Social responsibility denotes satisfying your civic duty while at the same time making responsible decisions that benefit the greater good. Being socially responsible is in direct correlation to ethics, however, what is ethical often means different things to different people.
Ethics is more than just what is legal, but also the difference between what is” right or wrong” within societal norms.
In particular, socially responsible companies are businesses that adhere to ethical norms as well as legal guidelines. Continue reading the article below to learn more.
Focus On Sustainability
If you don’t have a sustainable business model, you will not stay in business long-term. Long-term businesses supply the community with goods, services, and job opportunities. An ethical option for sustainability is creating a business model that the community enjoys being a part of. Employee retention depends on a couple of factors; Ultimately the people working for a socially responsible company feel that there is value in the job being done. Their time is being well compensated, and their mental well-being is important.
Transparency
The best approach to ethical choices involves being honest. Being transparent, or honest, is the best way to gauge real numbers. You will get closer to true statistics and real answers with real information. For example, you are in the business of selling a product making grand claims that your product will work with 100% accuracy. You know the average is only 92% with an 8% failure rate. Most people will not even notice the 8%, but for the individuals that fall in the failure rate, you have now created distrust along with possible legal ramifications. Transparency is a must in socially responsible companies.
Fairness
Integrity is the foundation of fairness. Integrity means doing what is right even when no one is looking. Say what you mean, mean what you say, and do what you say you are going to do. In terms of business, if you promote a company that pushes growth from within, high-performing employees need to be promoted and compensated for their value to the company. When people feel undervalued, morale drops dramatically. Negative employee morale leads to a number of potential problems including work slowdowns, absenteeism, as well as apathy, which can quickly turn to animosity.
The Bottom Line
You can’t have a successful business model without employees. A sustainable, ethical company is going to set itself up so that employees want to work for them. This benefits both the company as well as the community at large. Maintaining a high level of employee retention goes a long way to the continuance of any business, and greatly affects the business’s bottom line. If you want to be ethically sound and sustainable as a company, become a company that people are proud to work for. Compensate your employees fairly for the contribution that they make and be honest about the process every step of the way. Successful socially responsible companies see their employees as human beings, not cogs in the wheel.
