MARC RUIVIEJO CIRERA
CSR IN ACTION
HOW I WORK
To put CSR into action effectively it's critical to get collaboration from different stakeholder groups. The most important one is employees, from leadership teams to operations to shop floor. They define the culture, they decide how things get done, and they interact with customers and suppliers on a daily basis. They define, in a nutshell, the brand and the values of the company in everything they do.
Just telling people what to do never works. You need people to WANT to do it. If employees don't know the business strategy, don't understand why it matters to them, and don't know how they can be part of it, they’ll never put it into action and the company can’t succeed.
As the economist Peter Drucker put it: “Culture Eats Strategy For Breakfast”. You might have the best product, the most innovative technology and lots of capital; it’s worthless if your people aren't behind them and you don't have the right business culture.
CSR and business ethics are no exception. Carrying out a deep risks and opportunities analysis, creating a clever materiality process, developing a strong strategy based on ISO 26000, publishing a sustainability report following GRI 4, etc…These are all important and definitely a good starting point. But they’re not what will determine whether you succeed and get real value or not – that’s all down to your organisation’sculture and the behaviour of your people towards CSR/sustainability.
So, you need to put the right procedures in place and run an effective engagement programme to create and sustain a culture of commitment. There are many techniques that, in my experience, make the difference between success and failure when companies try to put CSR into practice. As a starter for ten, take these elements into account:
Some elements to increase success
Relevance
The issues and the content of the communications need to be familiar and relevant, and they have to resonate with people. You need to push the right buttons.
Context
Make sure you answer all the WHYs (why we're doing this, why it matters, why you should be part of it, etc.).
Storytelling
Stories are extremely powerful. Use them to simplify, to make things more memorable, to show causality and, above all, to share real examples.
Inform, inspire, involve
To put CSR into action you need to do much more than raise awareness and modify attitudes; you have to change behaviour. Ensure you go beyond communication and INVOLVE people in the process of creating and implementing the strategy.
Use the right language
The words you use and the tone of voice can make a big difference. Tailor your message to each audience group to get them on board.
Walk the talk
Leading by example is key to success. As the popular sayings go, "it takes years to build a good reputation and seconds to ruin it". Or, as we say in Catalan "una acció val més que mil paraules" (an action is worth a thousand words).
Get senior buy-in
Before starting work on a project, ensure the leadership team are on board. Otherwise you'll most likely waste your energy and create frustration and cynicism.
Step by step
Focus on the most material issues and set achievable goals. It's better to do a few, regular successful actions, than trying to do it all at once. This way you can learn and improve as you go, reducing the risk of failure, and obtaining a continuous sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
Commitment
Behaviour at work is strongly influenced by corporate culture. Ensure you build and maintain a strong culture, based on well-integrated values, where people have a deep sense of belonging and are committed to your company's purpose.
© 2015 by Marc Ruiviejo Cirera - Last update: February 2015