FORRward: A Weekly Read For Tech And Marketing Execs
Ensuring Employee Mental Health Is Crucial For COVID-19 Economic Recovery
The mental health impact of COVID-19 is coming to light, and it’s not reassuring. In a survey conducted by SAP, Qualtrics, and Mind Share Partners, over 40% of respondents said their mental health has declined since the outbreak of COVID-19. Returning to work is not likely to fix the issue. The workplace is already a leading cause of stress, according to the American Psychological Association (APA). New workplace conditions — that include mandatory personal protective equipment (PPE), regular temperature screenings, and other requirements — and fear of contracting and spreading the virus will likely raise stress levels further. In a recent survey, we found that 50% of respondents do not feel safe going back into work. New work norms, economic uncertainty, and national tensions are pushing employers to take matters into their own hands. A client of Lyra Health that launched its virtual mental health service for employees saw one-third of the expected annual employee registrations in just the first week of deployment. Pre-pandemic, Forrester reported that unsupported mental health conditions lead to higher medical spend as well as employee absenteeism and presenteeism, which cost US businesses billions annually. Now, mental health support is a critical element of any post-pandemic business continuity plan; without it, employers risk a compounded burden on employee health and productivity.
COVID-19 Accelerates Danone’s Mission To Become A Social Enterprise By 2025
Last week, Danone announced that it will become the first listed company to adopt France’s new social enterprise legal framework, “entreprise à mission.” This entails rearranging its governance structure to progress stakeholder value creation and contractually pursuing social and environmental initiatives. Seventeen of Danone’s subsidiaries are B Corp certified, and adopting the new framework will help it become the first large company to earn the certification. The bar is high for multinational corporations, and Danone has a great deal of work to do to pass the B Impact Assessment. For the rest of 2020, Danone’s CEO will take a 30% pay cut, and the board will forgo all its compensation to fund health coverage expansion for employees during this time when they need it most. As global crises like climate change and pandemics shake up what’s considered “normal,” we expect to see more large companies make real commitments that bind them to a bigger purpose. Just last year, 181 CEOs signed a new Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, via the Business Roundtable, committing to lead their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders: customers, employees, suppliers, communities, and shareholders.
Speaking of business for a bigger purpose . . .
Propel Offers Technology That Helps Low-Income Consumers And Makes Money Doing It
Amid the stories of price gouging and supply chain issues during the pandemic, it turns out that there are still some bright lights — firms that profit from serving, rather than exploiting, vulnerable populations. Propel offers a mobile app that helps US consumers on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) manage their benefits more effectively. The app, called Fresh EBT, lets users instantly see their balance, review prior transactions, and compare their spend to a weekly budget. A 2016 Common Cents Lab study indicated that users typically spend about 80% of their monthly benefits within the first nine days, and Fresh EBT helps them modify their spending behavior. How does Propel make money? Partners pay to advertise digital coupons and exclusive offers on the app. Corporate values and profit aren’t antithetical. Moreover, the pandemic is intensifying some values-based consumers’ expectations of brands. We’ll be exploring this topic further at our upcoming CX North America virtual event in June. Until then, use this interactive tool to determine which relationship with values is best for your company.
Innovation At The Edge Will Transform The Automotive Industry
Elektrobit, a global automotive supplier of in-vehicle software products, has partnered with SUSE to deliver a next-generation, Linux-based platform for the future’s intelligent vehicles. Software-defined vehicles bring new experiences to both manufacturers and drivers, far faster than improvements happen today for most cars. Their platform fulfills key market vendor requirements for safety, security, reliability, openness, and transparency. And it delivers this through a broad open source community that provides constant innovation and a large talent pool. As is standard today with Tesla, maintenance and new features will be passed not through an appointment with a dealer but automatically over the air. This platform will help carmakers power autonomous driving and address consumers’ everyday transportation needs with agility. To learn more about how edge computing solutions can dramatically improve transportation and many other on-site needs, watch our latest webinar on this topic.