Companies in Action
Duke Energy works with stakeholders to identify the company's priority issue areas and to set business strategy. Now more than ever, companies across sectors are realizing the role of stakeholder voice can play in driving transformational change and collectively taking action. In 2019, Duke Energy collaborated with stakeholders to define a shift in its business strategy and update its sustainability goals. The company seeks to leverage these relationships to identify priority issues for the company and then use them to inform the company’s business strategy. Duke’s 2018 sustainability report highlights the company’s key stakeholders and the different issues relevant to these constituencies. To underscore the importance of the stakeholder voice and embed key stakeholder priorities into company decision-making, Duke appointed a senior vice president who has accountability for stakeholder strategy and sustainability and is responsible for engaging with business units, developing sustainability goals and integrating sustainability throughout the company.
Johnson & Johnson used weekly employee sentiment surveys to inform the company's early response to the coronavirus. During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnson & Johnson surveyed 3,000 employees weekly to gauge the effectiveness of the company's response. Survey feedback was then incorporated into the company's actions, helping Johnson & Johnson improve its communications with employees around changing benefits policies and work from home best practices. Seeking out employee voices is one of the many ways in which Johnson & Johnson has valued employees throughout its pandemic response. Additional employee support practices implemented include the expansion of family caregiver leave to eight weeks, $1,000 bonus pay for eligible essential workers and the expansion of employee mental health services.
Best Buy uses employee feedback to inform store conversions and pay practices during COVID-19. Needing to adapt company operations in light of COVID-19, Best Buy made the decision to shift its in-person stores to curbside pickup. To make this rapid transformation possible, the company relied on the expertise of individual store managers, making it possible for some stores to convert to the new model within 24 hours. In addition to engaging employees on operational decision-making, Best Buy used employee feedback to inform the company’s new pay practices. After initially instituting short-term incentive pay, the company replaced this, based on employee feedback, with a 4% increase in hourly rates to provide more predictability in pay, raising the starting hourly rate at Best Buy to $15 per hour minimum.
