Engaging employees in CSR

Companies have started focusing on society and its needs under the umbrella of CSR. Renuka Vembu finds out how employees are an integral part of this service

'Serving society' seems to be one of the newfound mantras of corporates. Being a part of people at the grassroot levels, uplifting the destitute, shouldering the elderly, educating the illiterate or connecting with rural areas; these form a slew of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ventures and are a necessary part of the branding exercise. The focus here is not restricted on people alone; it can be on creating awareness of the growing environmental hazards, protecting the depleting wildlife or even saving animals against ill-treatment.

Needless to mention, in an age of rising recognition and the imperative need for increasing employee engagement, CSR initiatives are not any different. The company may chart out a policy, draw up a plan, and invest funds, but it needs complete endorsement and active participation by employees to carry it forward and implement it as perceived.

Company programmes

The aim of CSR activities is to give back a portion to society. The means to reach out are manifold. While some companies have readily joined the CSR bandwagon, others are still involved on an ad hoc basis. They can either partner an institution or an NGO to support a specific cause or they themselves can set up a committee of volunteers to oversee the operations. Some of the programmes companies can volunteer for are:

• Help during natural calamities like earthquakes, floods, etc.
• Women empowerment and upliftment, fighting for their rights and against domestic violence due to dowry demands
• Services to an orphanage or an elderly home
• Providing medical care
• Educational support for children welfare
• An attempt to save environmental degradation
• Fighting the declining wildlife

"We have been organising a cultural programme called Pratibha Manch every month across various cities in India. Through this we try to provide a platform to unrecognised talents in the field of classical India art and culture" - S C Sehgal Chairman and MD The Ozone Group of Companies

In GSK, they have segregated their CSR function into two distinct categories—one rural and the other urban. In the rural parts of the country, volunteers from the company visit people to provide medical care and vocational training. The company operates through three centres spread over 15 villages and covering 30,000 people. In urban India, they have an AIDS helpline in place. They also provide support to the rag picker community in Mumbai's Deonar dumping ground. GSK also is a part of the mid-day mean scheme for balwadis.

Being a part of programmes like these not only reflect on the company's brand value and add to its goodwill, it sensitises people as well who choose to be a part of such initiatives. Reaching out to the poor by extending a helping hand, providing them with an alternate means to earn a livelihood by teaching them small jobs, certainly enhances and adds value to lives of individuals who are touched by these gestures. Employees who willingly come forward by showing their inclination for active participation also get an opportunity to see the other side of life and living.

Ozone Mission, started in 2004, is Ozone Group's primary CSR undertaking. With the motto, 'Work is a birthright and employment opportu-nities should be created to help people live with dignity,' it actively engages in rural development in a cluster of 13 villages around Govardhan in Mathura. They work through various need-based and people-centered advancement programmes for empowering the rural youth through an integrated participatory process. S C Sehgal, Chairman and MD, Ozone Group added, "Besides, we have been organising a cultural programme called Pratibha Manch every month across various cities in India. Through this we try to provide a platform to unrecognised talents in the field of classical Indian art and culture. This month, we are also starting the 'Ozone Green Awards' which would acknowledge commendable works being done by various media organisations in the area of awareness generation for environment protection. Further, Ozone Group actively supports a number of programmes aimed at the welfare of less privileged social groups like visually challenged institutions, senior citizens, etc."

Importance of involvement

Engaging in a social cause is more on a personal level, touching one's emotional chords. It is not an obligation to get involved but the feeling of wanting to contribute and make a difference. CSR essentially is giving back a portion of your resources (time, energy,financial) to society and people who are deprived of life's basic necessities. It is also sharing a common responsibility and working towards society as also spreading awareness.

At another level, workforce engagement helps break the monotony of an employee's routine and gives them an outlet to showcase their spirit and talent in a different world and to a different set of people altogether.

Blood donation camps, rebuilding lives during disasters like earthquake or floods, periodically collecting toys, clothes or utensils for distribution, green drive initiatives like planting saplings, visiting an orphanage or an old-age home, etc, are some of the widespread areas where a number of companies show a keen interest. Some companies also have an arrangement where employees forego a part of their salary for a specific period of time. The sum of all money accumulated from every employee at the end of the assigned period goes to a specific pre-decided endeavour.

CSR activities help spread positive vibes and goodness amongst employees, and also assist in helping enhance the work environment. It makes employees more sensitive and empathetic towards customers and fellow co-workers. It gives them a broader perspective on life and shows them an alternate means to deal with daily constraints. It makes them more matured and responsible human beings and instils a sense of satisfaction and pride within them.

Participatory forum

To be a part of a worthy cause and do something meaningful is a feel-good factor for every person. The role of employees is not merely limited to entering in the execution stage. Their inputs and insights can be right from the brainstorming session that determines areas that need to be prioritised to the roadmap that needs to be followed. Voting for opinions on projects and settling on the chosen one/few, collecting funds and disseminating it amongst the projects voted for, forming a committee which will spearhead the campaign, and then prudently giving each elected project proportional weightage, active employee participation can be garnered at every step of the ladder. For dreams to assimilate into reality, employee endorsement is inevitable.

Sunder Rajan, Head, Corporate Communication and CSR, GSK, pointed out, "A CSR initiative is a three layered approach—ideas at the top with departments pushing through, initiation which involves a team of volunteers driving it, and then the final destination-execution."

The larger picture

Engagement and involvement in CSR gives a double dose of rewards.

For the company it is a beneficial business advantage with tax exemptions, while for the employees it acts as a moral boost for working in a company that values ethics and cares for culture. Summing up Rajan feels, "Everything cannot be measured in terms of financial benefits or tangible assets. Initiatives like these are more about Emotional Quotient (EQ), which touch the deepest chord in people.

It is about softer values like bonding with each other, boosting self-esteem, learning through sharing and caring, etc. It is a holistic approach for society at large and cannot be quantified."

renuka.vembu@expressindia.com