Nielsen, a founding member of the American Heart Association CEO Roundtable, is a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics. “We measure people and their behaviors across all channels and platforms to empower our clients with independent and actionable intelligence to they can connect and engage with their audiences,” said Jackie Good, Nielsen’s global well-being manager.
With that data-driven perspective, Nielsen has shifted its approach to employee CPR training in response to one significant statistic: “In the United States, we are now probably about 70% to 80% remote,” Good said. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Nielsen recognized that office-based, in-person training — previously a mainstay of the company’s cardiac emergency response instruction program — would no longer accommodate its largely remote workforce.
“It was like the perfect storm,” Good said. But during the pandemic, Nielsen identified creative and innovative ways of equipping employees to receive CPR training remotely and in their own communities. As part of their benefits package, Nielsen employees have access to a Lifestyle Spending Account that they can leverage to get reimbursed for the costs of CPR training, CPR kits, heart-health education programs and more.
By offering employees access to cardiac emergency response training, Nielsen is working to solve more than just a logistical issue. Nielsen is also empowering its employees to choose and engage in training options that fit their individual needs.
Before the pandemic, Nielsen offered some in-person CPR trainings in Spanish. Now that employees can use their Lifestyle Spending Accounts to cover the costs of cardiac emergency response trainings, people have more opportunities to seek instruction in the language they prefer.
Offering flexible options also can encourage employees to fit CPR training into their busy schedules. “The life you save may be your own,” Good said. “What you are giving back to your community or what you’re learning, you’re passing that information on,” she said.
Nielsen’s commitment to joining the Nation of Lifesavers initiative can serve as an example for other companies looking for creative, accessible and practical ways to provide their workforce additional cardiac emergency response training. Nation of Lifesavers is a campaign by the American Heart Association to equip people with the knowledge, skills and tools to perform lifesaving techniques, particularly CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and automated external defibrillator, or AED, use. Good noted that it’s critical that companies proactively provide that training. Otherwise, “They could lose the life of an employee when somebody could have been there to save it,” Good said.
Editor’s Note: The Nation of Lifesavers story series highlights the efforts of AHA CEO Roundtable member companies and organizations. The American Heart Association does not endorse or promote any specific products or services from Nielsen or any other organization. Comments and opinions expressed by individuals outside the Association in this editorial do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Heart Association.