Customers once favored companies because of their size, revenues, or dividends. They judged a company by its place in the trading markets or financial media. People search for trust and confidence. However, available resources put recommendations in numbers, percentages, or dollars.
Yes, businesses do depend on revenue and profits. However, owners, investors, executives, and other stakeholders look increasingly for signs of corporate excellence. They still find that excellence drives a company’s reputation, brand, and profits. Their pursuit of excellence respects ethics and moral values. It builds a business model that adds value and revenue. The public now has a reliable index reflecting the seven admirable behaviors explored here.
Applying to The Corporate Excellence 1000 Index® –
Newsweek Magazine’s readers have given the publisher time and trust since the first issue went to press in February 1933, and the magazine continues to live up to that legacy. Newsweek partnered recently with the Best Practice Institute (BPI) to use their proprietary AI tools to name and rank the Most Loved Workplace®.
CEO World Magazine reported BPI research had confirmed that “Emotional connection is a motivating sense of satisfaction and intellectual alignment [in business] that can only come from feeling appreciated and part of a shared and worthy purpose.”
Newsweek and BPI have partnered again to explore and analyze critical data points across 5,200 companies out of 25,000-plus organizations. They used the results to introduce the Newsweek Corporate Excellence 1000 Index® Index of companies that uphold excellence in their best business practices.
BPI’s advanced AI technology considers bottom-line results. But it also integrates website traffic, customer satisfaction, and employee sentiment with each company’s dedication to social accountability and global stewardship. The resulting Corporate Excellence 1000 Index® recognizes that “Ethical businesses deserve recognition for their commitment to doing what is right, going beyond profit-making, and considering the impact of their actions on society and the environment.”
7 Practices Define Corporate Excellence
Change marks this era. Globalization, pandemics, inflation, and broken supply chains challenge businesses. The scarcity of talent, management by Millennials, and Gen Z values want more out of leading organizations. And the future of work will be determined by the talent attracted to employers branded as excellent.
You can Make the Excellence List By Focusing on these 7 Behaviors
- ESG Risk Rating & Ethical Impact: Every business has an ethical footprint. Companies might pollute water, strip forests, or deplete resources. Others may evade taxes, offer bribes, or deceive employees and customers.
BPI methodologies dive deep into a company’s data for evidence of environmental, social, and governance risks. Analytics include these findings with its ethical footprint.
- Customer Rating: Collected data shows how a corporation’s customers view its products, services, and ethics. Customers lose trust and confidence in businesses guilty of fraud and non-compliance. AI technologies consumed extensive data from companies, competitors, and the markets they serve. The analysis weighed these inputs against the results of customer surveys and complaints.
For instance, Glassdoor’s Mission & Culture Survey 2019 found that 77%-plus respondents “consider a company’s culture before applying for a job there, and 79% would consider a company’s mission and purpose before applying.” These 2019 percentages verify findings published as In Great Company (2019) that a culture of emotional connectedness beats salary and perks regarding job hunting.
- Employee Rating: Employers use various tools to measure employee satisfaction, engagement, and sentiment. They survey employee reactions, organize focus groups, and encourage feedback. Companies might use 360° assessments or self-evaluation processes.
BPI’s advanced technologies respect the rate of employee engagement. However, they dive deeper into employee opinion to identify patterns and themes needing employer attention. The unique analytics also measure the intensity or “heat” of employee dissatisfaction.
- R&D Spending: Investment in innovation builds investor, employee, and market confidence. Companies must project an image of innovation and progress. The patents and copyrights secured today ensure business in the future.
Employees satisfy employers with a commitment to collaborative work on unique projects. Job hunters value a culture built on purpose and practice that extends well beyond the workplace walls.
- ISO Standards Adherence: The International Organization for Standardization has set international quality and safety standards since 1947. The 169 member groups require outstanding practices and performance in international trade businesses. City, state, and federal governments have also established regulations and requirements.
Transparent and consistent compliance with these agencies marks companies respected for corporate excellence. These organizations willingly comply with legislated concerns, including OSHA, Affirmative Action, HIPAA, and more.
- Global Compact Status: CEOs voluntarily commit their corporations to the United Nations Global Compact, upholding universal standards on human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption.
The 12,000-plus adherents include 9,000 prominent corporations. Twenty-seven, with a market capitalization exceeding $1.3 billion, have gone further to reduce the global temperature and ensure net-zero emissions by 2050.
- Customer Complaints: Smaller businesses take the first steps toward corporate excellence by seeking Better Business A+ ratings. The frequency and heat of customer grievances shed light on a company’s commitment to respond, respect, resolve, and improve.
Mature organizations of any size profit and grow with customer-centric operations. An enhanced customer experience guarantees corporate reputation, respect, and loyalty. These virtues characterize companies pursuing corporate excellence.
Reward and recognition for corporate excellence –
The Best Practices Institute AI-driven tools fed Newsweek’s 2023 Corporate Excellence 1000 Index® with the data and analytics to rank businesses built on the behaviors explored here. The Most Loved Workplace® also recognizes many of these employers.
According to The Best of Best Practices, “The full benefit of best practice benchmarking will be realized by those companies that have a strong desire to evolve continuously towards a better understanding of what makes great companies become the most effective organizations in the global business realm.” The Corporate Excellence 1000 Index® ranks these achievements and encourages companies to advance in the behaviors defined here.
