How to
become a “social purpose leader”
Paul Klein is the founder of Impakt. Impakt is a consulting
firm that works with companies and their social responsibility programs. When
Paul first started his consulting firm in 2001 the companies that he approached
were not sold on social responsibility. 12 years ago, social responsibility was
seen as trivial and most companies found a way around it. However, fast forward
to today, 2013, and most companies view social responsibility as an important factor
in what grows business.
A lot of companies figure they need a social responsibility
program in place but, they don’t fully understand why it’s in place or even why
it’s important. Klein has noticed a growing number of companies have been
implementing corporate social responsibility programs on a “check box” basis. Management
in most companies figure CSR is a necessity in order to compete in the
marketplace but, they have little to no idea about what social responsibility
really is and what it means.
One of Klein’s ideas is that businesses should step away
from the term corporate responsibility and adopt the term “social purpose
leaders” instead. A social purpose leader is an organization that realizes the
way that it does business will have an impact both socially and on results.
Klein believes that companies need to know exactly how their products and services
influence the environment and other social issues. It isn’t good enough to just
make sure a program is in place. A company needs to understand why that program
is in place.
Klein has come up with ideas for social leaders that he believes
are valuable in directing a company from the basic concept of CSR and the newer
idea of social purpose leaders.
1. Set up an advisory
council
Bring people from the community to meet and give feedback on
the social responsibility activities that are in place. Klein states that too
often businesses surround themselves with other businesses and they all think
the same way. Bringing people from the community will allow new perspectives
and valuable unfiltered feedback.
2. Drop the CSR
reports
Klein says that most companies generate CSR reports and they
are not necessary because very few people actually read them. Klein believes the
social responsibility information should be included in the regular report,
where it is more likely to be read by a greater number of people.
3. Have outsiders
contribute to annual report
Klein suggests that people on the outside that are helped by
the social responsibility program should have a say.
4. Link with
controversial NGOs (Non-governmental organizations)
Klein argues that companies should take risks with the
organizations that they are getting involved with and they should not shy away
from the non-governmental organizations. He even further suggests that companies
exchange their staff to work for a bit in an NGO and have the staff from the
NGO work with the company for a certain period of time. By doing a staffing exchange,
they will be able to understand each other from different perspectives.
5. Create a
stakeholders blog
Klein suggests that companies allocate space on their
website to allow for people to write about the business.
6. Don’t hide bad
news
Don’t try and cover anything up. It is better to let the
public know about pitfalls in the company than have the entire story come out
later and tarnish the reputation of the company. Credibility is established
when a business takes ownership.
7. Be provocative
Klein argues that companies should take a powerful stand on
a particular issue and make a commitment to it regardless of the negative that
may come about in doing so.
Personally, I believe that a company should really care
about their social responsibility programs. As people become more aware and
involved about business practises through technology, I believe just having a
social responsibility program in place won’t be enough. A company has to
understand why the social program is in place and how it influences social and
environmental factors.
I agree with a few of Klein’s ideas. If a company is
proactive in their approach to social responsibility and make a commitment to
the program I believe they will leave a better impression on the consumer and
the people viewing the company. It may be okay now for a company to have a
program in place whether they understand it or not but, years from now will it
be enough?
I think more companies need to adopt Klein’s way of thinking
in order to be sustainable as a credible business in the future.
Photo Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirZWGkW_Z0pygz10EUCPAkNIbxnJRGAVgx3ZrHvcweSyxXd2xhn0R4o-pBecGGuNzhs5RCzO_GPAlMaoObOPeKFc_uI50NZjsoPRteCnZtL9i_n74PkvGOsUzGGJfW8BV20E4xYk3sISc/s1600/RSC+Cartoon+03+Dilbert.gif
Resources:
- Sarah Crooks -Thursday Seminar - 12pm to 2pm -
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