Unveiling the Facts🤝 Let’s dive into some enlightening facts about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its pivotal role in shaping a better world:
💡 What is CSR? CSR, or Corporate Social Responsibility, encapsulates a diverse array of actions that businesses can take to contribute to societal well-being. It’s about going beyond profits and making a difference in the lives of people and the planet.
💡 The Three Pillars of CSR The foundation of CSR rests upon three essential pillars: economic, social, and environmental responsibilities. These pillars guide businesses in aligning their strategies with broader societal needs.
💡 Meeting the Modern Demand As the world evolves, so do the expectations from businesses. Consumers and investors alike are calling for responsible corporate conduct. CSR isn’t just an option anymore – it’s a necessity to build trust and credibility.
💡 Engaging in CSR brings forth a multitude of advantages for businesses:
1. Enhanced Employee Engagement: Fostering a sense of purpose among employees and boosting workplace satisfaction. 2. Improved Financial Performance: CSR isn’t just a moral choice – it’s a wise financial investment. 3. Stronger Brand Reputation: Positive impact resonates, creating a brand that stands for something meaningful. 4. Increased Customer Loyalty: Conscious consumers rally behind businesses that make a difference.
Join us at Right Dots as we continue to weave these CSR principles into our core, fostering a future where businesses and society thrive in harmony. Together, let’s make every dot count for a brighter tomorrow 🌍
👉🏻Understanding how to calculate your CSR mandate is crucial for businesses to align their efforts with regulatory requirements and company values. Let’s explore the steps to navigate this journey:
1.Know Your Applicability: Determine if your company falls under the CSR mandate. Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, mandates CSR for certain companies meeting specific financial criteria.
2.Calculate Your CSR Budget: Allocate a minimum of 2% of your average net profits made during the preceding three financial years for CSR activities. This 2% law sets a benchmark for businesses to invest in social and environmental causes aligning with their values.
3.Define Your CSR Objectives: Identify the social and environmental issues that resonate with your company’s mission and values. Set specific and measurable CSR objectives to guide your initiatives effectively.
4.Conduct a Materiality Assessment: Conduct a materiality assessment to identify the most significant issues where your CSR efforts can create a lasting impact.
5.Allocate Resources Wisely: Allocate resources wisely to different initiatives, considering potential impact and alignment with your CSR objectives.
6.Set Clear KPIs: Set clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of your CSR initiatives and track progress effectively.
7.Engage and Collaborate: Engage employees, customers, suppliers, and local communities to actively participate in your CSR journey. Collaboration enhances the social value of your initiatives.
8.Monitor, Report, and Communicate: Regularly monitor your CSR activities, measure them against established KPIs, and communicate transparently to showcase progress.
9.Embrace Continuous Improvement: Continuously assess and improve your CSR initiatives to maximize their impact and create meaningful change.
📚 Making an Impact through CSR By adhering to the 2% law, companies can drive positive change in education, healthcare, environmental sustainability, poverty alleviation, and more.
🤝 Partnering with Right Dots For guidance on effective CSR strategies, Right Dots can support you. Let’s come together and embrace the power of CSR to shape a better future for everyone.
Passionate about leading-edge CSR advancements, Right Dots empowers positive impact through innovative strategies🌍
The latest trends in CSR are focused on Increased Transparency, Integrating Volunteering, Global Companies Acting Locally, and Embracing Diversity and Inclusion. Let us glance briefly,
🤝 Increased Transparency: We believe that transparency is the foundation of trust and accountability. Through our expert guidance, we help companies embrace transparency in their CSR initiatives, fostering meaningful connections with stakeholders.
🙌 Integrating Volunteering: Engaging employees in meaningful volunteer activities not only strengthens the workforce but also contributes to the betterment of communities. Right Dots provides innovative strategies to seamlessly integrate volunteering programs into your CSR framework.
🌍 Global Companies Acting Locally: We understand the significance of localizing CSR efforts while operating in a globalized world. Our tailored solutions enable multinational corporations to make a real difference at the local level, ensuring sustainable development.
🌈 Diversity and Inclusion: Embracing diversity and fostering an inclusive environment are paramount to a company’s success. We empowers organizations to implement diversity and inclusion initiatives that promote equality and unleash the potential of every individual.
Join us on our journey towards a brighter, more sustainable future. Together, let’s make a positive impact, one step at a time.
A campus off Hennur road little away from the busy Bangalore roads, as we enter a security identifies we have an appointment and lets us in. Can hear the laughter of kids playing in the park, unable to resist I peek. Could witness over 5 BMTC buses parked along with the yellow school buses (why are Govt buses lined up here?) finding an answer didn’t matter as I was rushing to meet the students. I was stopped and directed to the office, a well-dressed Gentleman greeted and gave a complete download of the school. I was awed by every detail he mentioned about the school. As an Educational consultant in the CSR space, had few questions and couldn’t wait to go and check it, walked into the campus accompanied by a school staff.
Can this all even be true? Is it even possible on earth?
Campus was filled with trees, well-kept ground and building looked well maintained from outside. Entered class 1, Teacher gave a warm smile and explained that kids were doing their homework (Yes, the students finish homework before they leave school) even before I turned to have a conversation with the teacher, I heard a little girl saying “Good afternoon mam”, another kid asks “How are you mam” … a boy from the last row asks “Mam have you had lunch?” I was struggling to answer that quick, with a choked voice I respond, and they enthusiastically read a flash card with words and start making sentences and all hands went up when I asked a question, not a single kid was shy.
Now I believed every bit the Gentleman said about the school, I know I don’t have to see other classes as these kids in 1st are the ones who missed kindergarten due to Covid19 and in just 6 months into the school, they converse in English with a stranger with so much of confidence!!
Moved ahead knowing I had more surprises, to list a few
Every kid who sees you inside the campus wished “Good afternoon mam”
Every employee there carried a warm smile
Corridors filled with interactive activities (notes on investor, entrepreneurship, D&I for class X kids was all over the notice board put up by the students)
Walls filled with mural painting all done by the kids
Staircase teaches you more than what’s in the books
Small Groups here and there across the school doing remedial for kids in need
Sports day practice was going on and I was lucky to watch it before their D Day… when I clapped and appreciated after their performance a little boy from class 5 says, “Mam please appreciate my teacher because she trained us” (no syllabus can teach gratitude)
Their lunch area was spick and span though all 900 kids (KG to grade 12) had breakfast, lunch and evening snacks including staff (school management says if I can’t eat this food my kids can’t eat, so we all eat in school)
The restrooms were just like another classroom (not exaggerating, no bad Odour or wet floors)
Fully equipped Labs
Career counselling centre supporting kids right from Class 5 till they buying a house after joining a job (alumni sitting to help their teachers as they are on semester holidays)
Library the best I have seen in any school
Art room with clay modelling and painting
Music room with Indian and western musical instruments
A flying visit across the school and rushed to get a glimpse of the kids leaving, they boarded the buses in orderly fashion, happily chatting and talking to teachers. Few boarded the school bus and rest the govt buses. Few waved bye to me and not knowing I’m going to follow them to their homes.
Followed one of the buses it took me past the traffic into narrow roads and stopped on the side after few lefts and rights. On the left side parents were waiting to receive the kids.
When the coordinator introduced me, all of them stopped there on the road praising the school, I resonated the same. Took me to their homes, most of them were sweepers with BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike). My first question was “How do afford their fees?” a proud mom said “Mam we don’t pay a single penny!” .. While the conversation continued with parents, others got comfortable when they knew I speak Kannada. Another mom said “Mam the school takes care of our kids from the age of 5 , no fees no uniform cost and we don’t even pay the doctors when our kids fall I’ll or for their immunization” – and now you know why i claim it as HEAVEN ON EARTH and it is – Christel House India
I walked into their tightly packed walkway there were more things kept out rather than inside the house. The house could only hold the family and not their belongings. All the kids in the school belonged to the notified slums.
Spoke with them to know more about their women’s committee who have been given counselling on good parenting, schools functioning.
As a pay back to the school, every parent volunteer for 5 days in a year for the school helping them with any work that they can, like doing the laundry of kids uniforms, cleaning the ground, etc.,.
Left the place not being able to digest all I saw in one afternoon … A school admits kids at the age of 5 takes care of every need (yes, EVERY NEED) funds their higher education, hand holds them until they get to work and ensures they move out of poverty. The kid who was once an overhead to the government starts paying back the government in the form of Income tax. I couldn’t capture every detail of what was explained to me, I still can’t believe the CEO of Christel House School spent time explaining about the school to me with absolutely no expectations.
Watch this one single video to know what transformation means!
Great resignation impact being felt in India as attrition rate remains elevated at 20% in 2022 – Business insider
India has been giving double-digit salary hikes since the pandemic, as demand for skilled workers increased. Despite the hikes, the attrition rate still stands at 20.3%. In its latest Salary Increase Survey in India, data across 1,300 companies from more than 40 industries in the country was analyzed. The attrition rate in India is steadily rising, going up more than 7% within the last two years. The attrition rate is expected to remain in double-digits in 2023 as well.
To retain talent, experts suggest organizations hire for skills, allow flexible working and gig jobs and focus on revamping employee value proposition (EVP). And the larger workforce in this era is Generation Z. Generation Z is a designation for those born between 1996 and somewhere around 2012. This generation has been exposed to many issues at an early age, including terrorism, school violence and global conflict. From my perspective, all of this has taught them to be able to adapt more easily to situations, be more resilient and have more of an interest in social change.
According to research released by the British Heart Foundation, Gen Z is more likely to have volunteered than any other age group. Although members of Generation Z are careful with money, they are enthusiastic givers who are involved in social causes.
During the pandemic, 66% of Gen Z donated money to charity, family, or friends, far outpacing donations made by both Gen X and Boomers. – Galaxydigital.com
With this generation being highly social conscious, engaging them in social impact project through volunteering makes a huge impact. An article from Harward Business review that touched on the benefits of employee volunteering says,
“The benefits of well-designed corporate volunteer programs have been clearly established: They boost productivity, increase employee engagement, and improve hiring and retention, to name just a few. But too often, firms’ programs fall short.”
With Dec 5th being observed as International Volunteer Day, an international observance mandated by the UN General Assembly in 1985, how have you been invested in Employee volunteering and reaped its benefits to the organization? Here is our IMPACT Framework that helps to establish and implement a successful employee volunteering program for your organization.
IMPCAT Framework for Employee volunteering
Identify the interests of the employees / needs of the community
Map the volunteers against the identified needs
Pivot the actions around the needs and interests and spread out
Action on the ground
Communicate the impact internally and externally
Thank volunteers and partners on a regular frequency
The IMPACT Framework is a tested model that has been proving success for years now. The CSR leads/ Policy makers in the eco system should start looking at integrating employee volunteering into core CSR rather than an adhoc activity. Employee volunteering establishes a great bond between the employee and organization leading to stickiness to the organization. This invariably adds to the business benefit of the organization.
With great attrition being live and anticipated to be increasing in the upcoming year, leverage employee volunteering as a program to make the social impact leading to business impact.
As a closing note, employee volunteering is not only for corporates who meet CSR criteria, its for everyone to do and the benefits are deep, irrespective of your organizations size and scale. We have an Employee Volunteering score card designed to know your employee volunteering maturity of the organization, drop a note to contactus@rightdots.org ,We will be happy to work with you to enable and successfully integrate employee volunteering for your organization.
While the world is gearing up for observance of International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) on Dec 3. Each one of us should realize that Disability inclusion is not a charitable act, rather it is a responsibility of each one of us. Here is my view on how various stakeholders can act responsibly in tandem with the Rights for Persons With Disabilities Act (RPWD)
”ensure that the persons with disabilities enjoy the right to equality, life with dignity and respect for his or her integrity equally with others.” – RPWD act
Corporates
RPWD act has provisions to provide incentives to employer in private sector to ensure that at least 5 % of their work force is composed of persons with benchmark disability. Here is a quick EQUAL framework for you start your journey towards Inclusion
Enlist different job roles in your organization
Qualify your organizations adherence to inclusive environment (infrastructure readiness and employee sensitization)
Understand the skillset and align job descriptions
Adapt a merit-based hiring and performance improvement model
Limitless growth associated with continual learning
I have designed a quick and easy way to measure you Inclusion index for you to realize where you stand today. Reach me at contactus@rightdots.org for a free template.
NGO
RPWD act has provisions for Free education for children with benchmark disabilities, Reservation in higher educational institutions, 4% allocation in Government establishments, Enable accessibility, promote sports, awareness campaigns and many more. How far your work has made an impact ?
Follow the 5 W and 1 H framework to measure the impact.
What: What is the project you are implementing through your NGO? What is the type of disability you are focusing? What is the provision of RPWD act your NGO is trying to address?
Who: Who is your target beneficiary? (Examples: Schools, Higher Education, Adults)
Where: Where is the project taking place and why was this location chosen?
When: Do you have a start date and end date for the project?
How: How is the fund managed? How are resources managed? How is the impact metrics defined and measured?
Why: Why has the project been started? What are the reasons? What is the goal?
Reach me at contactus@rightdots.org incase if you need guidance in assessing your NGO performance using 5W, 1H model and beyond.
Individuals
Almost everyone is likely to experience some form of disability – temporary or permanent – at some point in life. Behave responsibly in all forms of actions. How far are you demonstrating inclusion in your daily life?
Do you know basics of sign language to address/ greet a person with hearing impaired?
Do you know basics of Braille / Tactile to train / skill a person with visual impairment?
Do you use basic accessibility features like including sub titles in your Microsoft presentations?
In the birthday parties/ marriage events / – how many of us have included a ramp to the stage for Wheelchair users ?
“If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime”
In conclusion, It is not an observance or awareness or embracing for one day in a year, it is a journey of transforming lives and their livelihood. If you are already in the journey, revalidate your objectives and impact that you are creating.
Post Script:
International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3) is an international observance promoted by the United Nations since 1992. It has been observed with varying degrees of success around the planet. The observance of the Day aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.
Theme for IDPD 2022 “Transformative solutions for inclusive development: the role of innovation in fuelling an accessible and equitable world”
