Using CSR in the War for Talent

Outstanding article tweeted by @mitsmr from the MIT Sloan Management Review:

Using Corporate Social Responsibility to Win the War for Talent

By C.B. Bhattacharya, Sankar Sen and Daniel Korschun

originally posted in January 2008 but as true today as it ever was. Well worth the read!

A few select quotes:

"There is growing evidence that a company’s corporate social responsibility activities comprise a legitimate, compelling and increasingly important way to attract and retain good employees."

"Jim Copeland, Jr., former CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, puts it this way: “The best professionals in the world want to work in organizations in which they can thrive, and they want to work for companies that exhibit good corporate citizenship.”

"Our research indicates that CSR’s opportunity to serve as an effective internal marketing lever is limited by four related issues. First, companies often keep their employees at arm’s length, not communicating the extent and details of their CSR efforts in a clear and consistent manner. Second, companies formulate their CSR programs without explicitly considering the diverse set of employee needs that can be fulfilled by such programs. Third, companies do not fully understand the psychological mechanisms that link their CSR programs to anticipated positive returns from their employees (for example, pro-company behaviors, higher productivity, longer tenures and so on). Finally, we find that companies take a decidedly top-down approach in the formulation, execution and maintenance of their CSR programs, often mandating participation rather than involving employees on their own terms."

"Managers must seek to involve their employees in the planning, design and implementation of CSR programs, making them participants rather than onlookers"

elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainabilty Reporter, HR Professional. Contact me via www.twitter.com/elainecohen  on Twitter or via my website www.b-yond.biz/en