Company: Blue Beyond Consulting, Castro Valley, CA
Company Description: Blue Beyond® Consulting builds effective organizations where both the business and the people thrive. Our interdisciplinary team brings deep capabilities in communications, culture, change management, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), talent management, and organizational effectiveness, partnering with clients to create custom solutions that deliver lasting results.
Nomination Category: Communications & Marketing Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Thought Leadership
 Nomination Title: Blue Beyond Consulting — Business as a Force for Good Thought Leadership Campaign
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 32 words used.
Supporting materials referenced throughout this nomination have been attached above and provide evidence that establishes or furthers the thought leadership credentials or reputation of both Cheryl Fields Tyler and Blue Beyond Consulting.
- Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:
Oct. 20, 2021 – This campaign or program effectively began with a press release announcing the findings of a research study that examined business as a force for good in all of its dimensions -- good for me (the employee), good for us (the organization) and good for the world (the broader society).
- Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the creative and media development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 249 words used.
Our team of mostly women decided to conduct this research study in December 2020, partnering with an HR membership organization to coordinate the survey, help with research and host a virtual summit and webinars where our founder and CEO, Cheryl Fields Tyler, would present our findings. We started by asking colleagues for ideas and what they had noticed working with clients. As our research questions took shape, we conducted a series of interviews with senior executives, mostly clients working in HR, Talent and DEIB. During this time, a pivotal moment occurred. One of our leaders sent us the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer that had been forwarded from their client, the head of ESG at the organization, noting, “It seems right up our alley — and in line with our vision of ‘business as a force for good.’” Two findings in particular resonated: Business had suddenly become the only trusted institution – not government, media or NGOs — and business leaders were now expected (but hardly prepared) to speak out on societal issues. These activities were foundational to our survey development. In the summer and fall of 2021, we completed the executive interviews, finalized and conducted the survey, analyzed and synthesized the data, and presented the findings. Our CEO delivered the presentation before groups of 50-200 people, and in 1-on-1 briefings. Our primary goal was to raise awareness of our thought leadership — through the webinars, the ebook on our website, media interviews, social media, email outreach, and more.
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the nominated campaign or program - its genesis,development, planning, commission, and performance to date - OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions, provide them in the appropriate spaces below:
- Describe the genesis of the nominated campaign or program: the reasons it was initiated, the challenges it was created to address, the problems it was developed to solve, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 239 words used.
Blue Beyond initiated this project to create a road map for CEOs and executives to lead in new ways not seen before the disruption caused by the pandemic, societal polarization, workplace stress and burnout, and the Great Resignation. Employee expectations had increased exponentially in recent years and business leaders were suddenly faced with an entirely new set of challenges. As this was our first in-depth research study, we wanted to establish our thought leadership on our area of expertise and a primary pain point of our clients: building — and sustaining — thriving workplace cultures. One topic we explored in both our survey and interviews with senior executives ties back to the higher purpose of our own organization: that our business — and every business — owns the moral responsibility to serve as a force for good. Companies that failed to demonstrate earnest efforts to be a force for good in all its dimensions — good for me (the employee), good for us (the organization) and good for the world (the broader society) — did so at their peril. Our research study not only put our founder and CEO Cheryl Fields Tyler on the map as a thought leader, but it also helped businesses understand the factors that affected — and still affect — employees’ decisions to stay or leave an organization, and gave executives strategies to optimize the employee experience, and attract and retain the talent they need.
- Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of July 2021. Even if your initiative started before July 2021, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of July 2021 only (up to 250 words):
Total 246 words used.
While this initiative started before July 2021, the presentations and marketing activities tied to the Business as Force for Good Thought Leadership campaign all took place after September 2021.
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Cheryl was the keynote speaker for the Future Workplace Virtual Summit Oct. 21, 2021, and two other webinars with the HR member organization that fall.
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Our ebook — originally entitled “Closing the Employee Expectations Gap: The Undeniable and Promising New Mandate for Business” and refreshed as “Good for Me, Good for Us, Good for the World: A New Agenda for Business Leaders” — drove record web traffic in the fall of 2021, with 125,000+ page views and hundreds of downloads to date.
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Cheryl conducted media interviews with outlets such as the BBC, Fox, and HR Tech.
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Our marketing team consistently promoted our findings on social media (primarily LinkedIn but also Facebook)
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Cheryl and our team of consultants reached out to clients via email, resulting in several 1-on-1 briefings as part of a business development effort.
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During this period between July 2021 and August 2023, Blue Beyond was certified as a Great Place to Work®, recognized as one of the Best Small & Medium Workplaces by Fortune and Great Place to Work® and named to the Inc. 5000 as one of the fastest growing private companies in America. While not directly tied to the research study and our Business as a Force for Good Thought Leadership campaign, it stands to reason that they were an influencing factor.
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