Reimagining communications for social responsibility: New ideas for a new world

Never before has the immensity of the task before corporations and civil society been more apparent than in the last few months of simultaneous humanitarian crises birthed by COVID-19. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) took on new meaning—and new life—as it quickly rose to the challenge of extending support and resources to those most harshly affected by repeatedly-imposed lockdowns. Much energy has been channeled in reinstating access to basic necessities for those who lost their solitary source of income and consequently their access to food, shelter, education, and sanitation. 

At a time like this, corporations are rallying together as a community to do what needs to be done. What, then, happens to how they communicate with external stakeholders about their response work? Should they hold back on the press releases and the photo opportunities? In other words—should they only focus on doing good or also on getting recognition for it?

In the tenth edition of the Creative Sandbox hosted by Weber Shandwick, four seasoned CSR and communications professionals debate these questions and the evolving landscape of CSR within the context of this pandemic we find ourselves in. 

Key insights from the CSR Edition of the The Creative Sandbox, an online symposium for senior communicators, created to fuel frank and invigorating conversations on creativity in communications.

Communicate with intent 

For Anil Sharma, Head of Corporate Communications, CSR & Sustainability at Havells India Ltd., it’s the purpose behind showcasing an organisation’s social responsibility activities which can determine whether or not to do it. He believes that if, by way of publicising the work, the cause gains traction and awareness, and more importantly, garners public support that can channelize critical resources towards the cause, then it is an exercise worth implementing.

He elaborates, “If I have sustainable, reusable sanitary napkins and there are millions of girls across the country who need it, but I can only personally reach a few thousand of them, then putting out the word about my work can make all the difference in the scale of impact I am able to generate. It can help me find the necessary conduits and connections to reach those millions of girls.” Good work needs to be celebrated, but there’s something more important at play here—the ability to find allies via strategic communications who can then contribute their time, resources, or innovation to help solve for the problems that the organisation was trying to address. 

Her further added, “While we were looking to build toilets in schools, the disposal of waste was a challenge as there were no sewage lines. During the research, I chanced on an article in the newspaper about bio-toilets. We contacted them and today have made over 4000 bio-toilets in different schools since 2013”. So, if they had not talked about this in the press, we would still be been looking for a solution.

Communicate for impact 

Purpose and intention are also key for Anuja Kadian, Head of Government Relations and Community Investments for Rolls-Royce in South Asia. However, her communication strategy runs the opposite way. For her, it is critical to manage the audience that she communicates with, and prefers one-on-one stakeholder interactions with lesser, if any, publicity via traditional media. This is because she’s choosing to communicate with those stakeholders that have the highest influence in amplifying the impact she is trying to foster.

The key takeaway here is to consider two things: one, what is the impact one is hoping to create, and two, whether the communication strategy under consideration would be successful in driving the desired impact. The idea is to build and invest in relationships [by demonstrating value via communications] that can significantly elevate the quality and scope of the work one is involved in—whether that’s with limited audiences, like key government stakeholders, or with larger audience groups.

Value for whom?

Anuja also points out that communications for social responsibility activities doesn’t necessarily have to be external. Talking about the strong emphasis on employee volunteering within her organisation, she says, “About 60% of our CSR activities globally have our employees involved in the process.” She gives the example of STEM ambassadors in the organisation engaged in mentor-mentee relationships with children from low-income communities—relationships they continue to nurture via WhatsApp during the pandemic. 

Such a model would entail a corporate responsibility policy that is not distinct and separate from the core business, but rather a central ideology and key driver—where it’s not only about overarching corporate responsibility but also individual responsibility. To inculcate this kind of ethos as a matter of organisational culture would require a strong, consistent, and powerful internal communications strategy.

Digital all the way

It’s no secret that every business, every sector, every industry, has had to maneuver and fend off countless curveballs and bend over backwards merely to survive this crisis. As Simrat, Vice President — Marketing Communications, Corporate Communications & CSR, Amway India put it succinctly, “This crisis has shown just how agile we can be, and how much more we can stretch ourselves without breaking.” A few months in, as this becomes a way of life, many of our conversations are centered around the new challenges and roadblocks this pandemic has unleashed, some of which we’ve never had to confront before, and how we’re innovating to overcome them. 

Manisha Singh, Head of Corporate Communications & CSR at Nokia, tells us how the crisis has accelerated some aspects driven by digital connectivity. As part of Nokia’s CSR work on the ground, they’re trying to leverage benefits of broadband for socio-economic development in remote, rural areas, building a digitally-integrated village eco-system. There had been a slow acceptance and uptake, and in some cases resistance too, of digital interventions in several target areas. With the kind of jolting disconnect spurred by COVID-19, and the sudden loss of access to institutions like schools, banking and healthcare services, individuals in these communities have been more receptive to giving digital a chance. They are beginning to see value in digital platforms as a means to communicate with and gain access to services from a world that has become physically inaccessible. 

As the conversation veered to the challenges of driving accountability for outcomes within grassroots partners engaged in on-ground implementation of CSR projects, both Simrat and Anil also emphasised the power of digital and tech-based interventions for instituting robust monitoring and reporting mechanisms. 

…but with a human touch 

At the end of the 45-minute conversation, the speakers shared the one defining realisation or learning that they’ve had during this crisis. For Simrat, her own resilience, personally and professionally, was brought to the forefront. It helped her push—and expand—her boundaries of what was previously possible, and discover new ways of living, working, and thinking.

Anuja explained that digital is now indispensable for them, not only from a business continuity perspective, but also to ensure that everyone remains connected and feels supported during this time. For Anil, it was a confirmation of how much we’ve complicated our lives, as the mandate to stay home has proved how simple and rudimentary our needs actually are.

Manisha discovered new clarity on the balance between digital and human interaction. A lot of impact in her work hinges on an accelerated uptake of digital interventions, as she had mentioned previously, and this certainly helped—but it also made quite clear where human interaction was irreplaceable. 

This crisis has produced many revelations, not the least of which is this balance between digital and human interaction. Entire industries working from home for months on end has certainly proved that a major chunk of work can be done digitally—but the question is, should it? What does the complete absence of physical human interaction do to morale and mental health? The irony here is that as it becomes more evident each day that many businesses can run entirely on screens, it becomes proportionately clear why they shouldn’t.

The central idea is that people, communities, and relationships are, and should be, at the heart of everything we do. Whether that’s internal/external communications or CSR activities, they should be designed to nurture relationships, elevate quality of life or work for individuals, or bring communities together for a cause.