Making CSR Fun and Effective

Posted: 19^th April 2016

By: WiRE Team

Making CSR fun AND effective – aka ‘Doing Your Bit’ as a Responsible Business

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is not a phrase that I like. In fact I think we need to take the ‘Corporate’ out of Corporate Social Responsibility altogether because small businesses should be getting more involved and could be missing out on a big opportunity. Not because they are not operating as a responsible business but because they don’t think about it holistically or shout about it.

Companies that go the extra mile to think about their employees, the environment, their community and supply chain activities are well placed to differentiate their business and improve their profile and reputation.

I have been inspired by the TTC Group in Telford, it puts CSR high on its agenda from the outset, in fact it forms one of the company’s five key values.

When it comes to CSR, Jenny Wynn, the Group Managing Director, says it’s about “doing your bit for the community and encouraging your staff to do the same”.

But it’s much more than that in the TTC Group. It becomes second nature because CSR is the ethos running throughout the whole organisation. Here’s how the TTC Group does it.

1. Make it fun – if you want a company to sponsor an event or activity make it a memorable and enjoyable experience ormaybe have a prize for the team that generates the least waste.
2. Make it simple – dress down days, fancy dress events, baking cakes all make it easy for anyone who doesn’t want to jump out of planes or run a marathon.
3. Look beyond the obvious – it can be very rewarding to seek out local groups and activities which are in jeopardy through lack of funds. You can literally become their lifeline.
4. Lead by example – as a business owner support local businesses or national causes through taking an active part on boards and committees. This creates new partnerships and opportunities you just don’t get sitting behind a desk.
5. Find that passion – seek out worthy causes that fit with your objectives or interests or the community where you live or work. Passionate people get more people involved and raise more money.
6. Reward and invest in staff – match fundraising by staff to double the impact, subsidise staff social events to ensure staff feel valued and provide ongoing training and development for all levels of staff. This keeps people motivated and results in a much lower staff turnover, which in itself saves resources.

Developing good CSR policies could, and should, become an important part of your business. This helps with everything from improving your profile to winning contracts or even recruiting and retaining staff. Providing of course you tell the world about it through news releases, newsletters, blogs and social media!

Read the full blog for the fuller case study or if you want help with making the most of your CSR policies please contact me.

Kim Gilmour Connect Consultancy