One of the biggest challenges business owners face is the attraction, retention, development and return on the people that they employ.
This current age group of employees and the ones to follow are far more discerning and have far more choice around who employs them and why.
The “classic“ offerings of a fair salary, perks and some development opportunities are no longer enough to attract ‘A Graders’
Getting the right people on the bus, in the right seats is all about the opportunity of doing a great job for a great company with flexibility, personal growth and community.
Those organisations who have a meaningful CSR policy are far more effective employers and get a higher return on people investment.
CSR ties directly into your company’s values and those values should be an integral part of any business, helping to shape the culture, support the vision and clearly reflect who you are and how you’re different in a crowded marketplace. To make a real, tangible difference to your business, your values need to be brought to life! They must reflect what you say you do, how you treat your staff, deal with your customers, and support the community within which you operate.
Companies who choose to engage their local communities can truly shine and never more so than when your CSR activities are entwined throughout your business. With planning and robust two-way communication, CSR will both only benefit your business and your community.
CSR attracts positive publicity and gives your front-line staff another angle to engage with your customers. With a great CSR programme, there is also the added opportunity to go for industry/business awards especially around community impact which will set you apart from your competitors.
It’s second nature to us to work closely with businesses to help them fulfil their CSR. Some of the best examples we know have included these steps:
- Decide where to place your focus and choose something you’re passionate about. The more passionate you are the more likely you’ll put your heart into it
- Involve and engage your staff to gain buy-in while you lead by example. If the senior management team are involved the rest of your team are more likely to get involved too
- In the same way you set yourself business targets it’s always good to set a team objective, for instance how much you would like to raise over a specific period. This step happens naturally once your charity has been in to meet the team and talk about their work and its impact
- Get your staff involved and form a committee group with different roles and responsibilities. It’s important you give them time to be able to do this effectively. This helps build staff morale, encourages them to work outside of their usual circle and they’ll gain new skills and confidence whilst being given a chance to shine!
- You’ll find employees want to take on challenges giving them personal growth and development opportunities. Organise a team cycling, running or walking event to further strengthen relationships and get everyone fitter in the process!
- Engage with your charities and ask for help. They’ll provide a great deal of support and advice including promotional tools, best practice and plenty of ideas to stimulate creativity
- Finally, it’s important you understand the impact you’re making. Don’t be afraid to ask where the money has gone and the difference this is making
Not already engaging in local community projects? Why not start making a real difference.