Why community involvement is good for business
Johnathon Brookes is the Social Responsibility Manager for Lakehouse Contracts, a building contractor involved in educational works, health and regeneration. Lakehouse won a Dragon Award for their outstanding work in education.
“It was a real pleasure to attend the recent Dragon Awards to meet with people engaged in and leading CSR programmes which are making a real difference to communities, business and employees.
Lakehouse were lucky enough to win an award in the Education category. Our community involvement program is based on three key themes: Health & Safety; Environmental and Careers. These themes are important to our business and clients and the program is not just an ‘add on’ to our business as it is a core part of our processes.
In collaboration with education business partnerships we developed workshops to offer to primary and secondary schools as well as supporting existing school programs. We have offered mentoring, work experience and jobs to young people excluded from school. Feedback from the schools we work with is always positive and support is well received. Many schools and educational business partnerships find it difficult to engage employers and particularly hard to place young people in work experience.
One of our recent recruits was excluded from school. He joined us on extended work experience and is now training to become a Contracts Manager. He has taken a lead on a number of workshops and his transformation is truly inspirational. I am sure there are many more young people like him who need a chance.
Additionally, our work with schools has been incorporated into best practice process on construction projects and employees are encouraged to participate via their personal development plans.
The program has become a key part of the training and personal development of our staff. Preparation for workshops ensures employees are aware of health & safety, communities or the environment. Despite initial apprehension with some of our staff, all enjoy working with schools and it is clear the program benefits their confidence and motivation.
As a business, we can offer our staff and clients something different. We gain a deeper understanding of the communities we work with and the program has been good for our profile and as a business development tool.
British companies lag behind our European counterparts with regard to educational engagement. We have gained a lot from our work and would like to see more of our partners and competitors involved in a joint effort to support the next generation. “
Tags: best practice, business case for csr, community involvement, CSR, education, employee volunteering, skills development