Young Living, a leading producer and supplier of essential oils, has long been recognized for its place at the top of its industry. That recognition has often centered around the quality of its products and the integrity with which it approaches the sourcing of plant materials. However, the company has also drawn accolades for the manner in which it gives back to its community. This manifests through its efforts to create a positive work environment for employees and also through its philanthropic work around the world. To provide a greater picture of how companies can excel in this area, we’ve taken the opportunity to highlight these efforts and the third-party recognition they are garnering.
Community focus
Focusing on giving back to the community is a value that has been instilled in Young Living since it was first created. This is due, in part, to its roots as a personal undertaking by its founders, D. Gary Young and Mary Young. Rather than create the company as a business venture from the start, the idea first manifested as a way for the couple to produce high-quality essential oils for themselves and their acquaintances. As the quality of those oils began to outpace what was commercially available, however, it became clear that there was a demand for the couple to take the enterprise to the wider public.
Even in that expansion, which saw the company become officially established in 1994, the business sought to reinvest in its local community. This manifested through the purchase of land in Utah and Idaho to support cultivation efforts of plant materials. The company also worked to create a distillation facility near its headquarters in Utah in order to keep its operations as local as possible. That facility has since become the largest in North America, underscoring the positive impact the company has had on the availability of economic opportunity in its community.
Workplace accolades
This tradition of providing opportunity to its community of employees continues on to this day. Those efforts have recently been recognized by Forbes, which named the company to its 2020 list of best employers in the state of Utah. The list is based on information sourced directly from employees themselves through the use of surveys and over the past year. With more than 80,000 surveys completed, the list represents an exhaustive resource for understanding how employees themselves view their employers in the state of Utah and the country at large. Surveys posed questions based on a range of criteria including compensation, opportunities for advancement, workplace safety, and telecommuting policies.
The company has also been recognized by the 2020 Stevie Awards, known as the world's premier business awards. Created in 2002, the awards seek to honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and working professionals worldwide. This year’s awards recognized the essential oils company in two categories, presenting it with a Silver Stevie Award for the Most Innovative Work-From-Home Plan and a Bronze Stevie Award for the Most Valuable HR Team. The judging process for the event includes input from more than 90 professionals worldwide in order to ensure the impartial nature of the awards given.
Transition efforts
One of the areas for which the company has received praise has been its efforts to support its workforce amidst the uncertainty created by the global pandemic. In order to keep its employees safe and able to continue in their job responsibilities, the company has transitioned 95% of its workforce to remote status until the end of the year. This transition has not only helped to support safety and workplace stability, it has also helped to increase employee effectiveness in some areas. This is evidenced by a reported 25% increase in productivity within the IT department and a 13% increase within sales.
Transition efforts have been further supported by a variety of company-sponsored benefits to help provide additional support to employees during this difficult time. These efforts have included access to virtual fitness classes such as guided meditations, stretching programs, and family-inclusive fitness events. The company has also hosted virtual social gatherings, information sessions to equip employees with remote working skills, and access to therapy and counseling services.
Philanthropic recognition
Beyond its efforts to support its local and employee communities, the company has also repeatedly been recognized for the manner in which it engages in worldwide philanthropic initiatives. Some of the most recent accolades come on the heels of the company’s announcement of the results of fundraising efforts in conjunction with International Essential Oils Day on July 11th. The company had pledged to donate 5% of its global sales on that day to its charitable foundation — The D. Gary Young, Young Living Foundation. It’s now completed the process of accounting for those sales and was able to announce that it has raised $292,000 for the foundation.
The funds will be used to support the foundation’s endeavors in creating access to higher education and leadership training. This is accomplished, among other ways, through the administration of the Young Living Academy in Chongon, Ecuador. Funds used in this capacity help bridge the financial gap for underprivileged students who have high aspirations but may not otherwise be able to afford higher education.
“This donation will go a long way in helping build a strong foundation for the future leaders of the communities we serve around the world,” said Jackie Skinner, executive director of the foundation.
Efforts by Young Living to support communities locally and around the world help to illustrate the company’s integrity-minded approach to all of its undertakings. This approach has been a key contributing factor to its status as an industry leader and has also helped it attract a highly qualified employee base to aid in its efforts. The recent effort towards creating a smooth transition to a remote working environment is just one example of this work that has been widely praised. Recent efforts by the company to support its philanthropic endeavors also help to illustrate its commitment to integrity and community building. Taken as a whole, these efforts help to illustrate how a company can be both successful and value-driven in the competitive world of business.
Author:
David Fournier is a content manager at SMM Graph, a global social media service provider with an interest in cyber security, privacy, and gaming.
