Think CSR schemes are just ‘nice to have’, but not essential? We disagree.

Summary

Many companies view corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a nice PR story and little more. We believe that introducing a thoughtful CSR scheme has many more benefits, among them:

Genuine impact and authenticity;
Customer attraction in a socially-conscious world;
Employee retention by boosting satisfaction;
Talent attraction by displaying ethical practices;
Future-proofing of your workforce, preparing for a world increasingly reliant on automation and AI.

Not only does a thoughtful CSR scheme make the most impact for the organisations you are helping, but it can also help attract customers, helping the bottom line. Additionally it helps attract, retain, and develop talent in an increasingly automated working world.

What is CSR?

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) schemes are designed to improve the social and environmental impact of companies, to demonstrate that you care about the wider impact of your business and not just profit. For many companies this may involve an employee volunteering day planting trees or painting fences, and a nice PR story.

While schemes such as these certainly contribute a little to social and environmental impact efforts, we think that there is a better way. A CSR approach using the skills of your employees to benefit impact organisations will result in more positive results, for both your company and for the organisations you help.

Genuine Impact

Volunteering is essential for the functioning of many organisations. They rely upon individuals giving up their time and skills to help, and the best way to help them make an impact is to offer assistance where it is truly needed. Many charities do not benefit from a corporate team coming in for one day to help them on a menial task, especially when they know that these corporate teams possess so many skills that would be valuable to the impact organisation. As Alex Stephany, founder of social enterprise Beam, excellently put it: “No, your CEO can’t come paint our office.”

“Customers can sense inauthenticity and they will call you out on it.”

To make a genuine impact and really help organisations, identify the skills possessed by your team, and find out where those can be of use to a charity. Not only will this be much more helpful for the organisations, but you will also avoid giving the impression that your CSR activities are inauthentic or a PR stunt. Customers can sense inauthenticity and they will call you out on it, so a thoughtful and high-impact CSR scheme can help demonstrate your genuine commitment to social impact.

Customer Acquisition

Customers are more socially conscious than ever before, and increasingly expect companies to engage in socially responsible practices. 68% of people say social responsibility and giving back to the local community are among the most important attributes of a company. Compare this to only 44% of people who said price was among the most important attributes, and it becomes clear what consumers care about.

“68% of people say social responsibility and giving back to the local community are among the most important attributes of a company.”

Developing a thoughtful CSR policy demonstrates to your potential customers that you share their values, and care about the wider impact you can make. Customers are drawn to such companies, choosing to spend their money there, while avoiding those seen to be unethical (over half would stop spending their money with a company they deem unethical). For example, take Californian clothing company Reformation, who state, with regards to their clothes: “Being naked is the #1 most sustainable option - we're #2.” Their emphasis on sustainability has seen growth in its physical stores of 60% year-on-year since 2014. As a 100% carbon, water and waste neutral company, Reformation’s environmental focus has earned it an army of loyal customers.

Happy Employees

Thoughtful CSR schemes can also help attract and retain talent. We all know just how expensive and time-consuming it can be to replace employees - the average cost can exceed £30,000, depending on the level of the employee. With this in mind it’s helpful to know that among millennials, for example, there is a strong correlation between those who expect to stay in their current job and those who reported that their company delivers well on community impact.

On the topic of millennials, we should also consider the ways in which the business world is changing: by 2025 millennials will make up 75% of the workforce. 64% of these millennials won’t take a job at a company that doesn’t have strong social responsibility practices. Having a CSR scheme that is seen to be an inauthentic PR-stunt, or having none at all, could be preventing the best talent from applying for your open roles.

Tying CSR in with Learning & Development (L&D) is an extremely effective way to get the most out of your social impact efforts. By encouraging employees to develop and use their existing skills in a new context, as part of a CSR scheme, companies can boost employee satisfaction. Employees are kept engaged, their network is broadened and they are given the opportunity to find a sense of purpose where it may be lacking, all the while giving back to the community in a way that makes a real impact. Ultimately this all boosts retention, as you build a team of employees who are "engaged and thriving", and are therefore 59% less likely to look for a job with a different organisation in the next 12 months.

“ “Most important of all will be the ability to deal with change, to learn new things, and to preserve your mental balance in unfamiliar situations.” ”

— Yuval Noah Hariri

Future proof your team

The job market is in a period of change, with more and more roles being lost to automation and AI. According to government estimates 1.5 million jobs are threatened by automation. Teams must constantly adapt and upskill to remain relevant and competitive, especially as larger corporates are falling behind with regard to future-proofing. More than half of freelancers are reskilling to prepare for the future, and the possibility that their role is replaced by automation, compared to only 30% of other workers.

The use of experiential learning can help corporates with their future-proofing goals. Rather than in-classroom training, experiential learning requires individuals to use their skills in a practical context, rather than theoretical. It helps to develop soft skills such as creativity and agility, which will be crucial in the future as they are the skills that distinguish humans from machines and cannot be replicated or replaced by technology.

In discussing the skills our schools should prioritise in teaching, Yuval Noah Hariri (author of Sapiens) said: “Most important of all will be the ability to deal with change, to learn new things, and to preserve your mental balance in unfamiliar situations.”

What does this all mean for me?

For companies, thoughtful CSR schemes ultimately ensure authenticity, boost retention, attract talent and customers, and help to future-proof the workforce. When done well these schemes can be so much more than a ‘nice to have’, a PR play, or an excuse for a day out of the office. They become essential for a company’s bottom line, and its survival in an increasingly automated and socially conscious world.

About the author

At Matchable we work at the intersection of CSR and L&D, to match companies and their employees with tailored projects at non-profits and impact startups.

If you’re interested in working with us to find skilled volunteering opportunities for your employees you can get in touch here.