leadership
Making Good
HR GIVING BACK IN A MEANINGFUL WAY
We all know that giving back is an important part of
business, but just how important is it? Who does it
benefit and how do we ensure that employees get
involved? Many companies emphasize their com-mitment
to making a difference in their community; however, in
some cases, this is simply a PR or marketing tactic. It’s one thing
to talk about giving back, it’s another to turn those commitments
into tangible actions.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become vital to
attracting talent. According to a study from the Boston College
Center for Corporate Citizenship, the number of companies
directing corporate citizenship from the C-suite has increased
nearly 75 per cent compared to five years ago. Leaders are even
willing to take a pay cut for a company with a strong giving back
policy, prompting businesses to rethink their programs.
DETERMINING THE “WHY”
Before pushing these programs, companies must evaluate why ini-tiatives
focused on giving back are important to their employees.
Once this is determined, company leaders can determine how the
skills, experience and knowledge found throughout their business
can be applied to different initiatives. The next step is determining
what kind of programs are out there, who’s giving back and how a
business can contribute in the most significant way.
BUSINESS IS GOOD, BUT IS YOUR BUSINESS
DOING GOOD?
Giving back to a community, supporting non-profits and promoting
passion-driven initiatives can be extremely rewarding for any busi-ness.
According to a study by YourCause.com, CSR engagement
increases productivity by nearly 15 per cent. Companies also saw a
50 per cent decrease in turnover when engaging in CSR activities.
However, to make these initiatives effective, leaders must take a
bottom-up approach to the structure and promotion of their giv-ing
back programs. Finding out what’s important to employees in
an organization is the best place to start. What are employees pas-sionate
about? Are they already involved in volunteer programs
outside of work? Getting the answers to these kinds of questions
will only make it easier to enhance a CSR program.
Giving employees some choice in the ways in which they give
back not only creates greater employee morale, it also empowers
them. Contributing to this kind of work tends to yield fulfillment
and a different sense of achievement than the day-to-day respon-sibilities
of a job.
By Jamie Hoobanoff
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