Guru Prasad“Employees don’t stay with a company because of benefits. It is the long-term relationship-building that attracts people to stay.”- Jeff Swartz, CEO of Timberland
A recent survey at Cognizant India, an American IT services company with 200,000 employees in India, revealed that over half of their employees volunteering for CSR initiatives displayed improved workplace performance. The employees believe that being associated with a company that actively participates in CSR is something to be proud of and positively affected their motivation levels and productivity.
This is just one of the many cases where organisations achieved increased productivity from their employees as a result of increased CSR activity.
CSR: The New Deciding Factor In Employee Satisfaction
It’s clear in the above example that a company’s role in CSR affects the thought processes of its employees. Offering exemplary salaries, perks, and positions just won’t cut it anymore. Employees want to know how their company is giving back to society, and without this information, they tend toward dissatisfaction. And an increase in employee turnover rates is a direct outcome of this anxiety.
Why It’s So Important
Millennials are in high demand in the job market. They carry the skills, talent, and ideas that will help an organisation evolve and embrace the new age.
However, they want something more than just a great job and good pay. They want the 3 Ps.
Pride
Everyone entering the job market looks for a sense of pride in what they do. No one wants to work for a company that’s contriving to destroy the environment, no matter how well they pay. And taking a neutral stance on CSR won’t help either.
Employees want to be able to tell people, ‘Hey! You know I work in XYZ?’. And that won’t happen unless the company gives them a reason to boast. Organisations actively involved in CSR activities are filled with motivated employees. Being proud of their organisation also instils a feeling of respect towards it, which translates into higher productivity and greater engagement at work.
Purpose
After the initial thrill of a new workplace, most employees tend to wear figurative blinders and routinely carry out their jobs. This is more prevalent at the entry level, where employees may not have much knowledge of how the company operates and what it does with its funds. When employees are exposed to the social work that organisations engage in, they feel a stronger sense of belonging. This is accompanied by enhanced productivity, higher involvement, and increased confidence.
Although CSR is not directly tied to a company’s operations, it acts as a lighthouse, guiding employees toward a brighter future. It’s also a great measure of how well a company is performing against its promises; the ideal way to build employee trust.
Progress
People want to enrol in a company that looks promising. And what’s better than being able to use a chunk of your profits to help society? If a company is engaged in CSR initiatives, it means that they can spare the funds to donate. It also implies that they’ve reached a stage of stability, and can focus their attention on issues that may not be directly related to their business. An organisation that’s able to provide services outside of its realm of operations presents an attractive prospect to potential employees.
CSR, today, is changing from just a mandatory law to a process that’s vital to an organisation’s health. Companies need to get on board with this, or they’ll miss out on the increased coordination, trust, and productivity that will take them to the next level.
References:
https://www.marketingmag.com.au/news-c/csr-boosts-employee-attraction-retention-adma-global-forum/
http://www.triplepundit.com/2015/08/sustainability-strategy-can-pivotal-employee-engagement/
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/jobs/Oracle-India-introduces-CSR-driven-induction-programme/articleshow/48481872.cms
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/social-commitment-attracts-best-talent-to-tata-group-rajan-115072600154_1.html
http://www.forthephilanthropist.com/services/corporate-social-responsibility.php
http://www.csrwire.com/blog/posts/906-stakeholder-vs-shareholder-value-connecting-the-sustainability-dots-with-philips-drexel-university-profits4purpose
http://catchafireblog.org/2013/08/15/top-of-mind-10-interesting-articlestrends-in-csr/
http://www.optimy.com/csr-retention-tool-indian-companies-2/