Stacy Huston

The elimination of CSR roles is a growing trend. However, this approach is shortsighted. With the upcoming election, employee morale is likely to be affected. Employees will need a positive outlet in the social and environmental impact space that is integrated into their daily work, providing a sense of connection and purpose. This can be a crucial strategy for combating feelings of lack of control and addressing the challenges posed by a divided and hostile political climate. Be prepared to offer solutions to fill these gaps and address these concerns. This proactive approach will position you as a strategic counterpart, ready to support companies in maintaining employee engagement and morale during these turbulent times.

Thought leadership is increasingly important in a vastly virtual landscape. With the increasing importance of networking in online spaces, there is an abundance of AI generated posts to keep up with the amount of content needed to cut through the noise. Ensure you know your voice, and your ideas are substantiated and clear. Avoid posting AI generated thoughts. We are early in this new world and it is only a matter of time before a new tool identifies AI generated language, costing you credibility. Take the extra time to be original.

Let’s get honest. If Steps 1-4 weren’t done ahead of changes, then we have to rethink leadership. The beneficiaries are the MOST IMPORTANT voice in the room when you are developing programs for their behalf. A decision should not be made that effects them without counsel and conversation. We must ask ourselves, if these resources are for them, then why do we believe we know the solution better than them? In a world where 1-4 were followed and something was implemented in a way that was not how the beneficiary expected, I would invite them into the strategic conversation on how it will be remedied. Buy in from a community is one thing, inclusion and belonging is another thing all together. I hope someone finds this helpful.

Think through what your boss is motivated by and reverse engineer how a strong CSR initiative will help them to achieve that objective. Whether this objective is improved retention, increased revenue, increased productivity, improved innovation, enhanced reputation, increased employee engagement, or satisfaction, there is a study with evidence to support how a well crafted and fully supported CSR program can help you get there. In other words, identity their pain points and utilize CSR as a solution.

If you are finding resistance from Community members, you may want to ask yourself if the program is indeed what is best for that community. Often times, organizations look for ways to gain approval from a community so that they can stand up their developed program, but the impact and needs could be based on assumptions that don’t fit the current community landscape. Stakeholder research, engagement and collaboration is needed to ensure a program is a strong fit for the needs of any given community.

Stakeholders that are unable to see the connection between profitability and social responsibility may need additional education around the vast benefits. It would be helpful to prepare case studies that demonstrate how companies that lean into social impact are seeing better financial returns. You may want to also share the studies that demonstrate that consumers are more likely to spend more on products and services that are backed by companies that align with their social and environmental values.