1
(
)
?
Definitions vary, but typically include aspects as stated below:
“Corporate initiative to assess and take responsibility for the company's
effects on the environment and impact on social welfare. The term generally
applies to company efforts that go beyond what may be required by regulators
or environmental protection groups.
Corporate social responsibility may also be referred to as "corporate
citizenship" and can involve incurring short-term costs that do not provide an
immediate financial benefit to the company, but instead promote positive social
and environmental change” Investopedia
CSR represents itself as team building and fundraising activity around a certain
charity or cause and/ or skills based giving to promote the development or
profile of a charity or cause.
Every business, large and small, has a corporate social responsibility; a responsibility to give
something back to the wider community in some way.
CSR doesn’t have to be about just giving money, in fact, practice moves increasingly away from it
and further towards employee engagement and participation.
For some businesses, they may choose to support a charity that is close to their own sector of
business, for example, a chemical manufacturer may choose to support an organisation that focuses
on environmental work, in an effort to offset their impact on the wider environment. A local
veterinary clinic may collect or donate to an animal welfare charity etc.
This doesn’t have to be so. People often ask me about CSR, what it is, how they should go about it,
who they should support. My answer is always to find a cause that speaks to you and to your staff.
Embed that cause in the organisation over the long term, fully engage your staff in it, whatever “it”
may be. This approach opens the CSR commitment by opening dialogue between employees and
kick starts the benefits of CSR for the business straight away.
?
Simon on the Streets
Charity number 1088245
©2015 All Rights Reserved
2
Many businesses ask me if and why they might need a CSR policy. In recent years, the process of
tendering for contracts has seen CSR become ever more prevalent. I took several calls last year from
a business leader who wanted to tender for a contract, but was being asked to include evidence of
their CSR policy. Giving back and offsetting really seems to be rising up the list of important factors
in today’s economy.
With so many businesses now competing in many sectors, digital marketing and telecommunications
companies to name a couple, savvy business are starting to look at ways to set themselves apart
from their competition and to market themselves in alternative arenas. CSR lends itself to both of
these really well.
?
The benefits for business are vast, depending on how much the business and the workforce engage
with the commitment. The full engagement of staff not only gives huge benefits to the charity or
cause, but also pays great dividends to the business in terms of staff motivation, productivity and
wellbeing. The distraction of doing something “different” outside of an employee’s regular role, can
revitalise and further motivate individuals, and teams. The participation in team activities with the
aim of raising funds or working on a project for a chosen cause, brings people within a business
together that may not usually have contact on a daily basis, and leads to a deeper understanding of
roles and personalities. One of our supporters regularly brings members of his organisation to our
annual #sleepwithsimon event. After year one, he recognised the increased team cohesion
following the event, between those that had taken part. He now returns each year with a different
group of his staff so that they can not only support our organisation, but also take the benefits back
into the workplace.
For businesses wanting to increase their public profile, aligning themselves with a cause or
organisation that also has a strong local profile brings with it the opportunities for increased PR
exposure and marketing potential. Event sponsorship or presence in large numbers ensures that
the business has the potential to become synonymous with the event/organisation e.g. the ASDA
10K, and Clarion’s huge “purple” presence within the race.
Skills based giving offers an excellent opportunity for all, but especially for those businesses who
don’t have money to directly give, or a large enough workforce to turn out in force at events. If the
strategy for skills-based support is done thoroughly, then the organisation or cause, (which needs a
strong presence of its own) should be promoting the company’s involvement and work. For
example, HOME Agency have now designed all of Simon on the Streets branding and marketing
campaigns for the last four years. We regularly publicise this and refer people to them who
comment on our branding and campaigns, or who ask us if we know anybody “good”.
There are of course some companies and industries that regularly receive bad press due to their
product or manufacturing process. In this instance, being very publicly aligned with a charity or
cause can help to soften their public image and can go some way towards repairing damage that the
business may have previously incurred. This is where the CSR angle of “offsetting damage” comes in.
For some it’s an uncomfortable reason for charity alignment. In reality, most business will seek CSR
for a business reason and there is nothing wrong with this. Often, the feeling that both parties are
benefitting from the relationship will mean that it becomes a lasting partnership and this, ultimately,
is great for any charity or cause. So long as charity or organisation ethos isn’t compromised, there is
no harm here.
Simon on the Streets
Charity number 1088245
©2015 All Rights Reserved
3
One of the biggest keys to successful CSR and employee engagement lies with the cause or charity.
It needs to be visible within the business, the people from both organisations needs to know each
other for real relationships and cause understanding to develop. Without this education by the
charity, people often struggle to understand what they are supporting and therefore can become
apathetic about truly engaging with it. It becomes something they “have” to do, rather than
something they “want” to do and understand the benefit of doing. Your charity should be offering
to come in to your business, to talk to your staff.
If you would like to discuss CSR with Simon on the Streets please feel welcome to contact us.
[email protected]
0113 8980568
Simon on the Streets
Charity number 1088245
©2015 All Rights Reserved