Indlæg fra formanden for ”The Long-Term Stock Exchange” om fremtidens kapitalisme og hvordan selskabsledelser i langt højere grad end i dag inddrager stakeholderne, herunder medarbejdere og mindre aktionærer, ikke mindst fordi de har fået langt mere magt end tidligere:
”Executives must also engage directly and effectively with all key stakeholder groups, starting with workers. Employees increasingly are yielding influence on a broader array of company issues through social media campaigns, internal organizing, and protests. Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Google and many others have faced worker petitions and protests regarding company actions, from engaging with oil and gas suppliers to sexual harassment policy.
One Google protest involved 20,000 employees around the world. Employees shouldn’t need to literally yell and hold up signs to have their voices heard. Companies can create channels for meaningful collaboration that can help them better understand employee concerns and priorities, preempting the need for disruptive action and fostering trust.
Such communication can surface issues that management should be addressing, but may not see as readily as those on the front lines. Executives should seek systemic input from other key stakeholders as well.
Options for meaningful engagement include joint management-stakeholder working groups with actual authority on particular issues or standing joint committees with direct lines into the executive team.
Some companies hire an ombudsperson. This employee of the company sits on key executive and leadership teams, but her role is to be closely aligned with and represent the perspectives of community members—be they employees, non-employee workers, customers or members of the physical community.”
