Corporate social responsibility is much more than just a tick box on a form..
When you think of Corporate social responsibility, what comes to mind? Perhaps you picture your company doing charity work or sponsoring community projects for the greater good of society? But there’s a lot more to Corporate Social Responsibility than that—it’s a powerful marketing tool that can help boost sales and brand awareness in addition to creating goodwill among stakeholders. In fact, according to studies by Nielsen, 91% of consumers say they are willing to pay extra for products from companies with strong social and environmental credentials.
Corporate social responsibility, is a very important part of any business strategy. It’s no longer just about charity work and giving back to the community; it’s now seen as a vital way to make your brand stand out from the crowd.
The days when businesses could simply do what they liked without having to answer to anyone are long gone. In fact, many consumers now expect companies to behave responsibly and consider their wider impact on society too. More than ever before, we need to see companies that are good for us all – not just for shareholders but also for employees, customers, and local communities alike.
Leadership
Leadership is not just about doing what's best for your organization, it’s also about doing what's best for you and your team members. Leaders need to be able to look at data, reflect on their own experiences, and then make decisions based on this information.
If you're a leader in an organization that has a corporate social responsibility program in place, there are several key areas where you can focus this attention:
Always put employees first. If someone comes to you with an idea or suggestion regarding how something should be done differently, take their input seriously and consider if it makes sense for everyone involved—and if it does make sense, implement immediately!
Be flexible when possible—but don't hesitate when necessary. Sometimes situations arise unexpectedly where certain changes will have to be made immediately. Just remember those other core principles from above: always put employees first; be flexible; keep communication open so everyone knows what’s always going on; focus on long-term results rather than short-term gains
Financial Strength
A company’s financial strength, and its perception in the market, can be used to attract customers, employees and investors.
Customers: The right customer wants to buy from a financially strong company that can provide them with high quality services and products as well as create an enjoyable experience.
Employees: Employees want to work for companies with strong reputations that have weathered the storms, and maintained their product or service levels. They want to work somewhere where they feel secure knowing their job will be there tomorrow, next week or next year. If you are looking for new employees, then it is important that your company is stable enough so they will stay with you long term instead of jumping ship every six months because another employer paid them more money or offered better benefits.*
Investors: Investors also prefer investing in financially sound businesses because this means less risk for them when making their business decisions about which firms should receive funds (capital).
Doing the right thing
Corporate social responsibility is about more than just doing the right thing: it's about doing the right thing— the right way.
Doing the right thing in the wrong way, at the wrong time and in all the wrong places will not help your reputation or your brand. Short term gains sometimes cloud judgment.
A corporate social responsibility strategy that doesn't consider where you operate, why you're there and who you serve will not be effective.
The "right” place is wherever people are looking for your products or services; they need to know they can find you easily when they need them most (like a pharmacy when their kid gets sick).
Your customers' perceptions of corporate social responsibility matter because they'll pay more attention to whether your company makes an effort toward sustainability if there's a perceived benefit for them as well (or at least no disadvantage).
Attracting the Right Customers
The benefits of corporate social responsibility go beyond employee morale and public perception. It plays an important role in attracting and retaining customers, as well. A recent study shows that 76% of consumers want to do business with companies that are socially responsible—this is a sizable increase from the 51% who wanted to do so just five years ago.
Careful corporate social responsibility differentiates you from your competition and builds trust between you and your customers by highlighting causes you care about or causes related to your industry. For example, if you're in the technology sector, consider supporting STEM education initiatives or environmental conservation projects (this could also help attract new talent). Or if you're selling shoes, find ways to support animal welfare organizations or homeless shelters in your community—and make sure those efforts are communicated clearly through marketing campaigns!
Attracting the Right Employees
Make sure that your company culture aligns with your values. Your culture is what attracts the right employees, and it’s also what keeps them around. If your company doesn’t have a strong sense of purpose, or if you don’t promote employee growth, then it will be difficult for you to attract or retain good talent. You can attract top talent by offering competitive benefits like health insurance and paid time off—but even more important than those things are ensuring that your company has a positive environment where everyone feels valued and appreciated for their contributions.
Understand where your current employees are coming from by talking with them about their backgrounds and motivations before hiring them. This will help you get an idea of whether they're going to fit into your organization's corporate culture based on how well they conform with existing norms (and allow you room for flexibility if someone doesn't quite fit).
Staff Retention
Retaining staff is an important part of building a successful company. If you treat your employees well, they will be more loyal and stay with you for longer. Staff retention is also a key indicator of the health of your company; if people are leaving, it means that something isn't working. Another factor that has been shown to correlate with lower staff turnover is high job satisfaction and pay—but what about other factors?
In order to retain good employees, it's vital that you also have an open culture where people feel like they can speak up when there are issues within their team or department. A supportive environment helps everyone feel safe bringing up concerns or making suggestions on how things can be improved (or even just how they might do better). This makes it much easier for managers to address any problems early on before they get worse further down the line—and when tackling problems head-on instead of sweeping them under the rug as if nothing happened will give all parties involved increased confidence in their job security.
Giving Back Profits
The third way to attract the right customers, employees and leaders is to give back profits. Giving back profits is a good way to attract the right customers because it shows them how much you care about your community. It shows that you are more than just interested in making money at all costs; instead, you have a vested interest in improving life for others as well. This can encourage people who want to do business with companies that have a social conscience but may have been hesitant before because they didn’t know much about them or their reputation.
Giving back profits is also an excellent strategy for attracting the right employees because it shows them that their company cares about people other than themselves. Employees will feel like part of something larger than themselves when they see their employer taking steps towards making life better for others—they will feel appreciated by management and valued as part of something bigger than just getting paid every month.
Conclusion
It is important for companies to show that they are socially responsible. Take care to explore as many suitable options, causes and initiatives that would speak to you and your team, on a personal level.