HRs Strategic Role in Corporate Social Responsibility
My role as a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) human resource executive and that of the entire human resource team on matters to do with corporate social responsibility is to create a culture that embraces corporate responsibility in Global Pro-Tech. We shall focus on attracting new talent, recruiting employees, developing, engaging, and retaining. We shall focus on these areas because we believe that people are the ones who make sustainability happen in an organization. It should be noted that sustainability is not just environment, but it is also about people (Frederick, 2016). We shall promote sustainability through overseeing learning and development by training employees on matters related to corporate social responsibility (Frederick, 2016). When employees are trained on these matters, they broaden their knowledge and skills and manage to gain valuable experience as they make the world a better place.
Moreover, human resources is a critical partner in employing corporate social responsibility in fostering employee engagement. Many reports have shown that modern employees look for purpose and meaning in their work. Unfortunately, a few employees are the ones who are connected to their work, while many are not psychologically connected (Ledecky, 2022). Therefore, as a human resource executive on corporate social responsibility, I would guide this company to integrate corporate responsibilities into training and employee engagement. This would be one way of cultivating a corporate social responsibility culture in this company.
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Corporate Social Responsibility Strategies and Action Steps
Global Pro Tech Company will employ several strategies to advance the corporate social responsibility practice. Every business organization must adopt specific strategies to promote social responsibility (Ledecky, 2022). However, not all strategies are compatible with every organization since the goals of different organizations differ. Accordingly, Global Pro-Tech will employ the following strategies;
First, we shall promote healthy and inclusive workplace cultures. One crucial aspect that should be noted is that corporate social responsibility starts with workplace culture and in the internal community of the organization. Business organizations that understand this aspect strive to create an environment where their workers thrive (Frederick, 2016). One of the steps we shall take to promote a healthy and inclusive workplace is training employees to communicate to them the company’s values. At Global Pro Tech Company, we recognize diversity training as one piece of a larger strategy of establishing a positive and inclusive company culture.
The second step we shall take to promote a healthy and inclusivity workplace culture is hiring and recruiting employees from different backgrounds regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity. This inclusivity will help build a diverse workforce, and the company will likely enjoy the benefits of having a diverse workforce. The third step we shall take to boost a healthy and inclusive work environment is to encourage and cultivate a friendly and respectful employee relationship (Ledecky, 2022). Respect and friendlessness will start with the top management, and the junior employees will learn from the top management. An organization with a friendly and respectful employee relationship does not struggle to achieve its goals, but the employees work cohesively to achieve the goals quickly (Pabcock, 2015). Another step to fostering a healthy and inclusive work environment is to display fairness to all employees. No employee will be special or superior to another since we shall offer equal opportunities to everyone.
The second strategy to foster corporate social responsibility at Global Pro Tech Company will be aligning community impact with business practices. Socially responsible organizations often identify the causes that align their corporate mission and vision with communities and their employees. These firms then advance the causes with antithetic actions (Pabcock, 2015). Any severe company aligns its practices with the community by making material sacrifices and adjustments.
Some of the steps we shall take to achieve this social responsibility are: first, carrying out research in the community to understand the community’s actual needs. Secondly, we shall adjust our business practices to fit the community impacts so that we can help to solve some of the community problems (Pabcock, 2015). One of the best examples of companies that aligned its community impact goals and business practices is Unilever. Unilever gave checks to nonprofit companies such as the World Wildlife Fund, besides committing to supply chain adjustment to source commodities from zero net deforestation (Ledecky, 2022). Another step we shall take to align community impact with business practices is to avoid green-washing. Greenwashing is when companies mislead consumers that their products are environmentally responsible (Frederick, 2016). Global Pro-Tech will remain authentic to what it produces and its community impact goals.
We shall apply the third CSR strategy to soliciting feedback and employee engagement to maximize the stakeholders’ value. Socially responsible firms must listen to all of their stakeholders, internal or external. Establishing vital corporate social responsibility initiatives involves incorporating feedback from consumers, shareholders, employees, and other individuals (Pabcock, 2015). Employee engagement helps in strengthening the connection between a firm’s CSR program and the workplace culture. Therefore, human resources need to educate workers about CSR initiatives and how they can be involved.
Some of the steps to promote the collection of feedback and employee engagement are encouraging employees to be free and open to raising any opinion they have. Doing this would help get important information from employees, which can help manage CSR initiatives. Secondly, we shall be delegating some light duties to some employees in implementing the CSR initiatives (Frederick, 2016). When duties are delegated, employees feel proud to be part of the initiatives, and they will work hard to their full potential, hence achieving its goals. The third step we shall take is to train employees on the CSR goal of the organization (Ledecky, 2022). We shall not involve employees in CSR activities they do not understand. Still, we shall train them on the initiatives so that they can see the importance of the initiatives and also find ways they can help the initiatives succeed.
References
Ledecky, M. (2022). 5 Strategies Socially Responsible Companies Are Using in Their CSR Initiatives. https://everfi.com/blog/community-engagement/socially-responsible-companies
Babcock, P. (2015). Accelerating HR’s Role in CSR and Sustainability. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/behavioral-competencies/ethical-practice/pages/hr-role-csr-sustainability.aspx
Okpara, J. O., & Idowu, S. O. (2013). Corporate social responsibility: Challenges, opportunities, and strategies for 21st-century leaders. Berlin: Springer
Frederick, W. C. (2016). Corporation, be good!: A story of corporate social responsibility. Indianapolis: Dog Ear Pub.
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Question
Consider the scenarios in which you have taken the role of an HR executive hired to guide and lead Global ProTech’s new CSR initiative. At this point, you are feeling proud of what you have accomplished. However, you are well aware that a key component in strategic HRM is taking time to evaluate and plan carefully.
**Evaluate what your role, and that of HR throughout the company, should be in advancing Global ProTech’s new corporate-wide CSR initiative and its guiding vision statement.
**Recommend 3–5 strategies that HR can utilize to drive the successful launch of this new initiative system-wide. Provide 3–4 action steps for each strategy, including what must be put into place to make these strategies work, e.g., initiating executive briefings to gain understanding and support, assigning an oversight committee, establishing tracking or metrics, holding Town Hall meetings with employees, etc.