What Being Socially Responsible Will Look Like In 2020

Clients are choosing to support socially responsible businesses, here are 6 ways to become one

When you are running a business, you should have an idea of how you plan to show sincerity and build trust with your customers and employees. Find a social issue that speaks to you, your brand, or your demographic. This will ensure that you are passionate about the issue and your genuineness will show. Here are a couple of trending issues that the world is facing today, take a look to see if you would like to take initiative in these movements to make your business more socially responsible.

Helping Women

When you are helping women, you are helping the world. Everybody has at least one influential woman in their life, whether it’s their mother, spouse, or daughter. Start by hiring more women for your company and promoting those who are already there to ensure that you help them grow in their career. Women will also feel passionate about your work once they know you are genuinely passionate about their careers and well-being.

Diversity

Diversity is one of the best ways to bring additional ideas, outside of your own, into your company. Diversifying your company is important in today’s world and it’s vital to growing your knowledge and company’s identity. Companies that lack diversity fall stagnant compared to those that are highly diversified. This is likely because encouraging diversity also means encouraging ideas and skills from all walks of life, which leads to an ever-changing, high-functioning environment.

Handling Student Loans Or Tuition

Handling student loans and tuition is a big way to show that your company cares. Investing in your staff to return to school will not only benefit you in the long run, but also provide so many additional opportunities to your employees. A current trend that is catching major traction is companies who instead of providing 401k matches, are providing student loan matches. This simply means a company is willing to match a student loan payment each month the same way they would a 401k investment. This is a trend that is special, rare, and is proven to drive employee morale and loyalty.

Corporate Activism

Corporate activism is something we are seeing become more popular as the world we live in involves everyday. Sometimes companies take a stance on corporate activism to reach a certain demographic, or sometimes it’s to support a particular cause that is vital to their mission. Regardless of the intentions, corporate activism is proven to have an impact on public consumption of products or services, and can either tank your new campaign or drive increased sales. It’s important to have someone who’s sole role is to craft your company’s message so that nothing is misunderstood or shared in a negative light.

Partner With A Nonprofit

Partnering with nonprofits has become a staple for the majority of large corporations today, simply because it’s one of the easiest ways to make a difference. Selecting a nonprofit to work with is fairly simple, as well. Depending on the causes that matter to you and your company, there’s a good chance that you’ll have plenty of local charities to work with.

Not only that, nonprofits generally make it very easy to establish business relationships. Take the nonprofit Youth Villages for example, an organization that offers aid for families; they have an entire page that provides contact information for inquiring about corporate partnerships. It’s generally as easy as getting in touch with a relations manager and discussing the resources you have to spare.

Community Involvement

In relation to partnering with nonprofits, you can also establish programs within your organization to make a difference in-house. A notable example would be the auto body company Caliber Collision. They have a great program for hiring veterans that provides training and stable jobs for veterans leaving the military. It’s an extremely worthy cause, and the sort of aid that only a corporation can offer.

If you’re hoping to get involved in the community, ask your staff what causes matter to them and look for ways where your company naturally fits in. Not only will you be doing good for your community, but you’ll also be providing employees with a way to feel rewarded for their work.

When you are ready to start being more active as a company, you can use the social responsibility plans that are listed above. You can gather your company to determine which causes speak to you the most and let that drive your passion. You can also incorporate other important changes and values into your plan on a smaller scale. When you are working together, you can create a plan for a socially responsible company that will not only make your staff feel supported and heard, but also make a significant impact on today’s world.

Written by: AnnaBeth Rouse