The CSR in HR: building a culture of positive impact
As businesses, we have an effect that goes far beyond our product or service’s value proposition. And the world knows it. Everything we do can have a positive impact or the opposite – affecting the wellbeing of our workforce, our local communities or society as a whole.
And that’s why corporate social responsibility (CSR) isn’t going away anytime soon. After all, a business that damages the people, community or environment in which it operates is going to feel the heat – and not just because of a rise in global temperatures.
And while doing the right thing is a reward in itself, CSR is vital for bread and butter reasons too. Namely: social issues matter to our employees and customers.
CSR – giving it a definition
A company’s CSR principles provide a framework to drive operations and activities in a socially sustainable way. Broadly speaking, CSR and ESG (environmental, social, governance) standards overlap. You could say that CSR is the S of ESG.
At a minimum, a business’s CSR policy should cover ways to look after its workforce and promote equality, the ethical impact of products and services, and strategies to make a positive contribution to society.
Walking the CSR walk
Call us a bunch of cynics if you like, but we’re often just a little suspicious of CSR claims that are often made on company websites. When it comes to CSR, words are cheap. If a company’s equal opportunity drive stops at having a mix of genders and ethnicities in publicity pictures, then it’s just hot air. CSR-washing is just as deceitful and counterproductive as greenwashing.
On the other side of the coin, some of the businesses that are getting things right stay too quiet about it. If your company is reaching out to every sector of the public, recruiting from all communities and closing the gender pay gap, let the world know, don’t hide it away – especially when it comes to your own employees.
When people see that a business shares their values beyond a surface level, even down to the human rights in their supply chain, it can build a sense of belonging that helps with recruitment and retention. So, it’s just good business sense to deliver on CSR values and provide the hard data to back it up.
It’s all about social value
Today’s workers and consumers are more concerned about health, well-being, happiness, inclusion and equality than traditional measures of success. Your typical employee is far more of a Robin Hood than a Wolf of Wall Street. People come before profit.
To grow a sense of belonging in its team and build customer loyalty, a company needs to embed these values as part of its vision and mission. In a world where consumers look for ethical, sustainable products and companies, CSR isn’t a side issue: it’s a vital core business component.
To ride the social value wave, decision-making on CSR needs to go far beyond senior leadership. Once upon a time, businesses could get away with that top down approach – one that inevitably resulted in trying to drum up employee engagement for charitable CSR activities that were only vaguely relevant to the core business. But that can’t be the approach going forward.
Chances are, your wider team is already deeply committed to CSR values – particularly your Gen Z and Millennial team members. It’s the business that needs to catch up. And catching up is exactly what a company needs to do if it wants to keep those younger generations on board.
A measure of CSR success
CSR values ought to drive the core business model rather than remain an abstract principle or side project. Today, they need to go much further than traditional corporate responsibility. Companies need to actively listen to employees and get their suppliers to listen to them.
None of us has got everything right, but HR is the conduit through which future innovations in social value and equality will accelerate – especially when it comes to diverse recruitment, inclusion and taking the grassroot concerns of employees to the boardroom.
To the extent to which your data allows, look at job applications too and analyse the candidates. Are you getting proportionately diverse applications? If not, then ask yourself whether your company is outreaching into the right areas. If two-thirds of your applicants are white and your company is based in an area that’s only one-third white, there’s a mismatch.
There are digital resources that can help you here, check out our article: How tech is helping HR and People teams to be a force for good.
CSR: an evolving solution
If you identify areas where your company isn’t achieving its CSR goals, a good way to find your feet is to follow an established framework, such as net zero, B-Corp or an industry-specific organisation, like Tech Zero. The cost of being part of these communities is quite low and they provide what you need to get started and identify key areas for change.
B-Corp assessment is a great way to measure your progress. Once you’ve met the minimum requirements and achieved B-Corp status, you can aim higher for future years, driving to improve your score and expand into new areas.
Following a framework also means you aren’t doing it alone. B-Corp, for instance, offers a supportive community, where you can ask questions and share ideas. Collectively, we’re all working towards a common good, and having that sounding board can be incredibly helpful.
Ultimately, there isn’t a quick way to create a positive social impact, and solutions must evolve. And as part of that evolution, our ethical benefits app, Lumina, can help. It’s the product of decades of HR and employee benefits expertise, so why not take the first steps and get started on your CSR journey today?
