“Authenticity in purpose has to start at the top.” That is the staunch belief of Jeff Olson, VP of corporate communications at Rite Aid. As you’ll hear in this podcast, presented by WE, he not only plays a key role to ensure that standard is met by company leaders, but he has espoused it as a company leader himself since joining the top drugstore chain this past April.
As the conversation ensued, employees took center stage. They are crucial ambassadors who underscore a brand’s authentic commitment to purpose. “They need to be engaged as the top stakeholders they are,” notes Olson.
As such, employee comms is a crucial piece of the puzzle. It is also a challenging one, however, as highlighted by recent WE and Quartz research that shows only 50% of leaders believe employee engagement is meeting staff needs. Olson discusses his strategies for this.
All brands, particularly ones in the health and pharma space, have a major role to play in building trust among the public to take the COVID-19 vaccines that will be widely available in 2021. The interview shines a light on the multi-layered approach Olson leads at Rite Aid.
As discovered by another recent WE study, 73% of leaders say purpose leadership will become as important as financial performance. Those brands will be relying on their comms teams to steer the path. As this podcast shows, Olson has already put a plan in place – one all can learn from – to meet this call.
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