All Briefs

During the last three months, the Governance Center released four pieces of research that cover CEO and executive compensation practices, CEO succession practices, the Delaware bench and bar perspectives on the job description of a corporate director, and an analysis of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations.

While political control of Congress in 2019 is unknown two weeks before Election Day, what is known is the number of S&P 500 companies receiving high scores for political disclosure and accountability continues to increase. That is a major finding of the 2018 CPA-Zicklin Index.

Seven CEOs of companies that are members of The Conference Board Governance Center are among 20 who have signed on to the Commonsense Corporate Governance Principles 2.0, which has been endorsed by the Governance Center and the Business Roundtable and will be hosted by the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership at Columbia Law School.

The authors of the book “Outsourcing the Board: How Board Service Providers Can Improve Corporate Governance” recently sat down with Governance Center Executive Director Doug Chia to discuss their unique idea for a new corporate board model. A video of that discussion is available on-demand.

The share of workers employed in temporary contracts declined from an already low level in 2005. employers still grappling with how to incorporate labor market platforms and other recent technological innovations into hiring practices. Employers continue to value lasting relationships with employees and care deeply about the skills and work habits of those they employ.

The labor shortages in blue-collar jobs are unlikely to disappear any time soon. An important reason: The combination of the US population becoming more educated and the concentration of disability among less educated people is significantly reducing the share of less educated people in the labor force.

A forthcoming 2018 report by The Conference Board on non-traditional work is set to address the lack of growth and impact alternative work arrangements will have on the U.S. labor market. Hiring workers through alternative arrangements is certainly a viable option for many employers, but satisfaction levels may make it difficult for employers to significantly change their share of non-traditional workers.

Companies need to build a mechanism to gauge consumers’ preferences for causes and integrate that with a measurement framework across all stakeholders of an organization. Sumair Sayani, vice president at Nielsen and Consumer Dynamics co-Center leader, suggests what this model might look like.

Creativity is important to developing new ideas and opportunities, but certain corporate cultures can stifle it. Employees have a responsibility to exercise their own creativity for the benefit of themselves and the business. In communications, creativity should be nurtured in three areas in particular: writing, uncovering stories, and ideation. If companies want to promote new ideas and opportunities, being open to employees’ creativity is a good start.