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Study links corporate social responsibility programs and employee commitment
By Susan Thomas, Assistant Director, Electronic Communications, Boston College Center
It’s always hard to come back to work after a long holiday weekend, especially in the summer. That’s just one of the reasons companies try hard to engage their employees and keep them committed to their work.
We’ve always thought corporate citizenship offers a great way to engage employees, and a new study by the Center for Creative Leadership confirms that corporate social responsibility programs are linked to how committed an employee is to an employer.
The 2008-2009 World Leadership Study sampled the opinions of 2,215 workers around the globe. Three key findings were related to how employees respond to social responsibility initiatives:
- Corporate social responsibility programs are linked to how committed an employee is to an employer. This finding holds true across all ages and job levels and is particularly strong among women workers. The higher an employee rates an organization on its commitment to good corporate citizenship, the more committed the employee is likely to be to the organization.
- Employee perceptions about corporate social responsibility remained constant during the depth of the economic decline. Despite budget reductions and layoffs becoming commonplace, employees were bullish about at least one thing. They believed their employers were committed to acting responsibly in the community.
- Corporate social responsibility programs are not a panacea for retention issues. CSR is related to organizational commitment, but not to turnover, so companies can’t consider corporate social responsibility programs a cure-all for retention issues.
“If an employee isn’t happy, a strong corporate social responsibility program isn’t likely to tip the balance,” says Sarah Stawiski, Ph.D., a CCL post-doctoral research fellow and co-author of a report on the research. “Though a good social responsibility program won’t reduce turnover, it can impact how employees view your organization and the kind of ambassadors they will be when they come in contact with your customers, shareholders and community members. There are definitely positive benefits to be had.”
Stawiski’s recommendations to employers: Look for ways to leverage social responsibility initiatives internally. Communicate the contributions you’re making in the community and get employees involved.
Further details on CCL’s study are available in the report Employee Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility and the Implications for Your Organization.
July 7th, 2010 at 3:01 AM
[...] Study links corporate social responsibility programs and employee commitment « Blog Archive &l… [...]
August 3rd, 2010 at 8:56 AM
[...] it seems that CSR plays a role there too. The Center for Creative Leadership conducted a global leadership study and found clear linkages between CSR programs and the level of employee commitment to the [...]
August 4th, 2010 at 3:21 PM
I’m thrilled that the Center for Creative Leadership, which – true to its word – is a leading leadership organization, researched this question. I am also pleased that the findings confirm the business value of corporate citizenship. However, it is helpful to remember that employee awareness of, and attitudes towards, CSR are not the same as employee involvement in CSR. The null findings around retention suggest that being aware and happy with the employer’s CSR is not enough to have an employee stay. This does not mean, however, that having employees DO the CSR (be up close and personal with it) is also has no effect on retention.
In fact, the opposite seems to be the case. Sarah Saso from Manulife Financial in Canada presented in a recent webinar that employee volunteers are three times less likely to leave the company. Furthermore, not just any employees are sticking around. Based on their performance reviews, the volunteers were the type of employees that the company wanted to retain. (Center members can view the webinar at http://www.bccorporatecitizenmembers.org/video/webinar-measuring-community). Other companies have also uncovered similar relationships between involvement in CSR and morale and retention. In summary, it appears that CSR has business value and it also appears that CSR with high employee involvement probably has even higher value. So, long live employees who brings life to CSR!
August 24th, 2010 at 3:33 PM
Employee loyalty and corporate commitment:Moves that pay off. Business and the public sector are into a phase of creative disassembly where reinvention and adjustments are constant. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are being shed by United Technologies, GE, Chevron, Sam’s Club, Wells Fargo Bank, HP, Starbucks etc. and the state, counties and cities. Even solid world class institutions like the University of California Berkeley under the leadership of Chancellor Birgeneau & Provost Breslauer are firing staff, faculty and part-time lecturers through “Operational Excellence”. Yet many employees, professionals and faculty cling to old assumptions about one of the most critical relationship of all: the implied, unwritten contract between employer and employee.
Until recently, loyalty was the cornerstone of that relationship. Employers promised job security and a steady progress up the hierarchy in return for employees fitting in, performing in prescribed ways and sticking around. Longevity was a sign of employer-employee relations; turnover was a sign of dysfunction. None of these assumptions apply today. Organizations can no longer guarantee employment and lifetime careers, even if they want to.
Organizations that paralyzed themselves with an attachment to “success brings success’ rather than “success brings failure’ are now forced to break the implied contract with employees – a contract nurtured by management that the future can be controlled.
Jettisoned employees are finding that the hard won knowledge, skills and capabilities earned while being loyal are no longer valuable in the employment market place.
What kind of a contract can employers and employees make with each other? The central idea is both simple and powerful: the job or position is a shared situation. Employers and employees face market and financial conditions together, and the longevity of the partnership depends on how well the for-profit or not-for-profit continues to meet the needs of customers and constituencies. Neither employer nor employee has a future obligation to the other. Organizations train people. Employees develop the kind of security they really need – skills, knowledge and capabilities that enhance future employability.
The partnership can be dissolved without either party considering the other a traitor
February 1st, 2011 at 1:25 AM
I could not agree more, but the problem is that CSR is only recognizable by educated professionals, not necessarily the working class citizen.