Improving your corporate reputation through CSR

By Queen Nwabueze

To go straight to the point, very little or no corporate social responsibility from an organisation can remove its reputation lampstand from its place. This simply means that social and environmental actions of companies would translate to high reputation quotient for the master brand.

CSR is not about products and services. Agreed! But it does have a direct impact on your target market’s willingness to buy from, invest in, and work for your company, directly impacting positively on your corporate reputation.

By definition, CSR is a way organisations choose to meaningfully contribute to their business environment in order to demonstrate that they care for their hosts too other than just profit.

Let’s take Nigeria for example. Not every company, (the multinationals inclusive) has a dedicated CSR programme. But those that do can attest to the reality that they are staying safe and alive in their business arenas because they never denied that the people they met in their business places are human too so should be accorded that recognition.

Essentially, companies with well-thought-through CSR outreaches are typically more successful than their counterparts who refused to give CSR a serious thought.

What does this say? It simply goes to say that every company no matter the size SHOULD have a sound CSR strategy and must be seen, walking the talk. Brings us to the event at the weekend where the host community of a popular oil and gas company (name withheld for reputation’s sake), stormed one of its facilities in Delta State as early as 6am to protest negligence. The protesters threatened fires and brimstones, demanding that an MOU be reached with them going forward since the company has operated 8 years in their community without any strong responsibility to their people.  

There are many cases as the above on a daily basis and the aim has always been the same – that companies, whether public or private, serve a social purpose. That is, if you must prosper over time, then you must not only deliver financial bottomline to your shareholders. You must also be seen to be making a positive contribution to the society, lest, your operations would be a disservice. The repercussions? Very dire! You don’t want the blow dealt your hard-earned corporate reputation, not to mention your overall business.

From experience and reports, companies that act responsibility, behave ethically and genuinely care about social issues are the ones driving greater stakeholder support. Therefore, there is really no reason to leave out CSR strategy when planning. 

And to think that CSR efforts are a win-win for both parties – the company and the hosts/society.

If you think it through, you’d realise that you are not really doing a big service to your environment with your CSR efforts. It’s in serving that you are served too.

Truly, investing in CSR is insurance for your firm already. What you would have done in the realest sense would be tripartite. You would have 1.proactively responded to social pressures 2. reduced or eliminated negative or bad press 3. protected your corporate reputation overall which means secured profit for your potential and existing shareholders and your publics in general. 

You will also like CSR agenda is about action, not rhetoric

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