CSR Strategy

Here are the steps you’ll need to take to ensure your strategy runs smoothly.

1. Define the concept of CSR?

Especially today, CSR can mean different things to different people. A person’s culture and past experiences with CSR will help determine their opinion and definition.?

At this stage, it will be important to speak to and understand all stakeholders’ concerns; leadership, employees, consumers, professional organizations or unions, local communities and environmental groups. Once you’ve understood their concerns, you can consider where there is a match and how your CSR program can address these.

Once you know everyone understands what CSR is, you can start discussing it without bias or misconceptions. You can define — or redefine — what CSR means to your business and ensure you have everyone’s buy-in.??

2. Understand the benefits of CSR

Before you start developing your CSR strategy, you’ll need to get the project approved with?buy-in from internal stakeholders.?

It’s important to spend time researching the benefits of CSR and finding examples of businesses that have profited from having a successful CSR plan in place.

Once you have an idea of the ways your company can benefit from CSR, you can work on a business case that will be specific for your company.?

3. Get project approval

Launching a CSR plan will require a certain amount of time and budget. You can use tools; however, until you get to that point you’re going to need people power.?

When putting together your business case for implementing a CSR strategy, ensure you include all of the potential benefits a CSR program can bring to your company.?

Your business case doesn’t need to include any initiatives you’ll be launching or even the tools and people required. It can be broader, covering what CSR will do for your business and the initial resources that will be needed.

4. Set project goals

With your CSR business plan in place, you’ll be ready to set goals. Setting goals and KPIs will be important for demonstrating your strategy is positively impacting your business and that your CSR project is on track.?

In the early stages, these goals can be anything from winning board members’ buy-in to having 100% of employees understand what CSR is or hosting meetings with potential CSR SaaS providers.?

Once your program has been launched, they can be more KPI-oriented like employee engagement rates, online brand sentiment or lower customer churn.

5. Run a current CSR analysis

Conduct a full review of any CSR initiatives you currently have running, be it officially or unofficially, within your company.?

Perhaps employees have already set up something that could grow bigger with new support from the company? For example, fundraisers like bake sales, community running groups, volunteering days, in-office recycling, meat-free Fridays or eliminating single-use plastics.?

Also, think about existing programs and events you may have, such as an employee of the month award, team brunches or well-being initiatives.

If any past CSR programs didn’t take off, then look at the project tools and communication styles involved and try to identify the problem.

Look at all of your current areas of CSR and note what you currently have. Bring these pieces together to inform your strategy and connect to what your employees are interested in and the broader business strategy, including long-term goals.

6. Research your CSR initiatives

You’ve established the benefits that CSR can bring to your business, you’ve won company buy-in and now it’s time to identify your initiative and digital CSR tools.?

This stage includes researching social and environmental initiatives that you think would be a good fit for your company’s mission and vision, as well as those that align with your employees’ values.?

Your corporate social responsibility research can also involve examining what other companies in your industry are doing. How are they aligning CSR to their company purpose? This could inspire some great ideas or possible collaborations of your own.

Lastly, think about the tools you may need to support your CSR efforts. Consider technology that empowers your employees to take the initiative and communication tools to help you stay on top of everything.

7. Launch your CSR campaign

Once you’ve done all of the above, you should be in a comfortable position to launch your CSR campaign — this is potentially the most important part of your CSR plan.?

You’ll need to clearly communicate your CSR launch to the right stakeholders. These will include:?

• Employees
• Shareholders or investors
• External stakeholders, partners and local communities
• The press?
• Customers?
• Fans and followers

Make sure you have a clear communication plan with priorities for this group so your initiative launches with maximum impact. For example, your employees will need to know the ins and outs of your initiative before your fans and followers.

8. Manage your program to success

Next to consider is the maintenance of your CSR program and campaigns. What KPIs or goals have you set?

Consider your larger corporate social responsibility mission, but also consider the smaller KPIs and data points that help you get there. For example, if your initiative was to plant 100 trees — with one planted each time an employee rode a bike to work instead of driving:

• How many trees have you planted??
• How many individual employees have biked to work??
• Has your employee engagement rate and happiness increased??

It’s a good idea to collect qualitative feedback alongside quantitative feedback. Ask employees how they’re feeling about your CSR initiatives. If they’re not engaging, then how can you adapt your activities to make them more relatable, offer them more choice and win employees’ interest?