carla eboli
Carla Eboli, EVP at Energy BBDO, Omnicom, reflected on how big corporations work diligently to merge profits and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The executive went through the key elements at The Executives’ Club of Chicago’s Global Leaders Series meeting, which included the participation of Arne Sorenson, president and CEO of Marriott, and was chaired by Connie L. Lindsey, EVP and head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Diversity & Inclusion at Northern Trust. Below is a summary of Eboli´s comments: According to Mr. Sorenson– the first CEO that is not part of the Marriott family – social responsibility is an everyday task; “making sure we treat all of our people with the kind of dignity and respect they deserve.” “We don’t do it so we can talk about it, but it is really about our internal audience,” says Sorenson, highlighting the importance of retaining talent in order to keep talent acquisition costs low and high-service quality. Their internal audience is indeed one of their main priorities and Sorenson talked about one of the corporation’s latest initiatives focused on this group: “I consider our housekeepers our superheroes, and sometimes they have to deal with situations that can put them in danger so we recently created a ‘panic button’ that they can use if they find themselves under adverse circumstances.”Other good insights from the talks include: Two ears and One Mouth: “One of the most important lessons I have learned from Bill Marriott (current Marriott International chairman) is to listen with attention and an open mind; listen to your team, your partners, your vendors… if you don’t listen carefully you might miss important information that can seriously impact your business, ” Mr. Sorenson said. This reminded me of something my dad always used to say: remember you have two ears and one mouth, so listen more, talk less. Human Trafficking Engagement: The CEO also talked about how the corporation is deeply engaged in fighting human trafficking as part of their CSR program. “This is an awful problem and we decided we ought to use our little place to do what we can,” said Sorenson. The company has already trained 500K associates to observe and detect possible human and sex trafficking situations, and they are already seeing positive results, according to him. Welcoming Diversity: The CEO also talked about the importance of diversity and equal pay for the enterprise. The global corporation has outposts all over the world and that diversity “is reflected in Marriott’s global clientele and employee teams”. Mr. Sorenson also commented on how important it is to encourage the sustainability industry to create efficient solutions that are both better for our world and make sense for business. All-in-all, it is great to see a major corporation like Marriott putting CSR at the forefront in a way that is making an impact today and will continue into the future.
