Common Mistakes in CSR Communications you can Avoid

by Jenica Carly SEO, SEM, PPC, Enthusiast & Writer

While there are enough guides out there that help you create a great corporate sustainability report, the fact remains that there continue to be more misses than hits when it comes to effective CSR communications. Here are a few common mistakes that you may be making when it comes to communicating your social responsibility programs and how you can fix this –

• You are Doing Great Things but Not Talking about it

It is not uncommon to bump into sustainability professionals and seminars and conferences that talk about the great projects their company is working on. Yet, knowledge about these initiatives is yet to reach the stakeholders. While it is understandable that you may want to keep things under the wraps while you are fine tuning the project, more often than not this becomes a habit and before you know it, it’s been years since you started and there is still no communications.It is important that you get out and tell your story. Stakeholders appreciate transparency even if the project isn’t perfect just yet.

• Over-sharing Information

The other side to under-sharing is over-sharing. While transparency is appreciated, it is important that businesses are strategic about how they share information. The idea is to optimize positive impact of the communication.
Many companies make the mistake of over doing their communications by putting out a press release even when the company changes a light bulb. It is not that these communications are bad; however they tend to lack impact since to do tell a relevant story about the company and its commitment to corporate responsibility.

Every communication you make should reflect the overall CSR strategy of your company. Otherwise, you are only highlighting a missed opportunity. Make sure that the news you promote is directly or indirectly tied to your overall strategy. If you don’t have a strategy, make it your priority to create one.

• When your Communications Team works Independent of the Operations Team

If your communications message is not supported by the actions of the relevant department, you are significantly risking your reputation. It is often seen that communication teams run around telling stories about things that the company is doing without any real input from the staff on ground. It is important that all department heads are engaged and aware of the corporate CSR strategy. Your communications should reflect activities that have been decided jointly.

• Avoiding Issues that are Core to your Business

It is important that your strategy covers those issues that are material to your business. These issues are the ones that are critical to the future health of your business. For instance, if your company is a solar panel manufacturer, it is important that you talk about how much renewable power you created and how you manage the conflict of minerals and toxins within your supply chain.

It is important that your communications and the CSR strategy on the whole focus on issues that are relevant to your company and its stakeholders.

Get more information: Corporate Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility