Last week, Goldman Sachs (GS) announced their new partners for their 10,000 Women scheme.  Some news sources viewed this as ill-timed.  But why should current economic conditions affect their Corporate Responsibility (CR) announcements? Would they delay the announcement of new contracts, investment decisions or any other business as usual? 

The GS announcement is only insensitive if we believe other institutions will be significantly scaling back their CR activity.  Let’s be honest.  There will need to be efficiency savings in CR budgets - and possible resource cuts, but this will also be true across other departments.  Let’s not forget there is a strong business case for CR activities.  Consequently, CR activities should not experience any more pressure than other departments.  If we don’t stick by that business case when it matters, what is the point of promoting it in the first place?

Those who aren’t convinced by the business case for CR will be looking to make substantial cost savings from cutting CR budgets (if not teams) during this economic decline.  This is a mistake.  We are now operating in a climate of accountability and responsibility.  Severely cutting back on CR programmes now will not only expose all businesses to a threat of future regulation, it will also continue to damage your reputation even once we are through these difficult times.

Take for example Bank of America and HSBC, who have stuck by their business case.  Both are retail banks (and therefore consumer-facing) and recognise the importance of maintaining a global brand value by developing strong CR identities.  And they continue to weather this economic storm quite well.  Let’s hope their colleagues and competitors follow suit.

For more assistance on developing the business case for Corporate Responsibility, please visit:

http://www.city-action.org/resources/index.html

http://www.volunteering.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/2A38DB92-7B74-4CA5-9C79-46364B7FC2FA/0/business_case_SMEfinal1.pdf

http://www.responsiblepractice.com/english/issues/wbcsd-business/

http://www.bitc.org.uk/resources/publications/cr_business_case.html

Jerry Daykin is the Marketing Manager for City Gateway and has provided the below posting on the effect of the Lehman Brothers collapse on their organisation:

‘Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, who were due to co-run a course with my charity, the Sunday papers conjured up a quote saying: “My job is to get support from companies and it’s difficult enough at the best of times. This week has been awful.”

Thankfully, as I’ve been assuring friends and family, you can’t believe everything you read and I actually had quite a nice week. It was remarkable to see the way in which individuals, firms and other agencies have tried to step in to fill the gaps left in the project and even the guys at Lehman’s have made the effort to keep in contact during a week which must have been awful for them.

The enthusiasm and passion with which they picked up City Gateway’s new Women’s Project had made my job easy: we identified the needs of our project, they identified what they hoped to get out of a partnership and when this clicked away we went. In the few short weeks that we did work together, a number of their staff had already volunteered at the centre and dozens more were queuing up to get involved.

Unfortunately it wasn’t to be, and yes our course has been caught rather short of volunteers, office visits and placements, but if building this partnership has taught me anything it’s that more City firms than ever are ready to embrace the third sector.  We need to tie into this in a way which can benefit both parties and will lead to lasting engagement.

City Gateway was set up 10 years ago in Tower Hamlets, a Borough defined by dramatic inequality between big business and the surrounding community. We work with some of the hardest to reach NEET young people and low skilled women across the Borough and seek to engage them, train them and ultimately progress them.

Partnering with large firms has never been an option or an added extra for us.  Corporate engagement through volunteering, hosting tours and placements are a core focus of our work - only then can the real barriers be broken down and individuals given the chances they deserve to succeed.

The crunch has tightened belts and cut CSR spending but perhaps it will unlock some of the other skills and resources firms have to offer.’

What with the great strain that the economy is currently under, it is understandable that community investment, and employee volunteering more specifically, may not be a top priority for many City businesses. It appears to me however, that it is more important than ever that City businesses and community organisations in neighbouring boroughs join forces and develop even stronger ties. Both sectors will feel the impact of economic decline to some extent, and many City workers are also residents of these boroughs.

Despite the negative press attention that is currently surrounding the City, employee volunteering has gained some very positive press.  City Action gained a feature in last week’s Sunday Times which showcased a 40% increase in individual volunteering activity compared to last year and a 50% increase in new businesses recruited. This article along with another that recently featured in the Mail on Sunday (31st August 2008), also shed light on the incredibly positive impact that voluntering can have on City employees during this uncertain period.

The Sunday Times article was supported by four City-based advocates that were interviewed for the feature, with Rachael Hewson, associate director at Mason Blake, a financial recruitment firm, making the point that ‘CSR is here to stay…It’s not something that companies can just dip out of once they have dipped in. They are often in long-term partnerships with the local community.’

We at City Action of course understand the worries and constraints that many City-based companies are facing, and are able to provide varied volunteering opportunities that can suit all levels of involvement.  Let’s ensure that current economic circumstances don’t hinder the fantastic difference that employee volunteers make to our neighbouring communities.