CSR: Another Way to Attract — and Retain — Great Employees

Leaders who understand the importance of bringing social responsibility into their business strategy know it can create direct benefits such as increased profits, customer loyalty, better brand reputation and new opportunities.

Another advantage that can often be overlooked, however, is the effect that corporate social responsibility (CSR) can have on the attraction and retention of quality employees — something many businesses have great difficulty with.
When great employees consider accepting a new job offer, they look for obvious things like competitive salary and benefits, quality leadership, room for growth of responsibility and fulfilling work.

But something more and more employees are looking for in their work is the opportunity to give back and make a difference in their local, national and even international communities. Ways to engage and bring more sense of purpose to their work and to their lives. This is especially true for Millennials and the enlightened of the generations that preceded them.

Good employees, the kind every company wants to acquire and retain, do their homework. They want to know all about a company they might work for. This includes how the company operates in the world. It is easier than ever to do a quick Google search about a potential employer to see what their CSR reputation is.

Business that are not able to figure out the importance of CSR and how to create shareholder and societal returns simultaneously not only risk having increased regulatory pressures and difficulties accessing capital, but also risk their opportunity to both hire and retain quality employees who are seeking long-term company commitment.

If you want to become a business that has no issues attracting and retaining the best and the brightest, you need to be a company that makes smart, strategic and value-centred social engagement a top priority. Otherwise, you will lose out on a huge competitive advantage.

Our team at CSR Training Institute understands the pressure businesses are under to create positive social change in an authentic way and simultaneously grow the bottom line. We are here to help cut through the confusion to align business, social and environmental performance while keeping value as the top priority.

I would love to speak with you about how a strategic approach to CSR can help your business or organization leverage and deliver more value for shareholders and society. You can send me an email at wayne@csrtraininginstitute.com to get started.

Integrate Sustainable Development Goals into Your Business Strategy

Business continues to move in a direction where it is increasingly important to not only think about economic growth and shareholders, but also the impact your organization makes on society.  Miss that, and you may not like the impact on your economic growth and shareholder value!

Organizations of all types are facing increasing expectations that they will not only create value for themselves but that they will also create social value and be effective environmental stewards in the process.  This expectation, and the potential negative impacts for not meeting it, permeates businesses and industries worldwide, and is growing stronger.

Business success without creating social value and being an effective environmental steward isn’t impossible, but it is getting more difficult all the time

Part of this movement to promote positive change focuses on sustainable development. In September 2015, the United Nations unanimously passed the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which became the de-facto global development framework and the backbone of the 2030 Agenda being adopted by countries, organizations and industries worldwide.

The SDGs outline how to achieve the World We Want and include: 

1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts*
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

These goals were developed by leaders from all sectors, including business and set out the framework for creating the World We Want.  They apply to every country and were supported by every country.  Adopted in 2015 they are gaining momentum and are impacting planning and strategies for businesses, governments and organizations worldwide.

These SDGs provide a framework that gives organizations the opportunity to become more strategic in creating social value and business value. They work well as a guide for businesses to follow — an overview to ensure there is focus on areas of importance that align with greater global goals.

Integrating SDGs needs to be viewed as a business opportunity — not a setback. Those organizations that approach these goals in such a way will act as leaders in paving the way to how modern business is handled. They will join a world where business meets society and where business value creation also creates positive social impacts and is founded on responsible environemntal stewardship

Those businesses and organizations that learn to embrace this new reality and use the SDGs to create alignment between profit, planet and people will find new opportunities emerging and improve the likelihood of long term sustainable competitive advantage.

But, it isn’t a slamdunk.  This transition can be intimidating, overwhelming and, often confusing.

Because of this, we have created a brand new program to help you integrate the SDGs into your business strategy. The program is designed to be practical and pragmatic, and will bring together businesses of different sectors to help explore strategies surrounding these topics.

Through interactive lectures, modules, and hands-on case studies, participants will come together to look at how businesses can use the SDGs as a way to help drive more business and social value at the same time. Those who complete the program will leave ready and eager to make change and put what they’ve learned into practise.

Register now for our certified masterclass on Integrating SDGs Into Business Strategy and Sustainability Reporting and Communication, taking place in Accra, Ghana from March 19-23, 2018.

And if you would like to speak to me about how a value-centric strategic approach to CSR can help your government or business leverage social capital to deliver more value, send me an email at wayne@csrtraininginstitute.com.

CSR & Shared Value Partnerships for the SDGs

Public Private Partnerships: CSR & Shared Value Partnerships for the SDGs

Sustainability, Social Responsibility and Shared Value are today’s most important issues for shareholders according to Harvard Business Review (July 2016).

The world has changed. Society expects business to create social value along with shareholder value and is prepared to punish those that don’t.

This expectation represents a risk and often an opportunity. Many firms are embracing them and turning them into a strategic advantage. Others are ignoring them at their peril and most will end up paying a price for doing so.

Public and private sector organizations of all types are discovering that SDG focused Public Private Partnerships can help meet society’s growing expectations AND produce significant organizational value as well.

Businesses, NGOs, governments and other private and public organizations are finding that the SDG framework can facilitate synergy and alignment between non-conventional partners, creating an orientation that serves the partner’s and society’s interest. A Win-Win-Win success

SDG partnerships can help business with social license, product marketing, employee retention and recruitment, regulatory friction, brand development and a host of other areas.

Similarly, SDG partnerships can support mission issues for NGOs and other non-business organizations. The partnerships can bring strategic capacity, financial and human resources, economies of scale, operational expertise, etc.

These value impacts are being discovered by businesses, NGOs and other organizations worldwide.

There is often so much room to add creativity and foster fun, alignment and impact. 

Here are a few examples – there are many, many more.

Goats, SDGs and Data Solutions 

Formation Data Solutions had a limited marketing budget so teamed with Oxfam on a See a Demo, Get a Goat promotion. Every customer that saw a demo of Formation’s service had a goat donated in their name to an impoverished African Family. 

It drove demos, sales and evolved into a corporate mission! And benefited families and communities and Oxfam. How Win, Win, Win is that!

SAB Millar: Integrating the SDGs

SAB Millar has gone a step beyond SDG partnerships and systematically aligns and reports on its core business values and corporate mission to the SDGs. 

This helps the business to more efficiently align shareholder and societal value across its operations and facilitates developing partnerships with impact.

Support the SDGs & Slash Recruiting, Retention and HR Costs

Cone Communications study found that 93% of employees want to work for a company that is socially and environmentally responsible with 70% saying they would be more loyal to the company. A strong majority of Millennials and Gen Xers put social and environmental responsibility as a core expectation

“When you implement CSR into your company’s core of operation, you’ll have happier and more excited employees, even at the management level. This will ultimately lead to greater productivity and talent retention, not to mention actively helping make the world a better place.”

With these (seemingly) obvious advantages you would expect to see an explosion of mutually beneficial, productive partnerships. We are seeing some, but it is really only scratching the surface.

Effective public-private development partnerships can drive organizational success. Yet many fail to start or fail to survive?

Natural Partnerships – Unnatural Partners. 

Business, NGOs and development agencies have natural partnership opportunities but organizational history, including historical mistrust between many businesses and NGOs and the often conflicting perspectives of each organization’s internal and external stakeholders can make these partnerships hard to realize.

The SDGs provide a framework that can facilitate effective public private partnerships for development, but much work needs to be done to help organizations to embrace the opportunities and develop durable partnerships that align societal and shareholder value.

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If you are truly interested in development partnerships that align shareholder value and social value we can help.

The CSR Training Institute’s core mission is helping public and private sector organizations to be more efficient and effective at creating alignment between shareholder and societal value.

We believe that public private partnerships based on the SDG framework are an opportunity that must be embraced. We have developed a program to help organizations and leaders from all sectors to develop and implement public private SDG partnerships.

The first offering of the program is Oct 10-12, 2016 in Accra, Ghana. More information>>>

Click here for program website

Middle East CSR: Zakat, Sadaqah and Ownership Structure

CSR is creating internal tensions in some Middle Eastern Businesses

Many traditional, family owned businesses in the Middle East are taking on external investors and partners and many are experiencing tension and conflict around Corporate Social Responsibility strategy and implementation.

External investors and partners are pushing for a more strategic, mutually beneficial approach to corporate social responsibility, societal and community engagement.

Islamic business has a long standing tradition of supporting people and communities that has evolved from the Islamic principles of Zakat and Sadaqah [while Zakat is obligatory, Sadaqah is voluntary]. 

CSR in the Middle East has traditionally taken more of a philanthropic or charitable approach; a transfer of money and resources from business to social needs and issues with limited attention to sustainable impact or business value. 

The philanthropic focus and recipients have generally been driven by the charitable interests of the families that own the business, rather than the strategic needs and opportunities of the business. 

For the ownership families there is often a close personal and family connection with the causes supported and the charities and organizations that are involved.  New partners and external investors seldom have the same connections with the charities and causes and look to see more strategic, mutually beneficial approaches to social responsibility and community engagement.

This is leading to internal tensions and putting managers and leaders in difficult positions.

While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to resolving these issues a systematic value-focused analysis [basically a CSR SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)] can provide a solid platform for developing effective go-forward strategies.

A CSR SWOT can help any company to be more effective at meeting societal obligations and expectations and, importantly, at integrating them with shareholder expectations and interests.  This applies to all businesses.

It isn’t just family owned Middle Eastern businesses that fall into a pattern of blindly supporting societal causes and issues without periodic review and assessment.  This happens to businesses of all sorts and from all over the world.

Executives and managers have elaborate systems in place to analyze business priorities, budgets and activities.  But, seldom does corporate social responsibility and sustainability get subjected to the same regular scrutiny and analysis.

A CSR SWOT can be a smart investment for most businesses, including Middle Eastern businesses where there is tension between founding families and external investors and partners over the focus and extent of CSR priorities, activities and budgets.

For more on CSR SWOTS see an earlier post CSR SWOT – discover risk, value and more or contact me directly (wayne at csrtraininginstitute dot com)

A secret door to sustainable competitive advantage

CSR and Business Innovation Strategy and Training

Society is demanding more of business.  So are shareholders.  And often governments too. These expectations will keep growing and businesses and organizations that don’t adapt will struggle to survive.  Those that figure it out can create a sustainable competitive advantage that can help drive profits and success.

Business innovation coupled with strategic corporate social responsibility can help find ways to align business and societal value, creating sustainable competitive advantage and game changing go-forward strategies.

Traditional thinking too often pits societal expectations against corporate profits creating a zero sum game that not only destroys value but also sucks energy and vitality from organizations.

The CSR Training Institute specializes in helping businesses and organizations to innovate and develop strategic approaches that can align societal and shareholder expectations.  Through customized training programs and strategic and advisory services the Institute can help organizations find that sweet spot where value is created for shareholders and stakeholders.

Bespoke training programs integrate theory and practice in ways immediately applicable to current business issues and opportunities.  Sessions are customized based on the needs and interests of the company and participants.  They are then re-calibrated on a daily basis to follow the energy and interests of the group, enabling the training to match real-world challenges and opportunities.

A valuable side-benefit is the team-building that naturally occurs during the session.  Programs include participants from across organizations; from departments that seldom have opportunities for engaging collaboration.  The focus on business innovation, strategy and social responsibility serves to bring together strategic and personal interests that would seldom meet in business as usual situations.  Participants leave with shared experiences and vision and a commitment to collaborating on innovation.

Participants and organizations consistently notice post-training outcomes like

• Business wide strategy
• New thinking and organization-wide energy to address key non-market business issues
• Sustainable competitive advantage
• Improved teamwork and organizational energy
• Identification of new opportunities
• Improved employee engagement and commitment

If you are interested in discussing how we can assist your business through training, strategy and advisory services and an integration of both please email Wayne Dunn at wayne@csrtraininginstitute.com

CSR in the Middle East & North Africa

CSR in the Middle East & North Africa is dynamic and exciting.  It is built on centuries of Islamic tradition and principles and evolving rapidly to meet the business reality of the 21st century.

I was recently interviewed on CSR in the Middle East and North Africa and thought my responses might be interesting for some.  The transcribed interview is below.

For any that are interested in CSR in this region you will want to take in the ta’atheer MENA Social Impact and CSR Forum in Dubai (May 22-25, 2016).   I will be Chairing the Summit and delivering two post-summit bootcamps.

If you are interested there is a 20% discount available for my blog readers.  Contact me for details

Do you agree that the term CSR is outdated and the region is now moving towards sustainable social impact? 

CSR, Sustainability, Social Responsibility, Social Impact and other phrases are all attempts to put words and phrases around society’s increasing expectations on the role of business in society (and society’s increased ability to impose those expectations on business). 

None of the words and phrases are able to perfectly capture this phenomena, this evolving reality in the space where business meets society.

I’m not convinced that focusing on the language is terribly helpful (although it isn’t unhelpful).  To me, what is more important is focusing on how societal and shareholder value can be efficiently created in the space where business meets society.

In your opinion, what is Social Impact Investment and how would you explain it’s context in the Middle East?

Middle East CSR/Social Impact Investing is evolving from pure charity and philanthropy to more strategic approaches which include Social Impact Investing and increased consideration for linkages with business and shareholder value.

My understanding of the phrase and the drivers of the discussion is that it has more to do with the growing realization that simple charity and philanthropy doesn’t fully meet society’s evolving expectations of business, nor does it fulfil business’ responsibility to its shareholder to use business resources in the interests of the business.

For many Middle Eastern businesses CSR and Social Impact Investing are evolving from the more traditional Zakat and Sadaqah [while Zakat is obligatory, Sadaqah is voluntary]

Zakat, Sadaqah and other societal support has traditionally taken more of a philanthropic or charitable approach; a transfer of money and resources from business to social needs and issues with limited attention to sustainable impact or business value.  That is changing.

Middle Eastern businesses are feeling the financial pressures that are the reality of recent years.  They are dealing with margin and profit squeezes and reduced amounts of discretionary capital.  At the same time many now have global project and ownership partners that are questioning the traditional philanthropic and charitable spending.

Society expects business to be engaged with key societal issues.  Business has to learn to meet these expectations in ways that integrate business and societal value.   Social Impact Investing, as well as more strategic approaches to CSR are approaches that enable better alignment of societal and business interests.

But, this should not be taken to mean that philanthropy and charity are wrong.  Just that they need to be looked at in a broader, value-focused context that considers societal and shareholder value and impact as well as sustainability.

What are the latest 3 trends you are seeing in how organisations are adopting sustainability and social impact in the region?

• Growing awareness of the need for more strategy and focus on results, rather than simply supporting projects and programs
• Tensions between partners as family owned businesses engage with international partners and investors who have more focus on linking CSR and Social Impact investing to business interests
• Increasing use of partners and collaborators including from civil society, governments and international interests

What is the role of social entrepreneurship in the social impact space? 

It’s all about social entrepreneurship.  It is about innovation and motivation to be more efficient at creating, delivering and capturing value.  In this case it is societal value.

Social entrepreneurship helps to identify and lead new opportunities and helps to make old opportunities more efficient.

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For any that are interested in CSR in this region you will want to take in the ta’atheer MENA Social Impact and CSR Forum in Dubai (May 22-25, 2016).   I will be Chairing the Summit and delivering two post-summit bootcamps.