Jagdeep Kaur says that CSR today, is serving as a marketing tool for prospective top talent pool. She believes that When employees are treated good they want to treat others good.
By Jagdeep Kaur
HR department gained a lot of credibility in the recent years. We started considering it to be an integral part of any organisation. There were times when Chief People Officer (CPO) was unheard of, but today tables have turned. We have a CPO on board and a strong realisation has seeped in that believes, power lies not just with the top management or leadership rather with all the employees of an organisation at any level.
Corporate have well accepted the fact that reinvention is key to any business and the old ways of working need a makeover. Today if a company wants to be a preferred brand or wants to establish itself as a brand, it needs to necessarily come up with a unique selling preposition (USP).
This USP may not always lie with the top brass of the corporate but could even be proposed or possessed by a junior employee. This feeling of inclusion of employees strengthens the culture of an organisation and promises sustained development.
I personally believe, if employees in the organisation are duly recognised for their innovative work approach, sustained innovation can be gradually achieved. Micro managing or one way communication, or do as directed approach are typical barriers to growth of an employee.
Alternatively an open culture, freedom to propose and implement ideas, where two way communication is respected allows individuals to align their interests with the company’s and win-win strategies could likely be explored. It is very important to abandon the processes which are a hole in the pockets of the company.
We cannot stick to them just because we took too long to set up those inefficient processes. Thus, it is not imperative who is proposing that change, if it is in corporate benefit the need is to implement it even if a junior employee has proposed it. Many organisations still resist change. They want to establish themselves as a brand yet want old rule of thumb to do the magic.
Thinking out of the box, breaking the tradition of restricting in the core domain, reaching out to evens in the game of odds are a few tricks to win the brand game. A corporate USP lies in its people.
Mapping the existing employee’s competencies to the corporate goals and seeing how their energies and capabilities can be channelised to the corporate advantage is the need of the hour. If a company is on a hiring spree- it should think twice before it hires. Is it trying to save a few bucks today and losing upon a future capable cash inflow or is it aiming right and bringing in the experience lacking in its team?
Eyeing a right candidate is a skill which distinguishes an experienced HR recruiter from an inexperienced one. “Right Recruiting is a skill- not everyone has it to use it wisely”. A step rightly taken today can go a long way in branding right.
The desire of corporate to attract the best has been an all-time urge. Every move is like a calculated move. CSR is another dimension linked with the people factor which is all about strategic moves and how it can generate financial benefits to the firm.
Our initial awareness made us feel that CSR is the responsibility of the top management but today we all are well aware of the role that CSR plays on the world stage. This is where, the corporate can build upon and present their role as social citizens. Establishing themselves as a brand which the world can recognise, depends on company’s capability to promote itself.
CSR today, is serving as a marketing tool for prospective top talent pool. Candidates are aware of CSR benefits to the society and are willing to join the names contributing in this direction. A company that contributes to CSR develops its societal image by default. Not just the prospective talent rather the existing employees too, feel good to be associated to a brand which is well respected in the society.
I recently noticed that many corporate have taken steps towards societal enhancements by encouraging their employees into CSR. It is a very positive step and has been mainly possible because the organisation has promoted the culture of reciprocity within its system. When employees are treated good they want to treat others good.
Apart from that a social setting within the corporate that promotes donations, charities, stimulates the employees to contribute in order to be socially recognised and appreciated. It turns out to be an interesting phenomenon that a company starts CSR activities to improve its corporate image, in turn it happens to create CSR driven employees who start promoting this culture at every step to improve their personal image and a happy employee takes this culture outside the four walls creating a happy society and builds a company as a brand.
In all, a few steps in the right direction can bring in right resources, right culture, innovative minds, employee recognition, public image and sustained goodwill to build a corporate as an established brand in the long run.
(Jagdeep Kaur, Freelance Recruiter, Coventry, United Kingdom)
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Disclaimer: The views expressed by the author in this feature are entirely her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of India CSR.
