In recent Page Conversations about gun violence and reproductive rights, Page and Page Up members gathered to discuss their approaches to addressing (or not addressing) these controversial issues. One of the main points of consensus? This isn’t just crisis planning—these issues bring your organization’s values to the forefront. 

Here are some considerations pulled from the Page community—whether you do or don’t decide to speak out.

Recently, we sent a pulse survey about gun violence to corporate CCOs. Some member companies that did decide to take a stand on this issue reported that their actions centered on working to address gun violence on the local level, sending intentional communications to employees after the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings in tandem with creating a matched-donation intranet page for relevant aid organizations, supporting research initiatives on the causes of and interventions for firearm injury and donating to aid organizations.

Some considerations:

• Does your statement (and corresponding actions) tie back to your organization’s values? Use your values to guide and prioritize which issues your organization is willing to address and the speed at which it is willing to address them.
• Are you taking a multistakeholder view? If you plan to act, think about which stakeholder groups are impacted, how so, who needs to hear from you first and what they need from you.
• Are you committed to speaking with consistency? One attendee mentioned an example: If you spoke out on voting rights in 2020 and not in 2022 it could make your organization’s advocacy seem partisan on what should be a non-partisan issue.
• Remember: When you say something you’re saying it to current and prospective employees. What you say and do now can and will shape your organization’s future through the people who will be accepting or rejecting job offers. Especially important in this unusual job market.

The three tenets of corporate participation in social issues according to one of our recent speakers should be: 1) Mitigate, 2) Work behind the scenes, and 3) Align your political giving. You need all of them for an effective response.

In one question in Page’s pulse survey on gun violence, we asked, “In the wake of the Buffalo shooting and the Uvalde school massacre, is your organization getting pressure to act in relation to gun control in the United States?” 83% of respondents said, “No, and we don’t plan on taking action.” Only 5% said, “Yes,” and 11% said  “No, but we’re going to act anyway.” 

One respondent elaborated, “The issue is more complex than just guns. We will not be saying anything. Furthermore, there are companies with political contributions that serve as skeletons in our closet, so many of us just cannot authentically say much.”

Page member Björn Edlund interviewed nearly ten leading CCOs to uncover the critical decisions and pathways that distinguish good leadership from great leadership. His blog post contains insights on organizational structure and process and uncovers the surprising role culture plays in building a higher performing communications function.