How to Give Your Business Corporate Social Responsibility

Which organisation wouldn't like to have a more confident, more productive and more loyal workforce? Employee volunteering, and especially as career speakers to young people, may be the answer as it has tangible benefits to the bottom-line.

Corporate Social Responsibility is about developing corporate citizenship - being more than just an employer and making a positive difference to the immediate locality and the world at large. CSR is not just about 'green' issues but about Community Involvement, too.

Volunteering in the community is a cheap and effective staff development tool. Where else can you quickly build confidence and develop interpersonal skills? Talking about something they really understand, their job - is something employees can really do with enthusiasm and from a position of strength - after all, who knows their own job better than they do? Career speaking really helps to build confident individuals.

Representing their company out in the community instils pride in employees - and that pride improves performance. Employees get a deeper appreciation of themselves and the role they play. They return to work refreshed and with a renewed enthusiasm for their job. Happiness is infectious!

Where better for employers to be investing than in their local community. This creates a good will factor for any organisation. With schools, for example, being increasingly seen as the hub of local communities, being involved in school life has got to be good brand exposure especially consumer facing brands.

More and more companies are facing increasing competition to attract skilled employees, so a company that is visible in their community can often tip the balance for applicants. Of course, young people need quality work-related learning experiences to prepare them for the world of work and close encounters through career talks arranged by organisations such as Growing Ambitions can certainly help organisations to explain what skills and abilities are required. If your organisation wants first pick of school leavers, having a profile in the school is a great help.

The government is now actively promoting the take up of apprenticeships, and organisations keen to take on more can encourage peer-to-peer apprentice recruitment by getting current apprentices out into schools to speak about their experience.

The UK is generally suffering a skills shortage in many skills areas but the answer lies in employers putting something back - impacting schools by telling young people about the skills needed in new recruits.

For business leaders keen for their organisation to be the best it can be, career speaking helps to build the skills pool of the future and develop the people they need for growth. It's a painless solution to the skills gap with great PR benefits to those who give just a little of their time and experience back into the community - and it looks good to stakeholders - and justifiably so.

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