Things You Need to Know About an Effective CSR Strategy

So you’re one of the lucky ones to be in charge at a successful business (or maybe not so successful…yet).  Congrats!  But do you have an effective CSR (corporate social responsibility) platform?  If not, you should strongly consider implementing one, as CSR is quickly becoming a necessity in today’s world — younger generations are demanding that companies act responsibly and in ways that are sustainable.  You’re probably thinking “that sounds expensive”.  The good news is that not every form of CSR has to come at a big expense to you or your business.  So…what else do you need to know?

The first thing I want you to understand is that CSR doesn’t have to be all about one particular area of concern.  In fact, the best CSR programs generally have an impact across many different concerns.  Typically what we see from most corporations are efforts that focus on societal problems that are not overly political — it’s hard to argue with someone fighting against poverty, hunger, abuse, homelessness, etc.  If you do choose to implement some initiatives that involve issues that are hotly debated — such as gun control here in the USA — just understand that you may experience negative feedback from customers, vendors, or the general public regardless of what position you take.  You may even lose customers or vendor relationships, so be sure that you are prepared for any potential consequences before making these decisions.

Secondly, as I mentioned earlier, not every initiative you implement has to be expensive.  There are plenty of ideas that can result in very little or no cost to the company at all.  For example, you could partner with your local food bank to organize a canned food drive at your workplace, or work with a veterans group to hold a drive for care packages for soldiers overseas.  These are things you could simply ask your employees to bring in on their own.  You could also choose to have some or all of your employees take a small part of a day (or days) off to volunteer for a local nonprofit organization of their (or the firm’s) choice.  If you coordinate this with multiple employees to volunteer together, it can also double as a team-building exercise!  Win-win!

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

Finally, let’s talk about CSR in terms of a strategy.  You’ll want to to make sure that whatever CSR initiatives you plan to put in place will match up with the overall values of the organization and the image you wish to portray to the public.  If you want to have the public see your company as one that cares about the environment, for example, your best options for CSR programs would be ones that contribute to a cleaner environment and improve the environmental sustainability of your company.  Or perhaps if you want the public to see your company as one that cares about children, you might want to focus on supporting nonprofit organizations that benefit children’s welfare and health.

The ultimate idea is that your CSR strategy should mesh well with your overall strategy as a business.  If your business values and strategy don’t match up with your CSR strategy, it’s possible that neither will be effective.  If you understand the basic concepts we’ve talked about here and follow good common sense, you should be well on your way to implementing a solid CSR program at your business.

 

 

 

How to “Get it Right” When Responding to a Letter from the IRS

Disclaimer:  I do not provide financial or tax advice.  You need to speak with a financial or tax advisor before making any decisions regarding these activities.  This article is very general in nature by design, and all links are directly from the IRS.

First of all:  yes, a letter.  For the vast majority of taxpayers, the IRS will never call you, nor will they contact you on social media or send you an email.  Here are some tips from the IRS on what to do if you encounter suspicious communication by someone claiming to be from the IRS.

OK.  So you received a letter from the IRS.  Now what?

Photo by Darcy Lawrey on Pexels.com

Number One:  Don’t panic.  Lots of people are frightened any time they hear about the IRS, due to stories they might hear in the news and some of the seemingly-harsh language used by the IRS with regards to penalties, interest, fines, non-compliance, etc.  Understand that the people at the IRS are just that — people, just like you and me.  They have no interest in ruining your life or putting you in the poorhouse.  Chances are pretty good they have no clue who you are, and you might never hear from that person again once the issue at hand is resolved.  Understand that there are a very limited number of reasons the IRS will ever contact you at all (see them here), so the possibilities of what they want or need from you (if anything at all) are fairly limited.

Secondly, and this one should be pretty obvious….don’t ignore it!  Not only will the issue not go away, but if it turns out the letter was to notify you of an additional amount owed to the IRS, you could be subject to penalties and interest on top of the additional amount the IRS says you owe.  If you disagree with their assessment, let them know!  The IRS will not penalize you for simply responding with a disagreement (as long as you either resolve the dispute or pay the amount due by the due date).  That’s no guarantee they’ll accept your argument, but you won’t convince them if you don’t try!  Most people don’t realize there is a taxpayer “bill of rights” and they have a right to challenge the IRS’s position and be heard.

Finally, review the information carefully and only respond if instructed to do so.  Some notices do not require a response at all, and some notices may only require a simple response.  Going back to our last point, don’t just ignore the notice — make sure you respond with any information needed to resolve the issue at hand.  Usually if the IRS is asking a question, it is likely about a very specific part of your return, so as long as you answer that specific question, they will move along ‘get out of your hair’, so to speak.

As we discussed, there are some basic “Do’s and Don’ts” when communicating with the IRS, which are summarized here.

Have you ever had to communicate with the IRS before?  Without revealing personal information, let us know about your experience in the comments below.

 

How to “Get it Right” When it Comes to Racism in the Workplace

Whether it’s the Starbucks incident in Philadelphia or the Roseanne debacle, chances are pretty good you’ve heard about (if not personally experienced) racism in the workplace recently.  Even without going into a big long lecture on why it’s just plain wrong, it should be obvious to any businessperson on why condoning that kind of behavior is not tolerable: aside from the moral aspect (which should be your priority anyways), it’s bad for your employees’ morale, bad for your customers, and bad for your reputation.

“Okay, so what do I do about it?” or “How do I address it without seeming phony, overly PC, or misguided?” are some questions you might be mulling around in your head.  It is safe to say that many people (particularly in America) are not on board with political correctness, as Bernie Sanders himself will admit.  And people know the difference between a genuine response and a canned “cover your butt” press release.  So the key to having a real impact with a training exercise or a group discussion is a meaningful, genuine conversation with your employees about their experiences and how both their words and actions can make a difference.

There’s a good chance that if your business has employees and operates in 2018, it probably has some kind of anti-discrimination policy in place, even if it simply matches the state or federal laws in place and nothing more.  At the bare minimum you need to enforce that policy.  If you choose to go further, understand that may have consequences (positive or negative for your business).  Ideally, you can also make some structural changes to how your business operates to help combat racism — here are some tips from experts according to SHRM.

Back to the conversation bit — how do you ensure that your conversation will be a meaningful one and not seen as phony?  First, it will be absolutely critical to admit that you don’t know everything about someone else’s experience.  Admit that you don’t know everything, and will probably never fully understand, but want to hear them out to better understand them and learn how to ‘meet them where they are’.  Find out the things that you never knew; find out where you might have made assumptions that weren’t true; find out what individual experiences each person has had and how that affects their outlook and daily life.  Lastly, make a commitment to be part of the solution by changing (or removing) your assumptions about people because of the way they look and commit to having these conversations with others around you (of any race).  Understand that every person — regardless of skin color — has had their own experiences when it comes to race, and the key to being effective will be sensitivity to that person’s experiences.

Image Credit:  https://res.cloudinary.com/twenty20/private_images/t_watermark-criss-cross-10/v1467994496000/photosp/e0c90177-b150-42bd-bea8-d41a5a313f69/stock-photo-confidence-word-phrase-expression-listening-understand-feelings-value-hear-e0c90177-b150-42bd-bea8-d41a5a313f69.jpg

I understand that last sentence may be a bit troublesome, but it is true — there is no silver bullet, no magic spell, no cure-all strategy to combat racism.  Everyone has a different experience and will respond to tactics differently than others.  But there are some basic ideals that will appeal to the vast majority — respect, empathy, and a willingness to try understanding them.  The best way to communicate that you respect someone, feel sorry for the wrongs they’ve experienced, and want to try to understand their experience is not a training video or a canned response.  It’s a conversation.

 

Go Long!: Why Your Focus Should Be On Doing The Right Thing Rather Than Short Term Profits

Image credit:  http://nocoastbias.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/patrickmahomesTTU.jpg

“Are you motivated by money?”  What a silly question, right?  Who isn’t!  We all have to find a way to provide the very basic necessities:  food, water, shelter, etc., and we satisfy those needs through our labor.  Whether you’re self-employed or work for someone else, you’re providing someone your services in exchange for money, which is then used to help you meet your needs (with the exception of bartering – but then you’re still trading your services in order to obtain something that will help you meet your needs).  All of this is fantastic, unless your priorities get “out of whack”.

Here’s an example of how it can go wrong.  Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…..the Enron / Arthur Andersen scandal.  Clearly Enron had its own monetary interests in mind when it carried on such massive fraud, but why would Arthur Andersen – then one of the most-respected auditors in the world – choose to participate in such egregious activities?  It’s not like Enron was their only client and they absolutely needed Enron’s business to survive.  Yet, this former pillar of accountability chose money over integrity and ended up “going down with the ship”, so to speak.

“OK”, you say, “so don’t do illegal/unethical stuff or help my clients hide illegal/unethical stuff”.  Well, that’s not enough.  If you really want to get ahead and succeed, you’ll want to make sure you and/or your organization are doing the right thing first rather than being second to shareholder returns.  It sounds like blasphemy, but some reports actually show that companies who focus on doing business in a just and ethical manner outperform those who focus on shareholder returns by a wide margin.

It may not always be pleasant fiscally for you or your client, but the odds are that you will gain respect and credibility for handling a problem correctly in the first place.  So don’t lose sight of your long term goals just to have some short term success today.  Do the right thing and results will eventually follow.

Have you ever faced a dilemma where you could profit from looking the other way?  Leave a comment below.  (Be smart.)

How to Get it Right When Responding to Incidents or Complaints of Sexual Misconduct

(image credit https://i0.wp.com/ryannelsonholt.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAJSAAAAJDNhNzBlZTM2LTY4YTMtNDI2NC04OGQ2LWY3NzVjZTgzNjU1Mg.jpg) 

You are a leader.  Whether you’re the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, a line supervisor, a leader of your family, or even if you’re not ‘officially’ a manager of anything — your actions (or lack thereof) will directly affect the moods, motivations, and actions of others.  Thus, you are a leader of those around you, even if you don’t see yourself as one.

That’s why it’s critical to take the proper course of action when dealing with serious issues like sexual assault or harassment.  Simply ‘hearing someone out’ or even opening up an investigation is not enough.  If you’re a business and have policies or procedures in place, you have to follow through.  If you’re not a business, you still have a responsibility to your fellow colleague, friend, family member, citizen, etc.  Don’t write off a case of what many refer to as a classic “he said, she said”, because what is actually said really does matter.  If you choose not to take a complaint seriously, you may end up even being on the hook yourself!

For those of us who aren’t in an official leadership capacity, it’s just as important for us to respond appropriately.  Being a friend for someone in time of need is a wonderful thing, but if we don’t advocate for change, whether it be on a large scale or simply through our conversations with people around us, we will not be successful in eliminating the pervasiveness of sexual harassment and assault in our society.  Every action you take counts.

So take action.  You don’t have to join a march, make a donation, jump on a soapbox and make a public speech, or anything grandiose.  Take these kinds of complaints seriously, empathize with the person (or people) involved, and make sure everyone around you knows that you don’t accept this behavior.  Follow through with action.  If you are in a leadership position in a business, make or advocate for changes to adapt your organization.  Tie your position back to the business case — where the business can stand to lose large sums of money if it doesn’t act appropriately, but it can benefit from a more diverse leadership group and involvement of marginalized groups.  Just don’t stand idly by.

Have any other ideas on how to “get it right” when it comes to fighting against sexual misconduct in the world?  Let us know in the comment section below.