Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is now exactly that…a responsibility. Long gone are the days of considering community engagement a luxury. The good news? Benefits can be tangible, and a true impact does not need to be expensive or complex.
According to the KPMG Survey of Corporate Responsibility Reporting 2017, “for the first time in the history of this survey, more than 60 percent of companies across all sectors are reporting on CSR.” KPMG then breaks out reporting by industries including:
- 79% of survey respondents in the Technology, Media & Telecommunications report CR.
- 73% of survey respondents in Food & Beverage report CR.
- 70% of survey respondents in Transport & Leisure report CR.
Companies independent of industry and geography are coming the same conclusion – there are tangible benefits to reporting CSR metrics. In fact, the report goes on to cite, “81 of the top 100 US companies now [integrate CSR reporting into financial reports] compared to only 30 two years ago in 2015.” That is a 150% increase in just two years. The increase also means that over 80% of top US companies think CSR holds enough value it should be reported on financial statements – mandatory or otherwise!
Joining the ranks of others benefiting from CSR reporting does not have to be difficult or elaborate. It may be contacting a local nonprofit to get involved as a company. In fact, the United Way often has a position specifically dedicated to connecting corporate volunteers to community needs. For others, the answer may be allowing paid Volunteer Time Off (VTO) for employees who would rather support a personal interest. Regardless of the first step, encouraging and incentivizing the opportunity is half the battle.
The other half of the battle – reporting. Smaller companies which volunteer twice a year will likely not be bogged down by the manual entry of a spreadsheet. But companies whose employee counts grow, span divisions, cross supervising lines, are separated by geography or any myriad of complexities face unique challenges. How do we keep track of hours across the company? How do we verify volunteer hours if audited? Should we build a tracking system? What options exist?
If you are asking those questions, you are not alone. Many of these challenges and pitfalls to avoid are well documented in the build vs. buy equation [link] and the true cost of spreadsheet tracking [link]. If you can’t find it there, please let us know. Much like your corporate volunteers, we are here to help!
MobileServe is committed to making volunteer hour tracking and verification simple. As a fully credentialed B-Corp, MobileServe strives to remove the challenges of volunteer management to help those who are building our communities. Please visit www.MobileServe.comto learn more about our mission.
