The practice of corporate social responsibility, or CSR, does not only mean an obligation to the society in terms of social and environmental aspects but also to the employees of a business or corporation.
A company has an obligation towards its working individuals in keeping their desire and interest for the job alive. Good practice of social responsibility by the management to the employees will serve as an example to them. In turn, the employees themselves will realize the essence of being socially responsible to the society.
Current Business Trends: Corporate Citizenship and Employee Retention
The employees are considered a company’s investment. Manpower resource is not that easy to be obtained especially if we talk about skilled workers. Working individuals also have their preferences of a company that is not only stable but also places value on its people. Many companies are working hard at increasing productivity, streamline operations, and delivering increased shareholder profit because of the growing competition and globalization in the world market. For a business to achieve all these, they must have skilled and talented individuals and retain the brightest employees in the company.
Companies that have been practicing corporate social responsibility found out that CSR activities have become effective in increasing employee retention. This is true not only to young professionals but also to employees of various levels of work experience and positions or designations.
CSR programs reflect the values of an organization and make the business more humanitarian instead of being viewed as merely profit-generating. According to a research, employees of the new generation would prefer to work for a company that cares for its people apart from the economic gains. They would like to be part of an organization that demonstrates its core values through participation and involvement to its employees and the community. This is the essence of corporate citizenship.
Employee Engagement
An effective strategy that many companies have been using in order to realize their goals and at the same time encourage the employees to participate in meeting the needs of the society is through employee volunteer programs.
Employee engagement has been increasingly popular to most businesses to cater to enhancing the bottom line while making socially responsible working individuals. Many successful businesses owe a part of their success to the development and application of employee volunteer programs which are now used to monitor and assess their impact on the society.
In encouraging the employees to get involved in philanthropic activities and other volunteering programs, the company must identify its best practices. One of which is to engage the employees in all levels to play the role as decision makers and leaders in the CSR activities of the organization. Their feedback on the overall impact of a certain CSR program may help the company achieve its corporate goals. Another best practice is to empower the skills and abilities of the employees in order to contribute positive outcomes to the community.
Offering opportunities for the employees in developing their skills is part of good CSR practice. Employees learn new skills that they can share and contribute to the company when they are tasked to take on roles that are different from their work scope and function in a CSR activity.
CSR enhances teamwork among employees through corporate volunteering. Apart from building a better relationship in the workplace, they strengthen the bond by working hand in hand in matters of projects and activities outside the office. They are able to appreciate each other better especially on talents that are not displayed in the workplace.
What Employees Benefit from CSR
Engaging the employees in CSR activities boosts an employee’s work ethics and performance. Corporate social responsibility creates an impact on employee attitude and level of awareness. It enhances their sense of direction, integrity, and cultivates positive perception about their employer and about themselves.
Commitment to the job is also strengthened as they are getting a deeper sense of dedication to working for the community. When employees realize the value of what they do, they tend to adopt similar values. Job satisfaction can now be achieved with active involvement in CSR. So, companies have to ascertain that the perception of employees towards CSR must remain positive.
