Even in today’s tough economic environment, stakeholders expect multi-national corporations to both take responsibility and give back to society. According to a recent consumer poll carried out by Edelman and Young and Rubicam, 87% of UK consumers expect companies to consider their impact on society as much as their own business interests, while more than 70% of people make a point of buying from companies with a view similar to their own.
Furthermore, when a company has CSR initiatives, employees are more proud of and committed to the organisation. This is because our personal identities are partly tied up in the companies that we work for. If my company is saving the world, I am too, so my association with the company reflects positively on me and makes me feel good about the work I do for the company. In a survey by the non-profit NetImpact, 53% of workers said that “a job where I can make an impact” was important to their happiness, and 72% of students about to enter the workforce agreed. Most would even take a pay cut to achieve that goal.
Responsible companies must refrain from reducing their budgets and instead invest in imparting their know-how to entities that would not normally be considered as recipients. In the current economic climate, CSR is all about acting in a positive way that not only benefits society, but also the company itself.
By integrating CSR as part of the business and involving employees, charitable initiatives can actually deliver returns to businesses by reducing training and development costs. A study by Corporate Citizenship revealed that employees who participate in voluntary initiatives improve their communication, coaching, influencing and negotiating abilities and were more adaptable – valuable and transferable skills for any business, regardless of size or sector. It should also be noted that giving employees a sense of pride by empowering them to make a difference to their communities can help with staff retention, which can contribute to awards, such as The Sunday Times best companies to work for list.
Let me give you an example of a CSR project that I was really impressed with. A blue-chip company operating worldwide set up a programme in Eastern Africa, working with poor universities to up-skill local graduates. The programme was innovative because it leveraged the company’s technological expertise, was aligned with their mission statement, and involved employees in mentoring and coaching the students. As a result, a number of highly qualified graduates were given a brand new qualification and had real career opportunities to take advantage of. For me, this kind of activity is effective and impactful , and can only come from a company where CSR is fully integrated into the business and champions internal engagement, cohesion and integration.
Monetary donations are no longer sufficient anyway. Businesses can no longer throw money at a reputable charity and hope to be seen as “CSR leaders”. A study by JWTIntelligence & EthosJWT highlighted this, revealing that 88% of people surveyed were sceptical that money doesn’t go where promised. Interestingly, 75% of people also believed that companies need to provide more information on how funds are allocated to charitable and social causes.
The trouble with monetary donations is that they can be deemed as lazy – requiring no effort, thought, or innovation. Furthermore, companies too often view CSR as an add-on or an after-thought, rather than an integral part of how their business operates.
Now, more than ever before, companies need to be smart at maximising the impact of their CSR budgets. By leveraging the expertise of the business and involving employees internally, activities will not only seem more authentic and thought out to external stakeholders, but also build communications and develop valuable skills internally. A good CSR plan is a two way process that builds a platform that benefits society and the company itself and creates a sustainable win-win partnership.
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