The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become an integral part of modern corporate life. It is a way of ensuring that your organization has a positive impact on the environment, society and to help you achieve your goals. However, achieving CSR goals can be difficult if not done correctly.
What is Corporate Social Responsibility?
CSR is a business strategy that integrates social and environmental concerns into a company’s operations. It is a way of doing business that aims to contribute to the economic development of society while providing goods and services that satisfy the needs of customers, employees, suppliers and the community.
CSR can be defined as “the creation or implementation of products or services which are designed to benefit society at large” (The Economist).
CSR is about doing what is right, not just what is profitable. It is about putting your values into practice – for example, by being environmentally responsible or creating jobs in local communities.
CSR is about being a responsible citizen of the world. It ensures better business practices, ethical behavior, and honest profits.
The following are examples of CSR objectives.
- To increase the number of employees who volunteer at local non-profits by 50% in the next 12 months.
- Increase the number of low-income students served by 10% over the next year.
- Set up a program to ensure that all new hires complete 100 hours of community service within their first year at your company.
- Develop a training program to help employees understand how their actions affect the community around them.
- Create a volunteer program that allows employees to choose where and when they want to volunteer based on their schedules.
What is the Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility?
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a way of doing business that helps to build positive relationships with stakeholders. It is a way to show that you care about the community, help them, and make them feel like they matter. CSR helps to build trust with your stakeholders by showing them how they can benefit from your products or services.
CSR is an excellent way to build your brand. It can help attract talent, customers and investors. Here’s why:
- CSR helps you attract talent. By building a strong reputation for doing good in the world, you’re showing that you take social responsibility seriously and that your organization is aligned with its values. This creates an employee-friendly culture that will attract top candidates who want to work at organizations they believe in and align their work with those values.
- CSR helps recruit customers by promoting products or services that are aligned with the company’s mission statement and goals (e.g., “we support causes that help create a more sustainable world”). By showing that you’re serious about your mission and that it’s aligned with the products/services you provide, customers will be more likely to trust—and purchase—those products.
- CSR helps attract investors by showing that you care about more than just making money. You’re also interested in making a positive impact on the world and contributing to society as a whole. This is especially important for startups or small businesses that might not have a large social media following or established brand recognition
How Can OKRs Help in Achieving CSR goals?
OKRs can help your organization achieve its CSR goals.
Measurement: OKRs are a good way to measure progress, and they provide a starting point for what it takes to reach the next level in your CSR journey. You’ll be able to see how close you are to each milestone or objective, which makes it easier for everyone on the team to get on board with their roles and responsibilities.
Prioritization: An effective OKR tool brings together all of those elements that need attention – KPIs, measurements and milestones – into one place so that there’s no question about the order to complete tasks, making transitions seamless (e.g., new products). It helps businesses focus on areas that have been identified as priorities by stakeholders; this frees up time previously spent trying everything out until something sticks!
Accountability: OKRs are a great way to hold people accountable for their actions and decisions. They can help keep your team motivated and focused on reaching the goals that matter most in your organization’s CSR journey.
Consistent: OKRs are a way of planning and executing tasks with high success rates. They can be used across your business, irrespective of the sector.
They are also a great way to tap into your employees’ creative minds, as they are encouraged to work out how they can contribute towards achieving the organization’s goals.
Examples of OKRs of Corporate Social Responsibility
CSR goals can be set and tracked with OKRs. For example, a company may have the goal of generating a certain amount of revenue from its CSR initiatives but is unsure of how to proceed. The following are some guidelines on how to set aligned CSR with OKRs:
- Make sure that all teams have individual measurement systems and goals in place before they start working on a new project or initiative. This will help ensure that all the efforts are guided by the same goal and measure success against those measurements.
- Include measurable objectives in every goal so that everyone knows their responsibilities and how it relates to the group (e.g., “I will go above and beyond my job responsibilities by taking part in community service activities”).
- Set SMART goals. A goal should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound (SMART). An example of a non-SMART goal is “I want to do more volunteer work” because it is not specific and does not include a measurable objective.
How to Use OKRs to Track CSR
- Define the OKR: What is it?
- Define the target: What do you want to achieve?
- Define the metric: How will you track progress on this objective?
- Define key result objectives (KROs): What are your success indicators for this project or initiative? These should be measurable, with an associated target date for completion and a description of how and why they’ll be measured. For example, “We increased our donation total by $100K.” or “We increased awareness among employees of our commitment towards social good in the workplace.”
- Key result indicators (KRIs): These are things that need to happen to reach a KRO—for example, increasing donations by $100K per year; launching a new employee resource center that provides training opportunities for employees who want them; etc. You should have at least one KRI per KRO if possible; otherwise, make sure there’s at least one KRI per three-month timeframe so that everyone knows what needs doing.
Conclusion
OKRs are a way to set goals and track progress towards them. These goals can help you measure your progress towards the CSR mission of your organization as well as motivate employees to work harder.
As opposed to traditional business metrics like revenue, profit or growth rates, OKRs are focused on creating value through long-term sustainability and growth. This makes them very useful for organizations looking to use CSR as an investment strategy rather than just a PR exercise.
