Communications professionals should be seen as key players in the implementation of CSR efforts – specifically because many of their traditional functions; culture change, stakeholder engagement, and external relations, can be best accomplished by enhancing sustainability across the company.
Corporate communications professionals usually play a key role in the roll out of corporate change initiatives including mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, new visions and strategic imperatives and the like. It is not surprising, therefore, that they are key players in the roll out of sustainability programs. However, there are several ways in which professional communicators can bring their skills and internal and external networks to the process of developing as well as implementing CSR efforts. This is because many of the goals traditionally assigned to corporate communicators – including culture change, stakeholder engagement and external relations – can be accomplished by enhancing sustainability and corporate responsibility management across a company.
1. Integration of the program within the overall strategy
Contrary to popular criticism of companies, most organizations are not only managing quarter to quarter or year to year. Successful companies have defined long term strategy maps divided into four or five categories such as financial, operational, sales and culture imperatives that, together add up to the vision. Within each of these categories, imperatives are defined and assigned to operating units. Senior leadership will spend hours explaining and expressing that this map will lead the company to its desired future state and reminding directors and managers to focus their efforts on these imperatives.
Therefore, in order to be an integral part of the company strategy, the CSR program must be integrated as appropriate into the imperatives. Professional communicators who have played a key role in defining the language, presentation and the communications around the vision are well positioned and qualified to play a key role; taking CSR from an add-on ‘nice to have’ to an integral part of the business strategy.
2. Compatibility with the Day to Day Reality
At the same time, many employees face daily realities (such as customer expectations) that sometimes appear to conflict with corporate directives. Failing to address and respond to these real or perceived incompatibilities is a key reason why so many corporate initiatives fail. Communicators are in a key position to use their skills, networks and established credibility at all levels within the company to not only clearly and compellingly communicate how the new program can and will work to internal audiences, they are in a key position to actually assist in the development of the CSR program itself, ensuring that the program fits the way the business operates on a daily basis. It is important to solicit and listen to feedback from the field and to make sure that those concerns are presented and factored into program development.
3. Empowering and Engaging Employees at All Levels in the Organization
CSR is more about corporate culture and as such it requires the individual buy-in and empowerment of everyone in the company as well as changes in processes and procedures. It cannot rely on the work of a central ‘green team’ to long-term carry the ball for the organization. Everyone has to ‘own’ and participate if it is to become part of the corporate culture. Communicators are integral in making this happen, often linking the ‘new’ initiatives back to the core values and founding principles of the organization. Otherwise employees may, intentionally or unwittingly compromise the effort. This sabotage can be unintentional, such at the office building were I worked in downtown Washington D.C. where employees who smoked were sent outside and away from the entrance; and ended up standing in front of the air intake for the building. In another instance, programmable thermostats were first thwarted by employees over-riding the preset temperatures. This was ‘solved’ by encasing the thermostats in locked plastic boxes to prevent what was described in a terse memo from the chief operating officers as ‘tampering’. Quickly employees found that by placing either a hot or cold drinks on top of the boxes, they could trick the system into coming on. Sadly, rather than being part of the environmental effort, they now took pride in how they had beaten the system.
Corporate communicators are in a position to play a key role in identifying and addressing those concerns that are real and offering ways to overcome those that are based on resistance to change.
4. Measureable, credible results
Whether through independent third party certifications, awards, or reporting using trusted criteria; the public is increasingly skeptical of environmental claims, as are employees. In some cases it is easy to point to environmental impacts – wildlife habitats set aside are visible examples within a community that a company and its employees can see for themselves. But in some cases it is harder because you are quantifying what did not happen – energy saved, trees that were not cut down, water that was not used, etc.
5. Engage stakeholders throughout the process
Communicators must stand as staunch advocates for using new technologies and taking advantage of (rather than fearing) the universal and free-flowing nature of the Internet and the various social media. The world of communications has changed, with the rise of social media and “citizen journalists” who, despite the fact that they may or may not adhere to the same standards and practices (such as fact-checking) as professional journalists, have an increasing prevalence and influence. Companies that wish to build, maintain or defend their reputations and brand equity have no choice but to join the dialogue, bringing authenticity and transparency to the conversation.
Progressive companies have recognized the true power of the stakeholder engagement and have made the transition, revising their strategy for traditional communications tools (including meetings, presentations, even media interviews and the Internet) not as vehicles to provide information, but as a forums for dialogue, seeing each as an unparalleled opportunity to tap into, and respond when appropriate, to what is being said about their enterprise.
To meet these challenges Corporate Communications professionals can use their same tactical skills but must modify their strategies refining not only the content but also the structure of all manner of communications vehicles including Web sites, annual reports, executive speeches and presentations. They must shift their overall strategy to effectively foster, encourage and facilitate dialogue.
One of the key differences between sustainability efforts today and the environmental efforts of the past is that emphasis on net (or multiple) gains. The value of leveraging the power of capitalism and business to produce environmental gains can sometimes be a hard message to communicate to people who adamantly and passionately believe that any program that is presented as ‘environmental’ is somehow sullied if it has any other results; particularly economic benefits. For these people, even initiatives to reduce the use of energy and natural resources (such as raw materials and water) are therefore not ‘real’ environmental initiatives. As much as we might disagree, these voices will find a forum to be heard and it is far better to serve as the host of the dialogue and know what is being said, or sending it underground and pretending that it is not happening. And that is a culture shift that many companies are struggling to understand as well.
By allowing professional communicators to contribute their skills to each of the five elements outlined above, a CSR program in almost assured of a successful implementation. Failure to do so will result in a program that will have limited effectiveness.
This article was taken from here.