Hootsuite and #BCorp

6
CASE STUDY: HOOTSUITE & #BCORP Case Study: Hootsuite and #BCorp Leading with Purpose: Why Hootsuite became a #BCorp This is the 4th post in our HR Open Source [#HROS] initiative. You can learn more about #HROS here, but the aim is to work out loud and share behind-the-scenes looks at how some of our social HR projects come together, and what we learned from them. Brands like Patagonia, Method, Warby Parker, and Etsy use the power of business to address social and environmental problems. But what you may not know is that all these companies are also B Corporations, or B Corps. In June this year, Hootsuite joined this growing movement of changemakers that use business as a force for good. What is a #BCorp? B Corps are a new kind of company that seek a better way to do business. Think LEED or Fair Trade certification, but for a business, not just a building or a bag of coffee. B Corps are certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Today, there is a growing community of more than 1,300 Certified B Corps from over 40 countries and 120 industries working together toward one unifying goal: to redefine success in business.

Transcript of Hootsuite and #BCorp

Page 1: Hootsuite and #BCorp

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

Case Study

Hootsuite and

BCorp

Leading with Purpose Why Hootsuite became a BCorpThis is the 4th post in our HR Open Source [HROS] initiative You can learn more about HROS here but the aim is to work out loud and share behind-the-scenes looks at how some of our social HR projects come together and what we learned from them

Brands like Patagonia Method Warby Parker and Etsy use the power of business to address social and environmental problems But what you may not know is that all these companies are also B Corporations or B Corps In June this year Hootsuite joined this growing movement of changemakers that use business as a force for good

What is a BCorpB Corps are a new kind of company that seek a better way to do business Think LEED or Fair Trade certification but for a business not just a building or a bag of coffee B Corps are certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance accountability and transparency Today there is a growing community of more than 1300 Certified B Corps from over 40 countries and 120 industries working together toward one unifying goal to redefine success in business

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

Why is Hootsuite a BCorpOur journey to becoming a B Corp started in the summer of 2014 With the launch of Hootsuitersquos CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) program earlier that same year our Talent team identified the need for a framework that would make the most impact

Our philosophy around CSR has always been what we like to call lsquoCollective Social Responsibilityrsquo This is the notion that it should be woven into the very framework of a companyrsquos overall strategy not siloed within a small department

With this in mind B Corprsquos framework was a clear match for us Instead of being certified based on how much a company donated to charity every year it took a holistic look at how each company uses business as a force for good

The benefits of becoming a B CorpThere are many reasons why companies choose to become a B Corp One of the key drivers for Hootsuite was to attract and engage top talent who are looking for more than just a paycheque As they seek greater purpose and a company that aligns with their values B Corp is a way for us to show how we roll

It is also a stamp of approval telling our customers that we are committed to higher standards of performance and transparency The certification holds us accountable to our commitments by comparing our performance against other companies that are best for the world and providing a roadmap for improvement Finally it gives us the opportunity to help lead a growing movement thatrsquos gaining traction around the world with over 250 B Corps certified this year so far

ldquoWhen you support a B Corporation yoursquore supporting a better way to do business Governments and nonprofits are necessary but insufficient to solve todayrsquos most pressing problems Business is the most powerful force on the planet and can be a positive instrument for changerdquo B Lab

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

How we did it From CSR to B CorpToday wersquoll look at the steps taken along our journey to becoming a B Corp and how you can do the same

Step 1 Measure our impactTo become a B Corp companies must fill out the B Impact Assessment and earn a minimum of 80 out of a possible 200 points Before presenting this framework to the executive team we needed to see where we stood After filling out the assessment we came out just 10 points shy of the points required to be certified

But a company doesnrsquot become a B Corp overnight it needs to be embedded into every aspect of the businessmdashincluding values Being a socially responsible company has been in our DNA from the beginning Taking the first step to measure our impact reaffirmed the importance of this for us and motivated us to do better

Our customized improvement report made recommendations on the potential improvements our company could make The B Impact Assessment website also provides guidelines and best practices on everything from how to write a whistle-blowing policy to how to implement an environmental management system

Our improvement report suggested that we

Measure our greenhouse gas emissions and put an emission reduction plan in place

Create a local purchasing policy

Develop a social and environmental screen for suppliers

Once we identified the stakeholders who needed to be involved we established a roadmap to help us achieve success After three months of teamwork and tenacity we exceeded our goal of 80 netting out at 83 We submitted our final assessment to B Lab for final approval along with supporting documentation that B Lab reviews to validate the answers to key questions in the questionnaire

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

Step 2 Get buy-in from the topOur next step was to get executive and board approval To become a B Corp we must meet the legal requirement by amending articles to incorporate stakeholder interests and give legal protection to directors and officers who consider the interests of all stakeholdersmdashemployees customers community and the environmentmdashnot just shareholders when making decisions This embeds sustainability into the DNA of our company as it grows ensuring our mission can better adapt to new management investors and even ownership

Fortunately our board members are incredibly progressive and understand the value that a purpose-driven culture brings to a company especially at a software company where intellectual capital is critical

Step 3 Celebrate After receiving board approval and the news that we were an official new community member among B Corps it was time to share our exciting news

As a growing but young movement it was important to first tell our employees what it meant to become a B Corp For our internal launch we did the following

Shared an email announcement care of our CEO

Held lunch amp learn information sessions in our Vancouver and London offices with B Lab

Incorporated educational materials in our onboarding

Created the Values amp Impact Team a cross-functional team who help manage our certification and communication

Followed up with an internal employee survey lovingly known as Hootpulse where we could also share our progress and gather feedback

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

To help communicate our certification externally we created a multi-channel campaign spearheaded by our Social Media team that included

Joint press release with B Lab

Blog post announcement with accompanying video

Social media support across all Hootsuite-branded channels

Employee advocacy sharing across their own social channels

Success Becoming a certified B CorpWersquove only been a B Corporation for a few months but already the results have been incredibly positive For example from our survey we learned that 40 of our employees wanted to participate through volunteering while 20 wanted to be a part of a committee that helped to amplify content

What we got wrongOne of our core value is to always lead with humility and an important component of our open-source HR case studies is sharing what could be improved upon

Tailoring our internal messaging When we designed our internal launch plan we didnrsquot tailor messaging to different departments instead treating the entire organization as one audience The results from the engagement survey showed that 20 of our employees did not know enough about B Corp to say how they wanted to be involved

Making the value proposition more knownWhile our results show us that we did a great job increasing awareness around the movement we continue to receive questions from external stakeholders less familiar with our brand as to why we became a B Corp It is clear why a company like Method or Seventh Generation is a part of the community but it may be less obvious for a SaaS company Wersquore still iterating on this

2 hires

2000+ organic social shares

1 new agency partner

PA

R T N E R P R O G RAM

H

O O T S U I TE

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

Key takeaways for HRInclude senior leaders in purpose initiativesIt is often Millennials who are the first to volunteer their time towards giving back however it is just as important to engage more senior purpose-driven employees Getting executive buy-in for decisions that affect the business is easier if theyrsquore already a part of the conversation

Need for continuous educationWith our hyper-growth trajectory we will need to continue to educate new and existing employees on what B Corp is and what it means to Hootsuite There are a number of opportunities to better incorporate this into our onboarding our branding and our initiative engagement

Let the people decideWe werenrsquot that surprised to learn that 40 of our employees wanted to volunteer their time since 80 of our fundraising and volunteering initiatives are championed internally However it is a good reminder that we need to continue to ask for feedback so that we can support causes that we can all get behind

In conclusionHootsuite became a certified B Corp in June but the reality is that wersquove always been one It ties to our vision and mission to revolutionize communications and transform messages into meaningful relationships with all our stakeholders Our organizational key performance indicators measure the importance of not only our shareholders but also our employee and customer happiness B corp extends this even further taking into account other key stakeholders like our community our suppliers and the environment

It is an exciting time to be part of this growing movement B Corp is so much more than just Corporate Social Responsibility It is the effort of the entire organization and as a result is far more impactful and meaningful than a siloed CSR program could ever hope to be

ldquoWhen I was deciding which company I wanted to work with I was interested in how the company I chose impacted the community and the environment That was a big deciding factor for me because itrsquos important to me to contribute positively to my community and be part of something bigger than just making profits When I came across Hootsuitersquos B Corp certification it gave me comfort that they were measuring the right things While other companies have corporate responsibility reports that they publish annually the metrics they track can sometimes be misleading difficult to compare and missing across years I was happy that Hootsuite was ascribing to a methodology that allowed for easy comparison visibility and accountability It signaled to me that Irsquod be working at a company that recognized the broader impact of business in the communityrdquo Livia Danila Senior Accountant Hootsuite

Page 2: Hootsuite and #BCorp

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

Why is Hootsuite a BCorpOur journey to becoming a B Corp started in the summer of 2014 With the launch of Hootsuitersquos CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) program earlier that same year our Talent team identified the need for a framework that would make the most impact

Our philosophy around CSR has always been what we like to call lsquoCollective Social Responsibilityrsquo This is the notion that it should be woven into the very framework of a companyrsquos overall strategy not siloed within a small department

With this in mind B Corprsquos framework was a clear match for us Instead of being certified based on how much a company donated to charity every year it took a holistic look at how each company uses business as a force for good

The benefits of becoming a B CorpThere are many reasons why companies choose to become a B Corp One of the key drivers for Hootsuite was to attract and engage top talent who are looking for more than just a paycheque As they seek greater purpose and a company that aligns with their values B Corp is a way for us to show how we roll

It is also a stamp of approval telling our customers that we are committed to higher standards of performance and transparency The certification holds us accountable to our commitments by comparing our performance against other companies that are best for the world and providing a roadmap for improvement Finally it gives us the opportunity to help lead a growing movement thatrsquos gaining traction around the world with over 250 B Corps certified this year so far

ldquoWhen you support a B Corporation yoursquore supporting a better way to do business Governments and nonprofits are necessary but insufficient to solve todayrsquos most pressing problems Business is the most powerful force on the planet and can be a positive instrument for changerdquo B Lab

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

How we did it From CSR to B CorpToday wersquoll look at the steps taken along our journey to becoming a B Corp and how you can do the same

Step 1 Measure our impactTo become a B Corp companies must fill out the B Impact Assessment and earn a minimum of 80 out of a possible 200 points Before presenting this framework to the executive team we needed to see where we stood After filling out the assessment we came out just 10 points shy of the points required to be certified

But a company doesnrsquot become a B Corp overnight it needs to be embedded into every aspect of the businessmdashincluding values Being a socially responsible company has been in our DNA from the beginning Taking the first step to measure our impact reaffirmed the importance of this for us and motivated us to do better

Our customized improvement report made recommendations on the potential improvements our company could make The B Impact Assessment website also provides guidelines and best practices on everything from how to write a whistle-blowing policy to how to implement an environmental management system

Our improvement report suggested that we

Measure our greenhouse gas emissions and put an emission reduction plan in place

Create a local purchasing policy

Develop a social and environmental screen for suppliers

Once we identified the stakeholders who needed to be involved we established a roadmap to help us achieve success After three months of teamwork and tenacity we exceeded our goal of 80 netting out at 83 We submitted our final assessment to B Lab for final approval along with supporting documentation that B Lab reviews to validate the answers to key questions in the questionnaire

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

Step 2 Get buy-in from the topOur next step was to get executive and board approval To become a B Corp we must meet the legal requirement by amending articles to incorporate stakeholder interests and give legal protection to directors and officers who consider the interests of all stakeholdersmdashemployees customers community and the environmentmdashnot just shareholders when making decisions This embeds sustainability into the DNA of our company as it grows ensuring our mission can better adapt to new management investors and even ownership

Fortunately our board members are incredibly progressive and understand the value that a purpose-driven culture brings to a company especially at a software company where intellectual capital is critical

Step 3 Celebrate After receiving board approval and the news that we were an official new community member among B Corps it was time to share our exciting news

As a growing but young movement it was important to first tell our employees what it meant to become a B Corp For our internal launch we did the following

Shared an email announcement care of our CEO

Held lunch amp learn information sessions in our Vancouver and London offices with B Lab

Incorporated educational materials in our onboarding

Created the Values amp Impact Team a cross-functional team who help manage our certification and communication

Followed up with an internal employee survey lovingly known as Hootpulse where we could also share our progress and gather feedback

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

To help communicate our certification externally we created a multi-channel campaign spearheaded by our Social Media team that included

Joint press release with B Lab

Blog post announcement with accompanying video

Social media support across all Hootsuite-branded channels

Employee advocacy sharing across their own social channels

Success Becoming a certified B CorpWersquove only been a B Corporation for a few months but already the results have been incredibly positive For example from our survey we learned that 40 of our employees wanted to participate through volunteering while 20 wanted to be a part of a committee that helped to amplify content

What we got wrongOne of our core value is to always lead with humility and an important component of our open-source HR case studies is sharing what could be improved upon

Tailoring our internal messaging When we designed our internal launch plan we didnrsquot tailor messaging to different departments instead treating the entire organization as one audience The results from the engagement survey showed that 20 of our employees did not know enough about B Corp to say how they wanted to be involved

Making the value proposition more knownWhile our results show us that we did a great job increasing awareness around the movement we continue to receive questions from external stakeholders less familiar with our brand as to why we became a B Corp It is clear why a company like Method or Seventh Generation is a part of the community but it may be less obvious for a SaaS company Wersquore still iterating on this

2 hires

2000+ organic social shares

1 new agency partner

PA

R T N E R P R O G RAM

H

O O T S U I TE

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

Key takeaways for HRInclude senior leaders in purpose initiativesIt is often Millennials who are the first to volunteer their time towards giving back however it is just as important to engage more senior purpose-driven employees Getting executive buy-in for decisions that affect the business is easier if theyrsquore already a part of the conversation

Need for continuous educationWith our hyper-growth trajectory we will need to continue to educate new and existing employees on what B Corp is and what it means to Hootsuite There are a number of opportunities to better incorporate this into our onboarding our branding and our initiative engagement

Let the people decideWe werenrsquot that surprised to learn that 40 of our employees wanted to volunteer their time since 80 of our fundraising and volunteering initiatives are championed internally However it is a good reminder that we need to continue to ask for feedback so that we can support causes that we can all get behind

In conclusionHootsuite became a certified B Corp in June but the reality is that wersquove always been one It ties to our vision and mission to revolutionize communications and transform messages into meaningful relationships with all our stakeholders Our organizational key performance indicators measure the importance of not only our shareholders but also our employee and customer happiness B corp extends this even further taking into account other key stakeholders like our community our suppliers and the environment

It is an exciting time to be part of this growing movement B Corp is so much more than just Corporate Social Responsibility It is the effort of the entire organization and as a result is far more impactful and meaningful than a siloed CSR program could ever hope to be

ldquoWhen I was deciding which company I wanted to work with I was interested in how the company I chose impacted the community and the environment That was a big deciding factor for me because itrsquos important to me to contribute positively to my community and be part of something bigger than just making profits When I came across Hootsuitersquos B Corp certification it gave me comfort that they were measuring the right things While other companies have corporate responsibility reports that they publish annually the metrics they track can sometimes be misleading difficult to compare and missing across years I was happy that Hootsuite was ascribing to a methodology that allowed for easy comparison visibility and accountability It signaled to me that Irsquod be working at a company that recognized the broader impact of business in the communityrdquo Livia Danila Senior Accountant Hootsuite

Page 3: Hootsuite and #BCorp

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

How we did it From CSR to B CorpToday wersquoll look at the steps taken along our journey to becoming a B Corp and how you can do the same

Step 1 Measure our impactTo become a B Corp companies must fill out the B Impact Assessment and earn a minimum of 80 out of a possible 200 points Before presenting this framework to the executive team we needed to see where we stood After filling out the assessment we came out just 10 points shy of the points required to be certified

But a company doesnrsquot become a B Corp overnight it needs to be embedded into every aspect of the businessmdashincluding values Being a socially responsible company has been in our DNA from the beginning Taking the first step to measure our impact reaffirmed the importance of this for us and motivated us to do better

Our customized improvement report made recommendations on the potential improvements our company could make The B Impact Assessment website also provides guidelines and best practices on everything from how to write a whistle-blowing policy to how to implement an environmental management system

Our improvement report suggested that we

Measure our greenhouse gas emissions and put an emission reduction plan in place

Create a local purchasing policy

Develop a social and environmental screen for suppliers

Once we identified the stakeholders who needed to be involved we established a roadmap to help us achieve success After three months of teamwork and tenacity we exceeded our goal of 80 netting out at 83 We submitted our final assessment to B Lab for final approval along with supporting documentation that B Lab reviews to validate the answers to key questions in the questionnaire

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

Step 2 Get buy-in from the topOur next step was to get executive and board approval To become a B Corp we must meet the legal requirement by amending articles to incorporate stakeholder interests and give legal protection to directors and officers who consider the interests of all stakeholdersmdashemployees customers community and the environmentmdashnot just shareholders when making decisions This embeds sustainability into the DNA of our company as it grows ensuring our mission can better adapt to new management investors and even ownership

Fortunately our board members are incredibly progressive and understand the value that a purpose-driven culture brings to a company especially at a software company where intellectual capital is critical

Step 3 Celebrate After receiving board approval and the news that we were an official new community member among B Corps it was time to share our exciting news

As a growing but young movement it was important to first tell our employees what it meant to become a B Corp For our internal launch we did the following

Shared an email announcement care of our CEO

Held lunch amp learn information sessions in our Vancouver and London offices with B Lab

Incorporated educational materials in our onboarding

Created the Values amp Impact Team a cross-functional team who help manage our certification and communication

Followed up with an internal employee survey lovingly known as Hootpulse where we could also share our progress and gather feedback

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

To help communicate our certification externally we created a multi-channel campaign spearheaded by our Social Media team that included

Joint press release with B Lab

Blog post announcement with accompanying video

Social media support across all Hootsuite-branded channels

Employee advocacy sharing across their own social channels

Success Becoming a certified B CorpWersquove only been a B Corporation for a few months but already the results have been incredibly positive For example from our survey we learned that 40 of our employees wanted to participate through volunteering while 20 wanted to be a part of a committee that helped to amplify content

What we got wrongOne of our core value is to always lead with humility and an important component of our open-source HR case studies is sharing what could be improved upon

Tailoring our internal messaging When we designed our internal launch plan we didnrsquot tailor messaging to different departments instead treating the entire organization as one audience The results from the engagement survey showed that 20 of our employees did not know enough about B Corp to say how they wanted to be involved

Making the value proposition more knownWhile our results show us that we did a great job increasing awareness around the movement we continue to receive questions from external stakeholders less familiar with our brand as to why we became a B Corp It is clear why a company like Method or Seventh Generation is a part of the community but it may be less obvious for a SaaS company Wersquore still iterating on this

2 hires

2000+ organic social shares

1 new agency partner

PA

R T N E R P R O G RAM

H

O O T S U I TE

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

Key takeaways for HRInclude senior leaders in purpose initiativesIt is often Millennials who are the first to volunteer their time towards giving back however it is just as important to engage more senior purpose-driven employees Getting executive buy-in for decisions that affect the business is easier if theyrsquore already a part of the conversation

Need for continuous educationWith our hyper-growth trajectory we will need to continue to educate new and existing employees on what B Corp is and what it means to Hootsuite There are a number of opportunities to better incorporate this into our onboarding our branding and our initiative engagement

Let the people decideWe werenrsquot that surprised to learn that 40 of our employees wanted to volunteer their time since 80 of our fundraising and volunteering initiatives are championed internally However it is a good reminder that we need to continue to ask for feedback so that we can support causes that we can all get behind

In conclusionHootsuite became a certified B Corp in June but the reality is that wersquove always been one It ties to our vision and mission to revolutionize communications and transform messages into meaningful relationships with all our stakeholders Our organizational key performance indicators measure the importance of not only our shareholders but also our employee and customer happiness B corp extends this even further taking into account other key stakeholders like our community our suppliers and the environment

It is an exciting time to be part of this growing movement B Corp is so much more than just Corporate Social Responsibility It is the effort of the entire organization and as a result is far more impactful and meaningful than a siloed CSR program could ever hope to be

ldquoWhen I was deciding which company I wanted to work with I was interested in how the company I chose impacted the community and the environment That was a big deciding factor for me because itrsquos important to me to contribute positively to my community and be part of something bigger than just making profits When I came across Hootsuitersquos B Corp certification it gave me comfort that they were measuring the right things While other companies have corporate responsibility reports that they publish annually the metrics they track can sometimes be misleading difficult to compare and missing across years I was happy that Hootsuite was ascribing to a methodology that allowed for easy comparison visibility and accountability It signaled to me that Irsquod be working at a company that recognized the broader impact of business in the communityrdquo Livia Danila Senior Accountant Hootsuite

Page 4: Hootsuite and #BCorp

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

Step 2 Get buy-in from the topOur next step was to get executive and board approval To become a B Corp we must meet the legal requirement by amending articles to incorporate stakeholder interests and give legal protection to directors and officers who consider the interests of all stakeholdersmdashemployees customers community and the environmentmdashnot just shareholders when making decisions This embeds sustainability into the DNA of our company as it grows ensuring our mission can better adapt to new management investors and even ownership

Fortunately our board members are incredibly progressive and understand the value that a purpose-driven culture brings to a company especially at a software company where intellectual capital is critical

Step 3 Celebrate After receiving board approval and the news that we were an official new community member among B Corps it was time to share our exciting news

As a growing but young movement it was important to first tell our employees what it meant to become a B Corp For our internal launch we did the following

Shared an email announcement care of our CEO

Held lunch amp learn information sessions in our Vancouver and London offices with B Lab

Incorporated educational materials in our onboarding

Created the Values amp Impact Team a cross-functional team who help manage our certification and communication

Followed up with an internal employee survey lovingly known as Hootpulse where we could also share our progress and gather feedback

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

To help communicate our certification externally we created a multi-channel campaign spearheaded by our Social Media team that included

Joint press release with B Lab

Blog post announcement with accompanying video

Social media support across all Hootsuite-branded channels

Employee advocacy sharing across their own social channels

Success Becoming a certified B CorpWersquove only been a B Corporation for a few months but already the results have been incredibly positive For example from our survey we learned that 40 of our employees wanted to participate through volunteering while 20 wanted to be a part of a committee that helped to amplify content

What we got wrongOne of our core value is to always lead with humility and an important component of our open-source HR case studies is sharing what could be improved upon

Tailoring our internal messaging When we designed our internal launch plan we didnrsquot tailor messaging to different departments instead treating the entire organization as one audience The results from the engagement survey showed that 20 of our employees did not know enough about B Corp to say how they wanted to be involved

Making the value proposition more knownWhile our results show us that we did a great job increasing awareness around the movement we continue to receive questions from external stakeholders less familiar with our brand as to why we became a B Corp It is clear why a company like Method or Seventh Generation is a part of the community but it may be less obvious for a SaaS company Wersquore still iterating on this

2 hires

2000+ organic social shares

1 new agency partner

PA

R T N E R P R O G RAM

H

O O T S U I TE

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

Key takeaways for HRInclude senior leaders in purpose initiativesIt is often Millennials who are the first to volunteer their time towards giving back however it is just as important to engage more senior purpose-driven employees Getting executive buy-in for decisions that affect the business is easier if theyrsquore already a part of the conversation

Need for continuous educationWith our hyper-growth trajectory we will need to continue to educate new and existing employees on what B Corp is and what it means to Hootsuite There are a number of opportunities to better incorporate this into our onboarding our branding and our initiative engagement

Let the people decideWe werenrsquot that surprised to learn that 40 of our employees wanted to volunteer their time since 80 of our fundraising and volunteering initiatives are championed internally However it is a good reminder that we need to continue to ask for feedback so that we can support causes that we can all get behind

In conclusionHootsuite became a certified B Corp in June but the reality is that wersquove always been one It ties to our vision and mission to revolutionize communications and transform messages into meaningful relationships with all our stakeholders Our organizational key performance indicators measure the importance of not only our shareholders but also our employee and customer happiness B corp extends this even further taking into account other key stakeholders like our community our suppliers and the environment

It is an exciting time to be part of this growing movement B Corp is so much more than just Corporate Social Responsibility It is the effort of the entire organization and as a result is far more impactful and meaningful than a siloed CSR program could ever hope to be

ldquoWhen I was deciding which company I wanted to work with I was interested in how the company I chose impacted the community and the environment That was a big deciding factor for me because itrsquos important to me to contribute positively to my community and be part of something bigger than just making profits When I came across Hootsuitersquos B Corp certification it gave me comfort that they were measuring the right things While other companies have corporate responsibility reports that they publish annually the metrics they track can sometimes be misleading difficult to compare and missing across years I was happy that Hootsuite was ascribing to a methodology that allowed for easy comparison visibility and accountability It signaled to me that Irsquod be working at a company that recognized the broader impact of business in the communityrdquo Livia Danila Senior Accountant Hootsuite

Page 5: Hootsuite and #BCorp

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

To help communicate our certification externally we created a multi-channel campaign spearheaded by our Social Media team that included

Joint press release with B Lab

Blog post announcement with accompanying video

Social media support across all Hootsuite-branded channels

Employee advocacy sharing across their own social channels

Success Becoming a certified B CorpWersquove only been a B Corporation for a few months but already the results have been incredibly positive For example from our survey we learned that 40 of our employees wanted to participate through volunteering while 20 wanted to be a part of a committee that helped to amplify content

What we got wrongOne of our core value is to always lead with humility and an important component of our open-source HR case studies is sharing what could be improved upon

Tailoring our internal messaging When we designed our internal launch plan we didnrsquot tailor messaging to different departments instead treating the entire organization as one audience The results from the engagement survey showed that 20 of our employees did not know enough about B Corp to say how they wanted to be involved

Making the value proposition more knownWhile our results show us that we did a great job increasing awareness around the movement we continue to receive questions from external stakeholders less familiar with our brand as to why we became a B Corp It is clear why a company like Method or Seventh Generation is a part of the community but it may be less obvious for a SaaS company Wersquore still iterating on this

2 hires

2000+ organic social shares

1 new agency partner

PA

R T N E R P R O G RAM

H

O O T S U I TE

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

Key takeaways for HRInclude senior leaders in purpose initiativesIt is often Millennials who are the first to volunteer their time towards giving back however it is just as important to engage more senior purpose-driven employees Getting executive buy-in for decisions that affect the business is easier if theyrsquore already a part of the conversation

Need for continuous educationWith our hyper-growth trajectory we will need to continue to educate new and existing employees on what B Corp is and what it means to Hootsuite There are a number of opportunities to better incorporate this into our onboarding our branding and our initiative engagement

Let the people decideWe werenrsquot that surprised to learn that 40 of our employees wanted to volunteer their time since 80 of our fundraising and volunteering initiatives are championed internally However it is a good reminder that we need to continue to ask for feedback so that we can support causes that we can all get behind

In conclusionHootsuite became a certified B Corp in June but the reality is that wersquove always been one It ties to our vision and mission to revolutionize communications and transform messages into meaningful relationships with all our stakeholders Our organizational key performance indicators measure the importance of not only our shareholders but also our employee and customer happiness B corp extends this even further taking into account other key stakeholders like our community our suppliers and the environment

It is an exciting time to be part of this growing movement B Corp is so much more than just Corporate Social Responsibility It is the effort of the entire organization and as a result is far more impactful and meaningful than a siloed CSR program could ever hope to be

ldquoWhen I was deciding which company I wanted to work with I was interested in how the company I chose impacted the community and the environment That was a big deciding factor for me because itrsquos important to me to contribute positively to my community and be part of something bigger than just making profits When I came across Hootsuitersquos B Corp certification it gave me comfort that they were measuring the right things While other companies have corporate responsibility reports that they publish annually the metrics they track can sometimes be misleading difficult to compare and missing across years I was happy that Hootsuite was ascribing to a methodology that allowed for easy comparison visibility and accountability It signaled to me that Irsquod be working at a company that recognized the broader impact of business in the communityrdquo Livia Danila Senior Accountant Hootsuite

Page 6: Hootsuite and #BCorp

CASE STUDY HOOTSUITE amp BCORP

Key takeaways for HRInclude senior leaders in purpose initiativesIt is often Millennials who are the first to volunteer their time towards giving back however it is just as important to engage more senior purpose-driven employees Getting executive buy-in for decisions that affect the business is easier if theyrsquore already a part of the conversation

Need for continuous educationWith our hyper-growth trajectory we will need to continue to educate new and existing employees on what B Corp is and what it means to Hootsuite There are a number of opportunities to better incorporate this into our onboarding our branding and our initiative engagement

Let the people decideWe werenrsquot that surprised to learn that 40 of our employees wanted to volunteer their time since 80 of our fundraising and volunteering initiatives are championed internally However it is a good reminder that we need to continue to ask for feedback so that we can support causes that we can all get behind

In conclusionHootsuite became a certified B Corp in June but the reality is that wersquove always been one It ties to our vision and mission to revolutionize communications and transform messages into meaningful relationships with all our stakeholders Our organizational key performance indicators measure the importance of not only our shareholders but also our employee and customer happiness B corp extends this even further taking into account other key stakeholders like our community our suppliers and the environment

It is an exciting time to be part of this growing movement B Corp is so much more than just Corporate Social Responsibility It is the effort of the entire organization and as a result is far more impactful and meaningful than a siloed CSR program could ever hope to be

ldquoWhen I was deciding which company I wanted to work with I was interested in how the company I chose impacted the community and the environment That was a big deciding factor for me because itrsquos important to me to contribute positively to my community and be part of something bigger than just making profits When I came across Hootsuitersquos B Corp certification it gave me comfort that they were measuring the right things While other companies have corporate responsibility reports that they publish annually the metrics they track can sometimes be misleading difficult to compare and missing across years I was happy that Hootsuite was ascribing to a methodology that allowed for easy comparison visibility and accountability It signaled to me that Irsquod be working at a company that recognized the broader impact of business in the communityrdquo Livia Danila Senior Accountant Hootsuite