Organizations are increasingly being very vocal about their philanthropic goals and objectives. From charity support, so ensuring that they have a CSR plan to reduce waste, give back to the communities in which they work, and promoting ethical labor practices.
We live in an era where having a great product or service is not enough to win the custom of the masses. People are looking for a lot more from the brands which they buy from. Trust in brands has reduced significantly over the past two decades, with scandals such as the Volkswagen emissions scandal or of course Enron, making customers lose faith in corporate giants.
And it’s not just customers – organizations who have bad reputations can start to see declines in being able to find the best talent to come and work for them.
It’s becoming an established fact that the millennial workforce are less interested in paychecks, and more interested in purpose. They are also harder to retain if they do not feel that the company they work for is aligned with their ideals. As consumers, they also want to be attached to brands with which they feel an affinity.
But how do organizations ensure that they are not just talking about CSR, but really implementing it, and making sure that their staff are on board too?
Firstly, it’s about attracting the right staff – who align with your values. If you truly believe in a cause then you should make sure that those working for you are thinking along the same lines. For example if you are an organization that values philanthropy and giving back to your community – then a staff member who believes that charity starts at home probably isn’t going to be a good cultural fit.
Also – doing good feels good. It tends to be contagious – if you have a good champion in your organization, if they are passionate – they can really get the whole company on board. Here’s a little example…
My son decided to collect bottles to donate money to St Jude’s. He went into school and let everyone know about his intentions, and soon everyone was helping by saving bottles for him. The excitement of the collecting spread – with his fellow classmates, and even teachers getting more excited by the more bottles they could collect! He was asked often ‘what’s the count now’, and when the time came to actually do the donation – the whole school was really behind the effort, and excited to know the result. While my son isn’t quite ready to enter the world of work just yet (he’s 11), this is true example of how just one person can spread the joy of giving back.
Most of the top rated companies on Glassdoor have clear objectives when it comes to CSR – and their values are very well known. Take WeWork. Their vision was to create an ‘eco friendly co-working space’ and boy have they done that! They now manage around 10 million square feet of office space. They are also very clear about the atmosphere that they offer to their 64,000 (and growing) clients – the chance to work in a space that will offer a community feel, combined with affordable rates.
So – go beyond box ticking for your CSR efforts, and really build an organization that wears it’s values on it’s sleeve.
Angela Barbato is an award-winning Change and Transformation specialist. Having held a range of senior leadership roles at Avis Budget Group, Angela is a foremost expert on the topics of leadership, transformation and customer experience. You can find out more about Angela at http://www.abarbato.com.