the story of who you are as a company. Or, more importantly, you are showing them who you are. And who you are as a company matters — maybe even more than you think. Increasingly, employees are telling researchers that, yes, of course they work for a paycheck, but there’s way more to work than that. According to a 2016 Cone Communications study:

  • 75 percent of millennials would take a pay cut to work for a socially responsible company.
  • 76 percent of millennials consider a company’s social commitments before deciding where to work.
  • 64 percent of millennials won’t take a job if a potential employer doesn’t have strong corporate social responsibility practices.

(As a Gen-Xer, am I bothered by all the focus on millennials in the workforce? Nah. We’re used to being ignored. And, more importantly, millennials are going to make up three-quarters of the workforce in just six years.)

In short, when we look in the mirror in the morning, we want to feel good about ourselves, the work we’re heading out to do, and the company we’re doing it for.

Framing ethics and compliance as social responsibility tells a story about your company, and it’s one your employees want to hear.

We’d be happy to talk with you about how We All Pay can tell the right story about your company — and how to turn that story into change. Contact us to set up a free consultation with the Rethink Compliance experts.