How to build CSR into your employer brand
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) can come in many guises, but it boils down to how your company chooses to give something back. Whether this is being greener or helping the local community through volunteering, many businesses nowadays have a clear policy in place for its good works.
Not only does having a well-defined CSR help with charitable work, it can also feed into and be driven by your employer brand.
People want to work for businesses that are ethical, and happy to play a positive role in the communities in which they are based. As such, it has become commonplace for candidates to ask questions in interviews about the kind of contributions businesses make to society, as well as any opportunities for volunteering they may receive.
Candidates often look to join organisations that match their own values, which is where a strong CSR policy can help. Of course, you shouldn’t just be paying lip service to these ideals, but working them into your company mission and core values as well.
What gives your employees purpose?
In the past, CSR policies were often engineered at the top, but the pressure to get involved with worthwhile causes now far often comes from employees themselves. Whether this may be reflective of more transparent, flatter hierarchies seen in many businesses today, it means that an organisation should be taking their team’s causes into account when reviewing their CSR policy.
Staff want to work for a company that is happy and willing to use the resources at its disposal to make a major difference within the local community. If you can show that your organisation is conscious of the good it can do, and works its causes into how it conducts day-to-day business, then it will become a much more attractive place to work. This will make it much easier to attract the top performers to come and work for you.
Another bonus is that such activities as recycling and printing out fewer items may save money around the office too.
Positive business
It is always a good idea for any businesses to have strong connections and healthy relationships with the community in which they are based. However, perhaps even more importantly, when CSR is done properly and for all the right reasons, it can have a tremendously positive impact on the internal organisation.
If your employees are involved in programmes that make a real difference, this is bound to have a huge effect on morale and lower stress levels. Additionally, colleagues spending time with one another away from the daily pressures of work is bound to a have a positive impact on internal relationships.
Teamwork is a vital part of any company’s success. It is no accident that the firms with the best team spirit are usually the ones that get the top results. One of the best ways to build up great spirit is to get everyone working together towards a common goal, delivering on the company mission and CSR simultaneously.