How to Implement a Corporate Social Responsibility Program at Your Commercial Law Firm

by Elena T. Manager

It is a bit challenging to establish a new corporate social responsibility program, especially at Law firms where everyone is crazy busy. Luckily, the entire process can easily be broken into a few steps that are rooted in general principles. These processes also follow the examples of other companies and how well their CSR programs performed. Several companies initiate their CSR programs with a passion. However, some of them do not know how to implement them successfully. CSR strategies focus on co-creating value for both a business and the society. Here are a few steps for implementing a CSR program at work.

Develop an Understanding

Even when companies have selected a specific area of opportunity, discovering the potential for mutual value creation is important. This is not always easy. The secret lies in achieving the symmetry between both sides and to develop an understanding of issues from both societal and business perspective.

Identify the Right Partners

Partners benefit from a company’s core business capabilities so that businesses can benefit in return. Although collaborating can be tough, the potential to accomplish a win-win situation pushes all stakeholders to agree to a long-term CSR program. These programs must be built on a mutual understanding and should be able to present significant opportunities for being sustainable.

Define Potential Benefits

Mutual benefit is not just a reasonable objective, it also guarantees long-term success. However, this commitment must be rooted in value-creation potential, similar to any other strategic initiative. This investment should be assessed with the same firmness in resourcing, planning, prioritization, and monitoring. Defining potential benefits for both the society and a business is not an easy task. However, with a clear understanding of the nature of a business and the impact, it has on the society can help you identify mutual benefits.

Initiate

A CSR program is rarely the same for all companies. While creating a program, a business must keep in mind the three most important factors involved in a CSR program: Profit, People, and Planet. In order to create a successful CSR program at work, you must create multiple ways of stakeholders as well as employees to be engaged as much as they can. These can include disaster management, conventional methods of giving, recycling efforts and fundraising. You can also take your CSR program a step ahead by working on the marketing aspect of your CSR program.

Make your efforts heard and be a step ahead of your rivals. Consider why it is logical for your company to initiate and implement a socially responsible program. You should also work on how to include your company’s leadership and other employees.

Implement

Once a company is able to formulate the building blocks of a CSR program, it is important to demonstrate its value in terms of its effects. This calls for measuring and assessing a program’s impact. You must create a link between how a CSR program influences your brand and employee loyalty, customer satisfaction and retention as well as your company’s sales. When you successfully prove that a CSR program has a positive impact on your company’s reputation and its overall profitability, continue to measure and track the effect your program has on economics, environmental and social factors.

Inspire

No CSR program succeeds at work without approval from the top management. When you communicate the success and impact of your CSR program at the upper-management level, your leadership continues to monitor your success rate and monitor the program’s accomplishments regularly. A team should be able to convince its leadership to continue to invest into its CSR program. When ‘cause’ becomes a priority, employees and partners are encouraged to get more involved in the program. The success of a CSR program at work is all about participation and inspiration.

Final Thoughts

Customizing a CSR program and launching it is not always easy. Maybe a CSR program is well received in the beginning but eventually, is pushed off. Share and celebrate the effects and results of the program. Steinpag law firm recommends you celebrate your CSR program's success so that everybody participates with a never-ending passion. Thanks to social media, there are now more ways for businesses to channel its CSR efforts. Businesses should do all they can to implement a CSR program strategically at work.