why social responsibility is important

Over the past decade, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives have not only become expected but also highly scrutinized.

Be it customers, employees, community members, NGOs, suppliers or investors, stakeholders require companies to provide evidence of the causes they support, and are looking for honest, authentic action. This is why social responsibility is important – simple PR actions are no longer accepted by savvy stakeholders.

What Does CSR Look Like?

Corporate Social Responsibility will mean different things to different companies and stakeholders, but credible CSR will:

  1. Encourage involvement from stakeholders
  2. Be an initiative that is realistic and achievable
  3. Have a clear strategy and impact that is easily understood
  4. Have a goal of long term impact on society
  5. Involve qualified partners with expertise in the field
  6. Detail the mechanism to measure success.

What Happens if You Don’t Engage Stakeholders with CSR Initiatives?

Ineffective stakeholder engagement may lead to issues later on and local communities will react negatively if they feel disengaged or ignored.

Not identifying what is important to your stakeholders, engaging in ineffective CSR practices or having poor communication about your project will detract from the intended impact. This can also affect the confidence of your investors and customers, impact the reputation of your business and decrease profits.

Establishing open communication with key stakeholders, customers and suppliers is essential to set a CSR project up for success right from the start. Stakeholders need to be consulted adequately and have their interests, issues and concerns considered. As well, commitments made to them must be tracked, monitored and fulfilled.

How can Stakeholder Management Software Help?

Successful usage of stakeholder relationship management software generates long-term benefits such as better data quality and integrity, more organized records for quick reference and access, enhanced security and privacy, and a system that truly supports the work of the company employing it.

Other less-obvious CSR benefits include a confident and empowered team, the ability to track and manage stakeholder communication, and ultimately better relationships with the stakeholders themselves, who will feel that the information they are contributing is being treated with careful consideration.

Corporate Social Responsibility projects play a strategic role in helping businesses to be seen as having an important impact on their communities. Involving stakeholders in CSR activities will ultimately lead to a greater effect on social causes they care about.

Ready to get your stakeholders involved with your CSR activities? With StakeTracker you can easily record, document, track & report on all your interactions and communications with stakeholders.

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