Better Business: Defining Best Practices and Holistic Models for the Healing-Centered Workplace
Lauren Pinkston, PhD & Rachel Nelson | September 22 | 3:15-4:15 pm
Topic: Research, Programming | Knowledge Level: Advanced
Since 2020, Freedom Business Alliance (FBA) has led a series of research initiatives focused on the future of freedom businesses. This presentation will share findings from a phenomenological study where social enterprise partners offered their experiences leading businesses employing survivors of human trafficking. A series of roundtable discussions were held, where freedom business leaders collaborated to give feedback on the standards of excellence needed to develop best practices in the ethical employment of human trafficking survivors. Then, follow-up interviews were conducted with freedom business leaders who ranked their own approach to business practices as highly effective and profitable. These interviews were conducted around a large set of research questions, using phenomenological interviewing skills to allow the data to be informed by unique experiences of practitioners. Interviews were then analyzed for overarching themes, and recommendations were formed by the researchers based on the themes drawn from interviews. The authors will present the recently published Freedom Business Code of Excellence, as well as provide recommendations for a social enterprise model that incorporates the accounting needs of freedom businesses. The presentation will address 1) non-negotiable commitments to which every freedom business should hold, 2) components of a comprehensive, trauma-informed standard of care for human trafficking survivors in the workplace, and 3) models for profitable freedom business which account for business costs alongside the financial burden of holistic social services. This research has significant implications for the sustainable livelihoods of survivors. This research also impacts the future of policy aimed to incentivize the private sector to prioritize employment for survivors.
Presentation Objectives:
· Describe the methodology and findings from roundtable discussions that produced the Freedom Business Code of Excellence
· Provide a comprehensive explanation of the challenges facing Freedom Businesses
· Present a recommended model that offers guidance for the financial and programmatic goals of profitable and scalable Freedom Businesses