Many business owners and managers see corporate social responsibility (CSR) as something that’s ‘nice to do,’ but not really connected to growing the business and profits. Just the other day I had an experience that shows how wrong this is….

I took part in a training exercise where half the class pretended to be ‘employers’. The other half of the class pretended to be ‘potential employees.’ We (the ‘employers’) had to find a way to attract the ‘employees’ to come and work for us.

Sounds simple? Well I thought so. I was an employer offering flexible working hours, a great salary and career development. Yet my new recruits were undecided. But then I spoke about our corporate social responsibility program and they were suddenly a whole lot more enthusiastic. I signed them up.

Okay, so it was only a game. But it is a great example of how corporate social responsibility (CSR) can make all the difference to your competitive position. Initiatives such as pro bono work, philanthropy, support for community-building initiatives and environmental awareness can add significant value to your company, and if the program is well-designed, the benefits far outweigh the costs.

An easy way for your company to build its brand, reputation and public profile

Being socially responsible creates goodwill and a positive image for your brand. Trust and a good reputation are some of your company’s most valuable assets. In fact, without these, you wouldn’t even have a business. You can nurture these important assets by being socially responsible.

It is crucial, however, that you devise the right socially responsible program for your business. When used properly, it will open up a myriad of new relationships and opportunities. Not only will your success grow, but so will your company’s culture. It will become a culture which you, your staff and the wider community genuinely believe in.

Corporate Social Responsibility attracts and retains staff

Did you know that socially responsible companies report increased employee commitment, performance and job satisfaction?

Yes, it is in us all to want to do ‘good’ (and perhaps be recognised for it). Our lives become meaningful when we realise our work has made a positive difference in some way. It makes all our striving worth it. In fact, a 2003 Stanford University study found MBA graduates would sacrifice an average $13700 cut in their salary to work for a socially responsible company.

By attracting, retaining and engaging staff, ‘doing good’ for others reduces your recruitment costs and improves work productivity. It’s just plain good all ‘round!

Customers are attracted to socially responsible companies

Branding your business as ‘socially responsible’ differentiates you from your competitors. The Body Shop and Westpac are companies who have used this to their advantage. Developing innovative products that are environmentally or socially responsible adds value and gives people a good reason to buy from you.

Corporate Social Responsibility attracts investors

Investors and financiers are attracted to companies who are socially responsible. These decision-makers know this reflects good management and a positive reputation. Don’t underestimate this influence; it can be just as important as your company’s financial performance. In fact, it may be the deciding factor in choosing to support your company.

Corporate Social Responsibility encourages professional (and personal) growth

Your staff can develop their leadership and project management skills through a well-designed corporate social responsibility program. This may be as simple as team-building exercises or encouraging your employees to form relationships with people they would not normally meet (like disadvantaged groups).

Corporate Social Responsibility helps to cut your business costs

Environmental initiatives such as recycling and conserving energy increase in-house efficiency and cut costs. Introducing a corporate social responsibility program gives you a good reason to examine and improve on your spending!

Two important tips for you

Before you rush into your own corporate social responsibility program, remember:

* You must implement your program strategically. Just giving a donation is not enough. The best corporate social responsibility programs are based on a two-way relationship with you and each of the organisations you are involved with. This allows both parties to be challenged and grow together.

* Your corporate social responsibility commitments should be in line with the values of your company, customers and staff. Most importantly, they must be based on a genuine concern for people and the community. You do not want the program to backfire, making you seem hypocritical. A poor strategy will cause people to become cynical and distrustful of your company.

But all in all, corporate social responsibility makes financial sense, adds meaning to your work and makes everyone feel good!

So what should you do next?

It is a highly competitive world out there. If you want people to buy from you, work for you and invest in you, look seriously at corporate social responsibility.

Dianne Taylor – About the Author:

To find out how your company can grow from a corporate social responsibility program, contact Dianne Taylor at Sirius Business on dtaylor@siriusbusiness.com.au. Dianne is currently offering free advice on how to implement an effective corporate social responsibility program. This advice includes a list of 10 Simple Corporate Social Responsibility Actions for your business.

With over 25 years as the co-owner of a successful engineering business employing 30 staff, combined with a background in leadership development and education, Dianne has a wealth of experience to draw upon. Dianne’s practical experience is supported by qualifications in coaching, training, human resource management and business. As a business management and leadership coach, consultant, speaker and trainer, Dianne is passionate about helping people and organisations discover and realise their potential. Have a look at Anderson Gray Worldwide – http://www.anderson-gray.com

When conducting training, most of us ask our audiences to brainstorm and provide information on what they already know about the topic we’re teaching.  This sharing process allows participants to educate one another while creating an open environment where people are enthusiastic about expanding their current skill level.

During this process, participants sometimes reveal that they already KNOW how to do much of what we’re there to teach.  But if that’s the case, why doesn’t the organization see them applying that knowledge?

Consider this example:  Some managers and service providers seem to be able to provide good leadership and/or service when they are being observed by an executive who can affect their continued employment or advancement. Yet, that manager or service provider fails to give the same level of care and consideration on a consistent basis.

That’s when the role of a trainer is to come up with ways to remind or inspire people to use the knowledge they already have.  I call this having a “know focus.” It requires innovative techniques, not just new information, to improve the long-term effectiveness of an organization’s leadership and staff development.

As you may have guessed from this article’s title, I believe music is one of those innovative techniques. Research done by a number of organizations, including the American Medical Association and Harvard University, shows that music can provide both an anchor and an emotional connection to improve the retention of information.

Instead of relying solely on traditional methods of closing the gap between what participants learn and what they actually use (such as setting a goal that people look at every morning)…try using music as a fun and inspirational reminder of the things you want participants to improve upon.

Here are a few examples of how you can build a training message around a familiar song!
Good Vibrations from The Beach Boys can be used to remind service providers that their jobs are all about sending “good vibes” to customers.
Put a Little Love in Your Heart by Jackie DeShannon can be used to reinforce a lesson about servant leadership.
Little Bit O’ Soul by The Music Explosion can be used to inspire people to keep a positive attitude.

So go ahead.  Listen to your IPod for a few hours and see what useful, inspirational messages you might stumble upon.  Or, make the selection of a “memory anchor” song an assignment for participants—allowing them to think of a song that will always remind them of the day’s lesson.   You’ll be amazed at what a great retention device this is because your participants will remember your messages “Eight Days a Week!”

Over the past 20 years, Donna Long has helped hundreds of organizations improve their leadership, communication and customer service effectiveness. Visit www.LearningJourneyInc.com to learn more.

Need help in this area? CRM Learning’s Jukebox Journey Meeting Opener Series contains three short animated videos that feature the songs and messages described in the above article.  These videos can help you teach unforgettable lessons in leadership, customer service and a positive workplace.

As 2010 planning initiatives focus on strategies that will prepare companies to return to growth, leaders are looking for new ways to engage critical talent who execute key business priorities. The reason? Research by CLC Genesee, the HR consulting and employee survey division of The Corporate Executive Board (CEB), shows that companies with highly engaged employees demonstrate a 3-year revenue growth of 20.1%, compared to the 8.9% their industry peers will average. They also establish a 3-year EBITDA growth that is three times higher than their industry peers. What’s more, CLC Genesee research shows that shifting an individual employee from low engagement to high engagement can increase discretionary effort level by 60%, improve employee performance by up to 20%, and significantly reduce recruitment costs.

To achieve high levels of employee engagement, you need to first understand what they are thinking. One way to do this is to collect employee feedback through regular employee surveys. However, successful companies don’t just rely on surveys as an event, but also steadily maintain communications and actions throughout the year to continually involve employees in driving positive change. One progressive and admired company leading the way is Google.

Google firmly believes that feedback and discussion are an important part of doing business, and finds avenues for “Googlers” (as Google employees are called) to not just raise problems but help solve them. Google’s annual survey is critical in gathering employee feedback on what is working well and what can be improved. Beyond the survey, Google uses a variety of regular feedback channels to encourage employee involvement and leverage its philosophy that more minds on an important issue are better than one.

Strategy 1: Create a two-way dialogue on the most important issues on people’s minds.
Open dialogue between employees and leaders has always been an important part of Google’s business operations. Every Friday, Google holds a forum called “Thank goodness it’s Friday” (TGIF) to have an active conversation and answer questions ranging from product decisions and external news to internal people-related policies and decisions. This program initially started small with a few employees asking the founders questions on a Friday afternoon. As it evolved, TGIF now occurs almost every Friday, and the notes are distributed broadly across the company. Googlers use Google Moderator, an online tool to submit and vote on questions, and the top-voted questions are directly answered by Google’s founders and executives. TGIF also includes live questions. High levels of employee and executive participation in TGIF contribute greatly to the culture of transparency and create a more intimate atmosphere despite the company’s size of 20,000 employees.

Strategy 2: Engage employees in solving problems, not just raising them.
Google encourages employees to attend problem-solving sessions designed to resolve business challenges. Appropriately called “Fixits,” these sessions can invite a specific group of employees or be open to anyone. One recent Fixit addressed particular concerns regarding career development in a growing business unit. For one week, suggestions for how to improve career development were collected via Moderator. Googlers submitted 51 ideas, in total receiving 5,615 votes, and the best three ideas were implemented. As employees were involved in the solutions, satisfaction in many areas in the annual employee survey improved one year later, including double-digit increases in the favorability scores on two career development items.

As demonstrated by CLC Genesee research, increasing employee engagement has clear business benefits. Following the lead of companies such as Google, organizations can creatively find new ways to encourage and collect employee input on important issues to achieve measurable business outcomes. It’s not about making employees feel involved; it’s actually involving them. The result is more informed leaders, more engaged employees, and ultimately better decisions for a stronger business.

From http://www.executiveboard.com/businessweek/bw-week41.html Used with permission.

Need More Help in this Area? 5 Questions Every Leader Must Ask is a terrific tool for involving employees in problem solving. Using the proven model in this program, even the most inexperienced manager can generate great ideas and effective solutions in a team setting.