B the Change Weekly: June 7, 2019

Delivered on Fridays, B the Change Weekly delivers the most important and most relevant stories about people using business as a force for good. The newsletter features a weekly note from the B the Change team alongside insight and context on the stories we share here on Medium. Below is our latest roundup. To receive these insights directly in your inbox, sign up for B the Change Weekly today. Now onto the good stuff:

(Photo by James Healy on Unsplash)

“We really then try to break down those barriers that exist in their head where they’re already putting limitations on their future and help them think through possibilities.”

Envisioning possibilities rather than barriers is at the core of worker-assistance programs at Certified B Corporations. As noted in the quote above from Annie Agle of outdoor gear brand Cotopaxi, these programs are designed to create opportunities that help workers create a better future for themselves, for their companies, and for the global B Economy.

This week on B the Change we share how B Corps like Cotopaxi are using innovative hiring practices to empower workers, strengthen their communities — and change employees’ lives for the better.

Full-time employees at Upstreet Brewing, based on Prince Edward Island, Canada, are eligible for benefits including a profit-sharing program, monthly volunteer hours, a health and wellness fund, and professional development opportunities.

Brewing Employment Opportunities

Businesses know the importance of who they hire, but some go further by emphasizing how they hire and adopting innovative hiring practices — broadening their pool of potential workers, expanding local economies and creating career options along the way. B Corps leading the way include Upstreet Brewing, Cotopaxi, Greyston Bakery, Rhino Foods and Stroopie Co.

Check out how these five B Corps stand out because of their innovative hiring practices.

6 Tips for a More Inclusive Hiring Process

Building a more inclusive and diverse workforce is a priority for MediaStyle, a Canadian strategic communications and public affairs agency. As CEO Caitlin Kealey notes, “Inclusive workforces are stronger and more effective and come up with a wide range of solutions to issues that don’t lean on the same old ways of thinking and problem solving.”

On B the Change, Kealey shares six tips for a more equitable and inclusive hiring process.

Want to Attract Great Employees? Turn to Core Values

Companies can no longer just be companies. If a company only cares about its bottom line, employees will quickly search for a position elsewhere. Whether hiring or looking for a job, employers and applicants are well-served by exploring their intrinsic, extrinsic and lifestyle values.

B Corp Metis Consulting Group outlines the five things employees want most from employers, and how purpose-driven businesses can connect with workers by valuing professional growth and self-actualization.

Book of the Week

If you have a specific suggestion, let us know at bthechange@bcorporation.net with the subject line “book recommendation.”

Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go
By Beverly Kaye and Julie Winkle Giulioni

The new edition of the best-selling employee development classic includes advice on talent retention in the gig economy and a new chapter on creating a career development culture in your organization. Study after study confirms that career development is the single most powerful tool managers have for driving retention, engagement, productivity, and results. Beverly Kaye and Julie Winkle Giulioni identify three broad types of conversations that will increase employees’ awareness of their strengths, weaknesses, and interests; point out where their organization and their industry are headed; and help them pull all of that together to design their personalized career plans. And the new chapter includes an assessment so you can measure how well your current culture supports employee development — and how to improve it.

B the Change gathers and shares the voices from within the movement of people using business as a force for good and the community of Certified B Corporations. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the nonprofit B Lab.


A Higher Hiring Purpose was originally published in B the Change on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.


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