High Road companies aren’t simply focused on growing their businesses — they place equal emphasis on their employees, their community and the services they provide. When companies broaden their focus beyond just the balance sheet, their financial success can actually improve. In other words, businesses are likelier to grow and thrive when they operate responsibly.
High Road Principles
The American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) outlines ten principles of High-
Road employers. These include: providing family-friendly benefits, offering flexibility, paying a livable and fair wage, investing in employee growth and development, cultivating inclusion, governing fairly and transparently, engaging with communities, managing the supply chain responsibly, driving environmental sustainability and promoting health and safety.
Becoming a High-Road business is as simple as filling out a form on the ASBC website to pledge your commitment. While you may not be checking all ten principle boxes, if your company covers initial bases and intends to make strides to include more, you can officially call yourself a High-Road business.
Cultivating a High Road, Sustainable Workplace
It’s up to both companies and their employees to work together on cultivating a High Road workplace. For employers, a change in both language and practice can show your commitment. Evolving the company’s mission statement, job listings and other publicity to reflect High Road sentiments such as community inclusion and sustainability is a great first step.
As employees, you have the power to manifest change in the company community. Starting a community service initiative is a fantastic way to bolster engagement and give back to the broader community. Service days and even lunch-in lectures, discussions and workshops are an easy and exciting way to involve High Road practices in the workplace.
The Diverse, Inclusive High Road Workplace
Cultivating inclusion is a principle that extends well beyond having a diverse workplace. Though your staff may be diverse, it’s important to represent that in your practices. Holding office meetings in locations where all physical abilities can easily access them is an important step. And when catering work lunches, consider dining options that are respectful of potential religious or other dietary restrictions. Hosting cross-department collaborative meetings is another great way to elevate employee growth, development and inclusion.
Fostering opportunities for employees to feel comfortable and to shine ultimately benefits businesses’ growth and success. A happy workplace is a productive workplace, and there’s no better way to create a positive workplace than through High Road practices.
