Today’s business is changing fast, and increasingly firms are specializing in social issues. It’s fast becoming a necessity for the great such a commitment can do for the community and its impact on profitability. A recent survey by Sprout Social highlighted that 70% of consumers feel it’s necessary for businesses to take a stand on a variety of social and political issues —a sentiment shared by most CEOs. In keeping with a PwC study, 64% consider corporate social responsibility a cornerstone for long-term business success.
In essence, doing good is synonymous with good business. Toms is actually a testament to that, first donating a pair of shoes for each pair purchased and now giving a third of its profits to “grassroots good.” Bombas has taken an analogous approach to giving back, donating socks, t-shirts, and underwear to at-risk people across the globe for each item purchased. Warby Parker donates a pair of glasses for each pair sold, Ben & Jerry’s donates 7.5% of its annual profits, and BKQK Coffee gives 10% of its profits to charity. The list goes on and on.
Increasingly, stakeholders demand such social accountability from businesses, each big and small. Not that you simply’ll win many custom awards in your efforts, but they’ll prefer to impact your bottom line. Listed below are some actionable steps to jumpstart your journey toward making a positive community impact:
Start with a Purpose
Most, if not all, businesses launch with some kind of purpose, and your organization may already be doing something for the community. Determine whether that “something” aligns with a social cause. If it does, now’s the time to look for methods to enhance upon that purpose and whether it could possibly be done on a bigger scale. If your enterprise’s essential purpose is profits, commit to creating a social impact.
Make sure that that wherever you intend to direct your attention, it is smart to your enterprise. Otherwise, you risk appearing disingenuous in your efforts, affecting your repute and negatively impacting business growth.
Play to Your Strengths
Leverage your enterprise’s innate strengths to make sure authenticity in your social impact endeavors.
Doing so ensures that your efforts at all times align along with your organization and its core values and fully utilize your expertise. A technology company, for instance, could get entangled with a neighborhood STEM nonprofit and hold workshops for local youth who need to construct their knowledge, skills, and confidence in technology.
Keep Things Small — at First
Nobody is on the lookout for you to boil the ocean. Consumers, employees, and other stakeholders want your enterprise to provide back to the community and won’t fault you for initially starting small.
It’s often higher to take smaller steps as your organization works toward making a change on the earth, as it is going to function your foundation for other efforts going forward. It also permits you to experiment, learn, and construct something lasting that may impact the world.
Make sure that to utilize your team by offering them the chance to commit to social good. Perhaps institute a volunteer program, allowing employees to take a day or two off every year to take part in a neighborhood social initiative. Perhaps match donations made by employees as much as a specific amount annually. Get creative along with your efforts to search out what works in your organization.
Measure Your Progress
Upon rolling out your initiatives, it’s vital to measure their impact. Treat your efforts like several other business effort and establish a couple of KPIs. Track your progress. It will help discover areas for improvement and supply information in your impact that may later be utilized in any materials you could need to create when reporting about your efforts.
Getting serious about corporate social responsibility has develop into mandatory as of late, not only for the great you possibly can do but for the prosperous future it could possibly construct for your enterprise. Rest assured that you simply’re heading down the appropriate path so long as the cause is smart to your organization and plays to your strengths.