5 Ways To Identify A Company's Social Responsibility: 1. Cause-Related Marketing

5 Ways to Identify a Company's Social Responsibility
By: Richard Conn

Published: Dec 15, 2020
Topics: CSR Interviewing Job Search
Identifying a company’s social responsibility can be a difficult endeavor.

Of course, you want to work for a sustainable and profitable company
that contributes positively to society and the surrounding environment.
But, this can be difficult to find. To that end, we've collected our top five
things to look for to help you to spot a socially responsible company.
1. Cause-Related Marketing
A good indicator of a socially responsible company is cause-related

marketing. This technique is used by companies to raise awareness about
a specific cause that they care about. Whether it’s a small business that
provides free web conference software/phone conferencing or PayPal,
they can work with a charity and associate the products of their business
with the cause of the non-profit.
In some cases, companies engage in cause-related marketing by donating

all or some of the profits of these products to the charity. Other forms of
cause-related marketing that companies often use include becoming a
non-profit sponsor, buying a product to give a product scheme, or
working in unison to help increase exposure to the cause.
To identify if the company is socially responsible, you must understand

why companies carry out cause-related marketing:
To gain new customers. People are more socially conscious now, and a cause-related marketing
campaign can help customers or job seekers choose their brand over the competition. Statistics show
that 70% of customers are concerned about how brands address social causes and 64% of repeat
customers say they interact with brands due to shared values.
To increase sales. An example of this was when American Express fundraised a campaign to repair the
Statue of Liberty. This then spiked their commercial activity and increased the use of their credit
cards.
To improve brand image and loyalty. Associating with a cause garners positive publicity. In fact,
surveys show that companies that conduct cause-related marketing have a higher perceived quality of
product by consumers.
To increase employee morale. Employees that work towards a goal they believe in and support are
more committed and enthusiastic about their tasks.
To raise awareness for the charity. A small non-profit will have the ability to share its cause with the
business’s large audience. This will increase their exposure and donations.
Cause-related marketing can benefit the company in many ways, but

it can also lead to companies conducting inauthentic campaigns purely
for PR. So, you must identify whether the company is transparent and
whether the campaign is genuine.
How do you identify an authentic cause-related marketing

campaign?
Every company has a mission, but not every company has a cause. A
cause is larger than a brand and may require generations of campaigns
and collaboration.
A company's cause should reflect the values of its brand. A great example
was the Starbucks “What’s Your Name?” LGBT+ campaign, which
highlighted the transition of a transgender individual and their experience
testing out their new name on their coffee cup. This reflection of their
values created a very evocative campaign that resonated with their
audience.
An authentic campaign needs to motivate customers to participate. It

should actually make you believe you can make a difference and provide
you with a feeling of responsibility. A socially responsible company will
also show appreciation to consumers who back their campaign.
As a job seeker wanting to identify socially responsible cause-related

marketing, you need to ask yourself questions like:
Is this company constantly collaborating with the non-profit organization?
Are they creating content to promote it?
Are they pushing the campaign on their social media channels?
Finally, cause-related marketing should be more than just a monetary

donation. It should genuinely provide tangible value. Another great
example was the Uber “Thank You For Not Riding” campaign that
encouraged users not to ride with Uber during the pandemic.
2. Philanthropy
Philanthropy is normally the first thing that comes to mind when people
think about a company’s social responsibility. Similar to cause-related
marketing, some companies donate to charities as it’s a great way to raise
the profile of their brand and improve company reputation. Statistics
show that 70% of millennials are more likely to purchase products from
brands that support charitable causes. Supporting a charity is also a great
way to elicit more audience engagement.
So, you need to ensure that the company is not simply participating in a
“hot topic” cause for publicity. An example of this is a concept called
“pinkwashing”, when companies take advantage of LGBT marketing
potential, such as the Burger King Pride Whopper, without providing
genuine, sufficient support to the community.
Corporate philanthropy doesn’t just have to mean donations. It represents
the company’s commitment to causes and can come in various forms,
including:
Volunteering. A great way for a company to showcase social responsibility is by investing both money
and time. This could mean offering a volunteering time-off policy and encouraging community
improvement. What’s more, volunteering can also be used as a team bonding or empathy exercise
with employees or clients. This will help build positive client relationships and improve team unity.
Companies can also offer volunteering grants by donating a specific amount of money to a cause
once an employee has completed a certain number of volunteering hours. Walmart gives $250 for
every 25 hours of employee volunteering.
Donation Matching. A charitable employee should be encouraged, supported, and celebrated. Many
socially responsible companies match, double, or even triple the amount of money their employees
donate to charity. Microsoft will match up to $15,000 per employee. This strategy empowers
employees and promotes employee engagement. Statistics show that engaged employees are over
200% more productive than employees who are not.
Nonmonetary Donation. Companies tend to have a wealth of resources that are surplus. After
accounting for inventory, they may realize that their company has a plethora of excess socks or older
computers. Instead of disposing of them, a socially responsible company will donate them to
organizations that will find them a new home.
3. Ethics
Ethical conduct is one of the most important attributes a company should

have. Portraying this image of philanthropy and showing solidarity with
various causes is all well and good, but carrying out ethical practices is
what truly distinguishes a socially responsible company.
Studies have proven that not only are ethical principles the right thing to
do morally but that companies committed to ethical conduct outperform
businesses that don’t prioritize it.
Ethics sometimes change from person to person and business to

business. This is why it is important to define an ethical organization.
Ethical companies aim to provide a sustainable business that contributes
positively to society without harming people or the surrounding
environment.
A company’s ethical duties should be self-regulated – they should want to

carry them out, rather than just being required to. Good ethical conduct
means that fairer treatment is not only given to their direct employees
and stakeholders but that the company should also provide this treatment
to every employee on the supply chain. This can include farmers, factory
workers, delivery drivers, etc.
When trying to identify an ethically responsible company, look for:

Ethical Products. Ethical products or services shouldn’t negatively impact people, animals, or humans.
But an ethical product should also be the result of standardizing and ensuring high quality and
consistency. Production is also important to consider. Ask yourself:
Are they choosing non-toxic, biodegradable materials?
Are they ensuring that they have reduced the amount of plastic that they’re packaging the
products with?
Are their employees in a safe, fair, and comfortable working environment? Let’s say a company
has created the best operator-assisted conference call software; however, they outsource the
front-end development of the service. Are the employees abroad being paid a fair wage?
Are the company's products ethically distributed, following Fairtrade policies, reducing transport
distances, and reducing their overall company waste?
Transparency. Developing and maintaining an honest, trustworthy channel of communication is vital to
corporate social responsibility.
Doing what they say. A corporate mission should be more than just words, it should be carried out at
every level of the company.
Making it public. Does the company make its performance numbers, reviews, and diversity meetings
available for the public to see?
4. Community Involvement
Companies shouldn't limit support to well known, national non-profit

organizations. They should also give back on a local and community level.
Even if you’re seeking employment at a smaller business and you’re asking
yourself “should small businesses work with charities?” the answer is still
yes.
Aside from supporting local charities and businesses, there are a variety
of creative things a socially responsible business can do to help their
community. Here are a few you can look out for:
Transporting equipment, food, and diapers can be a good use of a business’s transportation
capability.
Free training or teaching for individual community members such as work experience that provides
young adults with transferable skills.
Providing gifts to local children during the holidays or any other special event.
Many businesses often petition to allow vacant city-owned spaces to be converted into local parks
and playgrounds.
Visiting the elderly, planting trees, and general fundraising.
Even bigger companies that are spread among many locations should
provide for the community. For example, Google has been supporting a
variety of lower-income communities around the world by providing them
with educational materials for virtual learning.
5. Company Culture
A company needs to have ethical practices when they are dealing with
external factors such as products and media perception. But it is also
important to focus on internal practices. Unethical company culture is one
where there is a contradiction between words and actions within the
business.
A socially responsible company should respect their employees as much

as they respect their customers. This means giving them their rights,
vacation, benefits, and all necessary accommodations (and when they’re
working from home, the best online meeting software and home office
equipment the company can provide).
Statistics show that:

88% of employees believe that company culture is important.
35% of American job seekers would pass on a role if the company culture wasn’t a suitable fit.
Employees who dislike their company culture are almost 25% more likely to leave their job.
Here are a few characteristics of a good company culture that is socially

responsible:
Standardized practices. As an employee, you have worked in various companies and environments
where different principles and practices were both accepted and prohibited. This is why a socially
responsible company will standardize its company culture ethics. This is usually done via a code of
conduct or an ethical practice manual that all employees read, understand, and sign.
Trained employees. A company shouldn’t just create an ethical code of conduct – they also need to
develop a way for employees to discuss and report unethical actions. Employees can sometimes be
intimated and fearful of senior employees, so creating a consequence-free environment is crucial. It is
the company’s responsibility to provide employees with sufficient training to give both senior and
junior employees a clear, reprimand-free line of communication to raise concerns with and about each
other.
Enforce and praise. During the training process, you will have covered the potential consequences of
breaking ethical practices. It is then vital for the company to follow this protocol. Upholding these
rules prevents an escalation of unethical practices and general team conflict. In the same way that
they should diligently prevent unethical conduct, they should also reward ethical practices. Even
just acknowledging good behavior reinforces company values.
Corporate social responsibility is not a PR stunt; it is consciously fostered

within a company and encompasses a variety of different aspects all as
vital as each other. When keeping these values at the center of your job
search, it's important to ensure that the company’s cause-related
marketing campaigns actually align with their company values and
doesn’t just hop on a topical bandwagon. Remember: identifying social
responsibility is more than just reading an italicized motto underneath a
company logo on LinkedIn.
Richard Conn is the Senior Director, Search Marketing for RingCentral, a

global leader in unified communications and virtual phone systems. He is
passionate about connecting businesses and customers and has
experience working with Fortune 500 companies such as Google,
Experian, Target, Nordstrom, Kayak, Hilton, and Kia. Richard has written
for sites such as VoilaNorbert and Cincopa.
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5 Ways to Identify a Company's Social Responsibility

By: Richard Conn

Topics: CSR Interviewing Job Search

Identifying a company’s social responsibility can be a difficult endeavor.

A good indicator of a socially responsible company is cause-related

In some cases, companies engage in cause-related marketing by donating

To identify if the company is socially responsible, you must understand

Cause-related marketing can benefit the company in many ways, but

How do you identify an authentic cause-related marketing

An authentic campaign needs to motivate customers to participate. It

As a job seeker wanting to identify socially responsible cause-related

Finally, cause-related marketing should be more than just a monetary

Ethical conduct is one of the most important attributes a company should

Ethics sometimes change from person to person and business to

A company’s ethical duties should be self-regulated – they should want to

When trying to identify an ethically responsible company, look for:

Companies shouldn't limit support to well known, national non-profit

A socially responsible company should respect their employees as much

Statistics show that:

Here are a few characteristics of a good company culture that is socially

Corporate social responsibility is not a PR stunt; it is consciously fostered

Richard Conn is the Senior Director, Search Marketing for RingCentral, a

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