The missing in the local CSR conversation: data and business focused professionals to make further success in the local context

Globally CSR has a varied interpretation when applied to firm level action.  The activity set that is covered by CSR locally range from the multi-nationals who use CSR both for reputation building and risk management to the state enterprises who consider CSR as a natural extension of their more national oriented mandate through to the small businesses who focus on more localised sponsorship and fence line community support.  This diversity in views is to be expected in most developing counties with a developed oil and gas sector.  There exists a highly international energy sector who need to continually win trust from the government and the population alongside a local manufacturing, services and trading sector that tends to be dominated by family owned business with an increasing willingness to look outward.  When you add to this mix a very active orientation by government to policies that are focused on re-distribution of energy earnings, then the space for firm level response to CSR is bound to be quite numerous.

In the face of such diversity, I thought it might be useful to explore how we can make CSR more successful, especially for smaller companies who are looking to devote scare resources to a “worthwhile” cause. However, in doing this, I do not want to focus on the key drivers of successful CSR; that issue in my view has been extensively covered globally.  While more can be done on refining some of those discussion on the local environment, I though it might be more useful to consider some of the key missings in the local context that I have observed after working in this field for more than a decade.  These elements in my view are preventing a more effective use of CSR as a strategic tool as opposed to an add-on cost.

The first of these involve demonstrating the value that CSR can add to business value in the local context with “cold hard facts”. I raise this because I have learnt after a few painful failures to win consultancy work locally (especially in the non-energy sector) that a pitch to win work in this area involves as much “selling” of the concept of CSR before I can even begin to “sell” my solutions.  This is in no way an attempt to be dismissive of the local business leadership but I do think – especially as local companies begin to look to export – that we need to build more credibility to the call for the need for CSR to be considered as a more strategic value driver.  Too much of the debate around this locally is by converts to CSR who – in their fervour – do not make the case in a fact based way.  However, without this, it makes it harder to convince local businesses of the need for a different view.

We need a fuller exploration of the examples of effective company level interventions in communities and NGO’s that have been made in the local context. More work needs to be done by academic research institutions to show with empirical evidence the benefits that CSR ‘done well’ can add to the bottom line. I also – maybe controversially – suggest that there is a great deal of research that sits within the local energy MNC’s that can help progress this debate.  A judicious release of some of the key research and findings that has been used to understand the impact that their CSR spend has had on local communities – which previously has been only for internal audiences – can also help to bring more understanding of the risk management, brand enhancing and employee loyalty that such programmes can deliver.  Without such data, CSR practioners are bound to struggle to get beyond the “let’s do a sponsorship” conversation.

The second missing for me is the need for enhanced capability amongst the CSR professional community.  I think that there are encouraging signs that we are moving to staffing CSR professionals with individuals with competencies that are more than just drawn from public relations or communications functions.  But the movement is slow and I suspect part of the problem is training offers available.  A cursory look at the programmes that support training of relevance to CSR professionals so that it is usually as part of some larger course of study that prevents a more in-depth discussion on some of the more niche issues facing CSR such as reporting standards, quantification of benefits and measurement of impact and community based stakeholder management.  The practise of CSR requires a multi-disciplinary perspective and a cross function approach to delivering solutions for business and communities.  Training that helps to shape such an orientation would be challenging but is an essential part of improving the ability for CSR to become part of the strategic conversation of the firm.

There is also another dimension to competency.  I humbly suggest that CSR professionals must first and foremost be business people with a high quality understanding of business drivers and strategy.  Too many of those who work in this field fall short of this measure and it is to the detriment of their own career advancement and to the ability of making the CSR conversation as a key business driver.  This is not to deny that the ability to understand stakeholder – particularly community based stakeholders – is not important nor is a deep passion for social issues and improving the lives of with wider community.  However, the CSR professional who is unable to balance the “business need” with the “societal need” will ultimately fail to get heard in the business environment and worse yet might be considered “non-core” and a cost of doing business.  Ensuring that CSR professionals are steeped in business allows the social discussion to become about business and not separate and apart from “the business”.

The area of CSR is rich for debate.  However, while community needs remain significant, local business will only be convinced of the need to put hard earned money into social programmes if the business value and case is compelling.  Having hard data to support this argument and highly skilled AND business focused professionals to deliver the argument will go a long way in making this issue move to the strategic core of our business locally.