People leaders are at the unique intersection of business and company culture. As your company grows, the connection between the two becomes more complex and harder to track. Making sense of this complexity can help you become a better leader for teams across your organization. Our “Grow as a People Leader” series explores how people programs drive business results.
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This week, we explore Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with Ben Ford, the founder of Fundwurx . We will cover:
What is CSR? The wrong way to approach CSR The right way to approach CSR Can CSR be good for employees? Advice to someone starting a CSR initiative
What is CSR?
CSR is a business approach in which a company uses its money and time to help the communities where its employees live and work. 78% of consumers say that a sustainable lifestyle is important to them. They expect companies to care about the communities they sell to. 88% of employees believe it’s no longer acceptable for companies to make money at the expense of society at large . In short, people like to buy from and work for responsible companies.
How do leaders respond to these expectations? There are three options:
Do nothing and let consumers and employees decide whether their company helps or harms communities Pretend like they care but do nothing in practice (“greenwashing”) Use the CSR lens to generate new revenue and drive culture
The wrong way to approach CSR
Most executives believe CSR can increase customer loyalty (80% ) and drive employee satisfaction (90% ). And yet, only 33% of CSR professionals believe their C-suite executives understand their CSR strategy . Where is the disconnect? Likely, in the amount of funds and mental energy leaders can dedicate to CSR. This is a problem because, without clear leadership backing, CSR programs become treated as a cost center, or a “necessary evil.” This means that people in charge of CSR waste their time begging for resources and proving that CSR programs are helpful. At the same time, executives are wasting the company’s resources on initiatives they can’t integrate into their “flywheel .”
The right way to approach CSR
A different way to approach CSR is to consider it an inherent part of your business. Could you serve your customers better by saving the planet and helping local communities?
Patagonia became the most reputable brand in the U.S. because of its stance on protecting the environment. In 2018, Patagonia’s leadership rewrote their purpose as “We’re in business to save our home planet.” Then, the founder and his family gifted their entire $3B fortune to the Patagonia Purpose Trust and Holdfast Collective to protect the planet. Hotel chains are constantly looking to cut costs , and the most direct way of doing so is through energy and food waste management. It’s easy enough to ask guests to reuse their towels. It’s good for the environment and great for the hotel.On Spaciously, all team-building experiences are hosted by local small business owners. When you book an in-person event, your money stays in the community. But there’s also a hidden benefit for your team. When you pay a small business owner $1000 for a team building, they see it as a substantial income and put 10x the amount of effort into your event than any events company would. Clients are happier, small business owners are happier, and the world benefits from more creativity and thoughtfulness. There are numerous other tactical examples of putting CSR at the heart of your company.
Can CSR be good for employees?
CSR can benefit your bottom line, clients, and employees. This week, I interviewed Ben Ford for practitioner tips for setting up and running CSR programs.
Ben is the founder of Fundwurx , a platform to help companies easily create and manage their CSR initiatives so they can save time, engage employees, and strengthen their workplace culture. Before Fundwurx, Ben worked on Blackstone’s Corporate Social Responsibility team. There, he helped plan and manage volunteer day logistics, contributed to social impact efforts, and helped coordinate various volunteering events in New York. Over to Ben!
What is your favorite part about working in CSR?
Employees interact very little with those from other departments, whether they work in person or remotely. What I love most about CSR is its ability to unite employees. It brings together individuals from various parts of the business and levels of management, from new hires to C-suite executives, all sharing a common passion for giving back. This fosters a sense of camaraderie and connection that is rare in modern workplaces. As a result, the bond between employees strengthens, and their positive feelings toward the organization grow significantly.
Is CSR good for employees?
Offering company volunteering days to employees has a quantifiable ROI. A comprehensive study conducted by Ares Philanthropy and Edge Research, encompassing over 5,000 employees across five countries, demonstrated the impact of this work. Key highlights include:
Employees who volunteered are 24% more satisfied with their jobs overall. Net Promoter Score (NPS) is 2X as high for employees who participated in volunteering events compared to employees who did not participate. Employees who volunteered are 30% more satisfied with their employer offering professional growth and development opportunities.
What are the most critical problems in CSR?
I see three main problems:
Manual operations Difficulty in tracking impact Budgeting and bandwidth
Problem 1. Manual operations
Planning volunteering events or managing a corporate gift-matching program can be administrative and time-consuming tasks without good tooling.
The 6-step process of corporate matching
Step 1. Donate
Employees who wish to participate in the corporate matching program donate to a charitable organization.
Step 2. Explain
After donating, employees fill out a detailed questionnaire provided by the company. This form usually requests information such as the amount donated, the recipient organization, and the purpose of the donation.
Step 3. Verify
Once the employee submits the form, the company's administrative team begins the verification process. This involves checking the details provided by the employee to ensure accuracy and legitimacy. Companies often vet the recipient organization to ensure it matches their corporate values and guidelines.
Step 4. Match
After verifying the donation, the company matches the employee's contribution with a corresponding donation. The matching ratio varied depending on the company's policies, with some offering a dollar-for-dollar match and others providing a percentage-based match.
Step 5. Pay
Once the matching contribution is determined, the company typically issues a manual check to the recipient organization or donates via the nonprofit's website. This process requires additional administrative effort to process and track payments accurately.
Step 6. Record
Companies maintain records of employee donations, matching contributions, and related paperwork using manual methods such as Excel spreadsheets. These records are susceptible to errors, loss, or data discrepancies, requiring meticulous upkeep by the administrative team.
The 6-step process of volunteering days
Step 1. Research
CSR teams build a list of nonprofits that could be a good fit by spending hours researching online.
Step 2. Connect
Then they look for contact information and email someone at the organization about their interest. Soon, they may realize that some nonprofits require a large grant or donation upfront, which might not always work for the company. Furthermore, other logistics, such as when to schedule the event, can complicate things. For example, a food bank may only accept volunteers on a Sunday, which could be a turn-off for the company.
Step 3. Plan
CSR and social impact managers will eventually agree on a schedule of events with the non-profit after potentially many tries and back-and-forth communication.
Step 4. Announce
The company will then communicate event logistics, find a date/time that works for both parties, and announce this to their staff.
Step 5. Sign up
Companies struggle to track and manage signups as some employees will not attend or need to cancel signups.
Step 6. Track
Pen and paper check-ins of who attended, request, and hunt for employees to clock in and out of the events, which people always need to remember to do.
Problem 2. Difficulty in tracking impact
Calculating and tallying impact metrics like the number of donations made, dollars donated, or volunteers—especially in real-time—is a burden. When the C-suite and stakeholders want to see this data, the social impact team's first response is, “Great, give me a few weeks.” It is even harder to cross-analyze this information with employee data in the firm's HR Information System. It can take forever to analyze which departments, teams, or types of employees are most involved.
Problem 3. Budgeting and bandwidth
CSR initiatives are most often limited in financial resources and operational capacity. During economic uncertainty, CSR programs take a hit. However, when companies remove these programs, they are left with frustrated employees, bad PR, and scrutiny from the public. The switching costs of these programs can be high because employees value them so deeply. However, with the proper technology and HR leadership, CSR can be accessible even in economic downturns.
What is your advice to someone starting a CSR initiative?
CSR initiatives help companies drive impact and provide real business value. All companies should leverage social impact opportunities to boost employee engagement, build an impact-focused culture, and attract new employees.
There is no one-size-fits-all here. CSR initiatives should be molded into every organization's culture, and how they want to bring it to life can vary. Your company's size, remote or in-person culture, industry, and senior leadership come into play here. If your company is too small to have a full-time employee dedicated to this, start a social committee or make it an Employee Resource Group (ERG). Find internal champions who will help plan these events as well.
Once this is established, you can begin planning events related to your company’s mission. For example, a real estate company might help build homes with a nonprofit like Habitat for Humanity . However, you can also plan events that don’t mirror the exact mission of the company. Instead, they can serve as an engaging way to bring employees together and make an impact.
It is also essential when you choose to offer these events. Think about pairing volunteer opportunities with a holiday or awareness month . Employee engagement gets a better response and participation when wrapped with a call to action. Employees often get consumed with their daily routines, and if you create space for them to take part in meaningful initiatives, they will value working for your company even more. Other opportunities to plan a volunteer day could be at an annual company kickoff, retreats, or offsites.
Finally, ask your employees what they care about. Don’t just plan top-down. Gather employee interests and gauge which nonprofits employees recommend. Showing your commitment to their interests goes a long way.
Get in touch
Are you ready to start a CSR program? Reach out to Ben Ford for tips or help with CSR technology .
Looking for meaningful team-building activities? Browse Spaciously to book with a small local business owner or a non-profit.
