The holiday season is here. Along with shopping, feasting, and partying, it is most importantly the season of giving.
Giving back during the holidays can be an important part of your company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives, making a positive impact in the community while strengthening your company culture and improving employee engagement.
The Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a company’s commitment to conducting its business in an ethical, socially responsible, and sustainable way. CSR can range from company-defined business practices to following the business model and standards to attain B corp certification from B Lab, a nonprofit organization that certifies businesses that meet certain social and environmental standards.
While CSR values are unique to each company, they generally encompass the social, environmental, and economic impact of a company’s operations by following ethical and economically responsible business practices and committing to environmental sustainability, social equity, and/or philanthropic initiatives.
Committing to corporate social responsibility can benefit your company in several ways:
Brand Reputation and Awareness
CSR is good PR. It demonstrates that your business is about more than turning a profit; you’re an active contributor in your community and having a positive effect on society. This enhances public perception of your company, building positive brand affinity and brand loyalty, not only with customers but also with prospective clients, investors, and employees. People want to work for and with companies that actively engage in sustainable, community-focused activities.
Corporate Culture
Acting on your CSR demonstrates to current and prospective employees that you’re a company with a purpose-driven, values-based corporate culture. When it comes to attracting and retaining top talent, a clearly defined corporate culture can be crucial. And top talent is what gives your company a competitive edge, driving the innovation, sustainability, and development of new products and services that address the social and environmental concerns that are part of your CSR.
Long-Term Sustainability and Profitability
Committing to a more sustainable future by addressing social and environmental issues as part of your CSR can ensure the long-term viability of your business. Sustainable business practices can reduce costs, improve efficiency, and open up new markets for responsible products and services. In turn, investing in your local community not only fosters goodwill at home, it creates a stable environment for your operations.
Financial Benefits
While a commitment to sustainable business practices can lead to greater profitability, corporate giving and philanthropic work can provide company tax breaks and incentives. Your corporate giving can go beyond writing a check. For example, providing services, supplies, volunteers, and your products as charity auction items can support a cause while garnering additional financial incentives for your company.
Corporate social responsibility isn’t just something that’s nice to do, making yourself and your employees feel warm and fuzzy. It is a strategic necessity and advantage that helps your company to stay competitive.
The Impact of Giving Back on Employee Engagement
Your greatest strategic advantage is in your people and attracting and retaining the top talent that will continue to drive your company forward. Your corporate giving is one of the best ways to demonstrate to employees—both your current and prospective employees—who you are as a company and what you care about.
Post-pandemic, more people are looking for their work to be meaningful, and they want to do that work for companies whose mission, purpose, values and goals align with their own. And they’re ready to put their money where their mouths are. A survey by Qualtrics found that 54% of U.S. employees would take a pay cut to work for a company that shares their values.
Your corporate giving, philanthropic work, and community involvement are the most prominent ways to demonstrate to current and prospective employees that your organization “walks the talk” of your values. It also gives employees an opportunity to put their values into action and deepen their engagement with their coworkers and the company, giving them more to look forward to in their work.
Giving back creates a sense of gratification that comes not only from doing good, but also from being part of something bigger, especially when the giving goes beyond the company writing a check. Coming together with co-workers around a common cause can be a great team-building experience that fosters a cooperative corporate culture.
Holiday Giving: A Powerful Tool for Building Company Culture
The holidays bring people together, and your company’s holiday giving initiatives can be a powerful tool for building company culture by bringing your employees together in a shared purpose that helps to build a sense of community.
Here are some thoughtful giving initiatives and meaningful actions your company can take to strengthen company culture, demonstrate your values, and help the community–all at the same time!
- Put giving into action by participating in charitable events, like packing care kits or volunteering. This helps to strengthen employee bonds as they work together and experience firsthand how their actions directly benefit their community.
- Let employees decide where their giving goes by inviting them to nominate charitable recipients or suggest giving back activities. This can increase their engagement, knowing their company supports causes close to their heart.
- Recognize employees by making charitable gifts or donations in their names. Encourage employee giving with corporate matching of their charitable donations. Spur on team spirit and giving with an employee fundraising competition, “awarding” the team that gives or raises the most.
- Establish annual holiday traditions. Whether it be a toy drive, volunteering to serve holiday meals, or hosting a fundraising event, your giving initiatives can become cherished annual traditions that define and strengthen the company culture over time.
- Demonstrate the company’s values and commitment to CSR by ensuring your holiday giving reflects your CSR goals. Your employees will see how the company values (e.g., generosity, community investment, social equality) are put into action and how they can participate in building a values-based corporate culture.
Working Spaces: Committed to Giving Back
We put our Working Spaces values into action, engaging employee creativity as design professionals and strengthening our company culture while giving back to our community through the annual Rocking A Stocking event.
Co-sponsored by Kimball International and hosted by Working Spaces St. Louis, Rocking A Stocking brings together top architects and design professionals for a design competition of elaborate holiday stockings filled with toys and gifts benefiting Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. This much-loved holiday giving tradition is now in its 11th year with our 2024 Rocking A Stocking event taking place December 5.
We can’t wait to spread joy to children who need it most—this year and for many years to come!