The last quarter of 2014 is a month away and corporate social responsibility managers are wringing their hands in advance of programme planning and budget approval for the next fiscal.
Ironically, although corporate social responsibility costs are minuscule compared to virtually any other line item in a company’s budget, spending in this area is scrutinised closely. There are two reasons for this. Executives are hard-wired to improve value, but pinpointing the return on investment of “social” spending is virtually impossible. At the same time, CSR has become a proxy for social licence to operate and not allocating adequate resources in this area is seen as a risk.
Decision-making in the face of opposing priorities is never easy but CSR managers often lack the tools, metrics and capacity to assess their program’s performance. As a result, their positions and budgets are particularly vulnerable. If you find yourself in this situation, here are ten practical ways to help demonstrate your value and get your 2015 budget approved.
1. Start with the assumption that the person you report to accepts that CSR is necessary but is highly skeptical of its value relative to other parts of the business.
2. Demonstrate that your initiatives align with the priorities of the CEO. While the resources allocated to CSR are small, few aspects of business have the potential to get the attention and support of the company’s most senior leadership. Use this to your advantage.
3. Secure the support of finance. This is the toughest internal stakeholder group and the one whose opinion matters most at this time of year. Try asking your finance team how they would approach assessing and improving the business and social value of CSR.
4. Indicate the value of every aspect of your program that is quantifiable (eg a successful cause marketing program) but don’t assign metrics to pieces that are subjective – these assumptions will be questioned and your business case won’t be seen as credible.
5. Find out how your initiatives are influencing the stakeholder group that matters most to your company’s growth. For example, if you are a B2B company you should know whether or not your CSR initiatives are influencing the acquisition of new customers or leverage of existing relationships.
6. Show how CSR costs are being leveraged. This could include providing data or statements from other managers that substantiate the value of CSR initiatives and also external examples such as how an NGO has managed to secure more private or government support as a result of your company’s involvement.
7. Stay away from generic metrics of business and social value – executives want to know how value is being delivered specifically in your company. What’s happened elsewhere is interesting but doesn’t carry enough weight.
8. Get people involved. There’s nothing more powerful than creating opportunities for executives to have direct experience with the stakeholders who benefit from your company’s programs.
9. Commit to delivering more value. This could involve eliminating unnecessary corporate philanthropy, re-negotiating agreements with non-profit partners and reducing the time and money spent on CSR reports. Executives don’t expect managers in this area to make hard calls so use this as an opportunity to demonstrate that you have what it takes to do this.
10. Be innovative – take your program to the next level. Work with your product development team to develop a prototype for a new socially responsible product. Initiate a pilot program with a key non-profit partner to support hiring objectives. Spend time with your company’s sales force to understand their needs and how you can help.
Paul Klein is the president and founder of Impakt, which helps corporations and civil society organisations become social purpose leaders. He serves on the advisory council of the centre of excellence in responsible business at the Schulich School of Business.
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