Clue #1: The Self-Appointed Director of Recycling

Who’s in charge of going green at your company? Do you know? Is there such a person? Maybe it’s nobody. Maybe it’s even you! In lots of companies, employees are doing everything they can to create a socially responsible lifestyle in the workplace to match the socially responsible lifestyle they lead outside of work. And that includes respecting the environment. It’s not uncommon for leadership to emerge from within the employee base, with two or three employees making sustainability their personal mission, sending out email reminders to turn off lights, ensuring that every desk has a recycling bin right next to it, even replacing plastic forks and knives in the breakroom with real silverware to cut down on waste. In light of the fact that 86 percent of young employees would consider leaving an employer if the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) values no longer met their expectations, self-appointed employee leadership can be a very good thing in a company. But how can an employer encourage employee leadership and still keep the business humming along, optimizing human resources toward the company’s bottom line? That is the question! How do you know your company needs a formula for CSR success? A self-appointed director of recycling just might be your first clue.

Clue #2: Your Inbox Isn’t Big Enough Anymore

Are you getting more and more letters and emails asking your company to support worthy causes? Do invitations to charity events land in your inbox almost every day? Do some of these requests come from important clients and customers? Do some even come from employees in your own company? How do you know which causes are worth supporting? You are not alone! The number of nonprofit organizations is increasing steadily, at the rate of nearly 30,000 new organizations each year. The total number of nonprofit organizations in America now totals over 1.5 million! No wonder your inbox is filling up. Your inbox isn’t likely to be empty anytime soon. The socially responsible lifestyle is here to stay. At home, and in the workplace. Indeed, 83 percent of consumers are willing to change their consumption habits if it can help make tomorrow’s world a better place to live. But that doesn’t mean you can’t regain control. Optimizing your corporate social responsibility (CSR) budget is a great place to start. By streamlining your company’s employee engagement and CSR activities, you’ll be better able to meet your budget goals and improve employee and brand engagement at the same time. How do you know your company needs a formula for CSR success? Your inbox might be your second clue.

Clue #3: Your Program Isn’t Popular

Got a matching gifts program at the company? Lots of good companies do! A matching gifts program can be a terrific part of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. Why is it, then, that the average participation in employee matching gifts programs is only 7 percent? Especially considering that 88 percent of new job seekers choose employers based on strong corporate social responsibility values. The truth is that employee matching gifts programs often aren’t structured the way employees wish they were. Is the program a genuine employee benefit, designed to celebrate the causes that are most important to the employees? Or is the purpose of the program to direct employees to give to the company’s favorite causes? Either purpose can work. The trouble is that most companies don’t know which purpose is best for the company. So there’s just no clarity, for anyone. But it doesn’t have to be that way. A CSR program framework can help determine which elements your CSR program should include and how to divide the roles and responsibilities for the program in your company. The right structure for your CSR program will increase employee participation, improving employee and brand engagement and fostering the socially responsible lifestyle in your company, a priority for today’s employees and customers. How do you know your company needs a formula for CSR success? If your program isn’t popular, you might be onto your third clue.

Clue #4: To Brag or Not To Brag. Is That Your Question?

Your company is doing a lot! You sponsor charity and civic events. You give employees time off to volunteer. You donate to your customers’ favorite causes. Your recycling program was up and running long before recycling was popular. Every member of your executive team serves on at least one community board or committee. Your pro bono work and product donations increase every single year. But should you talk about it? Is it too self-serving to celebrate all of that doing good by mentioning it in your public relations and marketing communications? If that’s your question, good for you! Humility is a good thing! But what if you could stay humble and share your stories, too? Impossible? No way! Not if you’ve aligned your corporate social responsibility program (CSR) with the company’s mission. When it comes to CSR, figuring out the best mission–for the company, its employees, its customers, and the community–is a best practice, practically guaranteed to give you the ability to do good, stay humble, and spread the word. All at the same time. How do you know your company needs a formula for CSR success? If “to brag or not to brag” is your question, you can be pretty sure you’ve found your fourth clue.

Clue #5: You’ve Got CMC (Cause Marketing Confusion)

You see it everywhere! Companies and brands aligning with causes. And promoting it, everywhere. In advertising. In office and retail locations. On packaging labels. In new product promotions. All over social media. Even sometimes wrapped up in the brand itself. Feeling a little left out? Not sure where to begin? Not sure cause marketing is a fit for your company? Don’t worry. If you’ve come down with a case of cause marketing confusion, you’re in good company. Literally. Plenty of top-notch businesses have yet to add cause marketing to their to-do lists. For very good reasons, too. What if the company selects a cause that backfires, making customers and employees mad instead of happy? What if the cause has a bad reputation you weren’t aware of? What if the company spends more money on the cause marketing parts of the product or service than the profit it makes? All very good questions! A case of cause marketing confusion might turn out to be a very good thing. It means you are taking your time, weighing your options, looking at return on investment, determining whether your business really needs cause marketing as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. The answer may be yes. The answer may be no. Either one can work, and work well. But without the analysis, you’ll never know whether you picked the right answer. How do you know your company needs a formula for CSR success? If you’ve come down with a case of cause marketing confusion, congratulations. You’ve stumbled onto your fifth clue.  

Clue #6: Where Did This Foundation Come From?

It happens. Someone in the office is cleaning out a filing cabinet, recycling old papers, creating space, decreasing the carbon footprint. All good! And that someone stumbles on an important-looking file. A file that doesn’t appear to have been touched for a while. As in a few years. “Do we have a corporate foundation?” that someone asks. “I’ve never heard of it.” Where did that foundation come from? Perhaps it got lost in the shuffle of the merger. Or maybe the person in charge of the foundation retired last year and it’s just never been reassigned. Or maybe a handful of people know all about it, but the everyone else is in the dark. It happens! And it’s okay. Because something can be done. Build an action plan for your corporate social responsibility (CSR) program, including activities, program structure, timeline, budget considerations and roles and responsibilities to create an effective socially responsible lifestyle for your company. Make sure your roadmap reflects best practices in CSR. And that includes mission alignment with the company’s business, strategic selection of causes, efficient program structure, employee engagement, measuring progress and communicating success. Corporate foundations are easy to manage if you have a plan. But they’re not so fun if you don’t have a plan. How do you know your company needs a formula for CSR success? Got a foundation that doesn’t fit? That’s a pretty good clue.

Clue #7: When You Whiteboard Employee Engagement, You Get Modern Art

Oh my. It makes no sense. It’s all over the board. It’s modern art. Wellness. Volunteer hours. Dollars for doers. Serving on boards. Going green. Selling Girl Scout cookies and golf tournament tickets. Fundraising campaigns. Matching gifts. Employee satisfaction surveys. Strategic planning processes. Team-building retreats. Canned food drives. Jeans day. Taking up a collection for a ill colleague. Put it all up on a whiteboard and it looks like modern art. Or alphabet soup. Or just plain chaos. Chaos isn’t always a bad thing. It means you’ve got lots of enthusiastic employees who are excited about giving to charity. And volunteering. And leading. And recycling. And taking care of themselves and others. But chaos simply is not an effective corporate social responsibility (CSR) plan. Chaos won’t get your company the employee and brand engagement it’s looking for. A CSR program should follow best practices if it’s going to be as successful as it deserves to be. That means defining the program. And setting goals. And building a framework. And a roadmap. And implementing it to get measurable results. How do you know your company needs a formula for CSR success? If you get modern art when you whiteboard employee engagement, you’ve discovered a pretty big clue.

Clue #8: Where’s the Glue?

Virtual offices. Remote workstations. Flex time. Multiple locations. Your employees are spread all over the place! What’s the glue that will hold them together, creating the corporate culture of success you know you need for the company to succeed? That’s where corporate social responsibility (CSR) can come in handy. Get your employees involved–on your terms. What’s hot when it comes to engaging employees in a CSR program? Surveying employees is a great place to start. That way, you can determine existing and potential levels of engagement in a corporate giving program and set your goals accordingly. You can even start an employee giving campaign to engage everyone in a handful of strategic causes that bolster the company’s market position. Or perhaps consider establishing a birthday program for employees to celebrate each person’s gifts to the community. Or start up an employee education program about how your employees can make the most of doing good. And it doesn’t have to break your budget. CSR. Employee engagement. You have to do both. Why not combine the two and get the most bang for your buck? How do you know your company needs a formula for CSR success? Maybe the missing glue is a clue.

Clue #9: What happened to all the talent?

How’s it going, acquiring top talent? And retaining that talent? How successful are you when it comes to getting the kind of people your company needs to stay at the top of its industry? If you’re not attracting and retaining the stars, maybe it’s because you don’t have the right corporate social responsibility (CSR) plan. After all, 88 percent of new job seekers choose employers based on strong corporate social responsibility values. And 86 percent of these employees would consider leaving if the company’s corporate social responsibility values no longer met their expectations. Employees–and consumers–want a socially responsible lifestyle, at home and in the workplace. They want to give money to favorite charities. And volunteer time to a favorite cause. And recycle, helping to keep the environment sustainable. And serve in leadership roles, like nonprofit boards and committees at kids’ schools. They want to buy products that support a cause. And care for people in need. And care for themselves and their families. Working for good companies–doing business with good companies–is a must-have in any socially responsible lifestyle. How do you know your company needs a formula for CSR success? If you’re wondering what happened to all the talent, that might just be your biggest clue.

#1. Create compelling stories of brand-building CSR experiences.

To generate authentic, audience-engaging content based on CSR best practices, we research, plan and implement CSR experiences that involve consumers, employees and community causes. These experiences are ideally suited to launch a new product, enter a new market, or create spike in a brand’s visibility. In addition to doing good in the community, a CSR experience allows a company to gain market feedback in a setting that also builds CSR credibility and engages employees in something meaningful.

For example, a tire company hosts a community workshop for consumers to learn about children and car safety, partnering with a national safety advocacy organization such as KidsAndCars.org. The workshop is designed to gain insight into consumer behavior related to tires and automobiles, but at the same time the tire company creates a story to tell about its CSR program.

The point of these experiences is not to generate large crowds at the experience itself. Rather, the experiences are tightly designed around best practices in CSR so that the experience can be written up and published as a case study and pushed out to the company’s various audiences. The experiences are all about story creation to generate rich content for the company’s marketing efforts.

#2.  Unlock the power of your CSR program.

Philanthropy, corporate sustainability, regulatory guidelines, governance standards. Social responsibility is based on complicated subject matter. Determining the totality of CSR activities within a company is difficult without a strong working knowledge of the CSR space. That’s why we conduct an inventory of a company’s social responsibility activities. This inventory forms the basis for identifying gaps and refinement opportunities within an existing CSR program. We conduct the inventory through employee surveys, document review, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews. We base our research and review techniques on best practices and the work of the most forward-thinking thought leaders in the CSR industry. We produce a compelling report–a framework for the company’s CSR strategy–filled with a baseline of raw content that gives the executive team high quality material to begin to authentically celebrate the company’s CSR commitment. The purpose of the inventory is to help a company take its program to the next level and create an asset to drive business growth.

#3. Tap the energy of your talented team.

A CSR strategy can be difficult to deploy toward corporate growth if CSR is viewed internally as a project of a single department. An employee who is unaware of the rationale behind a company’s giving decisions is detached from a key element of the brand. To bridge that gap, we recommend that a company launch an initiative to engage employees in the CSR program. Engagement can take many forms, and we recommend the best approach for your company. Strategies include an employee CSR summit; “micro grants” to foster innovation and community engagement that aligns with corporate values; meaningful, well-vetted employee volunteer opportunities; an internal communications plan to harness the energy of employee-led fundraising and volunteering efforts; and an internal role definition exercise. An inclusive approach to CSR drives improved talent recruitment and retention, reinforcing the success of the company’s CSR strategy.

#4. Accelerate business development through CSR-based sales training.

CSR is a selling point for any company. But most companies cannot answer the following question: “How are you using your CSR platform to drive new business?” Success in this area is accelerated through a targeted effort to train sales staff to use CSR-based messaging to speed up the sales cycle, generate leads, and identify new customers. Training components include an interactive webinar and reference materials for all customer-facing positions. The objective is for the sales team to be armed with clear, concise and consistent messaging about the company’s CSR platform in customer interactions as a way of differentiating the company from its competitors.

#5. Report CSR success to increase brand stature.

We review and compile giving data, case studies, employee surveys, and activity highlights to create content for a company’s annual CSR report. Rather than simply reciting charitable investments and employee activities, which is typical of most CSR reports, we produce content for an annual report that captures the company’s leadership and innovation in the CSR space, referencing the work of national thought leaders. This form of best practices CSR reporting is consistent with an emerging national trend toward corporate social responsibility and sustainability reporting led by the Global Reporting Initiative, but in a more manageable and marketable format. In addition, a company typically benefits from an analysis of its CSR strategy compared with the strategies of industry competitors. We recommend conducting a competitive scan once a year to keep company executives up to date and fully aware of the competition in the CSR space.

Feeling a little left out? Not sure where to begin? Not sure cause marketing is a fit for your company? Don’t worry. If you’ve come down with a case of cause marketing confusion, you’re in good company. Literally. Plenty of top-notch businesses have yet to add cause marketing to their to-do lists. For very good reasons, too. What if the company selects a cause that backfires, making customers and employees mad instead of happy? What if the cause has a bad reputation you weren’t aware of? What if the company spends more money on the cause marketing parts of the product or service than the profit it makes? All very good questions!

Maybe it’s time to think outside of the box. Consider this innovative twist on cause marketing developed by Hermes Landscaping in Lenexa, Kansas. Last year, the company launched its Herb of the Month program to express gratitude to the businesses and families who help the company thrive. Each month, the customer service and sales teams personally deliver organic herbs, in eco-friendly biodegradable planters, to customers and friends, complete with a description of the herb and its special properties. But here’s the best part. There’s not a drop of direct marketing involved in this cause marketing program. It’s all a gift. The herb doesn’t come with a sales pitch or a flyer outlining services, and no ask is made of the customer with the delivery of the herb. That said, of course the managers and leadership at Hermes Landscaping are savvy enough to know that generosity empowers the giver, and that doing good will help the business grow.

So, in the end, a case of cause marketing confusion might turn out to be a very good thing. It means you are taking your time, weighing your options, looking at return on investment, determining whether your business really needs cause marketing as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. The answer may be yes. The answer may be no. The key is to make sure any program you develop is genuine, authentic, and created out of a true desire to enrich the lives of others. After all, that’s what CSR is all about.

How do you know your company needs a formula for CSR success? If you’ve come down with a case of cause marketing confusion, congratulations. Being thoughtful about how you use causes in your marketing means you’re in good company. Forward-thinking businesses know better than to follow a trend just to follow a trend.

Make it good and make it real.

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But it’s not as easy as it sounds, especially in industries where the competition for top talent is fierce. If you’re struggling to identify internal talent, acquire talent from the outside, or retain that talent, maybe your corporate social responsibility (CSR) plan could use a little brushing up. After all, 88 percent of new job seekers choose employers based on strong corporate social responsibility values. And the numbers are on the upswing. In 2006, a study of 20- and 30-year-olds indicated that 56 percent of employees in this age group would consider leaving an employer if that employer didn’t share the employees’ commitment to social responsibility. In 2012, that figure had jumped to an astounding 86 percent in a similar study. Those statistics were just a few of the compelling findings in the 2006 Millennial Cause Study conducted by Cone Inc. in collaboration with AMP Agency and a 2012 study called “Managing Tomorrow’s People” conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopersLLP.

Employees want to work for executives who offer them opportunities to embrace and lead a philanthropic lifestyle, at home and in the workplace. They want to give money to their favorite charities. And volunteer time to a favorite cause. And recycle, helping to keep the environment sustainable. And serve in leadership roles, like nonprofit boards and committees at kids’ schools, and in the company, too. They want to buy products that support a cause. And care for people in need. And care for themselves and their families. Working for good companies–and doing business with good companies–is a must-have for today’s top talent.

Now, what are you going to do about the talent in your company? A formula for CSR success might be exactly what you need to get started.

Getting started the right way is essential to create authentic brand engagement. That’s why savvy companies often approach social responsibility from the inside, beginning with their people. Often the jumping off point is achieved by conducting an inventory of a company’s and its employees’ current social responsibility activities. An inventory is a great way to form the basis for identifying gaps and opportunities within an existing CSR program, no matter how large or small the existing program may be. An inventory can be accomplished through employee surveys, document review, and interviews.

When a company bases its inventory research and review process on best practices and the work of the most forward-thinking thought leaders in the industry, a company can produce a compelling report summarizing its overall CSR footprint. In turn, the company can articulate its CSR strategy because it will have a solid baseline of raw content. After that, the marketing team can produce high quality material to begin to legitimately publicize the company’s CSR commitment.

And then the fun starts. Brand engagement, especially through CSR, is often strongest when it begins internally. In fact, a CSR strategy can be difficult to get off the ground to drive corporate growth if CSR is viewed only as an externally-driven project. An excellent example of a highly successful CSR program where internal participation drives external perception is the community involvement approach at Lockton in Kansas City, Missouri. Lockton is the world’s largest privately owned, independent insurance brokerage firm, with 61 offices and more than 4,000 associates around the globe. Lockton’s culture of success is based on doing the right things for the company’s customers and associates. This includes participating in the communities where the company does business. Here’s how Lockton describes its community involvement philosophy:

“Supporting our communities is more than just a necessity— it is a privilege. For more than 40 years, Lockton Associates have given back to their local communities, not because they have to, but because they want to. Together, we believe this commitment to social responsibility builds stronger families, better professional relationships and more committed Associates. It is simply the right thing to do.”

True to its values-based approach, the “Community Involvement” page of Lockton’s website lists dozens of organizations supported by Lockton associates.

An emerging trend in “inside out” CSR is a grant making initiative launched through an event called an “employee CSR summit.” Under this model, a company sets aside a day to spend with a group of 50 employees (appointed and/or volunteers), divided into three teams. Each team learns about several community causes that are aligned with the company’s core values. By the end of the day, the three teams will have selected three organizations to “micro grants” to foster innovation and community engagement. An internal communications plan following the summit helps to focus employee-driven CSR activities, harnessing the energy of employee-led fundraising and volunteering efforts (bake sales, 5Ks, food and clothing drives). An internal role definition plan following the summit maps out internal positions to identify appropriate departments and team members whose participation and collaboration is essential for the success of the company’s CSR strategy.

A strong CSR program can be built from the inside, out. CSR is important. And the market pressures on companies to do good are certainly rising. CSR is a critical component to any business striving to keep its growth trajectory right side up.

The most forward-thinking companies understand that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is not only about “doing good.” Rather, a well-designed CSR program increases the significance of the business itself, not only by creating improved conditions for the community as a whole, but also by supporting the growth of a successful commercial enterprise. In today’s marketplace, well-organized, well-executed CSR activities are critical factors in driving business improvement, brand engagement, customer loyalty and employee retention.

The hitch is that CSR doesn’t work unless it is real. When it comes to measuring the effectiveness of a CSR strategy, here’s the statement companies dread most from a consumer: ”That company is just trying to make itself look good.” Ouch. No one wants CSR to be a fake. Not the company, not the employees, not the consumers, not the community. Unfortunately, that’s often what happens when well-intentioned executives tack on an employee volunteer program to check a box. Or buy a few tables at community events. Or slap together a cause marketing program by designing a fancy logo with ads to match. That’s classic form over substance.

Today’s employees and consumers are savvy enough to know CSR window dressing when they see it. That’s because giving is part of the lives of most Americans and very much encouraged by popular culture. Today’s consumers cast a wide net around what it means to give back and be socially responsible. They define “doing good” as a combination of activities that together create a socially responsible lifestyle and define an overall giving footprint. And it’s not just about giving money to a charity of choice, directly or through a foundation. Today’s giving equation includes volunteering in the community, recycling and respecting a sustainable environment, serving on civic boards and committees, celebrating favorite causes by supporting and attending community events, marketing with a focus on a charitable cause, purchasing products and services that include a charitable element, and donating canned goods or used clothing to people in need. The social consciousness of America is growing, rapidly. And Americans can spot a phony.

CEOs and marketing executives want to make it real. Every CEO must pay attention to CSR trends, whether the business he or she leads is private, public, large or small. Market pressures are heating up. Similarly, using CSR effectively is critical to the success of any marketing effort. Most of the time, CSR activities are going on across a company in various departments, creating inefficiency, extra cost and, perhaps most damaging, diluting the brand’s overall voice.

But how is CSR substance created?

Substance over form occurs only through a thorough understanding of social responsibility and the dynamics involved from a philanthropic, regulatory, governance and sustainability perspective. This makes it difficult for an executive team and marketing departments to develop meaningful content that will be viewed by audiences as legitimate and authentic. With the heightened social consciousness of Americans and the increasing scrutiny of charitable causes, social responsibility efforts must be legitimate or they will be viewed consumers and employees as disingenuous. This means companies need strong CSR frameworks based on best practices, activated through a series of meaningful experiences and evidence of impact that can be deployed into brand and delivered to engage audiences. CEOs and their marketing teams need to get educated about CSR. And they need to get organized. And then they need to get going.

Six critical elements drive an effective CSR program: mission, alignment, engagement, communication and sales, and evaluation and reporting. Only after a company has established a solid framework for its CSR program can it move into action to create the substance required to secure authentic brand engagement. A CSR program should not be viewed only as a budget expense. A CSR program built on an effective framework is an asset to leverage the company’s growth. Specific, tactical steps must be part of an ongoing action plan to use CSR to drive brand engagement, engage existing and new consumers, enter new markets, launch new products, increase sales, and recruit and retain talent.

Substance over form. Make that leap in your CSR program and see how far it can take you toward your business goals. Chances are, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

But it’s not as easy as it sounds. How can a leader give a talented employee the opportunity to shine through new responsibilities, but delay making big staffing changes until the talented employee proves herself? The answer might be as easy as 123, as in CSR. Corporate Social Responsibility. If you’re struggling to identify internal talent, acquire talent from the outside, and retain that talent, maybe it’s because your CSR plan could use a little brushing up. After all, 88 percent of new job seekers choose employers based on strong corporate social responsibility values. And 86 percent of these employees would consider leaving if the company’s corporate social responsibility values no longer met their expectations. Offering a rising talent within your company a leadership opportunity within the CSR program is a great way to demonstrate your commitment to developing skills and offer an employee the chance to demonstrate those skills at the same time. Without restructuring, promoting or realigning existing staff responsibilities within the business operations until you and the employee are ready.

Empowering talent is a terrific example of generosity in the workplace, driving corporate growth through a commitment to ideals. And isn’t that the whole point behind CSR in the first place? David Wine, president and CEO of MAX Insurance Agency, Inc., a global provider of wholeness-based insurance products, said it so well in a recent communication to MAX employees.

“If we live for ourselves only, if we close ourselves off from others, if we live only for this world and the things it offers, we become like the Dead Sea. We get toxic, our life-giving energy is sapped, we become lifeless, and we offer little to others and to ourselves. On the other hand, if we give to others and give to our world, if we share our gifts and talents, if we open up to the possibilities life gives us, we become more and more energized and full of life.  You see, we need an outlet or we die. We were made to share, to give, to affirm the interconnectedness of our lives.”

Employees want to work for executives who offer them opportunities to embrace and lead a socially responsible lifestyle, at home and in the workplace. They want to give money to favorite charities. And volunteer time to a favorite cause. And recycle, helping to keep the environment sustainable. And serve in leadership roles, like nonprofit boards and committees at kids’ schools, and in the company, too. They want to buy products that support a cause. And care for people in need. And care for themselves and their families. Working for good companies–doing business with good companies–is a must-have in any socially responsible lifestyle.

Now, what are you going to do with all that talent in your company? A formula for CSR success might just be all you need.

Download a printable version of a related article.

• Governance is influencing corporate philanthropy. The cache of charitable giving extends well beyond private donors and family foundations. The corporate sector is catching on, in a big way. Consider the fact that in 1968, 70 percent of Americans answered “yes” when asked, “Does business act responsibly?” By 2008, that percentage had dropped to 20 percent.¹ This is an era when no CEO can deny the importance of CSR, embracing operating principles that respect the people, communities and environments where business is conducted.
• Regulatory influences are pushing sustainability. It wasn’t long ago that sustainability was viewed by businesses as a “nice to have.” Now it is a must have. The Global Reporting Initiative, a nonprofit organization that promotes economic, environmental and social sustainability, is setting the trend, providing a comprehensive sustainability reporting framework that is widely used around the world. In fact, according new research released by the European Commission on March 14, 2013, the GRI Guidelines now rank among the most widely recognized CSR instruments among large European companies, according to new research published by the European Commission. No business’s reputation can afford to ignore the prominence of corporate sustainability on the company’s reputation.
• Consumer demands are increasing. The results of the 2006 Millennial Cause Study conducted by Cone Inc. and AMP Insights found that well over half of 20- and 30-somethings consider a company’s social commitment when deciding where to shop. In fact, 83 percent of consumers in that critical demographic will place more trust in a company if it is socially and environmentally responsible.
• The workforce wants it. A similar study found that 79 percent of Millennials surveyed want to work for a company that cares about how it impacts and contributes to society, and 56 percent would flat out refuse to work for an irresponsible corporation. By 2012, those percentages had jumped to 88 percent and 86, respectively.²

So who’s doing it well? When it comes to CSR, a few industries are stand outs. Take credit unions, for example. A credit union, is, by definition, community minded. After all, credit unions are member-owned financial cooperatives, created and operated by their members who all share in the profits. A credit union is its own community. Which may be part of the reason credit unions “get” CSR. Sharing, doing good, investing in the community and taking care of each other are baked into a credit union’s DNA. It’s no surprise, then, that so many CSR success stories come from credit unions.

Consider Mazuma Credit Union, based in Kansas City, Missouri. Mazuma’s service mark is “We’re all about you.” Isn’t that good? Mazuma’s board of directors and executive leadership team have adopted a forward-thinking, comprehensive program to engage employees and members in three community impact areas: education, community development and the arts. Here’s Mazuma’s vision for CSR:

“Mazuma Credit Union’s commitment to local communities was founded around the understanding that social responsibility is not a matter of choice but one of necessity . . . . Through our commitment to social responsibility Mazuma leverages our passion, leadership and innovation to address the challenges affecting our communities. The program focuses on education, community investment and development and support of the arts to foster enrichment of the communities in which we do business and live.”

And the beauty of Mazuma’s CSR program is that it doesn’t stop with a vision. That vision is in action, every single day. Employees regularly volunteer in the community. The company actively solicits input from employees about their favorite causes. Grants are thoughtfully determined to support not only the CSR program’s focus areas but also areas of innovation in community building. From the symphony to Special Olympics, Mazuma’s CSR footprint is enriching hundreds of lives in the communities Mazuma serves.

The most amazing part, though, is that stories like this are all over the country. Credit unions are giving back, in a big way. The Credit Union Association of the Dakotas even established a division called CU Social Good, a website created to celebrate stories of CSR from credit unions across the United States and Canada.

How much do you know about the importance of CSR? If you want the answer, check out an industry that’s doing CSR well. Ater all, isn’t that how it works? Surround yourself with leaders, and the chances are pretty good you’ll become one yourself.

Sources

1 Yankelovich and CNN/USA Today Gallup Poll
2 “Millennial Cause Study,” Cone Inc. in collaboration with AMP Agency, 2006.
3 “Laws that Encourage the Triple Bottom Line,” Knowledge Leadership, February 18, 2011. http://www.coneinc.com/laws-that-encourage-the-triplebottom- line

Forced innovation is a lot like forced fun. “Okay, kids,” I’ve often said to my children, “we are going to have fun. Let’s go to a movie. Or go out for ice cream. Or make a cake. Something fun.” More often than not, the declaration that an activity is supposed to be fun makes it turn out just the opposite. Which is not fun. On the other hand, the long afternoons baking cakes in the kitchen for a big birthday party, which typically include watching at least two cakes topple to the floor, wind up being fun. Very fun, actually. Especially when we have to get innovative and work together to rescue and reconstruct all those layers and all that frosting into a brand new cake.

So what about the workplace? Is it possible to create an authentic environment for innovation? It most certainly is. This where corporate social responsibility (CSR) comes to the rescue. Instead of pulling employees together for a mandatory innovation session, instead gather everyone together for a new experience in giving. Volunteer together in the community. Spend an afternoon reviewing grant opportunities for the corporate foundation, matching causes with the company’s culture and values. Gather for an hour in a conference room to whiteboard a rapid prototype of the company’s “doing good” footprint–five years from now. (We share Lisa McAlister‘s love of the rapid prototype!) Host a Saturday summer camp for employees’ children and grandchildren to inspire kids to be generous and learn how to give. You might be surprised at how much innovation about the business itself gets accomplished in a nonbusiness setting. And, at the same time, an awful lot of good is getting done, giving back to the community and building the company’s reputation and brand as a socially responsible corporate citizen.

Next time your company want to generate new ideas, better connections and innovation to drive its growth, consider designing a new experience in giving back. You’ll love the intended–and unintended–consequences.

Posted today in “People” on www.laurawellsmcknight.com.