Power of Employment
Image taken from Canva.com
There are countless ways that a business can positively affect the community they operate in. This is seen often in financial assistance, giving money to different causes. Other ways businesses give back is by supporting events and providing free services when they can. While all these things are amazing, there is one way a company can give back that seems to be able to impact a community in ways that seem unparalleled. This approach is also, unfortunately, one that I see little coverage of, so I have decided to fix this. The approach I am referring to is strategic employment. By hiring strategically, it seems that a business can completely transform the community they operate in. To properly show the potential power a company can have with strategic employment, I want to share three different ways this approach has been used and the impact it has had.
1. CMNGD Linens
CMNGD (pronounced "common good") Linens is a company that picks up, cleans and delivers clean linens to its clients. These linens range from napkins to towels to uniforms, and CMNGD has clients all over Calgary, Alberta, Canada. While they are exceptional in performing this service, that's not what makes CMNGD stand out above the competition. The true brilliance of CMNGD is the fact that most of its employees are primarily from drop-in centers.
CMNGD was a response to a genuine need that was observed by its founder Dave Cree. After volunteering at the Calgary Drop-In & Rehab Centre for multiple years, Dave realized that one of the homeless's main barriers was the lack of opportunity available to them. So, Dave created CMNGD Linens as a solution. Delivering and cleaning linens is labour intensive but not necessarily difficult, so it was a perfect industry. CMNGD is an amazing example of giving an opportunity to those who really need it (CMNGD, 2020).
One of the most significant challenges facing homeless people in their fight to turn their life around is not being given an opportunity (CMNGD, 2020). CMNGD provides a powerful solution to this issue. By hiring out of Drop-In Shelters, people battling homelessness have a chance to gain experience and kickstart their new life. Being in the linens business, the work is repetitive and straightforward, so it is easy to train new employees. The work being done is straightforward, so new employees are able to easily learn and master the tasks needed to be completed in a shift. This allows the new employees to find employment and gain confidence as they see themselves learning and excelling in their duties. That is potentially the best part of CMNGD's approach. It allows individuals to earn a living for themselves, but in a way that accommodates them and sets them up for success.
While not every company can realistically hire and do employment like CMNDG, they show what is possible when people are given a chance. CMNGD’s approach to employment has not only led to changed lives but also financial success. When potential clients hear of both the exceptional service provided by CMNDG and their remarkable story, it's hard to say no to that. This reputation has allowed CMNDG to begin looking to expand out of Calgary and look for clients all over Canada. CMNGD proves that hiring the homeless can be incredibly good for business.
2. Televerde
Televerde provides innovative strategy consulting that allows companies to better align their sales and marketing strategies. These strategies can and have been applied to industries such as IT, manufacturing and even waste management. However, not only are these strategy solutions world-class, they are provided by a team of people who believe in the best of people. This is proven by the fact that half the Televerde team works from inside prison walls.
In 1990 Televerde partnered with the Arizona Department of Corrections to provide a second chance for women incarcerated (Televerde, 2015). While serving time, women can work for Televerde inside a call centre located inside of their correctional facility. Here they are trained in different positions, starting in sales but soon advancing to specialize in departments like IT, finance and human resources. This provides real experience that allows these women to more readily secure a good job once they leave prison. In fact, 25 percent of these women continue to work for Televerde once they leave prison (Televerde, 2015). Not only do these women gain experience, but they are paid a real wage which these women are able to send home to help care for their families. Additionally, Televerde has multiple training and mentorship programs and scholarships available to these women even after they leave prison. By being able to have a real work position, the women hired by Televerde have a dramatically lower chance of returning to prison once they are released.
Televerde proudly promoted that they as a company believe in second chances. Their commitment to providing a second chance to women in prison proves this. This commitment has not only restored value and dignity to the women hired by Televerde, but it has allowed the company to thrive. Because of the hard work of the Televerde team both inside and outside prison walls, the company has generated over 6.5 billion dollars in revenue. Proving that it can be very worth it to provide people with a second chance.
3. Five14 Nepal
While it is amazing what powerful impact employment can have in the developed world, the power of employment becomes even more powerful when applied in developing nations. Five14 Nepal is a luxury touring company based in Nepal. They provide a range of hike options and have a beautiful hotel and café for guests to enjoy during their stay. While Five14 does an amazing job of providing long-lasting memories for its guests, even more amazing is how their presence in the community helps end exploitation (Five14, 2020).
Five14 was started as a way to end exploitation in Nepal. The founders had been travelling to Nepal and learned that a major problem was exploitation, especially sex trafficking. Upon further investigation, the founder discovered that the driving factor for this exploitation was poverty. Families were often starving and could barely feed themselves. Traffickers would then come along and offer to buy children and gave promises that the children would work in safe garment making factories. Pushed by desperation, countless parents were forced to sell their children in order to keep the rest of the family alive. However, the company founder also discovered that if these parents were able to secure decent incomes, the trafficking seemed to disappear. The parents were no longer desperate, so they were now able to refuse to sell their children to anyone. So, Five14 was started as a way to bring tourism jobs and income into the mountains of Nepal. Not only does Five14 hire vulnerable women directly to work in their hotel and café, but they also have helped the local people start businesses. Five14 has provided training to the communities close to hiking routes in how to offer services to hikers, allowing them to make a living income and no longer need to worry if their family will survive.
Five14 has not only been able to provide amazing experiences for the individuals and groups that do their tours, but they have literally saved the lives of innocent children. Additionally, like the other companies mentioned, it turns out doing the right this is good for business. Five14 has a growing client base, but not just this, they have been asked by the Nepal government to consider expanding their operation to other areas of Nepal.
A company has multiple options in how it can give back to the community it operates in. This can be giving financially or offering free services. However, strategic employment seems to have an effect unlike any of those other options. By providing people with a safe place to work and a reliable income, a company can change a person’s life. If a company keeps this up and changes the lives of multiple people, then that is how a business can truly make an impact on their community. These three companies prove that strategic employment has the power to dramatically empower people of all backgrounds. To anyone interested in using business to make this world a better place, I ask you to please consider using the power of employment as one of your tools.
Sources:
CMNGD. (Retrieved May 22, 2020). Our Story. Cmngd.com. Retrieved from https://cmngd.com/our-story/
Five14. (Retrieved May 22, 2020). About Us. Five14nepal.com. Retrieved from https://www.five14nepal.com/about-us
Televerde. (November 6, 2015). Televerde Recognized For 20-Year Prison Partnership. In The News. Televerde.com. Retrieved from https://televerde.com/televerde-recognized-for-prison-partnership/