“We want a volunteer experience that can be done in no more than a day, and no less than a half-day.”
Companies want to engage their communities through employee volunteering programs. For most, this means calling a non-profit and scheduling an activity. But how should non-profits respond? Is there a “best” answer for everyone?
Everybody wants to volunteer. And those who don’t....well, they’re bound to feel a little left out of conversation at the next cocktail party. Volunteering is the latest and greatest way to contribute to society. It’s trendy - and unlike skinny jeans, this trend is bound to last. (Don’t get me wrong, I like skinny jeans.)
As corporations jump on the volunteering band wagon, non-profits are frantically trying to manage the influx. Incidentally, they’re finding themselves a little (ok, a lot) frustrated. Corporations make a lot of sometimes unreasonable requests of non-profits when it comes to setting up the ideal volunteer experience for their employees. We’re about to begin a series examining the top seven (yes, seven) requests, and the Bad, Better, and Best way for NPOs to respond.
One thing to remember: while its good for you, the Nonprofit, to know what companies want, its equally important for you to know why they want it. Assessing “why” will guide you to a solution that’s better for you, your community, and their company.
The 7 Requests: The Ideal Volunteer Experience....
1. “We want a volunteer experience that can be done in no more than a day, and no less than a half-day.”
...WHY?
First things first: why does the company want this? Well, the answer is in the question; the experience cannot be too big, or too small. It must feel significant enough to draw people out of the office, and not so significant that they’re scared away.
Now, consider how these things effect you and your Nonprofit, and decide how to respond. Bad, Better, and Best Responses:
BAD: Invent Work.
Ok so, if you happen to have stand-alone project, in dire need of completion, that would take about a day to finish, and provide a great photo-opp for a group of employees.... then, great. You’re good to go. Fulfill the request. If not, remember that your time and resources are limited. Unless there is an obvious and significant payoff for your provision of this opportunity, you probably want to pass. Whatever you do, do not invent work. Got that? Do not have them repaint the same wall that was painted last week. Inventing work is bad for your non-profit organization.
Inventing work is equally bad for the corporation. Community engagement has become an essential strategy for business. Checking a one-time activity off the “social responsibility” list does not qualify. Hold yourself and the business to a higher standard. If they are asking to volunteer with you out of a genuine effort to become socially responsible, help them do it. Sure, the customer is always right, but it’s your job to help them ask better questions - and be more right. Inventing work is bad for the corporation.
Inventing work is bad for your community. When a corporation volunteers with your non-profit, they are bringing a potential wealth of skills, resources and networks. To access these resources, you must draw the business into more than a “quick and easy” arrangement. Inventing work may be the simplest answer, but ultimately, by offering a one-time, “repaint the wall” experience, you could be stealing value yet to be realized in connecting with that business. See what I mean? Bad for the community.
BETTER: Propose a partnership.
Alright, after you figure out “why” the company wants what they want, and after you decide not to invent work, let’s consider a better response: Partnership.
It’s really not so complicated. When the CSR guy/gal calls from the corporation, ask about the company’s goals. Like this; “Is this volunteer activity part of a grander scheme or bigger goal you have for the company?” And when you’ve got him listening, let him in on some of your goals. For example, if your NPO was hoping to build a playground for a local school in the next year, explain that you could use a group twice a month over the next 6 months to help with the manual labor. Draw the company into a conversation of mutual benefit. You’ll know within minutes whether or not this corporation is one you want to work with.
Designing the partnership will take deliberate effort to ensure everyone gets what they need without giving up any non-negotiables. Social partnerships are like any other partnership and require some level of commitment in order to thrive. At some point, this will mean institutionalizing certain aspects, but don’t worry - keep it simple and take it slow. The rest will come organically.
A partnership is better for you, and it’s also better for your community, and better for the business. It offers the offers the business a genuine CSR strategy toward becoming socially responsible, and offers the community the potential benefit of the resources the business brings. Propose a partnership: its a better response for everyone. (For good resources on Social Partnerships check out our Facebook Page).
BEST: Have your cake and eat it too
The problem with “proposing a partnership” is fairly obvious - it’s not realistic to partner with every business who calls. You would overwhelm yourself trying to coordinate that many efforts. Believe me, one, two, maybe three partnerships are enough.
So, if you’re not inventing work, and you’re already partnering with a corporation, what do you do with the rest of the requests for volunteer opportunities? Well, you make it easy, of course. Have your cake and eat it too.
All you need is an ongoing, open volunteer opportunity. This is a space where all types of volunteers can show up on a regular basis (preferably weekly) and involve themselves to any degree they want. The activity provided should be one that can be accomplished with 3 volunteers, or 53. The point is, volunteers see your organization for the first time, and you see them. There is no pressure, no obligation, no disappointment. Volunteers who aren’t worth your effort, weed themselves out. Volunteers who will benefit your organization, stick around. This is the volunteer’s “first stage” - and its important to meet them where they’re at.
If you’re a community kitchen, the activity can involve serving meals. If you work with nature, you can plant trees. If you’re an organization that feels you can’t accommodate this kind of space, trust me: There’s a “first stage” space for everyone. Sometimes it takes some work to get there, but its worth it in the end.
With an ongoing, open volunteer opportunity, you’ll have a great answer for every business who calls. You’ll meet the company where they’re at - really, all they want is to try it out. At the same time, you’ll offer them a chance to develop a partnership that will effectively move them toward their CSR goals, while opening the door for your non-profit to their resources. It’s mutually beneficial and, once the space is set up, the process is more than easy - it’s virtually automatic. To read more about the benefits of a fully automated volunteer process, read this series: How to Offer a Great Volunteer Experience.
“We want a volunteer experience that can be done in no more than a day, and no less than a half-day.”
When a business asks for a volunteer opportunity that can be accomplished in a day, it’s bad to invent work. It’s better to propose a partnership. And it’s best to have your cake and eat it too by offering an open, ongoing opportunity. If the “best” response sounds like too much work, don’t give up yet. It’s cake. Just check out this series for a few hints: 3 Reasons Why You're Finding It Hard to Find and Keep Volunteers
Next time: “We want a volunteer experience that can be accomplished as a team” and how to respond.
The idea of employment being sustainable has a lot of appeal in this day
and age of job insecurity. Now there’s a whole new meaning to the term.
“Sustainability” these days means your job involves green,
environmental initiatives, or else falls under the umbrella of
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
It’s a great new way for you to increase your marketability. You can
differentiate yourself as a capable employee who can also get
profit-enhancing CSR done. But don’t just take it from me.
Being a Strategic CSR Employee
Adding his viewpoints is Dr. Andrew Crane, George R. Gardiner Professor of
Business Ethics and Director, Business & Sustainability Program at
the Schulich School of Business, located at York University. He says that this the right time for people
to clarify their role as an employee involved in CSR initiatives: "You
are not merely the company's conscience or donations person. You are
uniquely prepared to deal with complexity and multi-stakeholder
relationships on a strategic basis."
Andrew adds that those who can create new socially responsible products and
services (e.g. fair trade coffee, green mortgages), or who can reshape
processes to enhance the triple bottom line (e.g. using fewer scarce
resources, leaving less of a carbon footprint, making governance more
effective), will be in demand. He also notes that "Consumers willpurchase
responsibly - assuming that price, quality and branding are equal to
the alternatives. Thus we need business-savvy employees who can make or
promote exciting products and services that have CSR built-in and the
potentially daunting tradeoffs removed."
Jobs for Responsible Business Employees
As for where the jobs might be, Andrew says that you needn't focus your
search exclusively on employers in the environmental or not-for-profit
sectors. "When you look at who is winning awards for being socially
responsible, it includes companies such as Walmart, IBM, Loblaws,
Vancouver City Savings and Home Depot; places you may not have thought
to look first." Each of the companies cited above is on the "Best 50 Corporate Citizens" list for 2008 or 2009, prepared by Corporate Knights (the Canadian magazine for responsible business).
Here’s a tip from Adine Mees, President and CEO of CBSR: "Seek out industries where there are already obvious aspects of CSR that
directly impact profitability and the capacity to function within
communities, such as mining or oil and gas." Your goal is to be at the
intersection “where significant
stakeholder concerns and corporate strategy meet head on." As well,
search for employer websites where they boast of their sustainability
efforts. And keep an eye out for those that issue a CSR or
Sustainability Report in addition to the standard Annual Report.
Andrew adds that "So far there are few actual jobs with CSR in the title, yet
employers often look for people who match their values and vision
statement, who can position themselves as a solid recruit based on
respecting integrity while also being a champion of innovation,
profitability and sustainability." He reminds us that to meet the needs
of multiple stakeholders (both internal and external), you may need to
prepare yourself to be "politically astute and tough, declaring
yourself a true agent of change."
Earn and Return
So that’s where things stand for now. Employers who aren't serious about
CSR may well cut back in this realm during a downturn. Those who have
seen that the benefits of deeper corporate citizenship outweigh the
investment are likely to continue their core commitment to CSR, though
they may need to defer major projects until conditions improve. In any
event, hiring in the “Green Collar” workforce is picking up steam as
environmental issues and carbon reduction become more pronounced. Not a
bad way to make a good living while making a difference.
Mark Swartz, CareerActivist.com Speaker, Author, Sustainable Career Specialist
Mark has built a reputation as Canada’s Career Activist.
His insights are available to millions yearly as the National Career
Advisor on Workopolis.com’s homepage. A former Toronto Star careers
columnist, Mark’s current focus is “Sustainable Employment,” helping
people profit their career, employer and society. Schulich MBA (1985),
M.Ed. OISE (2000).
Published with permission. Copyright Mark Swartz 2009.
Corporate Social Responsibility is essential to build strong relationships with consumers. On the brink of collapse, Puerto Rico’s Doral Bank transformed itself with an aggressive CSR strategy. By offering free mammogram testing and education on health care for women, Doral bank has quickly established itself as a trusted community partner.
Banking on relationships
What do you do when your stock is declared ‘toxic waste’ and '0ne of the biggest disasters on the NYSE of the past few years'? In the wake of scandal and corruption charges, the stock of the Puerto Rican Doral Bank tanked. (It fell from $50 to $1.19 in just 12 months.) And unlike banks caught in the tsunami of subprime market crises, Doral had no global collapse to blame.
Refusing to die quietly, Doral reached out to a 20 year vetern of GE, Glen Wakeman. Named president and CEO in May 2006, Wakeman tackled Doral’s issues with gusto. He started with compliance and governance issues which included a SEC claim, an FDIC Cease and Desist Order, and a class-action lawsuit by shareholders. It didn’t take long for Wakeman to prove his worth - he dug up enough capital to avoid bankruptcy though private-equity funding.
Wakeman’s efforts kept the bank open and avoided bankruptcy. But Doral was left with a triage - they had to decide how to build on real value. Turns out, Doral’s true worth wasn’t found in its vaults, but in it’s relationship with the community.
Puerto Rico has a population of about 4 million people. According to S&P reports, Doral had just over 500,000 accounts. That means that most of the population of Puerto Rico had some kind of connection to the bank. In order to take advantage of this value, Wakeman transformed Doral from an institution that offered mortgages, to a full-service bank. “Doral was a strong name in the financial community, particularly in the mortgage area. We wanted to leave the old Doral, the mortgage institution, and move into a full-service bank,” said Karla Gual, VP of brand development.
It was a good plan, but a new logo wouldn’t do the trick. Lucienne Gigante, the VP of Public Relations, told me in our recent interview that Glenn wanted to transition Doral into a community bank. Not just by aggressively opening new branches and new accounts, but by “immersing the bank in the community.” Sounds good, but it’s not an easy task.
The two sides of Brand-Trust: Competence and Intention
The challenge lay within the issue of trust. Brand-consumer relationships require trust to function, but when companies fail, especially because of scandal, there is an incredible erosion of trust. When companies in this situation look to rebuild, they not only have to reestablish trust in the community, they have to mend the damage that left them at a deficit. Doral’s customers needed assurance. They needed to know that their bank is competent and reliable - more so than ever. But competence is only part of the brand-trust equation. Doral had to convince Puerto Ricans that it genuinely had their best interests at heart. Wakeman understood this. He knew that people had to believe that he and his bank would protect the vulnerability of its customers; that Doral was intensely and actively committed to their well-being.
Wakeman convincingly spoke to these concerns by addressing the area that hit closest to home: health care.
Health insurance is a huge topic for Americans right now. Almost 50 million Americans are uninsured. These citizens are typically poor, unemployed or in some other state of stress. Unfortunately, with issues such as breast cancer, early detection would prevent death in 98% of the cases. Of course, if you’re uninsured you don’t have access to annual mammogram testing. Without a simple mammogram test, your chances are dismal.
In 2008, Doral launched ‘Ruta Pink’ (Pink Route), a community initiative that promotes the early detection of breast cancer. Now a pink mobile clinic travels to various Doral Bank branches offering women free mammograms, as well as biopsies and referrals. This is a free service offered in conjunction with Susan G. Komen For The Cure Puerto Rico. So far, over 2100 women have accessed this life saving service as well as attend education seminars on women’s health.
Corporate Social Responsibility IS the bottom line
Unlike many other companies investing in Corporate Social Responsibility, Doral managed to connect the Ruta Pink initiative to it’s key services. Now, every time a woman opens a ‘Pink’ account, Doral makes a financial contribution to the Susan G. Komen foundation. “Municipalities are calling us and asking us to open branches in their communities and bring Ruta Pink with them,” Lucienne Gigante said. She told me that a key part of this community initiative was for “branch managers to be perceived as valuable leaders in their community.” Doral is providing their managers the tools to achieve that goal.
Within the first year of the bank’s transformation it was clear that Wakeman’s plan was working. By the Fall of 2008, the perception of Doral as a bank concerned for the well-being of the community improved by almost 100%. Positive sentiment toward Doral’s brand image overall improved by an impressive 58%. This positive perception translated into an increase in clients from 400,000 to 450,000 and in deposits by 5%.
Selflessness and altruism make for bad volunteers. Without self-interest, volunteers easily opt out of commitments and objectify those they are trying to help.
Good: just not good enough
When people show up to volunteer for the first time there are multiple reasons behind that decision. Almost certainly, those reasons are extrinsic. A motivation is extrinsic when it exists outside of the person - like an athlete who feels compelled to run harder when he hears the crowd cheer him on. On the other hand, intrinsic motivation exists within us - like when that athlete runs harder because of the pleasure the sport brings. (For more on extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation read Part 1 of this series). When it comes to volunteering, it’s not that extrinsic motivation isn’t good - it’s just not good enough.
Extrinsic motivations aren’t good enough because they don’t last. On the other hand, when our motivation is intrinsic, personal, and tied to our identity, it becomes a priority. If we want people to volunteer with us over the long haul, then we must leave behind the glorified altruistic, for genuine self-interest.
But wait, isn’t volunteering is about giving back? Isn’t it about appreciating how much we have, and helping someone who doesn’t have so much? Volunteering is selfless, isn’t it? Doing good, solving problems, making the world a better place?
It’s Us. Helping Them.
Right?
Well, that’s certainly where we all start. But there comes a point when our good intentions toward others threaten to transform them from people into objects.
My true value
Sunday Suppers in Halifax were held each week in the gym of St Andrews United Church. Our guests were men, women and children experiencing the full spectrum of poverty. Most were dealing with addictions and mental illnesses, many were homeless. We served approximately 150 meals to these families each Sunday. The meals were organized so that over the course of a year thousands of people could experience volunteering. People could show up on a whim without any prior commitment, preparation or experience. I simply oriented them with a 15-minute introduction before serving the meal.
Now, I knew that out of the 50 to 70 volunteers, only a handful would know anything about the issues of poverty, homelessness, addiction or mental illness. I also knew that they sincerely wanted to help in some way. Most of them had intended to serve at Sunday Suppers for some time, but their busy lives had kept them away. That is, until today.
Today, these people had managed to set aside other commitments in order to show up. They were ready to make a difference, feed the hungry, solve a problem. So, I introduced myself and gave a quick sketch of how the meal would operate. Then, I took a few minutes to address our volunteers’ expectations:
“The poor are not a problem to be solved, and we are not going to make a dent in the issues of hunger here today.”
All eyes blinked, clearly asking, “Yes? So what, in fact, are we planning to accomplish by handing out all this food?”
I continued, “We are here to remember who we are; where our true value lies. We have been bombarded all week by messages that try to persuade us that our value is found in the labels on our clothes, the model of our car, the square footage of our house, the letters in our degree, and the tonnage of our consumption. We are driven to buy more, sell more, make more, consume more.”
Many heads nodded in silent, exhausted agreement.
“But none of these things make us valuable. Not any more than the complete lack of these things make our guests - the men, women and children waiting to receive this meal - less valuable.
Rather, we each possess an innate value that transcends these trappings and the frenzied activities of our lives.”
The group had become quiet. Some looked at the floor, others exchanged knowing glances. “In fact, as a volunteer at this meal, your highest contribution is simply being here. Now don’t get me wrong, we need people to run the meals, wash the dishes and clean the floors,’ I said as I smiled and elbowed the guy next to me. ‘But the most amazing gift you have to offer is the simple message “You are worth it”. By showing up here today for just a couple hours, you’re telling our guests, “You are worth some of my life.”
While you were pressured all week to do more, gain more, become more, these men and women were being told to get off the street, get away from the door, go find a job. Two hours of your life this Sunday afternoon is priceless. Because today we remember together who we are. We remind each other where our true value lies. And we lift each other up in a celebration of life, community and hope.”
The orientation would conclude with a brief prayer of gratitude. Then, we would walk out together to spend time with our guests...and to remember, if only for a few moments, our mutually innate value.
Where our true value lies
At Sunday Suppers, the time volunteers spent among the guests was essential. It was when the line between “us and them” became sufficiently blurred. Who is serving and who is being served? Who really gives, and who receives? Unless we become personally engaged with those we are serving, we will find ourselves working to fix them. Our goal will focus on enabling them to look, act, and talk like “us.” Sure, we want these things for good reasons. Poverty is not a ‘culture’ to be preserved and cherished. It is, rather, a societal class that exists because of systemic injustice and apathy. But there is a defining difference between viewing poverty as an issue to be addressed, and objectifying those affected by poverty by viewing them as a problem to be fixed.
When we are motivated to help someone else we naturally consider what good we can do, what resources we have to offer, and how we can actively be a part of some kind of solution. We want to ‘fix’ something, develop a solution to the problem. We want to make life better. Again, there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as that’s the starting point. If we stay there, with those notions of the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ we will almost certainly begin to objectify people.
Self-interest, not altruism is what makes for a great volunteer. Help your volunteers discover the personal reasons they have for being there. Doing so will ensure their commitment and keep them from objectifying those they are working with.
Many argue that volunteer rates are falling. They complain that people today (usually young people) won’t make commitments to a cause. The problem, people tell me, is that volunteers want to know what’s in it for them. Yep, it’s true. But self-interest isn’t the problem. It’s the solution.
Why we do what we do
People volunteer for every imaginable reason.
“I have so much, I just want to give back.” or, “We wanted to be part of the solution.” or, “There are people out there who need our help.” Or so on. And so forth.
Some are prompted by an advertisement on the subway. Others are invited to volunteer by friends or family. It may be that they were urged to get more active in the community by our religious leaders. Or possibly, someone took President Obama’s message of activism to heart.
All good reasons. Just not good enough.
The best reason for volunteering is always self-interest.
I know, I know. You think I am drunk-blogging. Hold on, I’ll explain.
“Self-interested volunteering” seems generally at odds with everything we’ve come to believe about volunteering. Right? “Self-interested volunteers.” Isn’t that an oxy-moron? What about altruism and the greater good?
In Realized Worth training sessions we raise this controversial point and discuss two reasons why self-interest is an essential aspect of an outstanding volunteer experience. Both reasons have to do with motivation.
First, as my partner Angela Parker will tell you with great conviction, “We all do what we want.” Meaning, there is always some kind of motivation and pay-off for the choices we make. When it comes to motivation, the discussion can get pretty complicated. Very rarely (if at all) will someone make a choice with singular motivation. Usually there are multiple motivators, each compelling the other. (Test this by evaluating why you chose the particulars of your lunch yesterday.)
The Ins and Outs of Motivation
For simplicity’s sake, I would suggest that we experience two kinds of motivation: one; extrinsic and two; intrinsic. When people volunteer for the first time, they are usually motivated extrinsically. (Such as a desire to “give back.”) Extrinsic motivators exist outside of an individual. They are not intimate. And while extrinsic motivations are important, they are not deeply rooted in our personality. More precisely, they are not essential factors in our journey to become who we are.
In nearly two decades now of managing volunteers, extrinsic motivators are almost always the reason volunteers offer for showing up. And honestly, that’s great. There’s nothing wrong with extrinsic motivation. But as time went on, and my volunteers came back, we would invariably have the following conversation:
“Hey Chris, can I talk to you for a sec?”
“Sure,” I’d say.
“Well, it’s just that I’m feeling a little guilty about something.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. I mean, I love volunteering and everything, but I think I’m coming for the wrong reasons.”
“Okay...” I’d answer, trying to look like I didn’t know what they were going to say next.
“Um, yeah. I mean, at first I wanted to help out, you know - make a difference. But now, I think I’m getting more out of it than they are. I just don’t know if I am helping anyone here, but I keep coming back because I’m getting a lot out of it. Is that bad?”
“Nope, that’s not bad. That’s how it’s supposed to work.” I’d say, mentally adding this volunteer to the list in my mind labeled, “Valuable.”
It is essential that people begin to discover their intrinsic motivations for volunteering. Why? Because when the things we do connect to who we are, we become personally invested. Our own identity works itself out in conjunction with volunteering. As we reach out to others, we begin to take a journey inward. We begin to discover and express our truer self.
If we remain motivated by exterior voices trying to convince us that we must help, or it is our duty, we will unfortunately remain personally detached from the work itself. In fact, extrinsic motivators such as rewards, incentives, or public recognition at a year-end celebration, may have a negative effect in the long run. In a 1974 study by Green & Lepper, children were rewarded and reinforced for drawing with felt-tip pens. The surprising result? The children showed little to no interest in playing with the pens later on. It seems that the extrinsic motivation of verbal reward replaced any intrinsic motivation, thereby diminishing the innate enjoyment of the activity.
Creating the right kind of space in a volunteer program for people to discover their intrinsic motivation is essential. This is probably the single most important factor in the recruitment and retainment of volunteers. This kind of space is highly valuable for the volunteer manager because it allows for the possibility of meeting volunteers at their highest level of contribution.
There’s another reason why self-interest is essential aspect of an outstanding employee volunteer program. (Actually there are a whole bunch of reasons!) In our next blog post, we’ll talk about how volunteering fosters objectification. It may, in fact, inoculate people against the desire to participate in social action.
31 websites with excellent resources, links, media, tools, news and much more.
20 people to follow on twitter who will ensure you know everything there is to know about CSR and Sustainability.
The '10 Must Have' sites on CSR:
3BL Media: A recent newcomer, this site keeps getting better and better. TheCSRminute,
a daily video digest covering relevant CSR and Sustainability news, is
a fantastic idea. The 3BL team scours the global media to cover some of
the most important events and news in the world of CSR. I especially
have appreciated the aggressive compilation of leading bloggers in CSR. You'll find them on twitter as theCSRfeed. They are very interactive and are collecting followers fast.
APEsphere: The
name has multiple meanings, but is an acronym meaning “Agents of
Progressive Enterprise”. The site has a broad range of topics within
CSR and sustainability. Good writing and helpful content. You can
follow the Apebot on twitter or connect directly with the 2 founders Andrew Newton or Angela Peterson Newton Boston College Centre for Corporate Citizenship:
We are big fans of BCCC. They offer good research and are leaders in
the field of CSR and Community Engagement. But for some of the good
stuff, you have to have a membership, and it’s not cheap. The lowest
price is $2000 - yikes! They are on twitter, but are not too active at this point.
Business Respect:
This is Mallen Baker’s site, and he offers a collection of current news
on CSR issues. Great resource section with reviews and rating system -
very helpful. BusinessRespect is on twitter also.
CSRwire:
This site has a huge following and is considered the standard for CSR
news. It is an attractive site and easy to use. You can even
participate as a member of the community by sharing your articles,
video, audio and commentaries. On twitter they are CSRwire but they maintain a modest presence there.
Eldis:
A massive site with a plethora of free resources. You can create a
profile, interact with other members, view information by region, look
for jobs, even receive the content free on CD-ROm. Follow Eldis on twitter.
Ethical Corporation:
This is the online version of the Ethical Corporation magazine
published 10 times each year. While the quality of the podcasts is not
always the best (background noise and other strange audio sounds) the
resources on this site are numerous and of superior quality. They are
on twitter as Ethical_Corp.
Triple Pundit:
You’ll find information and articles about sustainability and business.
With over 35 writers and guest bloggers, the perspective and scope is
wide and varied. Follow them on twitter.
Business in the Community:
Located in the UK, this business-led coalition has been around since
1982 and has over 800 members. Good research, publications and case
studies. One of my favorite tools is the Jargon Buster. On twitter, they are bitc1.
Sustainability Forum:
News, discussions, blogs, job postings - this site has it all. It is
managed by Fabian Pattberg who also utilizes twitter very well. You can
follow him as FabianPattberg.
10 CSR Bloggers you should know about:
David Coethica’s Blog:
Based in the UK, David always offers insightful and meaningful blog
entries for his readers. I’ve even cross-posted some of his articles I
appreciate them so much! Follow David on twitter - http://twitter.com/davidcoethica Business Musings:
Ramesh is from India, but lives and works in China. He is on a
sabbatical after many years of corporate life. As part of the process,
he has decided to discuss his thinking on business and corporate
responsibility via his blog. I enjoy reading an informed perspective
from the other side of the globe.
Corporate and Responsible:
Lucia Candu writes her blog from New York city, having recently
relocated from the Eastern European country of Moldova. She has a
wealth of experience in the business, nonprofit and government sectors
which is evident as she writes about CSR, sustainability, corporate
citizenship and ethical business.
Crane and Matten blog: Andrew Crane and Dirk Matten are professors at the Schulich School of Business
(York University located here in Toronto). They manage to offer a blog
that’s both accessible and yet solidly academic. You can read this blog
with confidence, knowing that the perspectives and insights are well
informed.
FabianPatterg.com:
Fabian Pattberg’s blog is a companion to his Sustainability Forum site
and his twitter activity. His blog rounds out the picture nicely.
Follow Fabian on twitter - http://twitter.com/FabianPattberg
Mallen Baker:
This site is a staple for anyone doing anything with CSR. Mr Baker
knows what he’s talking about - and he’s talking about pretty much
everything CSR. Follow Mallen on twitter - http://twitter.com/MallenBaker
CSR-Reporting:
Want to know how to read a CSR report? Wondering what a CSR report is
and what purpose it serves? Do you enjoy good writing about ice cream?
Then you have to read Elaine Cohen’s blog (she writes a lot about ice
cream - she just likes it a lot). Follow Elaine on twitter - http://twitter.com/elainecohen (and notice the icecream on her page!!) CSR International:
Anyone interested in CSR will eventually come across Wayne Visser, a
professor of CSR at Cambridge, and the founder of CSR International. He
is very active in the field, and offers a unique and candid voice on
the topic. Follow Wayne on twitter - http://twitter.com/waynevisser
The Business Ethics Blog: Chris
MacDonald teaches philosophy at Saint Mary’s University in my hometown
of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Recently we got together and hosted a tweetup
here in Toronto. His is a well written and insightful blog, rounding
out the issues of CSR by looking at things from the perspective of
ethics. Follow Chris on twitter - http://twitter.com/ethicsblogger
Evolving Choice:
Aaron Fu and Katherine Liew write a very accessible blog on
Sustainability and CSR. Having both been educated in Australia, and
with Aaron now working in Prague, there is a certain eclectic quality
in regional perspective (which I like). Follow Aaron on twitter http://twitter.com/AaronQFu - as well as Katherine - http://twitter.com/katherineliew
30 (plus 1) sites to complete your CSR favorites list:
Accountability: A global Nonprofit pushing the CSR agenda forward.
Accountability-Central: A fantastic site, easy to use with great information, resources and links.
Business for Social Responsibility: A consulting company providing good information and perspective on events in the world of CSR. B Corporation: Limited resources and news information, but a 'must' site for any business serious about CSR.
Caux Round Table: Decent resources and a global perspective. Chlorogy: A new site I’m just making my way around, Chlorogy offers a diverse and extensive perspective on CSR and Sustainability.
Corporate Knights:
A Canadian product, they may actually have the world’s largest
circulation for a magazine with an explicit focus on corporate
responsibility.
CSR-NEWS.net: An attractive site with good news coverage, but you have to pay $70 for the research and articles. Ethical Performance: An okay site, but for the good stuff you need an expensive subscription.
Force for Good: I’ve just started using this site, and I’m enjoying the site’s layout and accessibility.
Good Magazine:
This online version of the magazine is out to do some good. Period. Fun
and informative, there’s not a stuffy attitude to be found here.
Goodness500: Want to see how businesses stack up in the ratings? This site offers an interesting transparency and scoring system. Global Reporting Initiative: This reporting focused site is a necessary part of anybody’s CSR resource list.
Institute of Business Ethics: Not entirely helpful, and you pretty much have to pay for all the publications. Actually not sure why I am including this one.
Jantzi Research: If you’re in Canada, you’ll want to bookmark this link. If not, then probably not.
Project Label:
I love this site. If you want to know how a company rates when it comes
to CSR, then this site’s for you. You can even make contributions to
the rating profile. I spend way too much time here.
Social Innovations Conversations: Don’t want to read your CSR news? Then this site’s for you. Great topics, excellent guests and good quality. Small Business Journey: If you’re a small to medium size business interested in CSR, then this site will be a very helpful resource. Stanford Social Innovation Review:
This is the online version of Stanford’s magazine (which is impossible
to find in Canada by the way). A decent site with good information for
the Nonprofit side of the discussion.
Sustainability: This global consultancy/think-tank offers decent research for free.
The Center for Corporate Sustainability:
All about Sustainability and environmental issues. I like the link
list, but I can’t figure why it’s not hyper-linked to the actual sites.
Transparency International:
These whistle blowers are all about putting the spotlight on corrupt
corporations and business practices around the world. They’ll point you
in the right direction for news and articles related to corporate
transparency (or the lack of it). World Business Council for Sustainable Development: A bit boring layout, but good links and information.
UN Global Compact: This site needs to be in your bookmark list. Why? It’s the United Nations for pete’s sake!
Trust: Why Business Lost It, And How To Win It Back (Part 3 of 3)
If business wants to regain the public’s trust, they’re going to have to be trustworthy, and employees are the key. Here are three basic steps to engage your employees, build social capital, and win stakeholder trust.
There's a lot here, so take your time with it, read it in pieces, and as always, share your thoughts and insights.
Trust: "Can I get a loan?"
Many companies are turning to Corporate Social Responsibility as a strategy to win back the trust of their stakeholders and customers. But there is an irony here. For this strategy to work, it requires the very ingredient it seeks to generate - trust. Let’s consider exactly what a company is proclaiming when they use the phrase “Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR).
CSR is a form of corporate self-regulation. Businesses promise to obey the law and maintain ethical standards in their activities. They are promising to promote the common good of the communities in which they operate, and proactively curtail any and all functions that may cause harm, whether specifically illegal or not. The popular maxim of People, Planet and Profit is the triple bottom line. Essentially, the company is taking responsibility for their actions and how they impact: a) the environment, b) consumers, c) employees, d) communities, e) various stakeholders, and f) the entire public sphere. It is a pretty significant commitment.
So, why in the world would I trust you with any of this ‘self-imposed’ regulation and prioritization if I don’t trust you in the first place? You cannot prove you are trustworthy by asking people to trust you even more.
If business wants to regain the public’s trust, they’re going to have to be trustworthy. But since they don’t possess enough trust capital in the first place, they’ll have to borrow it from somewhere. It would have been impossible for the financial institutions on Wall Street to generate the capital they needed to operate without an infusion of cash from the government. Similarly, corporations need a line of ‘trust’ credit in order to generate ‘intrinsic trust’.
In Part 2 of this series, Make your CSR believable? How? Create and Leverage Social Capital we made the connection between CSR, Social Capital and trust. Trust is the currency of social capital, and the bond that creates integrity/believability for CSR. But still, the conundrum remains - where to find the trust that CSR needs to increase trustworthiness? We hinted that the answer to this problem lies with the employees. Let’s discover how...
The Three Steps to restore Trust through a CSR strategy
Step 1: Make your CSR believable.
How? Create and Leverage Social Capital through your employees.
Any Corporate Social Responsibility strategy worth it’s salt will include an employee volunteering component (EVP). These EVPs are essential for creating credible CSR programs. Why? It is the employees that make CSR work inside and outside of the company. It doesn’t matter how much waste Wal-Mart reduces - if their managers are not treating employees ethically. And if Wal-Mart’s employees don’t believe in reducing waste during the workday, the company’s effort to reduce packaging material is essentially undermined.
Beyond making CSR strategies work, employees play the pivotal role of Community Ambassador. I recently sat with a Vice President of a major Canadian bank. She shrugged off her institutions efforts in CSR as ‘publicity stunts’. “Frankly, it’s pretty much an after-thought, with some poor guy running around the office trying to collect up all the good work and write a report.” If employees don’t believe their company’s advertising and CSR reports, they will actively undermine all marketing and promotional campaigns.
On the other hand, it is pretty damn hard to contradict employees who believe their company is making the world a better place. Starbucks does a pretty decent job of mobilizing their workforce as ambassadors of a global CSR strategy. (For an indepth look at this concept, check out the article 'Employee Volunteering and Social Capital: Contributions to Corporate Social Responsibility ' by Judy N. Muthuri, Jeremy Moon, Dirk Matten).
How? Use CSR as a social media platform, rather than a marketing tool.
The rise of CSR is inextricably linked to the sweeping popularity of social media. For an accurate and enjoyable synopsis of the major cultural shift social media has introduced, watch the following video:
In order for CSR to be trustworthy, it must have all the elements of transparency. The old media model of one message for the masses invokes exactly the opposite image. CSR thrives within the reciprocal dialogue of social media. But as a marketing tool, utilizing old methods of communication, it tends toward a surreptitious quality.
Social marketing, social media, and cause marketing are terms that we tend to confuse. (Laurie Hix of Brogan and Partners effectively explains these three concepts in a recent blog entry.) Simply put, CSR can use social marketing as part of an overall strategy to benefit the public. For example, promoting recycling or reducing energy use. CSR can also be part of a company’s cause marketing such as raising money and awareness for a specific issue. But social media is a big universe - in which CSR, cause marketing and social marketing all exist.
It would be a mistake to constrict your CSR strategy to fit the limited dimensions of social marketing or cause marketing. Doing this will leave you with a strategy that is distinctly artificial. You need to let it loose inside the universe of social media. Why?
Because CSR is all about trust.
And trust is the currency of Social Capital.
And Social Capital only exists within this model: reciprocal relationships with expected norms and exchanges of information and resources. Old media models deliver about as much reciprocity as the printed page. And in print alone, CSR is very much two dimensional.
So, produce CSR reports, but make them interactive. As Jonathan Ballantine notes in his article, “Building Trust in Corporate Responsibility” CSR is all about stakeholder engagement. Ballantine notes that “Dax Lovegrove of WWF believes committed organizations who genuinely engage in two-way communication with their stakeholders are ‘future proofing’ their business” (read the full article here sustainabilityforum.com) So, open a twitter account and discuss ideas, accomplishments and opportunities for improvement. Above all, bring your employees in on the discussion. If your CSR is legitimate, and your communication/employee training process effective, you’ll gain an army of active followers to your CSR cause, rather than skeptical bystanders.
Step 3: Make your CSR effective.
How? Integrate your strategy with key business objectives, and measure the outcomes.
Many companies still treat their CSR activities as a kind of philanthropy. The idea of philanthropy is important, but it is only a part of CSR, not it’s entirety. CSR is a strategy that requires a management and reporting process. It is company-wide and should be fully integrated into all key areas of business. As I mentioned earlier, effective CSR involves stakeholders in the development of competitive products, processes and services that result in positive outcomes for people, planet and profit. But these outcomes are not only affected by what a company produces, but the manner in which it is produced. We’ve all hear the famous maxim by Marshall McLuhan ‘the medium is the message’. Well, in CSR terms, the process is the product. (Seriously, write that down. Put it up on your wall. Make it your mantra.) If companies relegate CSR to an after-the-fact marketing strategy, or a philanthropic donation throughout the year, they’ve missed the point entirely.
To be a truly socially responsible company, how you do what you do is of utmost importance.
This brings me to one of my most irksome observations: the photo op employee volunteer event. They are well run, and fairly well attended, but offer little to the bottom line. If your employee volunteer program is focused solely on benefiting your community, you are probably wasting everyone’s time, including the communities. Like all CSR activities, employee volunteer programs should be designed to integrate with key business areas, such as HR. How? The best companies are tying the volunteer work of their employees to developmental goals. Then, they take the time to measure the success of these efforts in annual performance reviews. Others are using the opportunity to place young executives on nonprofit boards to increase their leadership competencies. Again, working with the nonprofits to measure the successes of these efforts is essential - and honestly, its just good business sense.
Companies can establish themselves as trustworthy if they do these three things:
Outdo Wal-Mart. Utilize employees as key participants and promoters of the companies CSR practices. This will only work if the CSR is a genuine aspect of the companies culture. Hey, if Walmart is starting to figure it out.....
Stop Speeching. Create a dialogue with customers and stakeholders about your CSR aspirations, achievements and failures. Transparency and reciprocity are the key here. If that’s not possible, I’m not sure why we’re even talking about restoring trust for your company. You need to be exploring the tactics of the Cold War.
Remember: It’s all CSR, stupid. While CSR may be a department in your business, it is not a part of your business. Everything your company does, including everyone the company does business with is CSR. The process is the product.
Many argue that corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a practice is derived from the fact that companies failed to create trust and relationships with its stakeholders. Enron, WorldCom, AIG… CSR was born into a world because of failure, lack of oversight and is a concept that we must compel companies to follow. This stance has never sat right with me, as it makes CSR a dirty word that ethical and progressive companies shouldn’t subscribe.
Our culture often focused on the negative and minimum standards. No Child Left Behind. Sarbanes-Oxley. Now, certainly those have their place and I don’t mean to imply otherwise. However, the need to treat reaching such standards as exemplary simply reinforces that going above and beyond is not necessary. And when companies are found to be grossly negligent or perpetrate wrongs (Royal Dutch/Shell a most recent example), consumers do have a responsibility to say “no” with our dollar. However, why is that the end of the story? By focusing only on boycotting the negative, consumers end up spending our dollars in middle of the road companies that simply are able to be better by being average.
So when I stumbled upon Carrot Mob's site for the first time the other day, it’s no surprise that I nearly fell in love. The simple concept is that, as consumers, we must reward those companies in our communities that are making positive, socially responsible changes to their businesses. We reward them by shopping in their stores, using their services and recommending their company to our friends and family. Carrot Mob represents an attitudinal change that is simple and poignant. The image of thousands of customers descending on businesses with their wallets rather than picket signs makes me smile. The celebration of innovation and mindfulness in building profitable companies is something that, as consumers, we should seek out.
The tough part is that it puts – once again – the responsibility onto consumers to be thoughtful in where we shop and do business. There are groups throughout the country that make it easier to find such gems – The Green Alliance is here in my local corner of the world. They help companies communicate their efforts and impact to consumers and other stakeholders, so we can make informed purchasing decisions. It’s also time for me to start telling my kids why we DO shop places rather than just why we DON’T shop in others.
Turning CSR into a carrot, rather than a stick.
GUEST BLOG POST: Alyson Genovese is a freelance consultant on issues related to sustainability, corporate social responsibility, public affairs, and employee engagement. She has over 15 years of experience in the private, nonprofit and academic sectors. Alyson may be reached at alyson.genovese@gmail.com.
Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility, Green, Corporate Citizenship,
Corporate Volunteering. Get into the conversation - It starts here.
I have to admit, I’m always learning that I don’t know what I don’t know.
When it comes to the exponentially expanding conversation about
Corporate Social Responsibility, it is almost impossible to keep up. In
order to avoid spending every waking hour combing through countless
articles, blogs and press releases, I decided to get help.
And not just any help.
The miracle of social media has allowed access to the best of the best.
With it, I’ve enlisted the aid of experts in the field of Corporate
Social Responsibility. In turn, I’ve been able to make contributions
from my own area of expertise, Corporate Volunteering.
I figure you might want in on the game. Here’s a list of the sites I find the most beneficial:
In my opinion, the best feature is the staff. Highly interactive and proactive in facilitating connections, the JustMeans staff are key to optimizing the site. Co-founders, Kevin Long and Martin Smith, give it that vibrant and effective edge that really makes it stand out.
This
is one of the first sites I joined when looking for conversations about
CSR. It’s a Ning site, which allows you to create a fairly robust
personal profile to share. DevelopmentCrossing
has an international flavor, and provides solid information regarding
events and career opportunities. I’ve made a number of fruitful
connections here, and have found the discussions and blogs not only
useful - but interesting!
This site has a youthful feel, but all ages are welcome to join in the conversation. TakingItGlobal
is in fact, very global, with almost 250,000 members, in 269 countries
and 1169 schools. You can even interact with the site based on a
regional orientation; Europe, Asia, Africa etc.
The site is
chock full of features. You can create your own page, access resources,
sign petitions, download action guides, join others in making lifestyle
resolutions, utilize educator resources, or access how-to guides for
policy makers and community organizers - whew! If you’re a student, or
are interested in sustainability, activism and global issues affecting
the environment, politics and society at large, then this site is for
you.
This is the official site for CSR International, founded by Wayne Visser.
Wayne just launched the site a few months ago, but he brings years of
experience and dialogue with him. You’ll be able to find good
information, helpful links and a list of formative bloggers on the
topic of CSR.
If you’re interested in the actions to accompany the issues, these sites may be for you:
MySocialActions.com
will help you find and share opportunities to change the world by
collecting information from other sites, and then letting members
promote the ideas they like best. Change2.net
offers something similar to Socialactions, but with a distinctly
Australian perspective. You’ll want to check out the Resources section
to get some very practical help in figuring out how to make good
purchasing decisions, and to understand ‘green marketing’.
United.myimpact.org
is a site born out of President Obama’s call to service. This is a very
new Ning site, which again offers members the ability to create
profiles and connect with other people committed to impacting their
communities for positive change.
GetInvolved.ca For Canadians, this is a site that just keeps getting better. A project of the TVO television series ‘Get Involved’,
this site aims at mobilizing Canadians by creating a ‘lively socially
conscious networking community for individuals, not-for-profits,
charities and community organizations’. Stay tuned for further
developments on this increasingly user-friendly site.
Finally, one of the largest sites around for activism has got to be Idealist.org.
The site provides excellent resources and helpful links. It boasts over
200,000 members from all over the globe. It is, however, difficult to
use, and offers little opportunity to create a personal identity. In
fact, it may prove to be more a resource than a site for reciprocal
interaction.
After three days of celebrating, learning and sharing with exceptional service advocates from around the world, I left the conference energized and inspired to make a more significant impact in the communities in which we live and work. We all had access to tools and resources that have better equipped us to enhance our volunteer efforts, measure our impact and further develop meaningful relationships that will prove to be pivotal to building a nation committed to service. We are now partners in this effort - not individual companies, organizations and communities, but united as one driving force that will make an overwhelming difference in our society.
On Wednesday, I provided opening remarks for what I thought was one of the most interesting sessions of the conference: The White House session onSocial Innovation: Harnessing What Works to Address Critical National Challenges.
For those who are not familiar with it, The White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation is a newly created office located within the Domestic Policy Council and is responsible for coordinating efforts to enlist individuals, non-profits, social entrepreneurs, corporations and foundations as partners in solving social problems. Through the Social Innovation Fund, it works to identify the most promising non-profit programs, provide growth capital for these programs, and improve the use of data and evaluation to raise the bar on what programs the government funds.
One of the panelists, Michele Jolin, senior advisor for social innovation for the Domestic Policy Council at the White House, opened the session and underscored that “the Office represents President Obama’s new governing philosophy: providing growth capital to support projects that work, bringing promising projects to scale, and supporting others who are leading the change in their communities.” To me, this type of focused, measureable and sustainable philosophy and investment strategy is how we are going to spur valuable change and shift the norm within the social sector.
So what exactly is social innovation?
Another panelist, Steve Goldsmith, vice chair for the Corporation for National and Community Service, explained that “social innovation is a new organization or procedure that changes the way we operate and view ideas…These are the projects that are not only filled with energy and passion, but also have a sustainable business model and are focused on outcomes and impact.”
Panelist Cheryl Dorsey, president of EchoingGreen, a global non-profit that awards seed capital to social entrepreneurs, echoed this sentiment and further reiterated that the rise of social innovation comes from three overarching causes:
1. Technological advances and business entrepreneurs who want to apply their expertise toward creating innovations in the social sector 2. A change in attitudes, especially among millennials, who want to be a part of creating positive social change 3. The rise of new types of leaderswho understand the power of convening diverse parties and views to solve complex problems
How do we create an infrastructure that supports innovation?
Dorsey went on to explain that creating an ecosystem that supports innovation is critical to actually spurring change. She underscored the need to “value both ideas that work and do not work.” Understanding why something failed can be the key to unlocking the successful idea. She also reiterated “the value of open source platforms” where people can share thoughts, collaborate and build upon one another’s ideas to create change.
What is the role of business in social change?
Panelist Ian Hardman, president of Management Leadership for Tomorrow, a national non-profit that helps minority young adults prepare for professional leadership positions, underscored the need for business involvement to foster social innovation and change. “Businesses must create a culture of service [and innovation],” he said. With its expertise, resources and most importantly—its talent—businesses can be a powerful force in unlocking new ideas and driving change.
Dedicated “innovation spaces” like iPlace, an open forum that we have at PricewaterhouseCoopers for our 31,000 US employees to exchange ideas and spark discussion around different innovation themes, is exactly the type of information sharing tools that we need more of within the private sector.
This is just a snapshot of all of the discussion that came out of this informative session. To learn more and watch this entire session, click here.
Thanks to Chris Jarvis for letting me share my experiences and learnings from this amazing conference and thanks to all of you for following my blog. See you next year in New York City!
The photo below: Shannon Schuyler, US Managing Director of Corporate Responsibility for PricewaterhouseCoopers, introduces the White House Session on Social Innovation. Panelists included (from left to right): Michele Jolin, senior advisor for social innovation for the Domestic Policy Council at the White House; Steve Goldsmith, vice chair for the Corporation for National and Community Service; Cheryl Dorsey, president of EchoingGreen; Sarah Di Trioa, president, New Profit Inc.; and Ian Hardman, president of Management Leadership for Tomorrow
