Finding Your Sweet Spot

The new ingredient to drive the next wave of innovation and productivity growth is collaboration.  That’s the growing opinion from businesses committed to creating shared value.

We’ve talked about the concept of shared value in this column in the past.  How “creating shared-value” may be the real key to creating sustainable and high-performance organizations. Basically the philosophy is equally about organizations committed to making a difference in the lives of their stakeholders while at the same time, making a profit.

So how do organizations who are committed to created shared value begin to choose where to make a difference?

For Bell Aliant its about finding that “sweet spot” that addresses a real community need, while at the same time engaging stakeholders to be hands on in the execution of making a difference.

“it’s about more than writing a cheque,” says Bell Aliant’s VP of Corporate Affairs, Lisa Merrithew. 

Once again Bell Aliant partnered with Bell to launch its nation-wide Let's Talk campaign inviting Canadians to join in on the conversation about mental health.

The campaign focuses on reducing the stigma around mental illness.  The commitment by Bell - 
For every text message sent and every long distance call made by Bell and Bell Aliant customers on February 8, Bell will donate 5 cents to programs dedicated to mental health.

“we are absolutely jazzed about helping a cause that affects one in five,” says Merrithew.  “The reaction from our employees has been absolutely incredible.”

Merrithew says that the Let’s Talk Campaign, while only in its second year, helps to deliver value on a number of levels.

“While we support a lot of causes in the communities in which we operate, this campaign allows our employees to get involved in making a difference towards a cause that needs attention.”

Before deciding on mental health, Merrithew says the company did a ton of research and discovered there was a tremendous need – not only for cash – but to help create awareness and get people talking about mental health.

“We’re a communications company and we have the channels available to us that make sense to help create a conversation and improve awareness. Says Merrithew.  “I think organizations have an obligation.  If you have a voice and a place to deliver it  - it’s something you are obliged to do.”

Another term used for this kind of investment is ‘impact investing’. Dr. Judith Rodin, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, says: “When I talk about impact investing, I’m talking about [a] double bottom line. You want a financial return but you also are looking for a social or environmental return as well.”

Rodin says businesses must reconnect company success with social progress. Shared value is not about redistributing existing value but about expanding the total pool of economic and social value. She contends that businesses will need to overcome the deeply entrenched assumption that there are tradeoffs between economic efficiency and social progress or between economic efficiency and sustainable environmental practices.

For Bell Aliant the benefits were multiple.

“First and foremost, this was about employee engagement,” says Merrithew.  “It’s about finding that sweet spot that allows organizations to provide stakeholders the opportunity to really dig into an issue and take it to the next level.”

As well, Merrithew says the campaign clearly helps with Brand Awareness and also addresses an identified need in Atlantic Canadian communities.

“So many people have come forward to say thank you and the campaign is clearly hitting a nerve with our customers.

Another key benefit was Bell Aliant’s ability to partner with key stakeholders in government – seeing the Provinces of PEI and NB actually promote the event on their government sites.

For Merrithew, the real challenge for any organization is finding that sweet spot that hits all the marks.  She says organizations need to listen to stakeholders and engage them in the decision-making.

Another benefit is the fact that, with shrinking community relations budgets, being focused helps to manage expectations. 

“While people still come to ask us for assistance with their community event, they are starting to understand that we have a focus on where a portion of our community spending will go.  While we will never stop supporting lots of causes, this focus helps everyone understand what we’re trying to do and helps us tell a better story.”

Let’s Talk isn’t the only campaign that is providing shared-value for the organization.  Bell Aliant also runs a Backpacks for Kids campaign that is employees and supplier driven.  Together these campaigns create a sense of ownership for Bell Aliant’s key stakeholders and help to create the all important goodwill as the company continues to evolve in the marketplace.

The one-day Let’s Talk Campaign raised over $3million nationally for Mental Health programs.  More importantly it has placed Bell Aliant in that unique position of creating real shared-value across the region. 

That’s a position that money alone cannot buy.