Feature

Social responsibility, corporate style

CSR activities in most organisations are much more than brand building efforts, discovers Shivani Shinde

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is not new to Indian companies. However, what is new is the way it has caught on with Indian corporates and the direct involvement of employees in implementation of these projects. Dedicated departments in most organisations are looking into much more than just funding or getting involved in one-time projects. CSR activities have their advantages. The benefits are in terms of building a positive image and encouraging social involvement of employees, which in turn develops a sense of loyalty for the organisation. CSR activities help bond employees as a team, and with the organisation, which in turn helps in creating a dedicated workforce that is proud of its employer.

The trend is especially strong in IT companies with a young workforce that increasingly feels that they would like to contribute to the cause of creating a better society. Most of these companies are working on issues related to children and education. Voluntarism to them means taking technology to the grassroots levels and to bridge the digital divide. Whether it is TCS’s Web-based solution for their adult literacy programme or Kale Consultants’ (an airlines and banking verticals software maker) effort in creating a centralised data system on children for adoption.

Benefits of CSR

CSR is an inspirational and motivational exercise for employees Radha Shelte CTO Veritas

With serious money and human resources involved, how does it benefit the organisation? It is not uncommon to hear of rumours that in many cases no actual work was done and projects were shown on paper to gain tax exemptions. Most companies however strongly deny such allegations as funds are strictly dedicated to such projects and monitored by company boards. CSR is increasingly becoming a part of corporate governance.

Yet another allegation is that CSR is just a brand building exercise. Companies argue that getting associated with a cause might create an apparent impact but that does not generate any tangible profits. While it does help develop their brand and convey to the public that it is a socially conscientious company, it is a natural fallout and not a deliberate attempt. Kalpana Jaishankar, Director HR, Geometric Software Solutions believes that organisations today cannot have a ‘how I can benefit?’ attitude as employees are sensitive to such issues.

However, one of the biggest advantages of such activities is the development of internal branding among employees. “Employees feel a sense of pride when they are involved in such activities which in turn help in retaining them. Similarly, such activities also in a small way contribute towards image building,” says Bharti Das Gupta, Advisor, Social Initiatives and Managing Trustee of Catalyst for Social Action (CSA), Kale Consultants. Besides, with hectic work schedules, these activities help in de-stressing many employees and help in developing more evolved and conscientious human beings.

There is no direct benefit from CSR exercises, but it shows the way an organisation is evolving Vivek Govilkar Senior VP, HR and Training and Convenor CSR Activities, i-flex

As Vivek Govilkar, Senior VP, HR and Training and Convenor CSR Activities, i-flex says, “Getting involved in CSR is like an investment for us. There is no direct benefit out from it. But it shows the way an organisation is evolving.” He does believe that such activities generate a feeling of credibility. For instance, when parts of India were recently hit by the tsunami, many of their overseas customers wanted to contribute and used i-flex’s channels to do so.

According to Prof Kesav Vithal Nori, VP, TCS Hyderabad, at an individual level these initiatives help in leadership and character building among employees and at the company level, social recognition. Many feel that such activities help in creating a value system for the organisation. “It is carried out as an inspirational and motivational exercise for employees. It also helps them know he other side of the organisation, creates an image of corporate citizenship and also shows the concern towards the problem of that particular city,” says Radha Shelte, CTO, Veritas.

Jean-Charles Thuard, MD, Legrand (India) believes that an organisation is able to fulfil its social responsibility by regularly engaging in CSR activities, which enhances the value system of the organisation. This in turn helps in developing its brand, and customer and employee loyalty. Besides, employees feel a sense pride for belonging to the organisation which is committed to the society.

Legrand (India) provides products and systems for electrical installations, data networks and has been contributing to relief causes such as the Kargil war, the tsunami disaster, etc.

In almost all organisations these activities have major employee involvement. In fact, all organisations feel that the success of such initiatives always depends on employee participation. Besides, it makes leaders out of employees and helps them realise the concept of teamwork. “These efforts create a teamwork culture in the organisation,” says Mastek’s spokesperson.

Funds and focus

CSR activities as a part of the internal structure of the organisation is quite new and many are approaching it in a structured fashion. i-flex started with a Rs 1 crore funding and now plans to get a permanent arrangement after the approval from the board. At TCS, funding was done project-wise but recently they have passed a resolution in favour of creating a foundation.

Infosys has been one of the most successful stories of CSR activities. It contributes up to 1 percent of its profits every year through the Infosys Foundation, a not-for-profit trust. The Foundation focuses on areas such as the underprivileged in rural areas, healthcare for the poor, education, rehabilitation and promotion of Indian arts and culture.

Diversified activities

CSR activities encompass three areas. The first is corporate governance, the second is employee satisfaction through HR activities and the third is community based social activities. Prof Nori agrees that the current CSR activities are much different from those implemented earlier that were primarily philanthropist initia-tives, while now it involves creating linkages between the internal and the external communities and using the core competence of the organisation.

As an organisation, software major Infosys has clearly identified its multiple stakeholders—its customers, employees, investors, vendor-partners and joint-venture-partners, the government of the land and, finally, the society-at-large. “We believe that corporations are social institutions. Companies are in a way like individuals; those who show long-term thinking and commitment and exhibit sincerity, accountability and transparency, will succeed. Visible actions to foster transparency, exhibit corpo-rate governance standards and demonstrate innovative and self-regulating behaviour need to feature high on the corporate agenda,” adds the Infosys spokesperson.

Most organisations are either into creating their own way of dealing with the cause they believe in or work closely with a third party. For instance, Mastek has created a 10-module programme for its employees under the Mastek Foundation a year back. The module makes them aware of their environment, what has to be done, whom to approach and interest areas. All these aspects were taken into consideration after a thorough research among colleagues.

“The other major problem was the inability of NGOs in managing funds due to a shortage of staff, no proper board, etc,” informs the Mastek spokesperson. Registr-ation of the programme is free for employees and the modules are sent through mail. The module allows volunteers to understand their interest area and the NGOs working in that field. At the end of the module there is a field visit that allows them to see the progress.

With a growing feeling that corporates should also contribute to social activities, globally, and with a desire to improve the immediate environment where they work, many companies are taking keen interest in such activities.

For instance, Kale Consultants has a dedicated programme for adoption of children. Working in association with various NGOs in Pune that are in the same field, it is creating a centralised database, which would have details like history of the child, post adoption follow-ups, etc. The project, started since 2002, has been completely funded by the organisation with about Rs 10 to Rs 12 lakh invested annually.

When Geometric Software Solutions decided to get into CSR activities they planned the whole process beforehand so that the initiative was not a one-time process. “We were sure that we wanted to work with children and the youth, and that education would be the focus. We approached NGOs that were working in this area and since we too were based in Pune, we decided to work in the city,” says Jaishankar.

At Honeywell Automation and Solutions, employees under Community Solutions have adopted street children and provided them with quality education. Employees who are interested visit them and teach. Those who cannot give time to teach are making a Web-based curriculum so that teaching can become easier and fun.

Many senior officials participate in the programme called ‘Wings’ by mentoring children and giving them guidelines. “This works in two ways, it shows the seriousness of the organisation in such programmes to the employees and creates a feeling of loyalty in them,” says the official spokesperson of Honeywell.

In an era of increasing global competition, the need to create an image that shows that corporates are part of the community and care about it is growing.

shivani@expresscomputeronline.com