The Strategic Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Talent Attraction

People are the heart of your organisation, yet attracting and retaining the best talent is a constant challenge. Fierce competition, ongoing skills shortages, and changing candidate expectations are requiring employers to rethink their talent management strategy.

In today's competitive business landscape, attracting top-tier talent goes beyond offering an attractive salary and benefits package. To elevate your talent acquisition strategy, it’s more important than ever to articulate your organisation’s unique message, the ‘why’.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has emerged as a powerful tool for organisations to distinguish themselves in the eyes of prospective employees. Corporate sustainability typically falls into three categories: environmental, social and economic and integrating these priorities into your corporate culture can help you attract and retain the talented individuals your organisation needs to succeed, now and tomorrow.

Creating a purpose-driven culture

In?a?highly?competitive?market,?the?bid?to?attract?and?retain?talent?by?providing?a?positive?employee?experience?is?more?important?than?ever?before. Data from our Salary and Recruiting Trends Guide 2024 reveals that 86% of employees say an organisation’s purpose is important to them when considering a new role. Prioritising CSR is a crucial way to develop a purpose-driven culture within your business as talented individuals are drawn to organisations with values that align with their own and commit to positively impact society. Developing a robust CSR strategy can help you to articulate your company's broader purpose, making it more appealing to individuals who want their work to contribute to a greater cause.

At Hays, our core purpose is to benefit society by investing in lifelong partnerships that empower people and organisations to succeed. To support this core purpose, we put building partnerships, collaboration and inclusivity are at the heart of our approach. EveryYouth, one of our charity partners, helps homeless young people into employment, education and training pathways. Funds raised directly contribute to EveryYouth’s Employability Fund, which supplies individually tailored support, helping them become workplace-ready and secure long-term employment. With 87 offices across the UK, our employees support EveryYouth ?nationwide, fostering a purpose-driven culture at Hays.

Increasing employee engagement and satisfaction

Individuals who feel that their employer authentically embraces CSR are more likely to have increased job satisfaction. When asked how they would like to see an organisations purpose showcased, 44% of employees say they would like their organisation to allow staff to volunteer during working hours.

In recognition of the passion of our own employees, we’ve set up our Helping for Your Tomorrow programme, to focus and align our global volunteering and fund-raising activities to better support the communities and societies we serve. In 2023, 1800 employees across our UK&I business volunteered for a total of 10,000 hours in just 10 working days. During this time, employees at Hays supported 170 good causes, positively affecting 83,000 people and generating over ￡163,000 in financial impact. To celebrate the inspiring stories and meaningful projects that our colleagues have undertaken across the world we’ve also implemented the Helping for Your Tomorrow Awards, to recognise of various countries across Hays global business. Hays UKI was presented with the Impact Award, showing our commitment to CSR and ability to grow volunteer hours year on year.

Allowing your employees to give back to communities during company hours shows that you care about social and environmental issues, enhancing overall job satisfaction and bringing both the office and community together.

Creating your Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

Your EVP is the total value of the benefits a member of staff feels like they get by working for your organisation – it combines training, salary, opportunities and culture, to name a few – and working for a company that genuinely gives back and cares about the community only helps this further.

In 2023 we sponsored the?Net Zero Festival?in London – a two-day event that attracted over 2,000 visitors, from business executives to campaigners. Over 100 speakers came together to deliver more than 50 insightful sessions on how we can work together to accelerate the net zero transition.

Promoting your CSR objectives and taking action outside of your organisation can improve the reputation of your business, creating a positive image for potential employees. Job seekers often conduct thorough research on prospective employers, and a company with a robust commitment to social responsibility will help you to stand out, attracting individuals who want to be associated with an ?organisation that values ethical practices and community impact.

Additionally, your CSR strategy can help to create differentiation and set you apart from your competitors. Talented individuals are more likely to choose an employer that demonstrates a genuine commitment to social and environmental responsibility over one that focuses solely on profit.

Bringing CSR to life

Aside from the obvious positives of being a socially responsible business, CSR is also strategic imperative for companies looking to attract the best talent. As individuals we’re motivated by different things so a business that undertakes a wide variety of CSR initiatives signals to prospective employees that they can find value working in your organisation.

We have a broad spectrum of CSR activities underway at any time, making our business more attractive to prospective talent. For example, our partnership with Trees for Cities seeks to bring people and communities together to improve our environment, in 2023 we planted 39,000 trees as part of our commitment to rebuild lost connections with the environment. ?Hays Ireland has been official partners of Paralympics Ireland since 2022, supplying recruitment and key hire support to the team while helping Paralympic athletes as they transition from their sporting career into the workplace. If we speak to a candidate from a sporting background, they may be interested to hear about the work we’ve done relating to this partnership. Or, if we’re speaking to someone passionate about improving mental health, we can discuss our partnership with Band of Builders a national charity providing practical, financial and wellbeing support for members of the UK construction industry which has led to a 105.5% increase in messages to its text helpline.

These partnerships are just a few of the many ways we weave CSR into our organisational fabric. ?Not only does this benefit the society we live in, but it also creates a compelling narrative that resonates with individuals looking for impactful, purpose-driven workplaces, In the competitive talent landscape, embracing CSR is not just a choice; it's a strategic advantage that can set your company apart as an employer of choice.

We’re guided by our collaborative approach, combining innovative solutions and deep market insights to partner with you during every step of your journey.

Get access to the strategy you need to attract and retain essential expertise, or email talentacquisitionuk&[email protected] to hear about the diverse career opportunities at Hays.