Every weekend, Koya volunteers at the local school where she teaches an elementary classroom. The school in question has been adopted by her organization, where she works as an associate, as part of the corporate social responsibility.
One of the reasons she joined them was because of their extensive CSR initiatives.
An organization’s CSR initiatives can prove to be beneficial in more ways than one. It’s not just about creating a brand image that sits well with your customers. But it’s also about giving back to society, or the environment your organization operates in. Some business owners make conscious efforts to invest in social causes they believe in, while others consider it their duty and responsibility to do so.
Regardless of where you lie on this spectrum, there are many advantages of social responsibility initiatives to push you to take that first step.
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Why Should You Invest In CSR?
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Advantages Of Corporate Social Responsibility
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Invest In Trust-Rich Relationships With Harappa
Why Should You Invest In CSR?
Before we deep dive into the benefits of corporate social responsibility, let’s explore why organizations invest in CSR.
Organizations need to be accountable for the kind of impact they have in the regions where they operate. It’s not just the environment that may be affected, but the people residing in these regions, their families and livelihoods. From a legal perspective, CSR can be a requirement. Organizations of a certain scale have to set aside a budget for CSR activities to account for their impact on society.
That said, organizations like Infosys actively invest a huge chunk of their annual budget toward CSR—such as COVID-19 relief work, education and health. Other organizations that enjoy the benefits of CSR are ITC Ltd., Wipro and Tech Mahindra.
So, what can CSR do for organizations and their people? Let’s find out.
Advantages Of Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility can help you feel like a part of where you work. Research suggests we spend a third of our lives as professionals. Imagine the amount of time being spent in the workplace—it can’t all be about work! As an active member of society, you may feel the need to contribute your services and time to your community. With CSR, you have the chance, resources and opportunity to do just that.
Here are some of the benefits of CSR for you and your organization:
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Sense Of Belonging
When you invest more than just your skills in your job, you become a part of it—a thriving, active and responsible part of it. One of the most prevalent benefits of CSR is that it provides you with a sense of belonging. Every one of us wants to feel like a part of something more than ourselves. With volunteer efforts and community engagement, we get just that.
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Higher Job Satisfaction
You tend to enjoy your job more when you have different outlets in which you can employ your services. Say you actively believe in creating a more sustainable world. Through your organization’s CSR initiatives, you can initiate environmental acts like plastic-free packaging, river clean-ups or even rewilding forest lands. These activities are bound to give you higher job satisfaction.
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Loyal Customer Base
Organizations inevitably form a loyal customer base thanks to visible, substantial and active CSR initiatives. If your customer sees your organization doing something, instead of just talking about it, they’ll likely stick around. They may even contribute toward the same causes as you in the form of donations, participation and spreading awareness.
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Organizational Development
A culture that’s built on helping and trusting one another leads to higher organizational development. The future may be AI-driven, but the human element will remain. Respecting that and being accountable for our actions makes us responsible, alert and self-aware. We’re more conscious of how we perform, our strengths and weaknesses and how we treat others. This consciousness or self-awareness paves the way for organizational development.
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Build Trust With Internal And External Stakeholders
Organizations can’t thrive in isolation. They need interaction, networks and communication with internal and external stakeholders. Advantages of CSR include building trust with the community and its people. Creating employment opportunities, building schools and other amenities and taking care of one another are some of the benefits of CSR.
Upon assessing the advantages of CSR, you’ll find that there’s a lot for you to gain. Giving back in any capacity greatly benefits your surroundings and it’s worth your participation.
Invest In Trust-Rich Relationships With Harappa
Learn how to create and establish trust with your CSR initiatives with Harappa’s Establishing Trust course. Our course will teach you how to build and rebuild trust with frameworks such as the Trust Equation. Let values such as credibility and dependability help you prioritize what you and your organization need to do for the community. Give back and add value to your personal and professional life!
Explore topics such as Meaning Of Corporate Social Responsibility, Types Of Social Responsibility, Importance Of CSR, Need For CSR & Disadvantages Of Social Responsibility from Harappa Diaries to establish trust through your work or your business.