Corporate social responsibility (CSR) means recognising the duty of the company to act in the best interests of social and environmental welfare. The four types of CSR are environmental sustainability initiatives, direct philanthropic giving, ethical business practices and economic responsibility. However, choosing a focus for your CSR and communicating that with your clients can be more beneficial to your business than you first suspect.
Positive Publicity
While a brilliant marketing strategy can engage your audience, drive traffic and secure sales, good publicity can solidify the loyalty of customers who feel a connection with your cause. Choosing to support women in the workplace, for example, could see your business attract powerful and driven business leaders who want to align their brand with your cause.
Retain Staff and Attract the Right People
When you communicate your values and company culture, you also attract the sort of people who are interested in more than a paycheck and benefits. People who are serious about a career and developing opportunities for their personal growth want to know who they are committing to. If your business communicates its values, such as respecting an open communication policy that supports the creativity of all employees, you are more likely to attract the type of candidates who are highly motivated and want to contribute. You are also likely to retain those staff who are enjoying the level of transparency and opportunity that your business offers.
Offer Dispute Resolution Guidelines
When you state the values of your company and the expectations of how people should interact, you also empower people to have real communication without fear. If you have a value system that enables people to resolve issues, be they personal or business-related, with a consistent standard and third-party mediator, you also empower people. This system means that your staff are able to better focus on their work and relax during difficult situations, because they understand the support system that is in place. Conflict resolution is a difficult process, but if you offer standards it helps people to better navigate difficult territory.
Helping Others
The aim of any CSR is to provide a foundation for the ongoing social aims of the business. Be those aims internal or external, a business that has a well-developed CSR program is going to generate a ‘feel-good’ attitude among its staff. While there are tax benefits for businesses who donate to charitable causes, there are also feelings of pride, goodwill and loyalty generated among employees that causes a chain reaction. When your employees see how generous the business is, it can motivate people to find ways to make their own contributions to society, be that through the company or other avenues that better suit the values of that person. It is about giving back and helping others who are not in a position to help themselves.
Your company CSR development can be one of the most beneficial moves your business can make. It can create an identity for the company, attract highly skilled or qualified talent, offer a foundation for the development of staff and generate goodwill among the community and in the workplace.
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