• Home
  • News
  • Privacy

Small Business Insider

Business Finance and Insurance

  • Insurance Guides
  • Business Finance
  • Business Advice
  • News
  • Business Insurance
  • Business Bank Accounts
  • Wirex Card
Home Archives for Top Talent

How a social conscience can help your small business attract and retain top talent

Posted on November 6, 2017 Written by Administrator

Millennials now outnumber any other generation in the workforce and by 2020 they’ll comprise more than half the total workforce.

According to a study by Bentley University, 84% of millennials said that making a positive difference in the world was more important than professional recognition.

The Millennial Impact Report found that more than half of millennials have been inspired to work long-term for a company whose mission it is to change the world.

So, if you want to attract and retain top talent – you need to demonstrate a social conscience.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is shifting into the foreground and will be a key issue for all businesses in the next few years. The PwC Global CEO Survey shows that 64% of companies are making CSR ‘core’ to their business. Yet only 29% of companies focus on their reputation for CSR in order to attract and retain the best talent.

According to a Project ROI Report, 76% of Americans wouldn’t take a job with a company that had a bad reputation even if they were unemployed. This emphasises the importance of a good reputation for CSR, with 45% of millennials saying they would take a pay cut to work for a company that makes a positive social or environmental impact.

You won’t get passionate people who believe in your company by throwing more money at them. You need to demonstrate that you are committed to making that positive impact, that it’s a core part of how you operate. Be vocal about the work you do, the opportunities you offer employees, and the systems and policies you have in place that demonstrate your commitment to CSR.

The same report also found that CSR reduced employee turnover by 25-50% – the same effect as a $3,700 pay rise per year.

Despite fears that CSR takes time away from the actual work of a company, CSR programmes have been shown to improve productivity by around 13%, according to Project ROI.

For smaller companies, managing CSR can be challenge. Appointing someone within the business to be the key point person for your CSR programmes can provide a much-needed focus and keeps things moving. Enabling CSR with technology can help reduce manual management and costs. Employees can then choose whether to get involved or not.

It’s clear that CSR is great at attracting, retaining, and inspiring the top talent. But customers are inspired by CSR too!

In the US, 83% of consumers say they want more products and services they use to contribute to a social cause, with 62% saying they’d switch brands if it didn’t have a clear social purpose. A great opportunity for small businesses with a clear ethical purpose.

Companies with a good reputation for CSR see sales revenue increase by up to 20%, according to the Project ROI Report, with every $1 in philanthropic contributions generating $6 of revenue (within limits).

Of course, sales won’t increase if customers don’t know the work you are doing, so you need to shout about it – especially about the impact you are making.

A CSR technology platform should be able to keep a running total of money donated, hours spent volunteering, paper and ink saved, etc. These facts help to benchmark your business against others and demonstrate your commitment to CSR, giving you great marketing material.

To discover the most effective ways to make a social and environmental impact, use a survey or workshop to ask what causes your employees are interested in. If staff feel they are leading the direction of CSR then they’ll be far more committed to it themselves. Ultimately, the most effective CSR programmes are those that fit in with your brand ethos and employees’ passions. Find yours and commit to it wholeheartedly – employees, customers, and the world will thank you.

About the Author

Marco Barbosa is a serial entrepreneur who has started three successful businesses and has been named in Forbes 30under30 for Social Entrepreneurship. His latest venture, eSolidar, is a tech platform connecting businesses with charities to enable better CSR and employee engagement.

eSolidar has just launched on equity crowdfunding site Seedrs. When he’s not starting businesses, doing TEDx talks, or advocating corporate responsibility, Marco likes to travel and experience different cultures around the world.

See: https://www.esolidar.com/

https://www.facebook.com/esolidar

https://twitter.com/esolidar

https://plus.google.com/+Esolidar

https://www.seedrs.com/esolidar-1

Sources:

http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/ceo-survey/2016/landing-page/pwc-19th-annual-global-ceo-survey.pdf

http://projectroi.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Project-ROI-Report.pdf

http://www.themillennialimpact.com/

https://www.bentley.edu/files/prepared/1.29.2013_BentleyU_Whitepaper_Shareable.pdf

https://startwithwhy.com/

Filed Under: Staff Tagged With: Recruitment, Top Talent

Recent Posts

Boosting Business by Training Paralegal Employees

Boosting Business by Training Paralegal Employees

Whether it is drafting employment contracts or ensuring that debts are chased and collected, it is very likely that someone on your team will be performing tasks with a legal element to them. This requires an element of expertise. Of course, staff can be trained to systematically do the job, but would it not be […]

Whatever Your Décor, Make Your Hotel Greener

Whatever Your Décor, Make Your Hotel Greener

If you are running a hotel, there is no excuse for not being aware of the increasing importance customers put on green credentials. Almost a decade ago a TripAdvisor survey warned that two-thirds of travellers take environmental issues into account when choosing hotels, transportation and meals. [1] Since then, pleas for the planet from the […]

Picking The Right Architect Is Essential For Your Small-Scale Property Development Project

Picking The Right Architect Is Essential For Your Small-Scale Property Development Project

The most important thing you will need to do to successfully complete a small-scale property development project is putting together the right team for that project. Just because one person was good for a previous project doesn’t mean they will be good for every project. This is something that applies particularly to architects.  I once […]

Categories

Speedie Consultants Ltd
10 College Gardens
Westgate-on-Sea
Kent
CT8 8EY

Registration number: 4797388.
Telephone: 01843 831088
Email: enquiries@speedieconsulting.co.uk
Website: www.speedieconsulting.co.uk

© 2022 Small Business Insider

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT