The JUST Report: A New Scorecard for Investing in the American Worker
Investing in human capital is one of the essential elements of business leadership today.
Business Insider’s look at how childcare benefits boost retention – some companies saw positive returns on investment of up to 425% – and a report by Investment News on how companies like DoorDash are experimenting with new financial wellness benefits for gig workers are two recent examples of this in action.
However, without a comprehensive set of metrics and a clear definition of what good actually looks like, it’s very difficult to measure performance on a consistent basis let alone know where to invest in order to improve. Enter JUST Capital’s newest offering – the JUST Jobs Scorecard.
The new tool, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, provides a unique view into how companies are performing and what they can do to improve on 31 distinct data points across six job quality topics, scoring companies on a scale of 0-4, with 4 being the highest. The final score is determined against research-backed thresholds, which range from “no disclosure” to “leading practice” on the issues that JUST tracks. Topics cover the key worker priorities as identified by the public:
- Wages & Compensation.
- Benefits.
- Hiring & Stability.
- Employee Wellness.
- Training, Advancement & Development.
- Workforce Composition.
Top performers include JPMorgan Chase & Co, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Dayforce, Starbucks, Union Pacific, and American Electric Power Company.
We offer these scorecards as a resource to anyone interested in improving human capital performance in business. To use the Scorecard visit the tool or get involved by contacting corpengage@justcapital.com.
Be well,
Martin
Quote of the Week
(Photo courtesy of Dayforce)
“We are collectively redefining how we work – including virtual, hybrid, and the gig economy – resulting in a boundless workforce that is fluid, always-on, and borderless. To keep pace with this rate of change, organizations need to prioritize investments in their people to create an agile and skills-based culture that fosters an engaged and thriving workforce.”
- Chris Armstrong, COO, Dayforce, speaking to the company’s performance within the JUST Jobs Scorecard.
JUST AI
Rob Marsh, our AI Advisor, took to LinkedIn to discuss the future impact of “virtual robots”, AI-powered entities capable of performing a wide range of tasks and even operating autonomously in certain contexts. Read the whole post here.
An artificial intelligence-powered chatbot created by New York City to help small business owners is under scrutiny for sharing bizarre advice that misstates local policies and advises companies to violate the law, the AP reports.
A New York Times article dives into the debate economists are having around how much more efficient AI will make companies in the short term.
Must Reads
A new report by The Financial Times explores new financial products that could incentivize countries to preserve biodiversity and natural resources.
Axios reports on a new study that shows for most employers, childcare benefits pay for themselves through reduced absenteeism and lower rates of attrition. Check out the study here, and then learn more about our own Corporate Care Network initiative.
The EPA releases new, strict emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks in a bid to curb carbon emissions. The Associated Press has the story.
The Wall Street Journal takes a look at how Gen-Z is eschewing colleges and white collar jobs for trade schools and working with their hands, seeing it as a safer, more fulfilling path in a world where the value of a degree is plummeting and AI seems poised to make sweeping job changes across many industries.
Google will delete billions of Chrome browser records in the wake of a lawsuit saying the company was being deceiving by still tracking user activity while in Incognito mode. The New York Times explains.
A new study by Deloitte and Tufts University finds that the large majority of professional investors globally have put in place ESG investment policies over the past several years. These firms cite factors including regulatory requirements, improved performance and talent attraction. ESG Today has the story.
A Wall Street Journal article takes a close look at just how far $100 goes at your local grocery store today after five years of persistent food inflation, a top concern for consumers. Take a look here.
Chart of the Week
This week’s chart comes from our newly released JUST Jobs Scorecard. While America’s largest companies have more work to do to improve transparency around some key job quality data points, overall performance on the 2024 JUST Jobs Scorecard speaks to noticeable improvement since the 2023 pilot version of this tool. More than one fourth of companies (256 companies, or 27.3% of all scored companies) have moved from the Beginner category (taking early steps towards transparency, overall scores between 0 and 0.99) into the Explorer category. Explore deeper insights here.
