The Role of Business Leaders in Promoting Free and Fair Elections

In advance of the U.S. election season, Page member Bob Feldman reached out to Page to invite CCO members to a series of monthly calls organized by his Dialogue Project at Duke University and in partnership with the Society for Human Resource Management. The most recent call discussed the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, and what businesses need to do moving forward.

Political Risks for Companies

Even before the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, this upcoming election posed unique risks to U.S.-based companies, including;

• Candidates engaging in polarizing societal issues like immigration and LGBTQ rights, prompting calls for companies to respond
  • This requires an issue materiality assessment and an understanding of relevant stakeholder sentiments. Actions may include making public or internal statements, building industry coalitions, and donating time and resources, to name a few.

• Direct rhetorical attacks on companies from candidates over social and economic issues
  • Executives are becoming increasingly afraid of candidates singling out their organizations during this election cycle. Aligning your business, values and actions beforehand can help proactively address criticism from any outsider, including presidential hopefuls.

• Potential for civil unrest around close elections, electoral disputes, or political violence
  • According to research shared on the call, 81% of U.S. adults want companies to encourage free and fair elections, including voting rights and peaceful transfer of power. Additionally, situation-planning for the worst-case scenarios are always helpful exercises in preparedness.

Employee Pressure

Employees are still the stakeholder group most likely to push a company to speak on political or policy issues. Below are three strategies to address such employee pressure.

• Hold employee resource groups close
  • Assigning an executive sponsor, and informally polling the groups on real-time issues pertinent to the group, are just a couple of ways to engage your ERGs and check the pulse of the organization.
• Train middle managers to refocus employees on company mission and values
  • Cascading communication is an effective way to localize conversations that an organization is having, while instilling a deeper level of trust and connection to employees.
• Share with employees the high-level criteria for deciding whether the company will engage on societal issues
  • While it may not leave employees satisfied if you refrain from speaking out on issues they are passionate about, they will at least understand that the organization considers it and operates within a framework.

Want to learn more?
You can review SHRM’s page on Civility to learn more about their tools and resources. You can also check out the Dialogue Project at Duke University, which was launched by Page member Bob Feldman.