3 tips on how to build an engaging Corporate Social Responsibility strategy

There is no need to explain what CSR term stands for. As a senior manager, you are most probably aware of your company's efforts to prove its responsibility and acts of giving back. Perhaps you donate a certain amount of money to social causes or allow employees to take days for volunteering, or you already have a so-called “ESG report”.

This all matters a lot, however, there is so much more to be explored within a successful CSR strategy.

The word “engaging” is the key. What can really differentiate a successful company where everyone wants to work in, from a simply good one is exactly that – the ability to engage your employees and an internal reputation it builds (according to PROJECT ROI, well-established CSR reputation values of up to 11% of total company value)!

So how would you actually understand and make sure your employees embrace the CSR culture and value your company's efforts?

1.?????Involve your employees

The biggest gap to be addressed between CSR and employee engagement is not involving your employees in choosing the social activities. The simplest way to check if your employees are aware of your social efforts is to ask them: “Do you know which NGO/causes did we support last year? Do you know what amount of money was offered to them?”

Without being pessimistic, 80% of the answers will be ‘no’. The great majority of employees have no idea what money was donated to which organization. And that’s a great loss – just think about how much more engaged the employees would be if they were involved in choosing the initiative.

This brings us to the second point:

2.?????Allow them to choose causes that resonate

Each of your employees has different interests. Michael thinks a lot about the environment, but Catharine is all about education development. There are so many causes to be supported, but the greatest mistake companies do is not allowing their employees to choose what resonates most with their hearts.

Consider how engaged and happy would Catharine be if she could choose to donate money to a teaching NGO. How much more Michael would appreciate your CSR strategy if he could have a world on a climate change initiative?

3.?????Make it fun!

Most things at work are rather “serious business” so why not make your CSR strategy a bit more fun?

What’s the point of writing a serious intranet newsletter on your ESG report when you can actually gamify the social impact of a plan for instance a charity run? Or allow your employees to ride a bike that can convert their movement into money? The options are limitless.

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Those 3 tips brought together can be a true game changer for both your CSR strategy as well as engagement. It will not only position your company internally as a great, involving, and democratic place, but also have real financial benefits associated with it. After all, giving back is a crucial aspect of operating as a business so why not make it visible and engaging to every single person?

We encourage you to read more about engagement and CSR as well as understand how it can add value to your company by seeing the video below.

?Looking forward to building a better, more engaged world together!