Jump-Start Your Company’s CSR Program

Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR, is once upon a time is a program independent of HR. But with the emergence of HRs strategic role, CSR has become an effective program not only to add value to the community where the enterprise is located, but the program has become an effective intervention to reinforce company values and enhance the employer brand. This has resulted to a better employee value proposition, thus, benefiting the initiatives on recruitment marketing, employee engagement and retention.

But how and where should HR begin? Nersi Khalilifar, one of the readers of this blog asked:

The idea is great. How about the technics and mechanism to achieve it. Is there any kind of standard procedural approach..

 

Strategic Plan For Corporate Social Responsibility

1. For the HR strategist, the first agenda is to understand the evolving concept of,  “from Social Responsibility to Social Accountability”
   Social Responsibility is voluntary while Social Accountability is mechanism driven. Objective is compliance and sustainability of initiatives that will improve the quality of life of both employees and the community, upholding principles on human and labor rights, health and safety, and good governance.
2. Incorporate the emerging CSR Agenda
   • Child-friendly and child-labor free workplaces
   • Equal employment opportunity
   • Expanding social protection to domestic workers
   • Global compact initiatives (labor and human rights, environmental protection and anti corruption)
   • Workplace population management program
3. Sell the idea to your employer, seek his support because this will add value to the organization.
   • Discuss that the basic social accountability are
     • decent and acceptable working conditions to employees
     • an employer’s immediate beneficiary of CSR initiatives are the workers
     • risks that would endanger and affect workers may eventually affect the business, and vice versa
   • Seek to incorporate environmental protection and  social accountability in the workplace in pursuit of sustainable development, economic growth and  increase on competitiveness.
4. Start it simple, adhere to the labor standards of your country. In Philippine context, this means compliance to
   • Employment Standards
     • minimum age Art 139, PLC
     • non discrimination Art 3, Art 135, PLC
     • regularization Art 280-281, PLC
     • subcontracting Art 106, PLC
     • security of tenure Art 279, PLC
     • night work for women Art 130, PLC
     • forced labor Art 114, 116, PLC
   • Workers right
     • to self organize Art 3, PLC
     • to strike Art 263-264, PLC
     • to collective bargaining Art 253-A, PLC
     • to arbitration Art 260, PLC
   • Wages
     • minimum wage Art 99, 120-127
     • Overtime pay Art 87, PLC
     • Premium pay on holidays and rest day Art 93-94, PLC
     • night shift pay Art 86, PLC
     • 13th month pay PD 851
     • non diminution of pay Art 100, PLC
   • Hours of work
     • 8 hours Art 83, PLC
     • meal periods Art 85, PLC
     • weekly rest periods Art 91-92, PLC
   • Health and Safety
     • Paternity leave RA 8187
     • Paid maternity leave Art 133, PLC
     • Medical and dental services Art 156-161
     • Health and safety Art 162-165
     • Sexual HarassmentRA 7877
     • Health Insurance (PhilHealth) RA 7875
   • Social Security
     • Employee Compensation Art 166, PLC
     • Social Security RA 1161 (private) or GSIS law RA 8291 (government)
5. Engage your employee. Involve your middle management and the ranks, form a group or committee that will conceptualize and implement CSR projects
6. Network with various associations or NGOs that are advocating and assisting corporations in implementing CSR. In the Philippines, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) can help you get started.
7. Eventually, you may want to consult international agencies to accredit your organization as SA compliant. Corporations from 1st world countries would look for these as prerequisite before doing business with another company.

For your info, these are the international standards and norms, also known as “Global Eight  initiatives” where *social accountability is incorporporated

1. The UN Global Compact
2. ILO Conventions
3. The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
4. ISO 14000 Series
5. AccountAbility 1000
6. The Global Reporting Initiative
7. The Global Sullivan Principles
8. Social Accountability 8000

• Taken from Policy Paper on Social Accountability in Philippine Enterprises: Moving Ahead in Advocacy by ECOP and German Technical Cooperation