|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Corporate Brochure |
 |
| Click Here to obtain an electronic copy of our corporate brochure. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
| MEDIA » ARTICLES |
| |
Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Engagement
“Making the Connection”
|
By Bill Holland
June 2011
|
| |
| |
As a talent management professional, it's my job to understand the mechanisms of employee engagement. As an entrepreneur with a personal interest in sustainability and social issues, I feel obligated to demonstrate and encourage corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Both employee engagement and CSR are widely discussed in the business world. While it’s no stretch to appreciate the obvious link between the two, I didn’t find much being written about it in the mainstream business news. So I decided to do some research, and commissioned Rob Gross, President of CR Strategies to prepare a white paper on making the connection between CSR and employee engagement.
Simply put, the connection is this: Corporate social responsibility drives employee engagement, which in turn drives business success. Therefore, investing behind CSR initiatives makes good business sense.
| Corporate Social Responsibility |
 |
Employee Engagement |
|
Business Success |
|
| |
To be great you need to do good … you can’t separate environment and social ethics from competitive objectives.
- Elyse Allan, President and CEO, General Electric Canada
|
|
I have never seen anything equal to sustainability as far as attracting, motivating, and bringing people together.
- Ray C. Anderson, Founder and Chairman, Interface
|
|
|
| |
In my view the successful companies of the future will be those that integrate business and employees' personal values. The best people want to do work that contributes to society with a company whose values they share, where their actions count and their views matter.
- Jeroen van der Veer, Committee of Managing Directors, Shell |
|
Again, while this might seem obvious, I wanted to familiarize myself with the research to get a better understanding of CSR, employee engagement and the link between the two. In this summary of the white paper, I will provide an overview of the existing research on these topics and introduce the fundamentals of implementing a CSR program in your organization. If you would like an electronic copy of the full white paper, we have provided a download link at the end of this article.
Employee Engagement
What is employee engagement?
The US Conference Board defines employee engagement as “a heightened emotional connection that an employee feels for [their] organization, that influences [them] to exert greater discretionary effort to [their] work.”
As a business management concept, employee engagement suggests that engaged workers will behave in ways that promote the interests of an organization and impact business outcomes. Elements of employee engagement include organizational and individual performance alignment, pride and trust in the company, career advancement opportunities, relationships with peers and management, and meaningfulness of work being performed.
There are costs associated with a disengaged workforce. Low levels of engagement suggest that workers feel unmotivated and disconnected from their employers, showing up just to collect a paycheck. Evidence suggests that an engaged workforce reflects decreased absenteeism, turnover, production costs, and counterproductive behaviour. It also indicates increased customer satisfaction and loyalty, revenue growth, flexibility and productivity.
Corporate Social Responsibility
What is corporate social responsibility?
BNET defines corporate social responsibility as “a voluntary approach that a business enterprise takes to meet or exceed stakeholder expectations by integrating social, ethical, and environmental concerns together with the usual measures of revenue, profit, and legal obligation.”
As a business management concept, corporate social responsibility intends to capture value in a “triple bottom line” of people, planet, and profit. CSR overlaps with the concepts of corporate citizenship and corporate sustainability. Driven by stakeholder demand, it involves creating innovative solutions in response to social and environmental challenges.
Organizations are kept on track through government regulations, as well as special interest group lobbying and media attention on corporate social responsibility “fails.” In addition to customers, investors, vendors, shareholders, and communities, employees are critical stakeholders driving CSR initiatives in organizations.
Making The Connection
Academic, management consulting, journalistic and corporate sources have explored and reported the impact of CSR on the workforce.
Evidence suggests that CSR drives employee attraction, retention and engagement. CSR has the potential to influence employee engagement and, consequently, the positive business outcomes that go along with an engaged workforce. In fact, CSR is the third most important driver of employee engagement overall. People prefer to work for a company that demonstrates corporate social responsibility and many think CSR policies should be compulsory. When employees recognize socially responsible behaviour in their employers, they tend to demonstrate better performance. There are also reduced costs to the employer, due to increased levels of retention and improved productivity.
Companies continue to face pressure from various stakeholders to operate in a more socially and environmentally responsible manner. While implementing CSR solutions can be timely and costly, the evidence presented in the white paper supports the business case for doing just that. A commitment to CSR significantly influences employee engagement, which in turn has a significant impact on work and business outcomes.
Implementing a CSR Program
A well-designed and properly implemented CSR program, while requiring significant commitment of resources, can bring a variety business benefits. What to keep in mind:
- Set overall goals, focusing on between one and three key issues instead of trying to be all things to all people.
- Keep the process targeted, focusing on policies and programs specific to the goals and intentions you set out.
- Start small. Once you start to gain moment and realize successes, build upon past efforts and accomplishments, and learn from mistakes and challenges.
- Find out what issues matter to key stakeholders and focus on them.
- Include employees in the process from start to finish. Studies demonstrate that involving them in the process enhances the effect of CSR initiatives on employee engagement.
Click here to read "Making The Connection", a white paper I commissioned on the connection between Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Engagement.
Contact Us
|
|
| |
| [ top ] |
|
| |
|
