Employees Are the Best Corporate Ambassadors
Employees can play a key role in underpinning an organization's responsible business practices. But first they need to be kept informed, says Louisa Gray.
Notions of corporate responsibility grew up on external audiences. These are always the most vociferous. More often than not CSR has sounded like the more virtuous cousin of public relations.
For many companies, the main stakeholders have always been shareholders, NGOs, activists, the press, government, local communities and the wider community.
Employees may feature, but if so it usually feels like an afterthought with little structure, because this is the audience least likely to be clamoring for information. Often, employee communication goes little further than health and safety at work and opportunities for volunteering.
Whilst polls are increasingly showing that corporate responsibility practices influence career decisions, those who really mean it can't be finding much to sate their appetite in the market place.
Graduate recruitment brochures will often feature a page dedicated to CSR, and more often than not there's a whiff of style over substance.
Imagine a full page spread of a recent graduate holding a baby under the banner "Responsibility for Employees". Small type below explains that the employee had spent a day volunteering at an orphanage.
This is not an uncommon approach to communicating corporate social responsibility. (And note the use of "communicating". It's communication that's up for debate here, not the practices themselves.) By the time you count induction and tea breaks, that's probably six hours of volunteering.
What does the company do?
There are two main issues with this. The first is that this type of activity is of very limited benefit to any of the parties: the charities, the volunteers or the organizations sponsoring them.
The second issue, and this gets closer to the heart of the matter, is that it is very unlikely that this actually communicates what the company does around corporate citizenship at all. It's a vignette, a simplistic view of what is likely to be a much richer and more complex story.
And this is why, when we talk about CSR in an organization, we need to talk about internal communication and, further, employee engagement. We've struggled against greenwash, we've got our houses in order (yes, I know there are exceptions) and we've learned to systematically tell the story of our responsible business practices to the outside world through reporting, PR and lobbying.
Now we need to go back to internal storytelling and stitch together a coherent whole from the constituent parts that in the first instance informs and enthuses employees, and latterly makes ambassadors of them.
For example, at Ecover, the environmental household products manufacturer, all press releases go to staff before the press.
This may not be appropriate for all press releases or all organizations, but it does raise a good point: shouldn't employees be first to know? or at least hear about it at all?
External communicators and internal communicators have the same responsibility, but different audiences. As with external communications, internal practitioners also need to segment their audiences.
Who needs to know what? There will be those who need information for their jobs - for example mobile phone sales staff being able to talk knowledgeably about their company's work to minimize phone time, or the views on the health risks of mobile phone masts.
The me brand
But there are also others who will want to hear a broader range of messages because the overall concept of responsibility fits with their own personal values.
With the increased sophistication of employer branding, and the values of Generation Y, the "me brand" – my own values and how they are reflected by those of the company I work for – is increasingly important.
If someone recycles at home, uses low energy light bulbs and donates to charity through payroll giving, it's likely they will look for evidence of similar, corporate, behavior.
As with German philosopher Heidegger's cats, if they don't hear about it or see it, then is it happening? For any internal communication an audit will help you understand appetite – who wants to hear what, how and when. It's about offering choice, not force-feeding.
Whilst many of us are choosing to monitor our environmental footprint, others see it as the lifestyle equivalent of hemp sandals and tree-hugging. And if they don't need to hear about it to be engaged at work, then "CSR junk mail" is likely to disengage.
So, make it available to those who want it, keep it updated and – to really increase engagement – make it two-way.
Informed and engaged
IBM has encouraged two-way communication around responsible business by holding an online "values jam" that allowed employees around the world to log in over a 72-hour period and share their views, respond to the thoughts of others and propose ideas.
The service profit chain is as relevant now as ever and communicating corporate responsibility offers an exciting new dimension that increases benefits right though the chain.
By informing and engaging employees around corporate responsibility activity, commitment, loyalty, enthusiasm, referrals and even innovation are likely to increase. There are plenty of studies that prove this and these will become more robust over time.
In an age when the talent pool is shrinking and increasingly mobile, this is invaluable. Further, good communication of responsible business approaches means that employees are better informed and able to pass that knowledge on to the consumer, to impact customer loyalty and purchasing patterns.
They are not just selling a product or service, they are able to differentiate it from others by attitude and behavior. The new Red campaign, backed by American Express, Motorola, Gap, Apple and others, is an indicator of the consumer appetite for this.
Employees are your best ambassadors: they will convince peers in a way that corporate reports and newspapers never will.
--------------
Louisa Gray is a consultant with Bernard Hodes Solutions Consultancy, specialists in employer branding and engagement. This article is excerpted with permission from
Ethical Corporation.
For many companies, the main stakeholders have always been shareholders, NGOs, activists, the press, government, local communities and the wider community.
Employees may feature, but if so it usually feels like an afterthought with little structure, because this is the audience least likely to be clamoring for information. Often, employee communication goes little further than health and safety at work and opportunities for volunteering.
Whilst polls are increasingly showing that corporate responsibility practices influence career decisions, those who really mean it can't be finding much to sate their appetite in the market place.
Graduate recruitment brochures will often feature a page dedicated to CSR, and more often than not there's a whiff of style over substance.
Imagine a full page spread of a recent graduate holding a baby under the banner "Responsibility for Employees". Small type below explains that the employee had spent a day volunteering at an orphanage.
This is not an uncommon approach to communicating corporate social responsibility. (And note the use of "communicating". It's communication that's up for debate here, not the practices themselves.) By the time you count induction and tea breaks, that's probably six hours of volunteering.
What does the company do?
There are two main issues with this. The first is that this type of activity is of very limited benefit to any of the parties: the charities, the volunteers or the organizations sponsoring them.
The second issue, and this gets closer to the heart of the matter, is that it is very unlikely that this actually communicates what the company does around corporate citizenship at all. It's a vignette, a simplistic view of what is likely to be a much richer and more complex story.
And this is why, when we talk about CSR in an organization, we need to talk about internal communication and, further, employee engagement. We've struggled against greenwash, we've got our houses in order (yes, I know there are exceptions) and we've learned to systematically tell the story of our responsible business practices to the outside world through reporting, PR and lobbying.
Now we need to go back to internal storytelling and stitch together a coherent whole from the constituent parts that in the first instance informs and enthuses employees, and latterly makes ambassadors of them.
For example, at Ecover, the environmental household products manufacturer, all press releases go to staff before the press.
This may not be appropriate for all press releases or all organizations, but it does raise a good point: shouldn't employees be first to know? or at least hear about it at all?
External communicators and internal communicators have the same responsibility, but different audiences. As with external communications, internal practitioners also need to segment their audiences.
Who needs to know what? There will be those who need information for their jobs - for example mobile phone sales staff being able to talk knowledgeably about their company's work to minimize phone time, or the views on the health risks of mobile phone masts.
The me brand
But there are also others who will want to hear a broader range of messages because the overall concept of responsibility fits with their own personal values.
With the increased sophistication of employer branding, and the values of Generation Y, the "me brand" – my own values and how they are reflected by those of the company I work for – is increasingly important.
If someone recycles at home, uses low energy light bulbs and donates to charity through payroll giving, it's likely they will look for evidence of similar, corporate, behavior.
As with German philosopher Heidegger's cats, if they don't hear about it or see it, then is it happening? For any internal communication an audit will help you understand appetite – who wants to hear what, how and when. It's about offering choice, not force-feeding.
Whilst many of us are choosing to monitor our environmental footprint, others see it as the lifestyle equivalent of hemp sandals and tree-hugging. And if they don't need to hear about it to be engaged at work, then "CSR junk mail" is likely to disengage.
So, make it available to those who want it, keep it updated and – to really increase engagement – make it two-way.
Informed and engaged
IBM has encouraged two-way communication around responsible business by holding an online "values jam" that allowed employees around the world to log in over a 72-hour period and share their views, respond to the thoughts of others and propose ideas.
The service profit chain is as relevant now as ever and communicating corporate responsibility offers an exciting new dimension that increases benefits right though the chain.
By informing and engaging employees around corporate responsibility activity, commitment, loyalty, enthusiasm, referrals and even innovation are likely to increase. There are plenty of studies that prove this and these will become more robust over time.
In an age when the talent pool is shrinking and increasingly mobile, this is invaluable. Further, good communication of responsible business approaches means that employees are better informed and able to pass that knowledge on to the consumer, to impact customer loyalty and purchasing patterns.
They are not just selling a product or service, they are able to differentiate it from others by attitude and behavior. The new Red campaign, backed by American Express, Motorola, Gap, Apple and others, is an indicator of the consumer appetite for this.
Employees are your best ambassadors: they will convince peers in a way that corporate reports and newspapers never will.
--------------
Louisa Gray is a consultant with Bernard Hodes Solutions Consultancy, specialists in employer branding and engagement. This article is excerpted with permission from
Ethical Corporation.
