Four Techniques to Focus on Strategic Outcomes

Recording of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities is appearing with greater frequency in business models, annual reports, company collateral, and a variety of outward facing communications.If done correctly, the returns can be huge –though how many companies are placing the appropriate time, effort and value in generating these reports?

Sixty-nine percent of corporations create a dedicated section (when reporting) to showcase employee engagement, charitable giving, volunteerism, total community expenditure, etc., according to Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).  However, only a small percentage of these corporations focus on qualitative measurements.  Furthermore, a lack of reporting guidelines related to employee engagement, which is still widely considered a “nice-to-have” over a “must-have” for the company‟s business strategy, leaves interpretation open for how companies can present the results to be more effective.

Considering the fact that employee engagement correlates with job satisfaction and loyalty, maximizing the impact from reporting volunteer hours and dollar amounts can be essential.  Focus on the strategic outcomes, not the input, so audiences understand how employee community engagement relays back to a sustainable workplace culture and social benefits.  We‟ve compiled four suggested techniques that may help you in your reporting efforts.

YourCause consults Elaine Cohen, CEO at BeyondBusiness

Beyond Business is a social and environmental business consulting firm, specializing in CSR strategy and roadmap development, implementation of CSR processes, reporting and assurance. They work globally with large corporate clients, SME's and non profits, offering a full range of CSR and sustainability expertise.

1. Construct Quantifiable Programs

Companies commonly promote the quantitative aspects of their programs (e.g., the large amount of hours volunteered by an employee base).Less frequently, however, do they report the qualitative impact of those numbers (e.g., how those hours were served and the difference it made in a family, community or region‟s way of life).

Create tangible goals within your volunteer and philanthropic programs that asses impact within a community and business.It‟s key to communicate these tangible expectations to employees, helping them understand both the social and organizational benefits of CSR activities.Fifty percent of companies reporting on cause-related material do not indicate general approaches or goals behind programs, according to GRI, which only detracts overall engagement and participation.

Incorporate unit tracking and feedback loops to report step-by-step program information and progress.To illustrate, if a company has a tree planting day, then unit reporting allows employees to track how many trees they planted. Thus, the metrics could be further used to summarize the impact of total carbon offset and, lastly, how it influenced the community‟s way of life.

2. Keep a Local Focus on Global Operations

It‟s common to see global companies report on their programs at a high level, which is meaningless to local stakeholders, according to Elaine Cohen, CEO of Beyond Business,a corporate social responsibility consulting firm. Perhaps „meaningless,‟ because such reporting does not break down local impact by region, keep content relevant to employees, nor demonstrate the diversity throughout the program that caters to their native culture.

Increase your efforts to produce local reporting that identifies cultural and local impact. Breakdown the results of such local impact within defined geographical metrics, and distribute the results to regional leaders to ensure greater understanding of employee preferences in giving and volunteerism, which often times feeds valuable information into future program strategies.

Geographically design your programs to serve and impact specific regions.A well-designed program will support localized reporting that can deliver each location a sense of ownership and inherent autonomy, while maintaining the overarching affiliation between the region and company.

3. Presentation is Everything

An approach that is old in the books but goes a long way –presentation is everything.The same applies when it comes to effective reporting.Internal and external reception of all reported information will be dictated by how it is presented.Are you enticing your stakeholders, customers, employees, and potential partners? Or are you putting them to sleep?

Creatively craft your final reports in a manner that is motivating to all your readers, giving them something to relate and engage with.Qualitative information can often times become a motivational factor for employees to increase their involvement and encourage others to understand the tangible outcomes resulting from their company‟s programs.

Go beyond numbers and enhance reports with emotion inducing methods. Use pictures, diagrams, and antidotes to further stakeholders‟ perceptions and capture the reader‟s attention. General testimonials and case studies help to increase attraction towards employees by providing detailed background information on how they developed a program and where it‟s headed in the future.Less than 40 percent of U.S. companies include testimonials and stories, according to PWC CSR Trends 2010 Report. This delivers transparency and ultimately, will give others a comprehensive, feel-good idea of WHERE and HOW philanthropic and volunteering efforts are going.

"Telling and reading about employees cause-related stories provides direction for other colleagues, has a positive effect on a corporation’s reputation, and reinforces a feel-good energy." - Elaine Cohen, www.b-yond.biz

4. Deliver in a Device-Driven World

In the age of Facebook, Twitter, smarts phones and tablets, the method and frequency in which information is delivered plays a significant role in how stakeholders receive the success of a CSR program.In our device-driven world, annual paper reports are insufficient.The general expectation evolved beyond delivered reports, to real-time reporting, and is quickly moving toward real-time, permission-based, geo-distributed reporting.Therefore, finding the optimal method to deliver all results can mean the difference between buy-in (support) or not.

Deliver on-the-go. Recent survey data suggests that roughly 50 percent of all companies in the US with more than 100 employees plan on ramping up their use of tablets throughout their organization within the next 24 months, according to CIO Magazine.Furthermore, the increase in mobile capabilities firmly sets in place a multi-device strategy from the executive level and beyond.

Start from the top. At YourCause, we hear (and see) an increased demand to deliver all key stakeholders access to the right data, right now, from the right place.CEO „app‟ dashboards displaying key business metrics for internal programs, data accessibility from a mobile device, and „on-demand‟ reporting (real-time) is quickly becoming not only a reality, but a norm.

Photograph: Mustafa Abdi/AFP/Getty Images

In the past recent months East Africa has been facing the worst dry spell since 1950 and is gradually getting worse. Individuals in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Djibouti are facing starvation, malnutrition, and unsanitary waters (two regions in Somalia and parts in Kenya have declared famine). The impact of the drought has sharply escalated food prices and loss of stock. So far, 11 million people are facing a hunger crisis with 385,000 children moderately and severely malnourished and 90,000 pregnant mothers facing malnutrition.

The U.N. officials have reported $1 billion is required for immediate needs, with organizations donating more than $200 million as of today, East Africa is still in dire need of $800 million. Many organizations UNICEF, Save the Children, World Vision, Oxfam America, Mercy Corps, United Nations Food Programme, etc. are just a few who have responded in aid for the East Africa crisis by providing sanitation services, life-saving water, food, donations and other assistance.

We can all do our part in responding to the urgent food crisis. Please donate now on YourCause.com to help emergency relief aid in East Africa.

Here’s How Your Donation Could Help:

• $7 can feed a child (UNHCR)

• $50 will provide 200 people a day supply of clean water (Oxfam)

• $100 will feed a family of 6 for 2 weeks (Oxfam)

- Kassie Hernandez

In November of 2009, and after 33 years of having hair that never exceeded 2-inches in length, I committed to grow my hair out to donate to someone in need – ideally, young girls having to suffer through the effects of chemotherapy.  In the 20-weeks of growing out my hair, the unanticipated benefits became some of the most welcomed experiences of my life – ones that I am sure to never forget.  Most importantly, I calculated that ‘my story’ was told to well over 1,500 people, and inspired others to participate and take action themselves.  At the end of the day, the bigger purpose was exactly that (bring about awareness for those with suffering from cancer and the associate treatments, rather than the simple process of donating hair). 

I want to commend the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program.  I chose this program, as I fundamentally believe that the end recipient should not have to pay for a wig and I truly appreciate the fact that Pantene is ‘footing the bill’ for those who (most likely) have already been through enough (from cancer).  I applaud the program, and in the meantime, have become a raving fan (which might be a bigger deal once I have hair to shampoo again!). 

Now that my quest has come to an end, I realize that my appreciation for hair products and hair care is far greater than ever.  Although I will no longer battle with hair in the sink, issues driving with the windows down, my children ‘messing up Daddy’s hair,’ or needing to find hair gel that doesn’t make my hair look greasy – I will miss the micro-opportunities of telling others what I’m doing, why I’m doing it, and taking in those chances to learn a little bit more about me, who I am, what I stand for - … and why. 

So along the way, I gathered the top 10 items that I took away from it:

10) When we complain to our wives/girlfriends/daughters/etc.. about taking too long in the shower, and the excuse is used “I have to put conditioner in my hair,” that’s a valid reason.  I never would have imagined the amount of maintenance required to care for long hair and I have an entirely new appreciation for it;

9) It took me a while to realize this, but people tend to randomly say “hello” to people with longer hair.  Not sure if it was expected that I also hold up the peace sign or not, but complete strangers would say hello to me at the airport, in the coffee shop, the store, etc..

8)  Driving the car with the windows down (assuming you don’t have a hat, hair in a braid, or a pound of gel in it) is one of the most annoying things- yet is one of the things I love to do most here in Texas (when it’s not 100 degrees);

7)  Babies love to pull hair.  My son, now 12-months old, would hang onto my hair (when I carried him) and truly cause more eye-watering experiences for me;

6) When you change your look, and truly step out of your comfort zone, you alter your confidence.  Getting up in front of others (large groups) or even speaking up in front of others no longer comes as easily;

5) The process of donating my hair became a discussion topic wherever I went.  Even if people didn’t ask, I felt compelled to tell others that “this is for charity.”  As if I were trying to validate myself.  Surprisingly, most people would have never guessed.  I was able to use it as the best ‘ice breaker’ for the past 20-months;

4) I was amazed at how many times a day I thought about giving up and cutting my hair.  There wasn’t a day that went by that I did not at least dream/day dream about it.  I looked forward to the day I cut from the 4-week point on;

3)  I researched at the beginning to find that a man’s hair grows, on average, at a rate of .50 inches a month.  The data does not lie.  My hair grew at exactly that rate – no matter how much protein I ate, how many vitamins I took, or what shampoo I used.  (see chart)

2)  My children never once said anything to me about my hair getting long.  Children are so pure and simply don’t see surface items like that.  To them, I was always just Daddy to them. 

1) We tend to THINK that more people are looking at us than really are.  Perhaps it’s just me, but I always felt as though everybody was wondering why my hair was soo long, when in fact, people really don’t care.  We care about how we look soo much more than anybody else does.