It is often said that the key to happy staff and boosting staff morale is to ensure that they are well motivated, looked after and listened to. The pandemic has shifted the way we work, with businesses having to swiftly introduce remote working and then making the decision to continue with hybrid working after the pandemic. It is, therefore, more important than ever to ensure that our staff are happy and productive.
Happy and engaged employees are more productive, miss less work, perform better and support innovation. In turn, this means that companies are more profitable, have a better reputation and have lower staff turnover. However, the shift to hybrid working has changed the working world forever and employee engagement is at an all-time low as companies are struggling to align employees with their CSR strategies.
Who are the unsung heroes boosting employee engagement?
They are the CSR leaders and managers who work with all the departments in the business that have an impact on the planet, places and people. Their role is to create links between a business and the community, raising positive awareness of the organisation’s commitment to sustainable social responsibility. For larger organisations, they might also have teams of community engagement coordinators at a local level that deliver the promise to communities of the CSR strategy that is set out in a tender.
These CSR Leaders also have an even bigger role to play in ensuring that their staff across global sites remain engaged and happy. In a recent study conducted by WellGiving, in speaking to several CSR Leaders responsible for improving employee engagement across global sites, they highlighted three distinct problems faced by them:
- Companies are struggling to align employees with their CSR strategies.
- Frustration that not everyone from the top-down is encouraging the delivery of CSR Initiatives.
- That management and constant reporting is time-consuming.
What can be done to boost employee engagement?
Thankfully there are ways that employee engagement can be boosted but it takes time to build a culture where all employees feel engaged, especially when they are all spread out across locations, offices and homes.
A strong strategy needs to be set out to genuinely engage global teams in a fun, inclusive and user-friendly fundraising experience that meets CSR objectives and improves wellbeing. CSR Leaders are passionate about the role they play and work alongside the board and senior teams to implement activities that bring together employees and communities.
Some staff were recruited during the pandemic when working from home had become the norm, they are now being encouraged to come to the office to connect with colleagues and enter the workplace culture.
Losing those all-important water cooler moments has perhaps been the most missed by many employees who were sent home to work, which is why encouraging them back into the office is so important.
Activities such as fun days and collaborative days that encourage people to return to the office are being widely introduced at varying success rates. There are barriers for some, with the cost of living rising and transport issues, travel to and from the office can be expensive and takes a long time. For some, they just work better away from the office and thrive in that environment.
Getting everyone involved.
SCR Leaders are frustrated that delivering and evidencing social value, maintaining charity partnerships and setting wellbeing goals are met with apathy, and scepticism and are regarded purely as tick-box exercises.
In a joint research project by Georg Wernicke, Miha Sajko and Christophe Boone from the University of Antwerp, they identified that CEOs are essential drivers of CSR initiatives and the ones who can actually transform them into positive business results.
They need to create a level playing field where the company’s values are evident and everyone from the CEO to the most junior employees gets involved where they are united behind a common, purpose-led goal.
Evidencing success and reporting.
To show the progress and success of CSR initiatives, they are required to produce impact reporting. The WellGiving study further revealed that many CSR Leaders highlighted that they spend too much time on the management and constant reporting of global CSR initiatives. Further stating that it is incredibly admin-intensive, time-consuming and in their eyes, fails to produce detailed impact data.
They need ways to eliminate admin, save time and alleviate headaches caused by collating global data through real-time automated dashboards.
Some firms prefer to follow a more story-led reporting approach, which is useful for brand building and internal marketing. Although useful, these can also be time intensive to produce.
Finding the balance for producing impact reporting that evidence and supports the delivery of CSR Strategies, whilst having the time to implement the activities required to support employees and communities is important and CEOs can help to support that.
What is evident is that CSR Leaders have a challenge on their hands to engage global employees in a hybrid environment, but it is met with passion and determination to do the right thing in supporting their wellness, re-building the workplace culture and delivering on their CSR objectives.
The key to success is getting everyone involved from the top-down and the bottom-up. Introducing programmes that engage, inspire and connect employees from across the organisation isn’t easy but can be achieved.
WellGiving has been designed to help CSR leaders expand charity fundraising, maximise employee engagement & boost wellbeing within 30 days, whilst reducing admin by 90%. You can find out how here >> https://www.wellgiving.co.uk/companies/.
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