Taking Corporate Social Responsibility to the next level
Autor: Gustavo Ferrari | Publicado: 2011-07-10T20:50:00-03:00

Corporate responsibility expert&nbsp;Malcolm Scovil&nbsp;believes he has found a way to keep his workforce motivated and benefit the wider community
Malcolm Scovil
Guardian Professional, Wednesday 6 July 2011 09.53 BST

Malcolm Scovil uses CSR to keep his workforce motivated and benefit the wider community Photograph: AlamyCorporate social responsibility (CSR) is finally being seen as a direct driver of revenue growth and profitability. This represents a huge shift from the old days when companies just made a donation to a local charity and that was that. The good news for those of us that work in corporate responsibility is that the issues related to better governance are steadily rising up the corporate agenda. A recent report from consultants&nbsp;Ernst and Young&nbsp;estimates that social and environmental corporate issues affecting companies now makes up half of all shareholder resolutions.Yet questions remain. Social enterprises, whose very existence is based on the notion that they must exist for the betterment of society, often regard CSR as responsibility light – a cosmetic or even spin exercise that doesn't achieve much. On the other hand, CSR is often questioned by mainstream businesses. They ask what will it do for their organisation and how engaging employees through skills-based volunteering, environmental actions and other activities will add value to their bottom line. Full disclosure: I'm a huge advocate of the power of both social enterprise and CSR and spend 80 hours a week running a social enterprise that leverages technology to help companies engage employees in CSR and sustainability.The purpose of this post isn't to suggest that one approach is necessarily better than the other, but to say that in any debate as to how businesses can serve society, companies that integrate a social and environmental strategy into their overall strategy have the greater potential to bring about positive change on a mass scale. This premise is based on the fact that the vast majority of businesses are mainstream, ie not social enterprises which have already bought in to the notion of doing good anyway. One cannot re-engineer most organisations to become social enterprises (even if they wanted to) so the solution must be integration of good and green. In my eyes, this means integrating CSR in a way that makes sense for the business, employees, customers, community and the planet.It is therefore the role of us who believe in the merits of more socially responsible business to convince mainstream organisations that a CSR strategy, with employee engagement as its heart, can make them more profitable and productive while doing their bit for society too. At the same time we need to show how it can be done in the right way so that even CSR's harshest critics within social enterprises would recognise common strands and a return to wider society. So, how do we go about it?Engaging employeesCritical to any argument is the powerful influence that employee engagement has in CSR and the rolesustainability plays in employee motivation. Employees generally feel motivated to work for companies knowing that they actually give a damn about wider society and they're more likely to be productive and put extra effort in for those organisations.Independent research carried out of UK employees backs this up. Over half (57%) want their employers to do more for CSR and tellingly 63% said that paid time off during working hours to commit to charitable initiatives would significantly improve their engagement with the company. The benefits cited of this improved engagement includes them taking 3.5 fewer sick days and staying in the company longer than disengaged employees. Furthermore, over half of employees (51%) actually believe their company has a duty to commit to charitable acts and CSR.Tangible, not fluffyThese are real and tangible business benefits which belie the notion that CSR is a fluffy concept that doesn't deliver business value. But it does have to be done in the right way else the benefits won't be realised. What is the right way? This list covers the basics:Planned – one off initiatives don't work and can be time consuming. It is better to spread CSR initiatives throughout the year so they occupy around 1% of an employee's time. This equates to around two working days a year which should be do-able for companies of all shapes and sizesRelevant to job role – where possible it's always better to undertake volunteering positions relevant to the skills and professional goals of that employee as this will deliver more value for the charity involved and help the employee learn new skills. As an example, at&nbsp;Leap&nbsp;one of our clients is an IT services company. It conducts voluntary activity for a charity that helps young stroke sufferers re-gain the IT skills that many lose after their illness. It's been very successful and this IT expertise is valuable in coaching them back to health and volunteers learn about usability issues applicable to their job role.Involve as many people around the company as possible, including the boss – CSR isn't as effective, or indeed as fun, when only a few people within the company do it. Sharing experiences helps improve motivation and engagement. Companies should consider building CSR metrics into employees' objectives; this provides them with an indication of the value that the company places on voluntary activities.Government recognises the importance of employee engagementThe Government has recognised that employee motivation in the UK is generally an issue. In March this year the&nbsp;Department for Business Innovation and Skills&nbsp;(BIS) launched the employee engagement task force. In collaboration with companies including&nbsp;BAE Systems,&nbsp;BT,Sainsbury's&nbsp;and&nbsp;Boots, it aims to improve employee motivation and drive growth in the UK, amid a backdrop of rising unemployment and industrial unrest. Employment relations minister Edward Davey said: "Employee engagement is essentially about growth".Of course, we can't say that CSR holds all of the answers but the statistics do point to a more engaged workforce meaning a bigger bottom line. Certainly if one considers the relatively small investment of engaging 1% of an employee's time and energy into the company's commitment to the community and the environment, compared to the hugely unprofitable impact of having a disengaged workforce, then it makes engaging staff in CSR and sustainability a no-brainer.Malcolm Scovil is the founder of&nbsp;LeapCR, a social software for businesses to engage their employees in corporate responsibilityFrom:&nbsp;http://www.guardian.co.uk/social-enterprise-network/2011/jul/06/csr-employee-disengagement-motivation