Socially responsible business is key to attracting new customers and clients, as well as top talent. As ethics and the environment become increasingly important to people everywhere, ensuring you have a socially responsible business will set you apart from your competitors, improve brand awareness, and build employee engagement. Take a read of this blog to discover how you can reap the rewards of building a more socially responsible business.
Company Culture
Growing a socially responsible business begins with company culture, and within this comes a code of ethics including the company stance on values, the environment, diversity, and customer service. It’s important to outline your company values so that people can understand what your organisation stands for, and so you can easily work towards social causes and projects which are meaningful to your values.
Socially responsible business comes from working towards causes that have real meaning for your organisation, and this comes down to your values, your community, and your company objectives. Getting behind more meaningful causes allows you as a socially responsible business to give back to your community whilst sending a clear message about the values of your brand. Address the issues that matter to your socially responsible business, your employees, and your audience and pinpoint the organisations, charities, and social enterprises you can work with to combat these causes.
Employees
When it comes to socially responsible business, getting the buy-in of your employees is essential. What’s more, you’ll need to ensure that everyone at all levels of the company are involved and passionate about giving back, and that’s why your social objectives should centre around your community and what’s important to your teams. Lead your socially responsible business by example by making sure management are heavily involved in your CSR and authentic ESG efforts.
The best way to ensure all of your employees are invested in your socially responsible business is to give them a voice. Make them a big part of the decision-making process when it comes to deciding which causes to back, and encourage them to get involved by having meetings and sending them important CSR-related information. Dedicate some time to discuss ideas with your team members as to how to have a more positive impact in the community. Contributing to those causes will give your employees a greater sense of purpose at work, all whilst improving their connection to their community and the one in which they work.
Encourage volunteering among your team members, and you can even consider rewarding those employees who do decide to get involved. Team volunteering initiatives help your employees to build strong bonds with one another whilst contributing to a good cause, which will ultimately build productivity and collaboration.
Strategy
Your strategy for becoming an even more socially responsible business should include ways you can contribute to your community all year round. Once you have established your mission and decided which organisations and causes you and your team are interested in working towards, you can then ask your employees whether they’re interested in offering donations, sponsorships, or volunteer hours. This will ensure your teams are invested in your social objectives, and will give them a greater sense of meaning and purpose.
Within your strategy, you should pinpoint which short-term and long-term goals you want to achieve, particularly focusing on immediate issues within your community. Use the resources you have to offer skilled volunteering hours and use your brand voice to highlight which causes you’re working on in your community. Contributing regularly will ensure that community causes are considered on an ongoing basis, resulting in more meaningful outcomes and a consistent sense of purpose for your employees.
Get involved with local organisations to stand out within your community. This approach allows you to start at the grassroots, engaging with local nonprofits, charities, and social enterprises to build a more sustainable society. This socially responsible business strategy will improve brand awareness within your community, building profits as you work towards meaningful causes. The next step of your strategy should include marketing to promote your efforts. Showcase your socially responsible business through your website, social media, and local campaigns to ensure your favourite causes are continually worked on, and your audiences become aware of your objectives as well as the fact that you are indeed a socially responsible business.
Reporting
Reporting on your socially responsible business goals is the next important step in your strategy. Keep documentation of your activities as well as the results of your initiatives. This will enable you to develop an ongoing strategy by confirming which activities have had the most positive impact on your community and on your socially responsible business.
At Investors In Community, not only do we showcase the most meaningful causes within your community, but our platform allows you to donate, fundraise, volunteer, and sponsor as an individual and as a wider team. When you and your team donate your valuable time and resources to a cause with Investors In Community, you’ll also receive Community Credits. These tokens of social value put a number on your socially responsible business efforts. For every cause you contribute to, you and your team will receive Community Credits, allowing you to build a score that you can showcase on your website and on social media. This will highlight your socially responsible business within your community, building brand awareness, prospects, and allowing you to continue contributing to the community causes that matter most to your organisation. Through our platform, you can also seamlessly coordinate and communicate with your teams of volunteers and fundraisers, all whilst tracking their progress and the different projects they’re working towards. What’s more, all donations from the company need to be verified by Super Admins on the platform. This means that no donation will go unnoticed by your team, building morale and a sense of purpose as you work towards great causes in your community. Simply click here for a free trial and begin your socially responsible business venture.