February 25th, 2019 | Sherry B Malhotra

Sterling’s take on the ILO’s Work for a Brighter Future Report 2019

In January this year, the International Labour Organization (ILO) released its seminal report ‘Work for a Brighter Future’ to kick off their centennial celebrations. Founded in 1919, the ILO has been at the forefront of historical milestones spanning from the US to Europe, Africa and more. Being an active proponent, the United States has also played a key role in drafting the ILO’s constitution. It’s all about action and the energy of collective forces; essentially, how we en masse can make a difference.

At Sterling, we are driven by our core values of ensuring safety for our customers. Every Sterling team member truly believes in and delivers on the right for everyone to be safe. Our people-centric values resonate deeply with the report’s human-centered agenda.

The report lists three pillars of action and here’s how we at Sterling align with each:

1. INCREASING INVESTMENT IN PEOPLE’S CAPABILITIES

As a technology-enabled services company, our client-first approach makes us the best-in-class background and identity services company in the world. With deep market knowledge and respected, industry-specific thought leaders at the helm, our clients draw from the double benefit of freeing up their resources to enhance productivity and making sound investments in enhancing their team’s capabilities. Our comprehensive screening services help our customers make the correct candidate choices which in turn leads to a safe and secure work environment for all.

Sterling’s ready response to the call to step up investments that support people through future-work transitions, a key ingredient of this action pillar, is through our long-term and ongoing investments in technology and data analytics.

2. INCREASING INVESTMENT IN THE INSTITUTIONS OF WORK

An integral part of this action pillar is creating avenues for safety as a fundamental principle, as well as a right to work, and Sterling’s raison d’être centers on the principles of “safety” and “trust”.  The legacy of trust that we have built in the industry of background and identity screening over 40+ years, comes from a place of caring deeply not only for clients and their candidates but also for our colleagues. The strongest value that we have fostered at Sterling is that of starting every relationship with trust and consistently nurturing it with empathy, camaraderie and veritable action that proves it true every day! Our ongoing investment in technology affords our clients to reap the benefits of ‘expanding time sovereignty’ which is not only an important action point from the ILO Report but also critical to flexibility that comes from harnessing technology to expand choice.

Sterling’s Small & Medium Business (SMB) team uses comprehensive technology-based solutions and responds to the report’s appeal to reach out to those involved in new or growing business models. Our SMB team helps to provide solutions that are affordable, geared for small businesses and effectively counter the pitfalls of hiring without investing in background screening. David Bloom, Sterling’s GM for Small & Medium Business, shares both his insights as well as the advantages of background screening for SMBs in this online interview with Don Mazzella, Editor-in-Chief, Small Business Digest.

At Sterling, we believe humans will continue to exert control in an age where the imminent threat of AI “taking over” looms large. By using AI to sift through gargantuan data, our technology promotes people to make informed decisions in selecting the right candidates easier. Our undivided focus on data privacy further encourages a “human-in-command” design of work.

3. INCREASING INVESTMENT IN DECENT AND SUSTAINABLE WORK

This pillar advocates building sustainability and a long-term approach to the first two pillars. Thereby reiterating Sterling’s ongoing investment in technology with the intent of easing the workload, increasing productivity, fostering economic growth, and creating conducive environments for existing as well as potential employees at the workplace – a four-pronged benefit system for our customers. The need to advance the case of SMBs is also re-emphasized under this pillar; Sterling’s comprehensive background and identity services are extended in a SMB-friendly system through our SMB support unit. The goals of the unit are designed to consistently encourage innovation and create various avenues for job growth in this sector.

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY

Organizations like the ILO and the Bretton Woods Institutes can provide guidance to institutes of work, policy makers and Governments. This report points the spotlight on businesses looking to foster growth along with creating a conducive environment for candidates, on-job training for employees and continued learning. Through Sterling’s best-in-class services, we support businesses to help achieve this without compromising on either productivity or safety at the workplace.

Sources:

Sterling is not a law firm. This publication is for informational purposes only and nothing contained in it should be construed as legal advice. We expressly disclaim any warranty or responsibility for damages arising out this information. We encourage you to consult with legal counsel regarding your specific needs. We do not undertake any duty to update previously posted materials.

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