Leadership

Corporate Social Responsibility 101

Holidays are coming up, and it is the most wonderful time of the year, they say! Bringing families together, with all its love and gifts, this magical time really gets the best out of people, raising the need and desire to give back. Philanthropy is not new to our society: people have been giving, helping and volunteering for quite a while! This holiday season, it is time to take the giving further to the corporate level. Oh, and, this has a name, we call it the Corporate Social Responsibility.

The term “Corporate Social Responsibility” appeared in the 60s as a response to many expressions from the society stating that corporations had to do their part for the common good. CSR concerns all the practices that an organization can put in place in order to benefit the environment, their local community, a charity, a cause. It includes all the activities of environmental efforts, philanthropy, volunteering, and also implementing ethical practices in the workplace.

CSR does not only benefits the outside world, it is also one the best thing you can do for your organization. It contributes to elevating the employee’s morale, creating opportunities for team building and employee initiative/engagement. Doing good also helps revamp your image and reinforce your employer brand, creating compelling storytelling experiences to engage with your community, clients, potential hires. Plus, it’s good karma.

Here at Proforce Personnel, giving back is one of our core values. It is impregnated in every action we do but also shown through donations and fundraising we do. Our last CSR activity was an initiative from one of our recruiters, Elisabetta. She suggested we get involve with the Nez pour Vivre movement, a foundation helping young adults suffering from cancer. And, getting involved does not always mean write a check. We used our human and time resources, and our profitable location to go down in the remarkably busy Square Victoria subway station and collected money for the cause selling red noses. See our Facebook page to relive the moment!

At Proforce, child and youth health is definitely our soft spot, as the majority of our CSR activities concern those issues. Because you can’t do it all, is it okay to pick a particular cause that you cherish and focus on it to start doing good around your organization. Think of something that you and your team genuinely care about and want to influence.

On the other side, it is called responsibility for a reason. As an organization, you also have a carbon footprint, and impact on the economy, an impact on the people. You need to realize that you are benefiting from a society that allows your company to evolve and be profitable. As any taxpayer being part of a community and benefiting from the public services, any corporation is responsible for giving back to its community. You have the chance to have human and financial resources to your disposition. The only thing left to do is be a part of the change.

 

Whether you want to help the elderly or save the planet, there are many things you can do as of today to change the world. Here are a few examples:

Reduce your carbon footprint.

Many corporations focus on that first field, mainly because the corporate world is largely blamed for its activities being harmful to the environment. Recycle. Grow a tree. Ditch the single serve cup coffee maker.

Donate to a charity.

Just go ahead and write a check! Plus, it’s tax deductible. Include your employees in a contest : pitch your charity to choose which one.

Look in the mirror.

This should actually be the first step towards being a socially responsible corporation. How do you treat your employees? How is your insurance package? Do you advocate ethical work practices?

Volunteer.
Great for the employee morale, feeling helpful. Amazing for the community. As a team ; great team building. If your company is too big for a group activity, send each employee on a volunteering paid day where they can choose which organization they want to help. Have them share their experience with a hashtag.

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