tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4728855647980999672024-03-14T06:43:06.582+02:00CSR for HRA blog about the interface of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)and the role of Human Resources (HR) professionals in embedding CSR culture and practices in the business. This blog supplements my book: "CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices" published October 2010 by Greenleaf Publishing.elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.comBlogger107125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-49764044974755534022013-05-17T11:00:00.000+03:002013-05-17T11:00:53.739+03:00CSR for HR: coincidence or strategy? <div style="text-align: justify;">
The <a href="http://www.mdos.si/en/conferenceprogramme.html">first international co-conference on CSR entitled "CSR- from coincidence to strategy", held in Bled, Slovenia earlier this week</a>, was a resounding success, drawing over 120 conference participants from Slovenia and CEE region. I was invited (and honored) to speak at the conference by one of the co-hosts, the <a href="http://www.ekvilib.org/">Ekvilib Institute</a>, whose leaders are driving CSR with a passion in this interesting and beautiful country.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovenia">Slovenia</a> is a small country with around 2 million inhabitants, and a land area of only 20,000 square kilometers, but it hosts a <a href="http://www.iedc.si/iedc-news/news-archive/corporate-social-responsibility-from-coincidence-to-strategy">world-class management school, the IEDC</a>, which provided the conference venue and more than just a little inspiration. IEDC has a strong emphasis on sustainability, which is not surprising when you meet the power-dean, <a href="http://www.iedc.si/about-iedc/faculty/danica-purg">Prof. Danica Purg</a>, whose commitment to driving home the message of responsible business is evidenced by the leadership shown by the IEDC in many areas.<br />
<br />
A delight to open up the conference content was the incredibly talented and dynamic Dr. Nadya Zhexembayeva, Ph.D., Coca-Cola Chair of Sustainable Development at IEDC. Nadya is the co author of <a href="http://www.csr-books.com/2011/08/embedded-sustainability.html">Embedded Sustainability</a>, one of the best sustainability books I have read in the past few years. Nadya took us through a whirlwind tour of sustainability trends, in a presentation that was engaging and entertaining. From moral choice to inevitable reality, from greener to smarter, from optional niche to core strategy, from a department to a mindset and from a company to system are the headlines that tell our sustainability story going forward. Radical transparency and innovation are keywords that are leading the sustainability (r)evolution, and this was an illuminating backdrop to the day.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkkEb0WwFlxpGr1IJPD9Iv0NplVu-w5hW-w_i8YaK3GmlkZAQKwwcU94VA-luZTy1Lh8lqBbKAZqfD8tBzx2EX0WxWaLLwyPh__z309FeGcAZPYfv21HMrPUVnBpy76HLVxna-HT7fC61K/s1600/nadya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkkEb0WwFlxpGr1IJPD9Iv0NplVu-w5hW-w_i8YaK3GmlkZAQKwwcU94VA-luZTy1Lh8lqBbKAZqfD8tBzx2EX0WxWaLLwyPh__z309FeGcAZPYfv21HMrPUVnBpy76HLVxna-HT7fC61K/s320/nadya.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
My keynote covered CSR for HR. Interestingly, my hosts gave me a title for the keynote. "When CSR meets HR". Of course, I had to disappoint everyone in my opening remarks, as, in today's reality, as you probably realize, CSR does not meet HR, at least intentionally, with very few exceptions. I was then able to give a justification for why CSR and HR should meet, and should continue to meet. This was followed by a panel discussion with some interesting insights from CSR/HR leaders in both small and large companies: Matjaž Čadež, founder and owner, Halcom d.d., Slovenia; Malgorzata Szlendak, Head of CSR and Corporate Communcations, Nestle Poland; Živa Vadnov, Head of Corporate Communications and CSR, Studio Moderna, Slovenia; and Nathalie Lerotic Pavlik, Head of HR Croatia and Slovenia, Microsoft, Croatia.
<br />
<br />
Later in the day, there was a breakout session in which we discussed the challenges and practicalities of embedding CSR for HR within organizations. A couple of key insights we drew from this discussion were:<br />
<br />
<u><strong>Communications:</strong></u> It is so important to ensure a strong communications platform to ensure awareness of CSR and HR themes and expectations of employees in the business. Awareness is the precursor for action and communications can help build a familiarity and understanding that help all employees get more engaged.<br />
<br />
<u><strong>Middle Management:</strong></u> This is the layer in any company which tends to be in the CSR for HR squeeze. Top leadership may understand and set strategy. The general body of non-management employees will do what makes sense to them and follow the leadership if the message is clear. It's the middle management in any organization which has the responsibility to translate the leadership message into actionable plans, implement programs and embed practices, while often dealing with multiple other tasks and responsibilities. Often, investment in middle management training and preparation to lead and embed CSR-HR practices is not sufficient, if it exists at all. If CSR for HR is to become truly core and integral in the way any company does business, more investment in middle management capabilities, resources and incentives needs to be developed. <br />
<br />
The conference was a great start to what I hope will be a long tradition of CSR debate and development in Slovenia and the region. And, of course, an increasing acceptance that <span style="color: red;"><strong>"It is time for CSR and HR to meet!" </strong></span> </div>
<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, winning (CRRA'12) Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Ice Cream Addict. Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.dosustainability.com/shop/sustainability-reporting-for-smes-competitive-advantage-through-transparency-p-17.html"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sustainability Reporting for SMEs: Competitive Advantage Through Transparency</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> AND </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> or via my business website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (Beyond Business Ltd, an inspired CSR consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm)</span></strong>
elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-84181969196752726222013-02-17T09:30:00.001+02:002013-02-17T09:32:09.778+02:00Employee Engagement is not Enough<div style="text-align: justify;">
Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking at a conference in Milan, Italy, organized by <a href="http://www.lundquist.it/about/"><strong>Lundquist,</strong></a> a strategic communications consultancy, specializing in online corporate communications and the interface with CSR. The conference was themed <strong><span style="color: red;">"New Frontiers of online corporate communications"</span></strong> with a focus on social media and employer branding. The conference was well attended by CSR and communications professionals, the creme de la creme of the communications world in Italy. The event was a stimulating gathering and many perspectives were shared and discussed. Othjer speakers included Andrew Thomas, publisher of <a href="http://www.communicatemagazine.co.uk/">Communicate Magazine</a>, Caterina Rucci, Head of Employment at <a href="http://www.twobirds.com/English/AboutUs/Pages/About_Us.aspx">Bird And Bird Law Firm</a>, Eric Sundstrom, editor in chief of <a href="http://www.dagensarena.se/">Dagens Arena</a>, a Swedish daily news service, as well as <a href="http://www.lundquist.it/contacts/">Joakim Lundquist, the mastermind behind the event, and James Osborne, Sara Rusconi and Cristiano Poian of the Lundquist team</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My piece was about, yes, you guessed it, CSR for HR, and I introduced the thought that, when it comes to CSR, <br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong>Employee Engagement is Not Enough!</strong></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I thing we are in danger of diluting the "employee engagement" concept to one which is more passive than active. I am not sure who holds the definitive definition of employee engagement these days but generally it tends to refer to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_engagement">"a measurable degree of an employee's positive or negative emotional attachment to their job"</a> on the assumption that emotional attachment will create the desired behaviors.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2012/06/22/employee-engagement-what-and-why/">Kevin Kruse, who wrote a book on the subject offers his definition in a Forbes article:</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"<em>Definition: <strong>Employee engagement is the emotional commitment the employee has to the organization and its goals.</strong>
</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em> </em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>This emotional commitment means engaged employees actually care about their work and their company. They don’t work just for a paycheck, or just for the next promotion, but work on behalf of the organization’s goals.
When employees care—when they are engaged—they use <strong>discretionary effort</strong>.
This means the engaged computer programmer works overtime when needed, without being asked. This means the engaged retail clerk picks up the trash on the store floor, even if the boss isn’t watching. This means the TSA agent will pull a bag suspicious bag to be searched, even if it’s the last bag on their shift."</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is good because, in Kevin's definition, engagement leads to action.This is right. Employee engagement in CSR should be more than an emotional commitment, it needs to be proactive action. But I think that the more we talk about engagement, the more we may be focusing on emotional onboarding and less on practical action. We should stop measuring "engagement" and start measuring behaviours. If engagement is the driver, action is the output, and business improvement, employee empowerment and social and environmental benefits are the outcomes. More than understanding that employees are engaged, I would like to know how they act, and how they turn their engagement into real deliverables. Therefore, at the Lundquist conference in Milan, I talked about: </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong>Employee Activation</strong></span>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Does the CSR-HR Partnership drive employees to action in support of a CSR-oriented business program? Are CSR and HR Managers putting in place the tools that invite, encourage and compel employees to ACT, rather than be emotionally engaged at some sort of philosophical level? Are measures in the business the responses to a survey where we ask employees about their views, or do we ask them about what they actually did to advance CSR? Are rewards processes in place to recognize action rather than engagement? </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: red;"><strong>I think its time for HR to wake up to CSR</strong></span> and for the CSR-HR partnership to work together to drive Employee Activation, and not just employee engagement. Semantics? Maybe. But <a href="http://www.buzzle.com/articles/the-power-of-words.html">our choice of words may just influence the way we behave.</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And while we are on the subject, you may be interested in two upcoming events on CSR for HR:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><span style="color: red;">A new webinar training series for CSR and HR Managers about "Making the CSR-HR Partnership work."</span></strong> In this initial 2-session series on March 13 and March 20, we will cover:</div>
<ul>
<li>The business case for advancing Sustainable Human Resources Management in your business, large or small. </li>
<li>The key issues that form the CSR/HR agenda and ways of addressing these in different organizations.</li>
<li>The employee engagement (activation!) aspects of CSR – what works, what doesn’t work and how to leverage engagement through CSR. </li>
<li>The measurable business benefits of a CSR-HR approach –quantifying the financial benefit to the organization through implementing CSR-HR tools. </li>
<li>The CSR for HR Roadmap and Scorecard - what you can (and should) do next, and in what order.
</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/35156-Making-the-CSR-HR-Partnership-Work-CSRwire-Launches-Webinar-Series-with-CSR-for-HR-Leader-Elaine-Cohen"><strong>Check this link if you are interested in participating.</strong></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And if you are planning to be in the Barcelona area in June, you might want to register for <a href="http://www.impactfivegroup.com/employee-engagement/">this event on 11th June in Barcelona themed: "Boosting Employee Engagement in the Digital Era".</a> I will be chairing this conference which will also include a case study from a great former colleague, Geoff McDonald, Global VP HR Marketing, Communications & Sustainability, Water at Unilever, on the role of HR in embedding sustainability in organizations. </div>
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UivR0xPISP4?feature=player_detailpage" width="400"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong> </strong><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIuSUU4zyUF8CWnkA_S9_3hIooC2K-CVhpU4m50E1FydzI3x36-gFqKDgEQ2Th-eNO4FIVBNVJL_nXBUO1ew3TbI2Pv5b02E_BBgTkOsumS3eLNjooVk6s3xJfixqIasZcez61HpKDr-Mc/s1600/boosting.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIuSUU4zyUF8CWnkA_S9_3hIooC2K-CVhpU4m50E1FydzI3x36-gFqKDgEQ2Th-eNO4FIVBNVJL_nXBUO1ew3TbI2Pv5b02E_BBgTkOsumS3eLNjooVk6s3xJfixqIasZcez61HpKDr-Mc/s1600/boosting.JPG" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.impactfivegroup.com/employee-engagement/programme/"><strong>Check this link if you would like to see the full programme</strong></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
As you can see, my mission is about Activating the CSR-HR Partnership. Hopefully, more CSR and HR Managers will <em>engage</em> in activation too!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainabilty Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">. Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on Twitter or via my website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz/en</span></strong></a> <strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: red;">Check out my new book</span><span style="color: red;">!</span> </span></strong><a href="http://www.dosustainability.com/shop/sustainability-reporting-for-smes-competitive-advantage-through-transparency-p-17.html"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sustainability Reporting for SMEs: Competitive Advantage through Transparency</span></strong></a>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-89576982345017443342013-01-27T16:00:00.000+02:002013-01-27T16:00:14.789+02:00HR Managers - just making excuses<div style="text-align: justify;">
HR Magazine UK published an interesting <a href="http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/hr/news/1076036/csr-chief-hr-officers-limited-impact-line?utm_content=CSR%3A%20chief%20HR%20officers%20see%20limited%20impact%20on%20bottom%20line&utm_campaign=HR%20magazine%20news%2023%20January%202013&utm_source=HR%20Magazine&utm_medium=adestra_email&utm_term=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hrmagazine.co.uk%2Fhr%2Fnews%2F1076036%2Fcsr-chief-hr-officers-limited-impact-line" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">article recently about how HR Managers are not seeing benefit to the bottom line from CSR initiatives</span></a>. The article refers to recently published <a href="https://est05.esalestrack.com/eSalesTrack/Content/Content.ashx?file=e8cd60d3-3f05-4d18-9c57-2b9dca3181c6.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">research conducted by Cornell University</span></a>. 143 senior U.S.-based HR people responded to the survey. This is a fascinating report which covers, among other things, the way HR Managers see CSR. Unfortunately, it tends to reinforce a lot of what we already suspected / knew. Here are some of the highlights:</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wIQFaCihF-6hP5MVK512k2a2MtqbjyVB91gj8Wvwj2TXSe7Nb9UuBSr36u1XajCSm66wpyMx_kSMV8bFqACre-a5wvNH9DYhyFMWWQ_eXbpBX98t7a2irX7bdFF36AV8rwIKLpAWMZcI/s1600/HR+inthe+Csuite.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wIQFaCihF-6hP5MVK512k2a2MtqbjyVB91gj8Wvwj2TXSe7Nb9UuBSr36u1XajCSm66wpyMx_kSMV8bFqACre-a5wvNH9DYhyFMWWQ_eXbpBX98t7a2irX7bdFF36AV8rwIKLpAWMZcI/s320/HR+inthe+Csuite.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On Page 3, the Executive Summary states: "<em>Results regarding CSR indicate that CHROs see limited impact for CSR programs on the bottom line, and that this tends to be an obstacle to broadening CSR efforts. CSR efforts that are strategically built around the firm’s business seem to be more effective than those that appear without any alignment to the business’s capabilities or strategic objectives. In addition, because CSR has the greatest impact on the firm’s reputation, these efforts tend to be championed by the CEO more so than by those lower in the organization</em>."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The research starts with an overview of what CSR programs HR Managers identify as being advanced by their companies from a list of 28 different pre-selected CSR-type activities. HR Managers confirmed that the most prevalent CSR programs relate to philanthropy and disaster relief, but high on the list are also providing employees with health risk-assessments, advancing employee volunteering and reducing energy consumption. The HR Managers feel that the health-risk assessments and volunteering programs have greater impact on the business than philanthropy. Of course they do. It just makes you wonder why most companies appear to be putting their efforts into donating money rather than driving activities which have a social benefit AND a positive impact on the business. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When asked about what they consider to be CSR best practices, HR Managers indicated things such as:</div>
<ul>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
partnering with customers on employee volunteering programs</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
integrating the CSR agenda into the business planning process</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
community engagement, responsible citizens</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
creating a purpose-driven organization</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
developing strategic partnerships with NGO's</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Interestingly, these examples do not include "doing HR differently" and integrating CSR deeply into core Human Resources Management processes. This, I believe, is one of the key ways in which HR Managers can/should make a big difference. Regrettably, they don't seem to see this. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Probably the most interesting part of this research is why HR Managers don't move forward with CSR. The report says:</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"<em>Finally, we asked CHROs to identify the biggest obstacles to the success of their CSR programs. Responses fell into four basic categories. ..... First, <strong><u>“Lack of Financial Resources”</u></strong> was mentioned by 20 CHROs. Sometimes the response was simply a focus on cost in general, while other times the focus seemed to be a temporary cost focus in light of the poor economic conditions. Second, “<u><strong>Lack of Integration/Alignment</strong></u>” was mentioned by 18 CHROs. This referred to either aligning the programs with the strategy, aligning the programs around a central and coherent theme, or aligning numerous local programs across the globe. Third, “<strong><u>Link to Business Results</u></strong>” described the difficulty in getting buy-in for CSR efforts without a clear link to either profitability or business objectives. This was mentioned by 16 CHROs. Last, “<strong><u>Leadership Support</u></strong>” was mentioned by 8 CHROs and referred to either top management or middle management not being actively supportive of the programs</em>."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now, doesn't that all sound like a lot of miserable excuse-making rather than practical reasons for inertia? HR Managers who are personally and professionally committed to a sustainable business approach will not be held back by any of the above, and, on the contrary, will proactively and creatively find ways to make things work, on a low-budget if necessary, without active leadership support, if necessary. HR Managers need to find the link to integration and alignment with business strategy and establish the link to business results so make buy-in easier for their C-Suite colleagues. This is not so difficult. There are clear business benefits, many quantifiable, of creating CSR-enabled recruitment and retention processes, hiring for diversity, engaging employees in energy reduction and recycling and taking and advanced approach to employee health and wellness. There are clear business benefits of creating an aligned organization which supports and advances a CSR approach based on values, stakeholder dialogue and engendering trust. There is potential for major risk-avoidance as well as business opportunity in all core HR activities. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Give me any HR Manager of any organization of any size in any sector, and I will help her build a CSR-HR strategy which adds business value, some quantitative, some qualitative, backed by a selling-in approach for the C-Suite. HR Managers who don't know how to do this need to get up to speed fast. As it stands, HR is slowly becoming the back-seat passenger of the sustainability movement. Sooner or later, businesses may decide they don't need so many passengers. As I often say:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: red;"><strong>"It is time for HR to wake up to CSR!"</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><span style="color: red;"></span></strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><strong>PS:</strong> </span><span style="color: black;">If you happen to be planning a trip to <strong>Barcelona </strong>in June, you may want to catch up with this great conference on <a href="http://www.impactfivegroup.com/employee-engagement/" target="_blank">Boosting Employee Engagement through CSR in the Digital Era</a>. I will be chairing the day and speaking on "The Present and the Future of CSR and Employee Engagement". </span></div>
<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282" target="_blank"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">. Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on Twitter or via my website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz/en</span></strong></a> elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-28685099402300130982012-09-21T10:14:00.001+03:002012-09-21T10:14:50.163+03:00Mom-friendly workplaces. But how friendly?<div style="text-align: justify;">
This caught my eye today: <a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/09/18/unilever-named-as-working-mother-100-best-company/" target="_blank">"Unilever Named as Working Mother 100 Best Company For Leadership on Creating Family-Friendly Policy & Culture".</a> This got me wondering what the Working Mother Best Company actually measures. The article cites: "commitment to progressive workplace programs, including child care, flexibility, advancement and paid family leave." </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sumeet Salwan, Unilever's Vice President, Human Resources, Unilever North America is quoted as saying: "It is our job to create a workplace of choice for our employees and to celebrate role models who can inspire the next generation of leaders - those who can successfully manage both their personal and professional lives rolled into one."
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The <a href="http://www.workingmother.com/best-companies/2012-methodology" target="_blank">methodology for this ranking as described on WorkingMother.com</a> is as follows: The 2012 Working Mother 100 best Companies application includes more than 500 questions on workforce representation, child care, flexibility programs, leave policies and more. It surveys the availability, usage and tracking of programs, as well as the accountability of managers who oversee them. For this year’s Working Mother 100 Best, we gave particular weight to child care, flexible scheduling options and advancement programs.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A workplace is not mother-friendly because it has great policies, the workplace is mother-friendly when it implements great policies and programs and delivers results. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The <a href="http://www.workingmother.com/best-companies/unilever" target="_blank">Unilever North America Profile</a> shows that 44% of hires were women in 2011 and 37% of execs are women, while 48% of women take advantage of flexible working policies. There are also courses in tai chi, yoga and meditation which "have added calm to busy days". This kind of profile is not significantly different from peer companies such as <a href="http://www.workingmother.com/best-companies/procter-amp-gamble-5" target="_blank">Procter and Gamble</a>, <a href="http://www.workingmother.com/best-companies/general-mills-9" target="_blank">General Mills</a>, <a href="http://www.workingmother.com/best-companies/kraft-foods-7" target="_blank">Kraft Foods</a> and others. They all cite high levels of women hires, and high levels of execs. However, as a woman, getting a foot in the door and reaching a first-line management position is not all that difficult. Most women are able to do that before they become Moms, probably even before they get married. What would truly worth studying is how many of new hires are Moms, how many execs are Moms and how many Senior Managers and Leadership Execs are Moms. <br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.uwlax.edu/faculty/giddings/ECO336/week_3/Off_ramps_and_on_ramps.pdf" target="_blank">Off-Ramps and On-Ramps study by Sylvia Ann Hewitt, <span style="color: black;">President of the Center for Work-Life Policy (CWLP)</span> published in HBR in 2005</a> remains completely relevant today. This authoritative study showed that 37% of highly qualified women were “off-ramping”—that is, voluntarily leaving their jobs for extended time periods despite the fact that 93% want to return to work. Only 74% succeed in rejoining the workforce and
only 40% returned to full-time jobs. 95% of off-rampers would
not consider going back to their previous employers. <a href="http://hbr.org/2010/06/off-ramps-and-on-ramps-revisited/ar/1" target="_blank">The 2009 review</a> of this trend showed similar results. Apparently, as soon as women become Moms, the workplace is not so attractive. Childcare and family issues are not the only reason for women to leave the workforce, though it is the main one (44%). Maybe another key issue highlighted by the 2004 study is that women who return to the workforce after time out earn significantly less than their peers who remained in work - 37% lower pay after a three year absence.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.unilever.com/images/uslp-Unilever_Sustainable_Living_Plan_Progress_Report_2011_tcm13-284779.pdf" target="_blank">Unilever Sustainable Living Plan for 2011</a> tells a candid story: "<em>Our gender mix is not what we want it to be. Although we have three female Non-Executive Directors on the Board, there is only one woman on the ULE.
We are tackling the issue through a diversity board chaired by the CEO and by a requirement that the shortlist for each senior job should contain a woman. Since 2007, the proportion of women in senior positions has risen from 23% to 28%.
More than 50% of our graduate recruits are women. In principle, the pipeline is being filled, but our task is to ensure many more reach the top levels."</em> This is both honest and realistic, and shows that Unilever understands its task, but frankly, a 5% improvement of women in senior positions over 5 years, to a mere 28%, shows that Unilever has still to find the right formula to enable women to advance, not only because it's good for women, but because it's good for business. While childcare policies and flexible working - and maybe even yoga and tai chi - may help, this is clearly not the whole story. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><strong>And now for a personal anecdote:</strong></span> I first started to work with Unilever in 1997 as a consultant. After a few months, Unilever asked me to join as a full time employee (VP Human Resources). The very week we signed an employment contract, I realized I was pregnant! I went to my boss, the Chairman of Unilever Israel at the time, and gave him the news. While confirming that I would remain committed to my role, I offered him an "out" suggesting we annul the contract, in case, had he known, he wouldn't have chosen to hire me at that very time. His response was : "Congratulations! Pregnancy is not a sickness. There is no reason to annul our contract. Do whatever you need during your pregnancy - we will be supportive." I continued, of course, in my role, worked till my last week of pregnancy, had my daughter and returned to work after maternity leave. My boss's response, at that time, was completely reassuring and encouraging, and to this day, that continues to impress me. I off-ramped about 8 years later, and became an independent consultant focusing on CSR, but that's another story. <br />
<br />
While I have a personal connection to Unilever and a specific positive experience, and believe that Unilever, in general, is well deserving of a top ranking in the Best Workplace for Moms list, I also think that there is still a long way to go to create truly gender-equal workplaces and that this ranking does not quite reflect the issues involved. Off-ramping is a serious talent drain and a big cost to business. The company that manages to break through the blockers to off-ramping will surely reap the rewards, best list or no best list.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </strong></span><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices</strong></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>. Contact me via </strong></span><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>www.twitter.com/elainecohen</strong></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong> on Twitter or via my website </strong></span><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>www.b-yond.biz/en</strong></span></a> elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-77428580800003529392012-09-10T16:41:00.000+03:002012-09-10T16:41:41.195+03:00HR : Time to Walk the CSR talk<div style="text-align: justify;">Maybe the message is getting around. There has been a veritably flurry of articles about the HR function and CSR in the past week of so.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.2degreesnetwork.com/groups/managing-sustainability/resources/hr-board-sustainability-bus-before-its-too-late/?utm_campaign=massmail&utm_medium=email&utm_source=massmail">Rue Stanley, of EcoBusiness Exchange, says HR should board the bus before it's too late,</a> saying that "HR can help with some of the major challenges that face organizations wishing to develop their sustainability programs." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.hrreporter.com/blog/HR-Policies-Practices/archive/2012/09/05/hr-should-care-about-corporate-social-responsibility">Brian Kreissl, of Consult Carswell, says that "HR should care about corporate responsibility".</a> He makes the point: "The HR profession’s desire to be taken seriously as a strategic business partner is also important because CSR is one of those areas where HR professionals can move out of their comfort zones and play a more strategic role." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://chinagorman.com/2012/09/04/hr-stakeholders/">China Gorman, top HR thought-leader, refers to the Effective Practice Guidelines paper on Sustainable HRM that I co-wrote, and talks to the importance of recognizing HR Stakeholders.</a> She notes the range of HR stakeholders we identified and adds: "It was a good reminder of the breadth of the stakeholders that HR needs to factor into all of its work – whether it’s CSR, talent acquisition, talent management, benefits administration, strategic planning, learning and development – or yes, even the planning of the annual company picnic."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the meantime, the situation is still an uphill challenge for HR.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/hro/news/1074471/exclusive-diversity-survey-hrds-talk-talk-dont-follow-strategy?utm_content=Exclusive%20diversity%20survey%3A%20HRDs%20talk%20the%20talk%20but%20don%27t%20follow%20through%20with%20strategy&utm_campaign=HR%20magazine%20news%205%20September%202012&utm_source=HR%20Magazine&utm_medium=adestra_email&utm_term=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hrmagazine.co.uk%2Fhro%2Fnews%2F1074471%2Fexclusive-diversity-survey-hrds-talk-talk-dont-follow-strategy">A recent article in HR Magazine, UK</a>, one of the best HR publications which always maintains an eye on CSR, notes that "HR decision-makers in the UK are paying lip service to diversity strategy, but they are not following this through with strategic action." This follows a survey of HR Managers in the UK. <br />
<br />
Check out this data: "Looking specifically at the strands of diversity, although 82% said diversity and equality were either core to their business, a top priority or important to them, 16% are doing nothing to address age equality, 46% are ignoring sexual orientation, 37% are not addressing ethnic origin, 18% are not implementing gender equality measures, 19% do not have any disability initiatives in place and a massive 70% are not addressing diversity and inclusion dependent on nationality." <br />
<br />
Knowing that something is important is not enough. Believing that something is right is not enough. If HR Managers want to be a credible and influential part of any organization, they have to walk the talk. If you want to discriminate, then say so. At least that's honest. Because everything you do that perpetuates a non-diverse culture is discriminatory. Complicity in allowing inequalities to exist in business and lack of encouragement for true equal opportunity means that discrimination and abuse of human rights is acceptable in your organization. <br />
<br />
How many HR Managers see it that way? Not many, I suspect. This is because, in part, they are not accepting accountability for the broader impacts of their role. This brings us back to HR Stakeholders. HR must look beyond employees and managers and also consider the impacts on society of HR decisions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yes, it's time for HR to walk the talk, board the bus and <span style="color: red;"><strong>wake up to CSR!</strong></span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices.</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on Twitter or via my website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz</span></strong></a> </div>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-57389708764638483632012-08-02T08:16:00.000+03:002012-08-02T08:16:51.841+03:00Are HR Managers asleep?<div style="text-align: justify;">No? Maybe they should be! An article published by the <a href="http://www.phwa.org/resources/goodcompany/newsletter/article/372">Good Company Newsletter of the Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program</a> (PHWP) reports that there are hidden workplace costs to employee health, happiness and productivity. People who engage in unhealthy sleeping habits are putting not only their own sustainability at risk, but also that of their organization. This could be one explanation for the lack of productivity of HR Managers in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility. Perhaps, with a little more sleep, they may become more enlightened, more productive and more prepared to consider adopting practices which will enable their workplaces to thrive over the long-term.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lack of healthy sleep takes its toll in several areas, according to the PHWP. Here are just some of the downsides noted in the article by <a href="http://www.niu.edu/psyc/faculty/barber.shtml">Dr Larissa Barber</a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><ul><li><div style="text-align: justify;">decreasing level of involvement at work, hindering job performance</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">poorer decision making</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">lower concentration on complex tasks which require analytical ability etc</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">making errors</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">negatively impacting team performance</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">strained relationships</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">lower retention of learned information</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">lower cognitive performance which negatively affect safety practices</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">poor work-life balance </div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">increased stress</div></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you are an HR Manager (and assuming you are not suffering from sleep deprivation), and you know your employees are hindering your organization's performance because they are not engaging in healthy sleep habits, wouldn't you be tempted to make a plan to understand the effect of poor-sleep stress in your organization and consider how to assist employees which suffer from this problem? Wouldn't you be interested to know if there is something about your organization's work culture which might be contributing to the problem? Or would you take the ostrich approach and leave employees to work out their sleep schedules for themselves?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">How many times do you see "lack of sleep" on an organizational risk matrix? Probably not ever. And yet, this could be one significant, silent, unidentified drag on your productivity and profitability. Of course, it's impossible to overtake the personal lives and health habits of each and every one of your employees. People are not robots and cannot be expected to adopt every single health practice in all aspects of their lifestyles whether this relates to sport, nutrition, non-smoking, weight-control, ergonomic seating and more. But different people are prone to different influences. Some things affect some people more than others. By ignoring the effects of sleep deprivation, HR Managers may be missing an opportunity to help employees, contribute to the wider quality of life in our society and also, improve business results. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Raising awareness of sleep deprivation and unhealthy sleeping habits and offering simple tools to help employees understand their own circumstances and take action where necessary could be a simple way to identify potential for productivity improvement and reduced conflict in the organization. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Is this CSR? Of course it is.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not by coincidence, then, that I have been saying that <span style="color: red;"><strong>HR Managers should WAKE UP to CSR</strong></span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, this can be understood both literally as well as metaphorically. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">. Contact me via www.twitter.com/elainecohen on Twitter or via my website www.b-yond.biz/en</span></strong>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-74532857247813336132012-07-09T17:33:00.000+03:002012-07-09T17:33:19.526+03:00Engouraging HR to wake up to CSR<div style="text-align: justify;">Today I had a wonderful opportunity to talk to a group of global and regional Chief Sustainability Officers representing nine globally-active companies, all are names that you would all recognize, most of them report on sustainability and have well-developed sustainability programs and a string of achievements to date. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I presented on one of my favorite subjects - CSR for HR - but with a specific slant towards CSR and Employee Engagement and how Human Resources Management can contribute to a culture of sustainability, how CSR can drive employee engagement and how CSR can be leveraged for competency and leadership development. Interesting questions which are crucial for companies interested in making CSR and Sustainability a true part of the business rather than just a set of afterthought projects. I will elaborate on the perspectives and solutions I presented in a future post.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">After my presentation, we had some discussion which centered around, primarily, how to get HR people engaged in the objective of creating a sustainable organizational culture. Before the discussion drew to a close, the group host invited me to ask them some questions. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I responded something like this: You are all leading, highly-reputable companies in your respective fields, you all have sustainability programs and achievements, you all communicate on sustainability in some way and many of you have sustainability targets which are quite ambitious. It would seem that employee engagement in sustainability should already be on your radar. Therefore, I was wondering what prompted the discussion about employee engagement and why this is an important area for discussion at this time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The collective reply went something like this: We are all frustrated with the lack of response from the HR function. They are not getting on board. Instead of embracing a sustainability approach, they don't see it as their job, they are too busy, they are not interested and they are impenetrable. We want to work out how we get HR to the table and have HR become a partner and even leader in sustainability and employee engagement. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So there you have it. Even in the best of companies with the best of programs, the HR function is holding the organization back, instead of realizing that CSR is the key to making a much fuller and more sustainable contribution. Guess what I replied?<span style="color: red;"><strong> It is time for HR to wake up to CSR!</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">But I also said that it takes two to tango. I advised this group of accomplished Sustainability Leaders to treat HR as customers, as valued stakeholders, as a group without whom they will not be able to deliver optimal results.</span> <span style="color: black;">This means that if CSR wants HR to wake up, it has to do the waking. As CSO, one of the first partnerships you should be working to develop is with your HR counterpart. If you wait for HR to come to you, you will wait a long time. If you wait for HR to see the light, it may not happen. As CSO, you can both help HR to understand the context and the need, while driving HR to step up to the mark by offering them an opportunity to be involved in developing solutions to sustainable business problems. </span><span style="color: black;">This is as much a part of the CSO job as pursuing a low-carbon strategy. If, as CSO, you believe your HR function is not on the sustainability track, then make it your job to bring them around.</span> <span style="color: black;">It's a win-win.</span> <span style="color: black;">If you treat them as (equal) partners, maybe they will become (equal) partners.</span> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
Enter <a href="http://www.englishforums.com/open/Quotes,(Author)Johann-Wolfgang-Von-Goethe.htm">Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe</a> who said: “<strong>Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being</strong>.”<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices.</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on Twitter or via my website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz/en</span></strong></a> </div>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-24396868779418403032012-06-28T17:53:00.000+03:002012-06-28T17:53:44.811+03:00CSR for HR: Getting the message through<div style="text-align: justify;">It's easy to assume things. It's easy to assume that, if you have a policy in place, and you have communicated it, or even posted it on an employee portal somewhere, that employees will notice it. Such assumptions rarely turn out to be true, and in the case of Human Resources, it's rather a lazy and irresponsible basis for performing the HRM role. As employees are core stakeholders in any business, HR should not underestimate the need for a <strong>proactive</strong> process to ensure employees are aware of their rights, entitlements, the policies which affect their working lives and also, of course, their duties and obligations. This is simply good HR. But it's also good CSR. </div><br />
<strong>It is not enough to get the message across. </strong><br />
<strong>You have to get the message THROUGH.</strong> <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
A <a href="http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2012/06/half-of-staff-not-aware-of-hr-polices-figures-show.htm"><strong>recent article in People Management</strong></a> reports that: "Nearly half of all employees are not aware of their company’s HR policy ... In a poll of 1,000 workers, only 53 per cent claimed to have knowledge of their employer’s HR guidelines and even fewer (43 per cent) were aware of their company’s structure. Less than a quarter (23 per cent) of those canvassed understood their firm’s corporate social responsibility policy and only 27 per cent knew of their employer’s service guidelines...."</div><br />
This is squarely in the Human Resources professional camp and should be regarded as a core HR-CSR responsibility of HR Managers. <br />
<br />
This responsibility is two-fold: <br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><strong>first</strong></span>, deliver a process in which HR Managers proactively ensure employees are provided with the relevant information and have the opportunity to ask questions <br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><strong>second</strong></span>, design a process for ensuring that HR gets positive confirmation that this is implemented in practice. <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pushing out policies is not the value that HR adds. Getting the message through and engaging the minds and hearts of employees to deliver outcomes which support the business, is the value. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>HR Managers: Wake up to CSR!</strong></span> <br />
Wake up to your unique role in your business and to your responsibilities. </div><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices.</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on Twitter or via my website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz/en</span></strong></a>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-29185069711466678702012-06-15T10:40:00.000+03:002012-06-15T10:40:35.829+03:00Two CSR for HR resources for serious HRMers<div style="text-align: justify;">I came across this interesting well-written paper entitled <a href="http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/cahrs/research/upload/CAHRS-CSR-White-Paper-FINAL.pdf">"Corporate Social Responsibility - Implications for Human Resources and Talent Engagement",</a> a research paper by Winnie Kwan and Emily Tuuk coming out of the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies at Cornell University. The research addresses 4 questions:</div><ul><li>To what extent do early career employees consider CSR strategy in their evaluation of employers?</li>
<li>How do organizations and HR leadership integrate CSR initiatives into their employee value proposition? </li>
<li>What are some of the priorities/challenges in leveraging CSR as a way to recruit and retain talent?</li>
<li>What type of role does HR currently play in this process and how could it be further developed?</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">First, the paper looks at motivators of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Y">Generation Y</a> employees for joining a company. As usual with these surveys, potential recruits confirm that they consider CSR as a factor in choosing an employer. Interestingly, this study makes the distinction between companies which are seen to adopt some CSR initiatives and companies which have CSR as their core, integrative business approach. In the former case, Gen Y has a preference. In the second, they will take a lower paying job. However, as with all surveys of this nature, no-one researches what Gen Yers actually do - only what they think they might do. To what extent attitude is a predictor of behavior is unclear to me.</div><br />
The other interesting thing about this research it the discussion of the HR Role. The paper proposes an HR-CSR Integration Matrix:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWA-6GYM0XVCHAi-yIT5UFEr-zW8Wtx6UY3UIzJkBYPDbHy2SJLh67Gp1pnlqCaNHCetg9F9O1puN8lMoBlWtDOdUFtbgugMh86twOnqfBr4HIWiQ70feUT1trXtjJQm2KCSYT0zZM-Xp/s1600/1206+CSR+Integration+Models.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWA-6GYM0XVCHAi-yIT5UFEr-zW8Wtx6UY3UIzJkBYPDbHy2SJLh67Gp1pnlqCaNHCetg9F9O1puN8lMoBlWtDOdUFtbgugMh86twOnqfBr4HIWiQ70feUT1trXtjJQm2KCSYT0zZM-Xp/s400/1206+CSR+Integration+Models.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reproduced <em>without</em> permission (sorry!) from above-mentioned research paper.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The paper discusses the ways HR can be involved in supporting and even leading CSR efforts. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">"The organizational structures outlined earlier can more effectively position HR to take on a stronger leadership-oriented or consultation-oriented type of role in designing and executing these CSR initiatives. But specific organizational cultures determine the level to which such structures become enablers or constraints on HR’s deep involvement with CSR strategy. As a result of the interplay between organizational structure and culture, HR can adopt a functional or proactive role within this space, though both are not mutually exclusive. HR acting in a functional capacity emerges through the implementation and management of CSR programs within the talent population. Such a role also includes the assessment of employee feedback and offering consultation to strategy devisers based on such data. A proactive stance features HR in the role of co-developing the company’s strategic direction for CSR matters. It also reflects a strong HR priority on building a culture of responsible leadership through fostering and coaching CSR champions among its client groups."</div><br />
This is spot on, and clearly, the more proactive the HR function is in co-creation of strategy, the more effective the organization will be at delivering its business and CSR objectives.<br />
<br />
The conclusion reads: <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">"<strong>Organizations need to enable HR to serve as a steward of human assets within their operational frameworks. To enact real change within global communities, organizations will need to strengthen HR’s capacity to help employees become more proactive and integrated into their cultures of responsible leadership</strong>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
This is very clear. Not only does <span style="color: red;"><strong>HR need to wake up to CSR</strong></span> but organizations need to enable HR to perform effectively in this new role. <br />
<br />
For those HR managers who want to get serious about CSR and Sustainable HRM, I recommend a resource recently published by the SHRM Foundation, called <a href="http://www.shrm.org/about/foundation/products/Documents/4-12%20CSR%20Report%20FINAL%20for%20Web.pdf"><strong>"HRM's Role in Corporate Social and Environmental Sustainability"</strong></a> and authored by two illustrious professors: <strong>Sully Taylor</strong>, Professor of International Management and former Associate Dean for Graduate Programs at the School of Business Administration, Portland State University. and <strong>Michael Muller-Camen</strong>, Chair in HRM at WU Vienna University of Economics and Business and is Associate Professor of International HRM at Middlesex University Business School in London - <strong>and myself!</strong> <a href="http://chinagorman.com/2012/05/22/data-source-highlight-shrm-foundation/">Read what the amazing China Gorman, former COO of the SHRM, has to say about this paper on her blog here.</a> The paper is designed to be a resource for HR Managers and this is what it's about:<br />
<br />
"This report aids human resource management (HRM) practitioners in understanding sustainability in an organizational context. It can be used as a <strong>guide for the HR function</strong> to support sustainable business and perform HRM sustainably. Divided into two main sections, this report begins by examining <strong>the critical role HRM plays in sustainability</strong> and the <strong>HRM tools available</strong> <strong>to embed sustainability strategy in the organization</strong>. The second section introduces a <strong>roadmap to sustainable HRM</strong>. It outlines global business approaches to sustainability, labor standards and specific aspects of sustainable practice such as employee volunteering, employer branding and green HRM. Finally, the report explores the <strong>new HR skills required</strong> for practicing sustainable HRM and the applicability of sustainable HRM in different types of organizations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Happy reading and CSHR-ing!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div> </div><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices.</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on Twitter or via my website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz/en</span></strong></a>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-24544144024792584532012-05-11T08:59:00.001+03:002012-05-11T17:04:38.155+03:00Employee Engagement in Sustainability at Microsoft<div style="text-align: justify;">This is not the blog in which I usually talk about corporate CSR transparency and sustainability communications. I have another blog for that - the <a href="http://csr-reporting.blogspot.com/">CSR Reporting Blog</a>. But in this case I will make an exception for the recently published Environmental Report White Paper from Microsoft entitled <a href="http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/A/C/1AC87972-4DC7-43F2-92A8-8B159C3C8E77/Microsoft_Becoming%20Carbon%20Neutral.pdf">"Becoming Carbon Neutral: How Microsoft is becoming Lean, Green and Accountable"</a> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
This is a fascinating document, and one of the most interesting corporate communications on sustainability I have seen in a while. It's short: only 16 pages, but it gets the message through impressively. Microsoft has pledged to become a carbon neutral company starting in FY 13 for data centers, software development labs, offices, and employee air travel. There are three core strategies:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<span style="color: red;"><strong>Quote:</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Be lean</strong>. We are setting targets to drive more efficiency with the energy that we consume in our data centers, labs, and offices as well as to reduce our use of air travel. Technology will play an important role in both how we achieve those targets and how we measure our progress along the way.<br />
<br />
<strong>Be green.</strong> We are purchasing more renewable energy and establishing goals to reduce our waste and water use.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<strong>Be accountable.</strong> We are quantifying the carbon impact of our operations and driving responsible business decisions around energy use and air travel by setting an internal price on carbon, measuring our emissions, and charging a carbon fee to the teams responsible for those emissions. We are also working to reduce the carbon impact of our supply chain.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Unquote.</strong></span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Now why is this relevant for the CSR for HR blog?</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I suspect that there should not be many HR Managers at Microsoft who do not know what carbon neutral means and its relevance to the sustainability of Microsoft's business and the planet. Here's why.<br />
<br />
Another quote from the white paper:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<strong><span style="color: red;">Quote</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><strong>Engaging employees through environmental sustainability programs</strong></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To successfully establish a culture of environmentally sustainable operations and achieve our commitment to carbon neutrality, it is critical that we have the support and participation of our employees. Today at Microsoft, we have a number of programs designed to increase our employees’ awareness of environmental issues and engage them directly in sustainability work. A few examples include:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<strong>Environmental Sustainability Leads.</strong> We have a global community of environmental leaders who help to manage Microsoft’s sustainability work in their country or region. Environmental Sustainability Leads focus primarily on reducing employee travel, driving energy efficiency improvements in their local offices, engaging with customers and partners on the role of technology in environmental sustainability, and connecting with local policymakers to help advance the use of IT in enabling a low-carbon economy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<strong>Sustainability Champions.</strong> Employees who volunteer as Sustainability Champions play an active role in reducing our energy consumption, conserving water, and diverting waste from landfills. They encourage their colleagues to make environmentally conscious choices and educate them on sustainable practices (such as turning off lights and computers and recycling waste). The goal of the program is to reduce controllable energy consumption by 3–10 percent per building at the plug level.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<strong>MS Green.</strong> As part of a grassroots community group, members of MS Green focus on increasing the environmental awareness of employees and educating them about programs such as mass transit, energy conservation, organic farming, and other local resources.<br />
<br />
<strong>Environmental Action Award.</strong> Each quarter, we recognize a team or individual employee who has made a significant contribution to reducing the environmental impact of Microsoft or our products. Winners of the quarterly award receive a $1,000 donation to the environmental charity of their choice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Unquote</strong></span></div><span style="color: red;"><strong></strong></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">Read about these initiatives in more detail in a <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/see/archive/2012/03/13/top-5-employee-engagement-practices.aspx">post on the Microsoft blog</a>.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
As is often the case when I read about how companies are engaging employes in sustainability programs, I often wonder: what role has Human Resources played in supporting this? Are HR on the map?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
To check this out, I had a chat with <a href="http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/profile/josh%20henretig/"><strong>Josh Henretig,</strong></a><strong> Director of Environmental Sustainability at Microsoft</strong>, who is responsible for global environmental sustainability strategy, with focus on communications and outreach and internal employee engagement and programs and more. Josh is a prolific writer on the Microsoft environmental citizenship blog, <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/see/">Software Enabled Earth.</a> I quizzed Josh about the involvement of the Human Resources function in advancing employee environmental initiatives at Microsoft. <br />
<br />
Josh was quick to point out that Microsoft that citizenship is "not one person's responsibility - it is a shared responsibility". Processes are driven at the different points of responsibility within the organization. Not everything that requires the involvement of employees is channeled through HR. <br />
<br />
Makes sense. Healthy Approach. But what, then, is the role of HR? <br />
<br />
Josh confirmed that Human Resources is a key stakeholder in the development of environmental employee engagement programs and partners with the Sustainability Office and other groups in the phases of idea, program and policy development. It's an "inclusive framework of good governance" of organizational management. HR is in there as things get developed. The implementation and embedding of the programs ultimately rests with the teams that are responsible for delivering results in the different parts of the organization. <br />
<br />
This approach clearly works for Microsoft and ensures that all relevant contributions to engaging employees in environmental sustainability are captured and combined for the best possible outcome. This also may be the approach which enables Microsoft to make bold commitments to becoming carbon neutral. <br />
<br />
HR leaders take note. Waking up to CSR dos not mean being on the frontline all the time. It means being at the table. At the right time.</div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR Consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices.</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on Twitter or via my website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz/en</span></strong></a> </div>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-44627997657530104522012-05-02T08:49:00.000+03:002012-05-02T08:49:53.348+03:00CSR, HR and Human Trafficking<div style="text-align: justify;">When did you last see a Human Resources Manager's professional job description which explicitly includes responsibility for ensuring a human-trafficking-free supply chain? When did you last catch a Human Resources professional asking the Purchasing Manager about employment practices prevalent in supplier organizations and safeguards in place to prevent to human trafficking? How many Human Resources Managers do you know who have attended a supplier audit of outsourcing vendors? Or even an audit of their own remote facilities? How many Human Resources Managers have put their own jobs on the line to stand up and speak out for elimination of human trafficking risks throughout their extended business? I would venture to suggest that not many Human Resources Managers, especially in developed economies, have even considered that human trafficking may have any remote relationship to the job they were hired to do. It just doesn't hit their radar. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And yet: </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
"More than 27 million people worldwide are victims of human trafficking, which is estimated to be a $32 billion industry, according to a 2011 State Department report. It's the fastest-growing criminal activity after drugs and weapons trafficking. Immigrants, especially those who are poor, desperate for work or fleeing violence, remain particularly vulnerable. Last year, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that 130 types of goods in 71 countries were produced with forced labor, child labor or both." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
This is a paragraph from an article, in which I am quoted, published yesterday in HR Magazine, the mouthpiece of the Society for Human Resources Management, entitled <a href="http://www.shrm.org/Publications/hrmagazine/EditorialContent/2012/0512/Pages/0512meinert.aspx">Modern Day Slavery</a>, authored by Dori Meinert. There are still many companies engaged in many different types of modern day slavery, and many who are complicit through purchasing the good that they manufacture. Many of these companies, the active and the passive, have Human Resources Managers. </div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Human Rights has been one of the most significant areas of focus in the sustainability agenda for the past few years, reaching new heights with the <a href="http://www.business-humanrights.org/SpecialRepPortal/Home/Protect-Respect-Remedy-Framework/GuidingPrinciples">Protect, Respect, Remedy framework</a> delivered by John Ruggie and ratified by the UN. Protect. Isn't it interesting that people have to be "protected" from companies, exploiting them in so many creative although rather repulsive ways? Apparently, 27 million people do need to be protected. Human rights abuses are now considered to be one of the most significant business, reputation and legal risks that corporations can face. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you are a (good) Human Resources Manager, you should be appraised of the risks your business is facing and defining the ways in which you can add value in safeguarding these risks through the organization's people. If you happen to be in California, for example, you may actually be required to comply with <a href="http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202537492744&et=editorial&bu=National%20Law%20Journal&cn=20120109nlj&src=EMC-Email&pt=NLJ.com-%20Daily%20Headlines&kw=California%27s%20anti-slavery%20law%20new&slreturn=1">legislation that requires transparency in your supply chain</a>, including full disclosure on labor practices within your supply chain and monitoring practices. In you are in the State of Washington, which claims to have the toughest anti-trafficking laws in the U.S., you can urge your company to sign the <a href="http://www.bestalliance.org/sign-the-best-code/">Washington BEST (Businesses ending Slavery and Trafficking) Principles</a>, and <a href="http://waengage.com/business/">read how local businesses, including SME's, have been disclosed and punished</a> for human rights abuses as well as read about some of the great initiatives advanced by some companies to raise awareness and preventive action. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As a (good) HR Manager, what do you do? How can you guarantee a climate and culture in your business which are respectful to all employees working in the supply chain and ensure that no violations of human rights are taking place, including trafficking, whatever industry you are in ? How do you ensure that the employees who interface with your supply chain know what to look for and what to avoid, and work from the basis of the organization's values? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, it's simple.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One: Write a Human Rights policy and have it approved by your Execs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Two: Perform Human Rights "due diligence" to identify human rights risks in your supply chain</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Three: Audit, monitor, share findings and more importantly, sit down and have a discussion with your key suppliers about opportunities for improvement. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Four: Train your people on human rights policies. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">That's easy enough. Either HR will lead this process or it will partner the process. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>None of the above works unless HR Manager does not first work to embed an internal culture which respects human rights, first and foremost in her own business</strong>. How can employees uphold human rights if they themselves do not feel they are working for a company which respects their rights as employees? From the creation of a harassment and discrimination free workplace, to equal opportunity, to diversity and inclusion, to paying a living wage and more, HR Managers must lead a process which makes human rights a subject of which all employees are aware and which is embedded as a core value and practice in the business. HR must ensure that a framework exists in which the Human Rights of employees are respected and upheld, and also in which employees can recognize Human Rights risks and ensure they act to prevent issues. This is about process, communications and HR structures (such as performance standards and perhaps even compensation). This is what HR does well. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you are a (good) HR Manager, you should read <a href="http://www.shrm.org/Publications/hrmagazine/EditorialContent/2012/0512/Pages/0512meinert.aspx">Dori Meinert's article on Modern Day Slavery</a>. You should familiarize yourself with the Human Rights issues that could have an impact on your business. You should recognize that, just as companies can no longer externalize the issues created in extended supply chains, and must consider their responsibility as part of this value chain, so HR Managers must consider their reponsibilities relating to the impacts of employee decisions and actions (or inaction) in the supply chain, as well as in own business facilities. </div><br />
<span style="color: red;"><strong>It is time for HR to wake up to CSR!</strong></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, winning Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">. Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on Twitter or via my website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz/en</span></strong></a>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-68346970162064823562012-03-15T13:07:00.002+02:002012-03-15T13:09:22.572+02:00Why HR Managers don't do itAs a follow-up to my post about the <a href="http://www.csrforhr.com/2012/02/csr-for-hr-can-prevent-employees.html">World HRD Congress in Mumbai in February</a>, here you can see me in action, at the start of my presentation on CSR for HR:<br />
<br />
<div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><object style="height: 390px; width: 450px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4UFEP-Ji_uE?version=3&feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4UFEP-Ji_uE?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="450" height="360"></object></div><br />
<div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And while we are on the subject, you might want to take a look (it's ok if you might not!) at this interview I did with <a href="http://weinrebgroup.com/">Ellen Weinreb</a>, the Sustainability Recruitment Guru and leading light on all matters relating to sustainable jobs. Her piece is called: <a href="http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2012/03/14/real-friction-between-human-resources-and-csr">The real friction between human resources and CSR</a> and speaks to the issues that prevent Human Resources from truly embracing CSR as a prism through which they manage the HR function. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">What are the top reasons that HR Managers do not embrace CSR ?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><ul><li><div style="text-align: justify;">We are already doing it.</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">No-one is telling us to do it.</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">We don't have the time to do it.</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">We don't get paid to do it.</div></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"> Of course, you don't hear too many HR Managers saying: </div><ul><li><div style="text-align: justify;">We don't know how to do it.</div></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">or even:</div><ul><li><div style="text-align: justify;">We are still asleep.</div></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>It is time for HR to wake up to CSR! </strong></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://csrmiddleeast.org/profiles/blogs/featured-member-meet-with-bushra-azhar-independent-csr-sustainabi?xg_source=msg_mes_network">Bushra Azhar, CSR and Sustainability Expert in the Middle East, has a great approach.</a> </span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">She says:</span> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<strong>1. Start where you are</strong><br />
<strong>2. Use what you have</strong><br />
<strong>3. Do what you can</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
This is great advice for HR Managers. I would add just one more point : <strong>Read </strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong>CSR for HR</strong></a> :)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<div></div><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices.</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on Twitter or via my website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz/en</span></strong></a>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-8550249788131591632012-03-09T19:41:00.000+02:002012-03-09T19:41:53.325+02:00MVO VOOR HR aka CSR for HRFor those of you who speak Dutch, you will probably know what MVO VOOR HR means. For those of you who don't, CSR for HR might be more familiar. In just a few weeks, I will be in The Netherlands to deliver two exciting sessions on CSR for HR, organized and hosted by <a href="http://www.mvonederland.nl/over-mvo-nederland">MVO Nederland</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhliGRbmff4IyOJBrxQoeyKxyk4rSpyIkx9d-ad7smx0j2hVWyfVMhTE2WwGOykZ1QqvhCMQbKJxJ_C4r9yxzHZem1xZP9KTEJULnrlWAFQ_JCdxQapYzWh7Vc7RXGSZElr84n0rV-Gq37B/s1600/logo_mvo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhliGRbmff4IyOJBrxQoeyKxyk4rSpyIkx9d-ad7smx0j2hVWyfVMhTE2WwGOykZ1QqvhCMQbKJxJ_C4r9yxzHZem1xZP9KTEJULnrlWAFQ_JCdxQapYzWh7Vc7RXGSZElr84n0rV-Gq37B/s1600/logo_mvo.png" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">MVO Nederland (CSR Netherlands) is the national knowledge centre and the national network organisation for Corporate Social Responsibility: the place to start for any entrepreneurs wishing to make their commercial operations sustainable. It's the "CSR Magnet" in The Netherlands. One interesting aspect of the MVO network is the <a href="http://www.mvonederland.nl/english/content/pagina/large-companies-network-0">Large Companies Network</a> which now numbers 62 Dutch companies with over 500 employees. MVO launched their <a href="http://www.mvonederland.nl/academie">Education and Training Academy</a> just this year, and have already hosted a range of fabulous speakers including <a href="http://www.mvonederland.nl/terugblik/masterclass-csr-20-wayne-visser">Wayne Visser on CSR 2.0</a> and <a href="http://www.scheubeldevelopment.com/en/welcome.html">Veronika Scheubel</a> on Corporate Community Involvement. I am delighted and honored to be a part of the MVO Academy's program this year. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My sessions are as follows:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.mvonederland.nl/academie/2012-04-02/mvo-voor-hr-elaine-cohen"><strong>2nd April: A Masterclass for CSR and HR Professionals</strong></a> starting at 2:30 pm at <a href="http://www.kasteelwoerden.nl/content/ons_bedrijf">Kasteel Worden</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Masterclass will cover the business case for the CSR-HR partnership and the way managers of both professions can and should work together to deliver sustainable business strategy, with examination of risks, the opportunities and benefits of the CSR-HR partnership. We will relate this to the role of business in society and the platform this creates for CSR -HR collaboration. Then, we will zoom in on a few case studies that demonstrate these benefits, illustrating the shared roles of CSR and HR. Finally, we will discuss the CSR-HR Roadmap, Metrics and Scorecard, and how these fit into a sustainable organization's reporting strategy, with some practical tools to take away for implementation back in the workplace. Of course, culture, values and leadership will be part of this discussion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.mvonederland.nl/academie/2012-04-03/seminar-mvo-voor-hr-professionals-met-elaine-cohen"><strong>3rd April : An Interactive Masterclass for HR Professionals</strong></a>, in collaboration with the <a href="http://www.nvp-plaza.nl/site/en/">Nederlandse Vereniging voor Personeelsmanagement & Organisatieontwikkeling</a> aka the Dutch Association for Personnel Management and Organization Development, starting at 9:30 am in Utrecht.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In this meeting, we will cover similar ground, this time working through the minds of Human Resources leaders. We will explain why CSR is now the way business gets done, the implications for the HR Profession, the risks and opportunities. We will review case studies that deliver benefit for the business, employees, other internal and external stakeholders and for HR Professionals themselves. In the second part of the session, we will break into groups to discuss some core issues and share experiences, challenges and best practices. We will focus on practical implementation of HR tools and processes, with a CSR mindset. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite the fact that I do now understand what MVO VOOR HR means, both sessions will be conducted in English :) If, however, you want to read a little more in Dutch, you can <a href="http://www.mvonederland.nl/content/nieuwsbericht/een-nieuwe-rol-voor-hr-managers">see this article posted on the MVO website.</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am looking forward to some very stimulating discussion and the opportunity to enjoy the company of friends in The Netherlands. I hope to see some of you there!</div><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainabilty Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">. Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on Twitter or via my website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz/en</span></strong></a>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-36588267374799846522012-03-02T22:11:00.000+02:002012-03-02T22:11:07.727+02:00Employee engagement in CSR- it's gone viral!<div style="text-align: justify;">Wherever you look these days and whatever you read, getting employees on board with sustainability efforts is one of the key areas that everyone seems to be (yawn! at long last) acknowledging is the key to making it all come right. No list of top sustainability trends for 2012 was complete without employee engagement taking a star role. In a world of work where only <a href="http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/business/truth-and-myths-of-employee-engagement-198950.html">31% of employees are actively engaged in their jobs</a>, we can only hope that we are in the range of rock-bottom and that things will get better. Sustainability is not only an outcome of employee engagement, it is a driver. HR Managers around the world, this is your time to <span style="color: red;"><strong>wake up to CSR!</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">James Epstein Reeves' recent post on Forbes.com - <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/csr/2012/02/21/six-reasons-companies-should-embrace-csr/">Six Reasons Companies Should Embrace CSR</a> - features employee engagement (albeit in sixth place - ahem - but who's counting), saying: "..... if your own employees don’t know what’s going on within your organization, you’re missing an opportunity. Companies like <a href="http://www.saralee.com/en/Sustainability/SustainabilityStrategy.aspx">Sara Lee</a> created a cross-functional, global Sustainability Working Team to help create a strategy for sustainability. At a more grass roots level, the <a href="http://www.solocup.com/solo-in-the-community/solo-sustainability-action-network-solo-sustainability-action-network">Solo Cup Company</a> created the Sustainability Action Network to activate employees in community service focused on the company’s CSR priorities."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mother Nature Network reports that <a href="http://www.mnn.com/money/sustainable-business-practices/blogs/employees-are-a-top-corporate-social-responsibility-trend">"Employees are a top corporate social responsibility trend for 2012".</a> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Addison's <a href="http://www.addison.com/whats-new/views/six-sustainability-trends-2012">Six Sustainability Trends to Watch in 2012</a> includes employee engagement in sustainability, saying that "an increasing number of companies are realizing that introducing innovative employee volunteer programs as part of an integrated environmental, social and governance (ESG) platform can enhance their “employment brand.” </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tim Mohin of AMD included employee engagement in his <a href="http://www.greenconduct.com/news/2012/02/15/tim-mohins-top-10-csr-trends-for-2012/">top ten CSR trends of 2012,</a> explaining "The connection between CSR and engaged employees continues to grow. A Hewitt & Associates study looked at 230 workplaces with more than 100,000 employees and found that the more a company actively pursues worthy environmental and social efforts, the more engaged its employees are. The Society for Human Resources Management compared companies that have strong sustainability programs with companies that have poor ones and found that in the former morale was 55% better, business process were 43% more efficient, public image was 43% stronger, and employee loyalty was 38% better." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Susan McPherson, the CSR Dynamo at Fenton, also ranked employee engagement highly in her <a href="http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/12/top-12-predictions-for-csr-corporate-responsibility-in-2012/">list of 12 predictions for CSR in 2012.</a> And there are more. How can all these expert professionals be wrong? Of course they can't. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And here is some proof. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9KLjQ1kvSYdu8KQt2hkk3qhKfRLMlP8tZmpJ-l_clddM-efJNWdIdqm8iZ2NLci7S6liWWGlVSz3nkqhsqZAyi1EFMOmawvuy9QCHa2Wxjt-3Auc-8c1Ntvrao3tJ8fwhxN6zQ6BoYDn/s1600/EY+emp+engage+trend+3.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9KLjQ1kvSYdu8KQt2hkk3qhKfRLMlP8tZmpJ-l_clddM-efJNWdIdqm8iZ2NLci7S6liWWGlVSz3nkqhsqZAyi1EFMOmawvuy9QCHa2Wxjt-3Auc-8c1Ntvrao3tJ8fwhxN6zQ6BoYDn/s400/EY+emp+engage+trend+3.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Trend 3 in a new report hot-off-the-press-just-published by Ernst and Young in cooperation with Greenbiz Group, creatively entitled <a href="http://www.greenbiz.com/sites/default/files/1112-1315117_CCaSS_SixTrends_FQ0029_lores_2.29.2012.pdf">"Six Growing trends in Corporate Sustainability"</a> is guess what, employee engagement. Employees are seen as a key audience for <a href="http://www.csr-reporting.blogspot.com/">Sustainability Reports</a>. The story E&Y tells about this trend goes like this: "While the tools and techniques for employee engagement vary widely, the benefits are consistently described by these companies. Most importantly, they enhance employee attraction and retention, improve operational efficiencies, strengthen customer relations, increase innovation and strengthen community ties. Moreover, companies that distribute their sustainability reports broadly among employees find that they often share this information with their families, friends and neighbors, as well as with customers and suppliers. Employees can become a powerful voice in support of company sustainability messages."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Powerful stuff, right? Employee engagement in CSR has gone viral! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Who is going to tell HR? </div><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices.</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on Twitter or via my website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz/en</span></strong></a>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-49915157887124481912012-02-26T10:59:00.000+02:002012-02-26T10:59:45.045+02:00Making a difference<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7h4BHaHARn8ooS5WYZlh5XII23quIIpA8aH-iTClil34arhDx-Sojbm8JF-EUn7byH_-fgPvhzczsVV-ruFcJE-ULPd1x5F6qKUEV4YxFTODZXKbKjpITcPd8XCVcufcRJltQATvjtb2R/s1600/unni+book.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7h4BHaHARn8ooS5WYZlh5XII23quIIpA8aH-iTClil34arhDx-Sojbm8JF-EUn7byH_-fgPvhzczsVV-ruFcJE-ULPd1x5F6qKUEV4YxFTODZXKbKjpITcPd8XCVcufcRJltQATvjtb2R/s1600/unni+book.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7h4BHaHARn8ooS5WYZlh5XII23quIIpA8aH-iTClil34arhDx-Sojbm8JF-EUn7byH_-fgPvhzczsVV-ruFcJE-ULPd1x5F6qKUEV4YxFTODZXKbKjpITcPd8XCVcufcRJltQATvjtb2R/s200/unni+book.PNG" width="141" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">This is a story from an associate of mine from across cyberspace. His name is Unnikrishnan Meladi and he is a consultant in People Management and Learning in India. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Born in 1964 in West Hill, Kerala, Unnikrishnan is a passionate student of human behaviour and people management. He has seen the turbulence of high seas with the Indian Navy as a Chief Petty Officer till 1998. Thereafter, he closely worked with few Governors of Indian States as an Officer till 2005. He voluntarily left government services and joined various market leaders in automotive industry in Karnataka as their HR Head. He recently authored <a href="http://www.maebag.com/Content.php?Code=14217&Param=Product">“LEAD” –‘Successful Lessons for People Managers’</a>. The book is the result of his people management thoughts and essentially on human relations and integrates CSR themes. You can contact Unni by <a href="mailto:cabounni@yahoo.co.in">email</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Here is his story: </strong></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Somewhere in 2004, my friend Raju Gowda who was running a computer institute asked if I could conduct few English training classes for the teachers in a nearby Kannada medium village school. I was busy working with an automotive industry as their HR manager located near a village bordering Karnataka.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
Initially I was hesitant because of my busy work schedule with the industry. But when Mr. Raju told me that these teachers are from a Kannada medium school and their proficiency in English is average, it stirred my social instinct of doing something for the society around our industry. It was rather a brutal execution of my commitment towards the society from where I earn my bread and butter. So, why not spend some time for these teachers from the rural areas of the state? I have always held teachers and doctors in high esteem because to two factors. It is my strong belief that the teachers are the people who shape up the future of our children and the doctors are the life savers after the juggernaut. Even though, these days, we hear a lot about degradation of these values in their noble professions my high regard has not altered.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
Somehow, I agreed to conduct a 30 days program with a 45 hours syllabus absolutely free of cost. The sessions were held mostly on Saturday evenings and Sundays. Before I go on with the training sessions, I shall delve in to the benefits I derived from these teachers. I realised, with great pleasure, their social psyche and attitudinal behaviour towards their profession and the English language in particular. One thing common with all of these female teachers was that most of them were from the remote and agricultural belts located near Chickamaglur and Shimoga of Karnataka state. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
In my first session, I realised that they never got an opportunity to sharpen their language skills after their formal education. I could see a wide gap between the education and training as in HR parlance. Another reason was most of them were housewives and the bread winners of the family trying to their meet domestic and professional challenges together. They needed a thorough repainting (not brushing) of their grammar and vocabulary as it was quite ‘average’."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unnikrishnan's contribution has made a great different to the lives of many people. This just goes to show how simple acts of selflessness and volunteering in a work context can be immensely rewarding and also help build communities. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thank you to Unnikrishnan for sending me his story!</div><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">. Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on Twitter or via my website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz/en</span></strong></a>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-22690886338452437052012-02-24T21:48:00.000+02:002012-02-24T21:48:02.320+02:00CSR for HR can prevent employees getting a fat ass!<div style="text-align: justify;">Almost a week after returning from the <a href="http://www.worldhrdcongress.com/Index.html">World HRD Congress</a> and <a href="http://worldcsrday.com/index.html">World CSR Day</a> in Mumbai, I am still smiling at the wonderful experience of three days of great discussion, interaction with fascinating people from all over the world, insights about Human Resources practices and advances in CSR, and, occasionally, the link between the two. This was a congress like no other congress. It was more fun than most other conferences I have attended. Ever. Close to 1,000 visitors each day, it still felt like a family gathering. Global, inspiring speakers shared interesting perspectives and got us drumming with <a href="http://www.drumcafe.com/">DrumCafe</a>, exercising with <a href="http://www.marcel-fit.com/">Marcel Daane</a>, thinking about trust with <a href="http://www.reinatrustbuilding.com/">the Reinas</a> and leadership with <a href="http://www.cywakeman.com/">Cy Wakeman</a>, and applauding wildly at the evening Awards sessions. I was presented with the Strategic Leadership Award, and was proud to receive this honor.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt2s5dQ1ZUXxQO6m-kqnzrZ_63L0o0H1fU3A13kcil9XbncxMPIBDGTcH0hzpSJV2kQZ9ySBEAYT7sX5pIce5NExkXO0T-5qQwj6MYctf_KotfobXN3lVPKr8faBWjFD24OYI20u6A7dxa/s1600/120215Elaine_Mumbai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt2s5dQ1ZUXxQO6m-kqnzrZ_63L0o0H1fU3A13kcil9XbncxMPIBDGTcH0hzpSJV2kQZ9ySBEAYT7sX5pIce5NExkXO0T-5qQwj6MYctf_KotfobXN3lVPKr8faBWjFD24OYI20u6A7dxa/s1600/120215Elaine_Mumbai.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Proudly displaying my trophy - yes, it weighs a ton - I had to ask for excess baggage allowance on my flight home!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Conference themes circled around engagement and talent, two of the most acute pressure points on HR leadership in every country these days, and there were also some interesting references to the need for greater workforce diversity and inclusive culture and practice. I was therefore pleased to present my views on <span style="color: red;"><strong>Sustainable HRM: A strategic imperative,</strong> <span style="color: black;">and despite winning the lottery for the session immediately after lunch, I found that there were a few people who stayed awake and were interested in this new approach to HR, which fits very well with the challenges facing the function. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">I shared my session with Ashanthi Fernando, the Head of Group HR Operations at <a href="http://www.brandix.com/">Brandix Lanka</a>, Sri Lanka's largest apparel exporter, working for companies such as Gap Inc, Victoria's Secret and more. Ashanthi talked about the context of the War for Talent, referencing <a href="http://press.manpower.com/press/2011/manpower-inc-identifies-the-dawn-of-the-human-age/"><strong>"Talentism as the new Capitalism"</strong> <strong>and the "Rise of the Human Age"</strong></a>, an approach presented by Manpower at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2010, and other influences on the job market - recession, employee disengagement, work-life balance issues and research that places non-financial benefits higher than financial benefits for employees, concluding that each company should ask itself : </span></span><span style="color: red;"><strong>Why would a talented person want to work in our organization?</strong> <span style="color: black;">and that we as employees should ask ourselves:</span><strong> What makes us come to work today?</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Great questions. Truly relevant to the CSHR discussion. Ashanthi went on to describe the entire "ecosystem" that Brandix tries to create for its people, referencing the Google culture as the Gold Standard, and the fact that even in large companies, maintaining that small-company feel is all important. The Brandix culture is based on creating a "journey in learning for life", strong team working, entrepreneurial spirit, humility and transparency. Line Managers are the pivot in making the connection between employees and the company. Importance is placed on engagement at a personal level with family celebrations and a treasure hunt on Fun Fridays. The <a href="http://www.brandix.com/sustainability/people_agenda.php">Brandix People Agenda</a> is designed to support this approach.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another fascinating and entertaining talk was given by <a href="http://www.marcel-fit.com/">Marcel Daane</a> - a fitness freak who has made the connection between employee vitality and productivity in the workplace. His explanation of the neuroscience of performance was not too technical - even I was able to understand the role of the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex in impacting our ability to perform (!) - and Marcel introduced some great data around why HR Managers should understand this as well. Absenteeism costs the economy $120 billion per year, Presenteeism costs $180 billion per year, Obesity $120 million, Stress, $300 million and Sleep Deprivation has a price tag of $1,967 in productivity loss <u><strong>per employee per year</strong></u>. By improving employees' understanding and practice of good health habits, organizations can reap massive benefits. Marcel showed some MRI shots of a fat person and a thin person. Fat accumulation in the brain, for example, causes the brain to shrink. As Marcel put it: <span style="color: red;"><strong>"Obesity does more than give you a fat ass"</strong></span> (Note to self: Get back on that diet). HR Managers would do well to consider the whole body and mind health of employees and develop programs to assist improved wellbeing. This is not about being nice to employees. It's about making a real economic return on investment. And being nice to employees :).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Marcel finished up with this highly inspirational video showing the power of determination and stamina, supported by good diet, exercise, drinking water and the right amount of sleep. Just think what your employees could do with even half the amount of that which is demonstrated by Dick Hoyt in this video. Watch it. It is truly inspiring!</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><object style="height: 350px; width: 360px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1wS9NyMl_k8?version=3&feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1wS9NyMl_k8?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="360" height="360"></object></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
The other outstanding speaker I want to highlight (I attended both of her sessions) is <a href="http://www.cywakeman.com/">Cy Wakeman</a>. Cy is a trainer of people in organizations, and helps them achieve great results and build leaders and teams. She has developed both a language and an approach to leading people that is all her own, pulled together in her recent book, <a href="http://www.realitybasedleadership.com/">Reality-Based Leadership</a> (watch out for a review coming soon on <a href="http://www.csr-books.com/">CSR-Books</a>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The key to Cy's proposition is that "holding people accountable is the best process for producing sustainable outcomes." Now, this may not sound all that revolutionary, but the insight I gained while listening to Cy Wakeman (twice!) is that the ability to hold people accountable, truly hold people accountable, is lacking in so many organizations. Cy maintains that, in the U.S., people in organizations spend more time managing than leading, and many leaders seek to sympathize rather than empathize, which leads to the assumption that buy-in is optional. Leaders should pay less attention to trying to be liked and more attention to building teamwork, because it is through effective teams that loyalty is created. Instead of letting people drive their BMW's to work (which in Cy jargon means: belly-aching, moaning and whining), leaders should seek to stop the drama, focus on results, favor employees who are flexible, adaptable and have a can-do attitude, and deal promptly with those who don't. Engagement without accountability creates entitlement. Research about engagement, says Cy, is that it has not delivered results. It has created entitlement. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Actually, Cy says, helping human beings to get to healthy independence in organizations was actually the opposite of what she was asked to do by the HR Function as a leader in organizations she worked for. Cy believes in turning up the volume of the more highly accountable people in the organization and helping them see that reality is not the stories they tell themselves about what they are entitled to or otherwise, but the facts as they stand. By facing reality, people can eliminate the excuses and entitlement-based attitudes and become truly accountable for their own performance in organizations. <strong>Leaders who build the capabilities of their teams are the ones who create sustainable organizations</strong>. Like all great theories, this sounds a lot like common sense - but think about it - think about the organizations you know and the people who lead and are led. Couldn't they do with a little more accountability? And a lot more reality? Cy Wakeman articulates this skillfully and I am enjoying reading Reality-Based Leadership, the book. This is CSR for HR at its crux. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There were many more wonderful presentations at the World HRD Congress but this is probably enough for one post. However, I cannot finish up without a major vote of thanks and expression of my admiration for the mastermind behind it all, <a href="http://www.worldhrdcongress.com/Speakers/Dr_R_L_Bhatia.html">Dr. R. L. Bhatia</a>. Leading an organization called <a href="http://www.funandjoyatwork.com/">"Fun and Joy at Work"</a> probably gives you an insight into this guy's mindset. We certainly saw evidence of fun and joy in the way he artfully directed this 20th Anniversary World HRD Congress and brought the entire place to life for a full three days. Kudos in buckets is what he deserves for a memorable event. </div><br />
And now, time for ice cream (which, by the way, in Mumbai, tasted delicious!).<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </strong></span><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices</strong></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>. Contact me via </strong></span><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>www.twitter.com/elainecohen</strong></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong> on Twitter or via my website </strong></span><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>www.b-yond.biz/en</strong></span></a>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-48616602110453633092012-02-14T14:37:00.000+02:002012-02-14T14:37:47.072+02:00CSR for HR: not yet at the tipping point<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.jonathonporritt.com/">Jonathon Porritt</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBE">CBE</a>, is an impressive figure. Some of you may know him as the co-founder of the not-for-profit <a href="http://www.forumforthefuture.org/">Forum for the Future</a> which has been at the forefront of the sustainability debate, working on such game-changing programs as the <a href="http://www.sustainable-living.unilever.com/">Unilever Sustainable Living Plan</a> and <a href="http://plana.marksandspencer.com/">Marks and Spencer's Plan A</a> and many others. Others may know him as the Chairman of the <a href="http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/">UK Sustainable Development Commission</a>, until last year when the commission ceased its activity. Others may know him as a proliferate speaker and writer and may even have read the powerful <a href="http://www.earthscan.co.uk/?tabid=1417">Capitalism as if the World Matters</a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had the opportunity to meet Jonathon and hear him deliver an opening keynote at the <a href="http://www.cipd.co.uk/cande/cr/default.htm">CIPD CR for HR Professionals Conference</a> which I chaired in London last week. Being familiar with much of Jonathon's work, I was looking forward to hear him talk. What was interesting for me was how in tune Jonathon is regarding the need for embedding of corporate responsibility practices at all levels of the workforce and the importance of the CR-HR partnership in making this happen. Although he has not yet read <a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282">CSR for HR</a> :)), he promised he would!</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Johathon Porritt's keynote opened with a review of global sustainability and some of the key themes that many of us are familiar with. He reminded us that the planet will have to hold (and feed) nine billion people in 2050, and that the "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_adaptation">hedonic treadmill</a>" we are all trapped in is unlikely to stop driving consumer aspirations and consumption levels. But, Jonathon said, "We are not going to achieve a better world by keeping half of the global population in poverty". Instead, we have to continue to create wealth and value by remaining within certain defined ecological boundaries which determine the sustainability of our future. Apparently, we have until the year 2016 to achieve this transformation. After then, the damage to the global ecosystem will be irreversible and .. well... as Jonathon says... "we are facing some unbelievable horror stories!".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But all is not doom and gloom. Jonathon gave examples of some companies which are starting to change the game in decoupling economic growth from environmental impacts and incorporate sustainable practice into everything they do. But he also said that of all the companies he and Forum for the Future have been working with over the past few years, it is noticeable that the aspect of employee engagement in sustainability and sustainable Human Resources practices are not really moving forward. "There are not really that many brilliant examples of HR advancing sustainability". He said that HR has a critical strategic role because HR owns organizational culture and people management functions and HR works horizontally across any company. He said that CSR for HR, or Sustainable Human Resources Management (HRM), which we agree is a more appropriate term, is both a strategic challenge and a strategic opportunity for the function. And of course, we agree, don't we ?!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">After Jonathon's both scary and moderately optimistic opening, we heard a fascinating collection of presentations from a range of companies who gave examples of how they are engaging employees in sustainability, community programs, sustainability communications and a whole lot more... far too much for one blog post, though I will be picking up on some of the key messages in future posts. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the meantime, I was highly pleased to learn about encouraging work being done in a range of leading companies, and to welcome an interested audience, seeking to learn more. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">You can also read a nice summary of the conference posted in <a href="http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2012/02/hr-has-critical-role-in-realising-business-value-of-csr.htm">People Management dot com</a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Are we at the tipping point ? ahem.... not quite... but let's keep plugging away. </div><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices.</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on Twitter or via my website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz/en</span></strong></a>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-2267993985311394142012-02-03T10:05:00.000+02:002012-02-03T10:05:07.964+02:00What keeps Paul Polman up at night ?<div style="text-align: justify;">Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, recently gave a very interesting interview <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/unilever-ceo-says-2012-will-be-a-tougher-year/2012/02/02/gIQAYNj6jQ_video.html">reported in the Washington Post</a> about the state of the Unilever business and outlooks for growth, the Euro, consumer spending and many other not-so-rosy aspects of doing business in 2012. Fortunately, despite the fact that all I thought I might hear about was growth, with Paul describing how every category of Unilever's business has grown despite facing issues including climate change (Japan earthquake, Thailand floods ) and the "Arab Spring" which stopped production etc, this was an interesting interview and I decided to invest 7.57 minutes in listening to the end. I am glad I did because at 7.04 minutes, the interviewer asks this question: </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"If there is one thing that keeps you up at night, what would that be? Is is Europe, is it the potential slowdown in China? Is there any one big concern that keeps you up at night?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Paul Polman's response was: </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Well, I always sleep fairly well - I think you have to in these type of jobs - but<span style="color: red;"><strong> the one thing I keep thinking about is how can we attract the best talent.</strong></span> In most places, with results that we have seen growing from 38 billion Euros back to now 46 billion Euros, we are also becoming more and more a desired employer in most of the places. Our Unilever <a href="http://www.sustainable-living.unilever.com/">Sustainable Living Plan</a>, the model that we have put out there to actually contribute to the world versus continuing to take from the world, is incredibly energizing. What keeps me up at night is to be sure that everywhere we go, we are the desired employer for the best talent. If we get the best talent in the company, now and for years to come, I am very confident for the future, knowing that the best talent will figure out whatever challenges we will face. That's my priority."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, HR Managers everywhere, there are three take-outs for you:</div><ul><li><div style="text-align: justify;">The top CEO priority is attracting and retaining the best talent.</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">Attracting and retaining the best talent is linked to sustainability vision and practice.</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>It is time for HR to wake up to CSR!</strong></span></div></li>
</ul><span style="color: red;"><br />
</span>If you want to learn more about how to advance CSR for HR, <a href="http://www.cipd.co.uk/cande/cr/default.htm">join me at the CR for HR Professionals conference which I will be chairing next week in London (Feb 7th).</a><br />
<br />
Hear the enlightened Paul Polman in this interview below: <br />
<br />
<div> </div><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://specials.washingtonpost.com/mv/embed/?title=Unilever%20CEO%20Says%202012%20Will%20Be%20a%20%60Tougher'%20Year&stillURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Frf%2Fimage_606w%2F2010-2019%2FWashingtonPost%2F2012%2F02%2F02%2FBusiness%2FVideos%2F02022012-13v%2F02022012-13v.jpg&flvURL=%2Fmedia%2F2012%2F02%2F02%2F02022012-13v.m4v&width=480&height=270&autoStart=0&clickThru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fbusiness%2Funilever-ceo-says-2012-will-be-a-tougher-year%2F2012%2F02%2F02%2FgIQAYNj6jQ_video.html" width="480"></iframe><br />
<br />
<div> </div><br />
<div> </div><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainabilty Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices.</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on Twitter or via my website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz/en</span></strong></a>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-74892581221233434012012-01-27T15:55:00.000+02:002012-01-27T15:55:21.256+02:00CSR and HR in the business of trust<div style="text-align: justify;">I have been doing a little homework in preparation for the <a href="http://www.cipd.co.uk/cande/cr/default.htm">CR for HR professionals Conference</a> that I have now been asked to chair, to take place on 7th February in London. As far as I know, and I may have mentioned this before, this is the first focused conference on CSR for HR, so I am very happy to be a part of this and kudos to the CIPD for organizing it. </div><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bitc.org.uk/images/hi_res/10981_Cathy_Lewis_Prudential.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="186" src="http://www.bitc.org.uk/images/hi_res/10981_Cathy_Lewis_Prudential.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credit: BITC</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Part of my homework has been talking to some of the movers and shakers in this space, who will be speaking at the conference. Cathy Lewis, for example, has been the HR Director of Prudential for UK and Europe since November 2009, and responsible for CSR since March 2010. She says: "Sustainability for me means 'continuity' of 'life'. Haven't we all realised that the things in life that last and endure are the things that we've given constant and steady attention to? In business it's the same, and the most corporately conscious organisations are those that have made a commitment and build on it every day through lots of little things that add up to real commitment."</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">That's a great approach, and one which I suspect most readers of this blog can subscribe to. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDTPMeJ05b_RYAqfNDUzqt4wp8v0y_vEvbFbH9Avrsj6iC_UW-3CkP1kXeq2yscOQUfh71zMtY9_XgAHz8Os068ANmsjtxiCBCR0dx7hdV64f5GuX4MxPQw-WfX7lAZ-OWyRkBdq7LZ8w/s1600/prudential+logo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDTPMeJ05b_RYAqfNDUzqt4wp8v0y_vEvbFbH9Avrsj6iC_UW-3CkP1kXeq2yscOQUfh71zMtY9_XgAHz8Os068ANmsjtxiCBCR0dx7hdV64f5GuX4MxPQw-WfX7lAZ-OWyRkBdq7LZ8w/s1600/prudential+logo.gif" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The business of <a href="http://www.pru.co.uk/about_us/">Prudential,</a> an international financial services group and in the UK, a leading life insurance and pensions provider with seven million customers and 25,000 employees worldwide (>2500 in the UK), has much to gain from the adoption of a CR approach. "When people buy financial services products they buy TRUST, our products are a promise for the future. It's not like retail, where you walk out of the shop with your shiny new 'item' in a bag. CSR is one of the ways that we can demonstrate our core values. We aim to 'do the right thing' in all our relationships, whether that is customers, colleagues, stakeholders, partners or communities in which we work." <br />
<br />
Prudential's <a href="http://www.prudential.co.uk/prudential-plc/cr/">2010 Corporate Responsibility Report</a> provides information about the Group's people practices and includes:</div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="text-align: justify;">Prudential's Group-wide development programme, <em>Momentum</em>, which is designed to build a cadre of globally-minded high-potential individuals, externally or internally recruited early in their careers for fast-track progression. <em>Momentum</em> places a strong emphasis on diversity. There are currently 60 individuals on the programme, of which approximately a third are women.</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="text-align: justify;">Prudential's reward system is based on both individual performance and behaviors – both what people achieve and how they achieve it. This is, we believe, fundamental to building a high performing culture.</div></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="text-align: justify;">More than two-thirds of employees in the UK now own, or have an interest in, Prudential shares through employee share plans.</div></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="text-align: justify;">Prudential won a national award in 2010 for the ‘Best Learning and Development Strategy’, sponsored by the market-leading UK industry publication, <a href="http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/">HR Magazine</a>.</div></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="text-align: justify;">Prudential UK is one of only 38 companies to achieve the <a href="http://www.bitc.org.uk/community/communitymark/">BITC CommunityMark</a> since it was launched in 2007.</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">(Moving off-topic for a second, humor me, I was happy to add some new words to my vocabulary, upon reading the Prudential CR Report: "<span style="color: red;"><strong>Retirementology</strong></span>" is a new way of looking at retirement management, which unmasks life-long financial patterns and examines how, if left unchecked, these behaviors could harm prospects for retirement. "<span style="color: red;"><strong>Equimortis</strong></span>", apparently, is the dangerous condition of relying on home equity to fund retirement, "<span style="color: red;"><strong>Bingefy</strong></span>" is justifying a big-ticket purchase because you were previously frugal and "<span style="color: red;"><strong>Kinphobia</strong></span>" is the fear of having to tap into retirement savings to support the extended family. And after reading the CR Report, you can also visit the <a href="https://www.retirementology.org/retirementology/Index.jsp">website</a> and buy the <a href="https://www.retirementology.org/retirementology/StartReading.jsp?&framework-guid=c9008aa861941fbc359301cf00d20027">Retirementology book</a>! in which you will find some additional new words to add to your daily vocabulary. This is all the creation of Dr Greg Salsbury, Executive Vice President of Jackson, Prudential's U.S. business. So now we know. I wonder if these will soon appear in the <a href="http://www.oed.com/">Oxford English Dictionary</a>? I will never think about retirement in the same way again :)) </div><br />
Getting back to Prudential UK, there are 10 People Principles that guide everything the Prudential people do - the principles are the DNA of the organization. The principles have been around and governed the actions of employees for many years, but recently, HR supported a process in which Prudential articulated them by working with the whole company to capture what the business is all about. One of these principles explains Prudential's commitment to sustainable business. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">When I asked Cathy what aspects of the HRM contribution to CR at Prudential she was most proud of, she replied like this: "Most proud" makes me think of special moments when you are reminded of what we all do together. So I'd probably pick out our Employee Volunteering Awards (EVAs). Once a year we celebrate the individuals and the teams that are making a real difference. I get the privilege each year of presenting at the EVAs and this is a most humbling and inspiring experience. Inspiring because you get to see the great things that people have made happen and humbling because you realise that everyone of us, has it in our power to make a difference..... and yet we don't always take the time." </div><br />
Interestingly, Prudential UK does not actively leverage the company's CR agenda and positive reputation for recruitment, which is often seen as one of the significant benefits of a CR program. Cathy explains: "Our CR agenda and activities have been established for a long time and whilst we don't explicitly use what we do to promote ourselves as an employer, more often than not, candidates tell us that our reputation is what attracted them in the first place."<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I will leave the last word to Cathy Lewis, as it expresses well what I believe more HR and CR Managers should <span style="color: red;"><strong>wake up</strong></span> to. "CR is an integral part of our People Strategy at Prudential UK and Europe, so for us the link is seamless. How we treat and value our colleagues, and how we support the communities we work in, come together as part of how we do business every day."</div><br />
And after the last word, I will just add another last word to say that I am very looking forward to hearing more of Cathy's insights, along with others, at the <a href="http://www.cipd.co.uk/cande/cr/default.htm">CR for HR Professionals Conference</a> on 7th February.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </strong></span><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices.</strong></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong> Contact me via </strong></span><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>www.twitter.com/elainecohen</strong></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong> on Twitter or via my website </strong></span><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>www.b-yond.biz/en</strong></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong> </strong></span>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-14279315580434639882012-01-12T09:21:00.000+02:002012-01-12T09:21:34.509+02:00Work Life Balance pays off<div style="text-align: justify;">One of my favorite pieces of reading is <a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_98376754"></span>HR Magazine<span id="goog_98376755"></span></a>, which plops into my postbox each month. I find this is always choc-a-bloc with relevant and insightful, informative and entertaining articles which I both enjoy and learn from. The website is pretty good too, and HR Magazine is one of the few publications which always includes a CSR-HR perspective. Some of you may recall that <a href="http://www.csrforhr.com/2010/11/csr-for-hr-in-uk.html">I was a guest speaker at an HR Magazine event last year.</a> Since then, I keep a keen eye on what they are publishing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A recent article caught my eye (the same eye!). It's called: <a href="http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/hro/news/1020665/work-life-balance-ranks-stress-biggest-health-concern-employers-grid">Work/life balance ranks higher than stress as the biggest health concern for employers, says GRiD</a>. GRiD is <a href="http://www.grouprisk.org.uk/">Group Risk Development</a>, and they advise as follows:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"After enduring a difficult year where many businesses were obliged to reduce headcount, the survey of 500 employers with 5-1000 employees from the trade body for the group risk industry, found <span style="color: red;"><strong>maintaining a good work/life balance for staff remaining in the business ranked as the top health issue for more than one in five employers (21%).</strong></span> This is ahead of stress and mental health issues (19%) - currently cited as the most common cause for workplace absence."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a fascinating finding and should make HR Managers sit up. Work/life balance has been one of those amorphous subjects that doesn't quite seem important enough to address in a detailed, formal, structured way. It's sort of about how people feel and not really a hard numbers easy-to-grasp issue. It's also very easy to ignore. And yet, an uncaring and inflexible work culture can be one of the biggest hidden costs of any business budget and can, to a large degree, be quantified in cost terms related to productivity, absenteeism, health costs, workplace conflict and customer service. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Volkswagen made news recently when they took a step to force employees to observe work/life balance rules by introducing a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16314901">ban on work emails outside work hours on employee's cellphones by blocking Blackberry servers.</a> This is an interesting development and may go some way to limit employees' exposure to unreasonable work demands outside hours. However, releasing employees from commitments outside work hours is only one part of a holistic approach to work/life balance issues. A lot of what affects work/life balance relates to how many hours people work and the kind of programs that are in place while they are at work. In 2011, the Quebec Government thought this whole subject was so important that they launched a <a href="http://nextmontreal.com/government-recognized-work-life-balance/">program for rewarding employers who provide work-life balance benefits to employees.</a> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In my book, <a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282">CSR for HR</a>, I address this subject. First, I say that there is no such thing as work/life balance - balance is something that we can almost never achieve and sometimes don't want to achieve. Basically, we need to achieve a harmonious stressless approach to managing out total life responsibilities which derive from all our activities in work and outside work. These can be multiple. It's not just about work and family. Here are just some (definitely not an exhaustive list) of the aspects of being at work that can affect the way we manage our total life responsibilities:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCgbxIw6pDGIk49UHZ2PAxMKW42G5TNUYTYtLeKn3qCrCs-IXnpoNdiU7YfNKtC1oDRMv6pqleBOEskD6zR15Y-saHvsVq27UpQqCVt-nlUnnX1-iJSt2_H3XhNnQP13yBXelhwv4JLU8/s1600/CSR+for+HR++WLB.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCgbxIw6pDGIk49UHZ2PAxMKW42G5TNUYTYtLeKn3qCrCs-IXnpoNdiU7YfNKtC1oDRMv6pqleBOEskD6zR15Y-saHvsVq27UpQqCVt-nlUnnX1-iJSt2_H3XhNnQP13yBXelhwv4JLU8/s400/CSR+for+HR++WLB.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And here are some of the overall types of programs and policies that HR Managers can consider in order to assist employees in addressing the way work can fit into their overall harmonious life planning.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJN-HcINk8H-nIKZPlKPsJoPLPoBOU4sPZ9qCb8sLm45MSNHNLNwIW6FtV2Uj_TSZY1gCeYo15O_93eTOg-n_TZ2t_ipupzJSWv5Cq-mBnbMQR2E90yBDQm8SC4hIVExUm83Uv_h_3uAv/s1600/CSR+for+HR++WLB2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJN-HcINk8H-nIKZPlKPsJoPLPoBOU4sPZ9qCb8sLm45MSNHNLNwIW6FtV2Uj_TSZY1gCeYo15O_93eTOg-n_TZ2t_ipupzJSWv5Cq-mBnbMQR2E90yBDQm8SC4hIVExUm83Uv_h_3uAv/s400/CSR+for+HR++WLB2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">We have seen that overall wellness programs in business, which often include elements which affect work/life balance, can <a href="http://www.csrforhr.com/2010/05/10-better-business-with-employee.html">deliver a 10% increase in financial performance</a>. So, <span style="color: red;"><strong>HR Managers, it is time to wake up to CSR!</strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">And back to</span> <a href="http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/">HR Magazine</a></span><span style="color: black;">,<strong> </strong>you might enjoy this article which quotes research that found by <a href="http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/hro/news/1020688/blue-monday-approaches-workplace-malaise-costs-employers-gbp93-billion-university-exeter">giving employees input into the development of their workspace, productivity can improve by as much as 32%.</a></span></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify">Or this article, which refers to research that found <a href="http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/hro/news/1019966/employers-dont-expect-mothers-return-maternity-leave">almost two thirds (64%), of employers do not expect female employees to return to work after their maternity leave</a>; of which 47%, say they believe this because of 'previous experience.' Now <strong><em>that's</em></strong> a whole other issue which is of major significance both for women and for businesses. But we should leave that for another post.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify">In the meantime, I think an ice cream just about right now would significantly improve my work/life balance!</div><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainabilty Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.cshforhr.com/"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">. Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on Twitter or via my website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz/en</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></strong>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-46786323741021798262012-01-07T16:50:00.000+02:002012-01-07T16:50:23.527+02:00Keeping up with CSR for HRSo much is happening in CSR for HR these days. This post is to help you (and me) keep up.<br />
<br />
First, two forthcoming events on different sides of the world which I am immensely looking forward to:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>7th February in London:</strong></span> The <a href="http://www.cipd.co.uk/">CIPD</a>, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Europe's largest HR and development professional body, is hosting a conference on <a href="http://www.cipd.co.uk/cande/cr/default.htm"><strong>CR for HR Professionals</strong></a><strong>.</strong> I don't recall seeing a dedicated conference on this subject ever, so this is a very welcome development. The conference opens with the brilliant <a href="http://www.cipd.co.uk/cande/cr/conference/_SeminarDetails.htm?guid={AF84AC1D-AA11-4D20-AFEF-B114DF32F2EF}">Jonathon Porritt, Founder Director of Forum for the Future</a>, who will talk about the business case for sustainability and then an impressive array of Sustainability and HR Professionals from IBM, KPMG, Prudential, Aviva, Nationwide and more, will lead presentations and discussions on employee engagement, employer branding, aligning CR and business strategies and communication of CSR to employees, and other fascinating CSR-HR topics. I am looking forward to attending, and also holding a raffle for <span style="color: red;"><strong>5 free signed copies</strong></span> of <a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="color: blue;">CSR for HR</span></strong></a> during the course of the day. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>16-18th February in Mumbai, India:</strong></span> <a href="http://www.worldhrdcongress.com/"><strong>The 20th Anniversary event of the World HRD Congress</strong></a> will take place in Mumbai at the Taj Lands' End Hotel. It's been over 10 years since I visited Mumbai, so I am especially pleased to be returning to address this congress. My session, entitled: "Sustainable HRM: A strategic imperative" will be from 11:15 - 12:00 on 17th February. I am looking forward to hearing perspectives on CSR/HR Management from many local professionals and am honored to join an impressive <a href="http://www.worldhrdcongress.com/Speakers/ADIL%20MALIA.html">list of speakers</a> from all over the globe.<br />
<br />
And another event which I unfortunately cannot attend but which is worth noticing. It has been put together by a friend and colleague who contributed to my book, CSR for HR, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/cathyj131"><strong>Cathy Joseph</strong></a>. It is in New York next week, January 10th at 5:30pm and is all about <a href="http://odnny.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=2340"><strong>Organizational Development and the Sustainable Business</strong></a>, and features great speakers. I would be there if I could!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the meantime, even the <a href="http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/cut-carbon-reduce-costs/products-services/web-tools/empower/pages/empower.aspx"><strong>Carbon Trust has published a tool to help empower employees reduce carbon emissions in the office. </strong></a> After registering on the website, you can launch the Empower tool, explore your office, take a trip to the bathroom, kitchen or server room, all the while checking out opportunities to save on lighting, water, packaging waste, use stairs instead of elevators, bicycles instead of cars, unplug your mobile phone chargers and more, as your responses to intended behavioral change clock up kg of carbon emissions saved and new policies to suggest to your manager. It's rather simplistic, but any HR Manager intent on having employees understand where they can make a basic difference, could incorporate this into broader environmental training, if supported by policy and some form of measurement of achievement. I already saved 547 kg of carbon in half a dozen pledges to do things differently. Oops, but that's just on the computer screen. Let's see what happens on Monday morning.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also, a couple of very interesting publications you might have missed:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.greenbiz.com/research/report/2011/09/15/toward-engagement-20"><strong>Towards Employee Engagement 2.0:</strong></a> A report by Greenbiz.com and the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF), the third report on this subject produced by NEEF’s Business & Environment Program, examining how leading companies are moving toward a more strategic approach to employee engagement in corporate sustainability activities by creating a culture of sustainability throughout their firms. This one has examples from Baxter, JC Penney, Stonyfield Farm and Walmart and more and is a useful and interesting read.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://attachments.brighterplanet.com/press_items/local_copies/105/original/employee_engagement_2011.pdf?1322867541"><strong>Brighter Planet's Greening the Workplace Survey 2011:</strong> </a>A total of 972 individuals from 51 countries and 47 US states completed the survey. Key conclusions:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>Organizations are increasingly engaging employees on sustainability. More than half now promote sustainability frequently or very frequently.</li>
<li>Although engagement efforts are spreading, their effectiveness has dropped. The most successful organizations have official policies with upper-level leadership.</li>
<li>The role of investor pressure and corporate accountability as a driver of sustainability strategies increased dramatically—it was a factor at 23% of organizations, up from 13% in 2009. Sales and marketing, while the foremost motivator, was unchanged at 30%.</li>
<li>The most effective programs promote sustainability in emerging areas like business travel, purchasing, water use, and food at much higher rates than their ineffective counterparts. That said, the most common areas of sustainability engagement are still waste and recycling, energy use, and commuting.</li>
<li><span style="color: red;"><strong>Organizations with a method for employees to share ideas were more than six times as likely to have a very effective program.</strong></span> 41% of employers support these communication channels.</li>
<li><span style="color: red;"><strong>Organizations that collected data on their footprint, the impact of staff travel and commuting, and employee sustainability efforts were roughly three times as likely to have a very effective program.</strong></span> The number of employers collecting these data increased 15% since 2009, to three in ten.</li>
</ul></div>HR Managers need to think about these findings. What processes to HR Managers need to put in place to support environmental practices? Helping employees share ideas and collecting data (highlighted in red above) seem to have big multiplier effects. Makes absolute sense to me.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">So, while all this is positive, I don't quite think it is time yet to abandon my mantra: <span style="color: red;"><strong>"It is time for HR to wake up to CSR".</strong> <span style="color: black;">More HR Managers need to get engaged and make use of all these fabulous opportunities to drive improved sustainability through leverage of core HR tools and new processes. Here's looking forward to a great 2012 in which more HR Managers take the bait.</span></span></div><br />
<div> </div><br />
<div> </div><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">. Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on Twitter or via my website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz/en</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></strong>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-33226520766410749012011-11-18T08:55:00.000+02:002011-11-18T08:55:31.737+02:00CSR for HR begins at home<div style="text-align: justify;">The new <a href="http://dowelldogood.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2012_DWDG_SUSTAIN_FFF.pdf">Do Well Do Good Public Opinion Survey on Sustainability</a> survey has just been published. The survey was conducted through an online panel organized by Qualtrics Labs, Inc. between October 28 and November 2, 2011 with 1,001 respondents consisting of 500 women and 501 men on behalf of Do Well Do Good, LLC. The report contains a wealth of perspectives and insights about the way consumers view the responsibilities of corporations, for example, these top level findings:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div> </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: red;">Support for Sustainability:</span></strong> 83% of consumers think companies should try to accomplish their business goals while still trying to improve society and the environment, down from 88% in last-year’s survey.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: red;">Leadership</span><span style="color: red;">:</span></strong> 70% believe that corporate CEOs hold a high level of responsibility for their company’s impacts on the environment, employees, and the larger community.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Climate Change:</strong></span> Nearly 64% agree that climate change is real and 65% agree that human activities have contributed to it and 48% claim to have been affected personally by climate change.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Greenhouse Gas Emissions:</strong></span> 78% of consumers believe that companies should decrease their emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, but 40% and less believe that companies in the United States or in their own communities are looking for ways to do so.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div> </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, what caught my eye was this:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Choosing from a list of 17 issues, respondents were asked to rate how important it was for companies to address them. The top five most important issues represent a cross section of social, environmental and governance topics, namely:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><ol><li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Pay employees competitive wages and benefits (e.g. health care, pension)</strong></span></div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Provide training and educational opportunities for employees</strong></span></div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">Effectively manage their use of energy </div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">Be honest and transparent about their business practices and manufacturing processes </div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">Ensure that their suppliers respect human rights</div></li>
</ol><div style="text-align: justify;">See that? The TOP THINGS that consumers want companies to do when they consider responsible behaviors is treat their employees right - care for their economic and professional wellbeing. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">CSR for HR is not just something that companies should do to make themselves feel good. Consumers are noticing! Every employee is also a consumer. Company practices are an open secret. When I started to work for a multi-national corporation over 25 years ago, I was told that my salary is personal and I should keep it to myself. Would that fly today? Corporate practices are so transparent that those companies which do not deal with the core issues of how their CSR and Sustainability practices are embedded in all management decisions may lose not only the best talent but also consumers.</div><br />
Is there better proof that <strong><span style="color: red;">it is time for HR to wake up to CSR</span><span style="color: red;">?</span></strong> <br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </strong></span><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices</strong></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>. Contact me via </strong></span><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>www.twitter.com/elainecohen</strong></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong> on Twitter or via my website </strong></span><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>www.b-yond.biz/en</strong></span></a>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-10576373777600934752011-11-09T09:28:00.000+02:002011-11-09T09:28:25.319+02:00I am not a human resource : 10 tips for handling layoffs<div style="text-align: justify;">I read an interesting <a href="http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/columns/c-gopinath/article2604198.ece">article in India's Business Line about the way Bank of America is handing layoffs</a> of 30,000 people over two years. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The author reports:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>"I called a friend who works at the bank to ask if the company had announced a schedule internally of how and where the lay-offs would take place, and how employees could find more information about it. She said she didn't know much more about it than what was reported in the papers, and employees were calling one another to find out if anyone knows more.</em> "</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The article goes on to discuss the logic of decisions to reduce headcount ("<em>When personnel costs are a major part of the business, it is so much easier to reduce the numbers employed and show quick results, rather than find and execute new growth opportunities.")</em> but perhaps more importantly, the way in which such massive layoffs are executed. The article concludes with a classic sentence : <em>"One protestor in the Occupy Boston movement held a sign that read: “I'm not a human resource. I'm a human being.” I guess that said it all." </em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This reminds me of Anita Roddick's iconic statement which I have quoted for years, which she wrote in her book, <a href="http://www.anitaroddick.com/books.php">Business as Unusual:</a> <span style="color: red;"><strong>"We were searching for employees but people turned up instead!"</strong></span> Yes, it's true. People are entire microcosms and each one is a link in a very large social chain. Companies which believe people are simply "resources" to be hired and fired depending on the way the numbers on the balance sheet show up on a given day are sorely missing the essence of sustainable business. Companies which take a nonchalant attitude to layoffs are destroying much of the social value they create in other ways. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When I was ah HR Director with Unilever, we, regrettably, had to take a decision to close down a production plant employing 100 people. The plant had been operating for many years and it was loss-making to continue manufacturing at that site. There were many ethical issues to deal with arising from the decision to close the site, not least of which was when to advise employees. On the one hand, why not tell them as early as possible to enable them to prepare effectively for closure? On the other hand, the plant needed to continue operating until closure and if people know the plant will close, they may leave early or reduce motivation or productivity . Catch 22. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We ended up on the side of giving employees almost one year notice of intention to close the factory. Then, we worked with every single employee to offer relocation, outplacement support and provide financial and other assistance. By the time the plant gates shut for the last time, all employees had a solution - some were relocated to another plant, some had found jobs, some retired and some were in vocational retraining programs. Some had left, by agreement, during the closure notice period, with full severance benefits, to enable them to take another job much earlier than their scheduled release. The factory continued production right up until the last unit on the production schedule. While employees would probably have preferred to keep the plant open, everyone agreed that the way the plant was closed was responsible, fair, supportive and decent. What was the cost? Probably a lot less than if we had given the statutory month's notice and left people to fend for themselves. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>How do you release employees in a fair and responsible manner?</strong> Some guidelines from my personal experience:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Provide timely information:</strong> <span style="color: black;">Advise employees as early as possible</span></span><span style="color: black;"> after a firm</span> decision has been made. Don't let them hear it first from the newspapers. Present the rationale for closure while emphasizing your commitment to the wellbeing of employees through the change. Emphasize values and principles in the way the company is approaching the closure or layoffs. Make sure employees know that the "what" is hard but the "how" will be carefully and caringly supported. Equally, in the case of downsizing, keep up a strong communication line with employees who will remain with the business. Their morale and peace of mind is just as seriously affected by layoffs of colleagues and their concern both for friends and for themselves (maybe they will be laid off in the next round ?) needs to be managed no less sensitively.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Engage the unions</strong></span>: If employees are represented by a Union or Employee Association, work closely and respectfully with the representatives. Keep talking. Stay open and honest. Remember that severance terms may seem high in the short term but they protect the business interests in the long term - within reason, be generous. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>See the individuals:</strong></span> Work with employees to understand their personal circumstances and the implications of the change for them and their families. Each employee has individual needs. A collective severance package may not be the right approach for everyone. It is worth understanding where employees are in their life-cycle and what kind of assistance would be most relevant for them during a difficult period of change.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Involve families when appropriate:</strong></span> Sometimes the blow of layoff may affect the family as much as it affects the employee. A husband or wife, or even children, may find the stress of mom or dad losing their job very difficult to handle. Practically it might affect personal plans such as pension options, housing situation, higher education plans or payments for ongoing medical needs etc. If appropriate, for those employees where this is critical, involve the families, talk to them as well, help them to understand the company decision and the support it can provide. This may seem like overkill to some, but not all employees will need this and for those that do, it can make the difference between getting the best out of the layoff situation and becoming immobilized by double stress.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Be clear about severance terms and conditions:</strong></span> Make sure every employee knows her or his precise entitlement upon departure from the company. Help employees understand what this means - how much actually will be left after they have received severance pay, paid taxes, managed insurance policies etc. What holiday pay is still due to them? What other payments will they receive? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Provide practical assistance</strong></span> <span style="color: red;"><strong>where it is needed</strong></span>. Some employees might require early retirement preparation and support for managing personal finances. Some might require retraining. Some might need outplacement services to help them prepare for a job. Longer-serving employees might not have been on the job market for 15 years or more - preparing a resume or handing an interview will be as easy for them as doing a PhD. Some employees might want to start an own business and may need some referrals. Be flexible in providing what is needed, not just a standard one-size-fits-all package. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Proactively locate alternative jobs:</strong></span> Contact all potential employers in the area and try to match their needs with those of the employees you are relasing. Do what's necessary to open up opportunities which might not have automatically appeared on the radar. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Train all managers to be sensitive, supportive and responsive.</strong></span> Managers may not have the authority to change a decision to release employees but they all have the opportunity to be caring and supportive. Make sure managers talk with "one voice" and present an aligned picture to employees. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Smile in the face of adversity.</strong></span> Employees need you to maintain a positive and optimistic, confident approach. Losing a job may seem like the worst thing in the world, but it can often represent an opportunity. While that's not easy to hear for most when faced with a redundancy notice, a sensitive but optimistic approach can help them grasp the positive and not get stuck in the negative. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Keep talking:</strong></span> Even when you have nothing to say, say it. Create opportunities to talk about the situation and let people vent while reinforcing possible opportunities. Celebrate when employees find alternative solutions. Keep people informed. Answer the tough questions. Be open. This may well be the most important topic of conversation for employees for months. Join them. Keep telling them what you know, even if it's not significantly different from what you told them before.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In summary, managing layoffs is real CSR-HR stuff and HR Managers must bear responsibility for the way this is handled, even if they are not responsible for the business decision to downsize. Ultimately, this approach will strengthen the business.</div><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">. Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on Twitter or via my website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz/en</span></strong></a>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-17251467038115843722011-09-28T08:13:00.000+03:002011-09-28T08:13:11.054+03:00Too little, but not too late: gender equality<div style="text-align: justify;">I came accross two pieces of news yesterday:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.henkeldiversity.com/2011/09/27/the-first-woman-on-henkels-management-board-die-erste-frau-im-henkel-vorstand.html">The first woman on Henkel’s Management Board</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The second:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/32993-2020-Women-on-Boards-Releases-2020-Gender-Diversity-Index">2020 Women on Boards Releases 2020 Gender Diversity Index</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Gender Diversity Index data shows that the average percentage of women on Fortune 500 Boards of Directors is 16.42%, based on research from the <a href="http://2020wob.com/">2020 Women on Boards</a> organization, whose objective is to have 20% of women on corporate boards by 2020. The current status ranges from 32% in the winning boards and 10% of companies which had zero female Board Members. After all these years, and all the fights, campaigns, programs and commitments made, female representation in the largest 500 companies in the USA remains at 16.42% on average. And the fact that some consider 20% by 2020 to be an inspiring objective is just plain sad.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, Henkel are doing their bit to advance women, through the appointment of Kathrin Menges as the first woman on the Management Board. The first ever woman since Henkels' founding 135 years ago. This is the team she joins:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO1NRDF7XwZvDgPTjnCy-Zq8o6Rl18faZXhwif8Oi-ZNXs5dEtqyEnWYkMb1nwHk-W6ebcqaawoDPfJhhzZXFahNSnyBn8B94GfrwTYXlOt1VuSd086ECejm_qI5n-7LjsRkm_6kCnjCAi/s1600/1109+henkel+management+board.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO1NRDF7XwZvDgPTjnCy-Zq8o6Rl18faZXhwif8Oi-ZNXs5dEtqyEnWYkMb1nwHk-W6ebcqaawoDPfJhhzZXFahNSnyBn8B94GfrwTYXlOt1VuSd086ECejm_qI5n-7LjsRkm_6kCnjCAi/s320/1109+henkel+management+board.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What a great diverse bunch! And now they have Kathrin Menges. Well done! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Henkel has a great blog all about <a href="http://www.henkeldiversity.com/">diversity and inclusion</a>. Full of information and stories about what Henkel is doing to create an inclusive culture. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One aspect of diversity is gender balance. I looked at how many women there are overall in Henkel's team - from their <a href="http://sustainabilityreport.henkel.com/global-team/social-indicators.html">2010 online Sustainability Report</a>, we can see that women are still very much a minority:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHQqW5p-NNXkAKF9EPBVAfxe4X-DFXeMAByLnqabqY7AQ-yrENnnG3Bx6uqoSVRNjF-FPsHGloex4_aJxG5CHmCeV8He45HqSS5f_DnvZIV6i4RLnRzH9k81szlA0yBkYqDXz1A9P5TZe/s1600/1109+henkel+women.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="90" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHQqW5p-NNXkAKF9EPBVAfxe4X-DFXeMAByLnqabqY7AQ-yrENnnG3Bx6uqoSVRNjF-FPsHGloex4_aJxG5CHmCeV8He45HqSS5f_DnvZIV6i4RLnRzH9k81szlA0yBkYqDXz1A9P5TZe/s400/1109+henkel+women.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My only question is: why on earth did it take 135 years to get <u>one woman</u> on the Management Board? And will it take another 135 years for the second? </div><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">. Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on Twitter or via my website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz/en</span></strong></a>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-472885564798099967.post-49170986383763292362011-09-20T19:17:00.000+03:002011-09-20T19:17:44.194+03:00Executive Briefing :HR's role in CSR<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hB2s2IsH-bLytKPsOlmQtt2L8yCy3R0l_5JNMeN90LshP2lMdHMqms5CR7QZfjwgPdHZxhmvlARnnB60yKtEe5Y4A5qsh4fSb8YLQlo1QJvVkjU5Oh2UuwP2IL9CIy7RijIcMEmGg8d4/s1600/1109+HR+role+in+CSR+and+Sust.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hB2s2IsH-bLytKPsOlmQtt2L8yCy3R0l_5JNMeN90LshP2lMdHMqms5CR7QZfjwgPdHZxhmvlARnnB60yKtEe5Y4A5qsh4fSb8YLQlo1QJvVkjU5Oh2UuwP2IL9CIy7RijIcMEmGg8d4/s200/1109+HR+role+in+CSR+and+Sust.JPG" width="155" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just published!! The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) Foundation <strong><span style="color: red;">Executive Briefing on HR's Role in Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability</span></strong>. Produced in partnership with the World Federation of People Management Associations (WFPMA) and the North American Human Resource Management Association (NAHRMA), this report explores the important role HR can play in both developing and implementing sustainability strategy. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.shrm.org/about/foundation/products/Documents/CSR%20Exec%20Briefing-%20FINAL.pdf"><strong>Download this briefing here</strong></a><strong>!</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Executive Briefing is authored by :</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Sully Taylor</strong> : Professor of International Management and former associate dean for graduate programs at the School of Business Administration, Portland State University. She has published extensively in international HRM, global mindset, leadership and corporate cultures, and also teaches sustainable HRM and leadership. She is currently a guest editor of Human Resource Management Journal for a special issue on sustainable HRM.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Michael Muller-Camen</strong> : Professor of International HRM at Middlesex University Business School in London and has a chair in HRM at Vienna University of Economics and Business. He has published extensively in international HRM, green HRM and age management, and is the co-editor of a special issue of Zeitschrift fur Personalforschung (German Journal for Research in Human Resource Management) on green HRM.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">and myself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It has been a privilege to work with two such distinguished academics on this Briefing. Our work continues as we collaborate on a more extensive report for publication next year covering Best Practice Guidelines for HR Managers. Watch this space!</div><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Author of </span></strong><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=3282"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">. Contact me via </span></strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/elainecohen"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.twitter.com/elainecohen</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> on Twitter or via my website </span></strong><a href="http://www.b-yond.biz/en"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">www.b-yond.biz/en</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></strong>elainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07433863039389159395noreply@blogger.com0