feature
A strong CSR mindset can be an incredible
asset for attracting top talent to
an organization.
“Many HR studies show that CSR
ranks among the top five reasons that talent
will choose one company over another,”
said Schneider. “I receive emails from employees
who tell me how proud they are of
the work that we’re doing.”
WHAT’S HR GOT TO DO WITH
IT?
CSR fits naturally within the HR function.
“Human resources professionals often
have the best idea of employee expectations,”
said Schneider. This may be as
simple as recognizing that employees are
eager to support a current charity relief
drive.
Senior executives are now coming to
recognize the importance of questioning
how social responsibility relates to
the organization’s overall mission and
mandate: “How do we change from CSR
as a philanthropic costs centre to social
change as a business opportunity?” said
Klein. “HR is one of the most important
aspects of that.”
Not every corporation needs an elaborate
CSR program.
“For many companies, it’s a proxy
for corporate donations. And that’s not
wrong,” he said. “Then you’ve got a handful
on the other end of the spectrum that are
doing things really thoughtfully in a way
that’s contributing to solving something
and, I would argue, making a contribution
to their business.”
Klein names two projects as head and
shoulders above the rest: Bell Let’s Talk,
the multi-year national campaign to
bring mental health issues into the open,
and one his firm works with, The Home
Depot Canada Foundation’s “The Orange
Door Project,” a three-year, $10-million
commitment to helping end youth homelessness
in Canada. It includes an initiative
called Hire Up, Canada’s first national hiring
portal for youth who have experienced
homelessness, which will be rolled out at
Home Depot stores across the country
this year.
“Historically, The Home Depot Canada
Foundation provided support specifically
to affordable housing initiatives.
In 2014, we completed a research project
that showed the growing incidence of
youth homelessness in Canada. With this
knowledge, we decided to focus the majority
of our efforts on this cause,” said
Amanda Cornelisse, manager of community
affairs and The Home Depot Canada
Foundation.
The Home Depot “associates” are
strongly engaged in the company’s CSR
activities; its “Team Depot” contributed
over 60,000 volunteer hours in 2015 to
285 hands-on service projects.
“They are also the driving force behind
our annual in-store fundraising campaign
in support of The Orange Door Project.
In 2015, 182 Home Depot stores collectively
raised more than $1.2 million for
120 unique charities across Canada,” said
Cornelisse.
At Export Development Canada, employees
can work for four months with
Care Canada.
faithie/Shutterstock.com
26 ❚ MARCH/APRIL 2016 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL