There’s growing consciousness about a number of global concerns. Every individual’s decisions are affected by these issues on various levels, whether consciously or unconsciously. If you’re a business that’s trying to survive and thrive during these trying times, then you should strive to become a socially conscious business.
Why Aim to Be More Socially Conscious?
As a business owner, you may be focused on other facets of your business, like improving business productivity, marketing to more potential customers, or simply generating more revenue. Socially conscious efforts may not be at the top of your to-do list, which is understandable given this fast-paced, highly competitive market. But being a more socially conscious company can actually help you achieve business goals, just not in the ways you would traditionally expect.
Save Money
How would you like to help make the world a better place while saving money? It seems too good to be true, but when done right, socially conscious business adjustments can also be cost-effective. For example, going for a hybrid or fully virtual work setup won’t only help your employees cut down on their commute time and expenses; it can also help lower your business’ carbon footprint. In turn, your business can save on costs related to maintaining a physical office, like rent, equipment, utilities, and more.
Gain Consumer Trust
Consumer behavior is evolving, as are customer expectations. Your target consumer is not just looking for the lowest-priced product on the market. They’re making more conscious efforts as well. This includes supporting brands that share the same values as them.
Improve Lives and the Company Culture
Being socially conscious does not only mean designing projects that help the environment. A truly socially responsible company knows that its efforts should be holistic. There should be efforts to improve the lives of the people in the community they belong to as well as those who are part of their workforce.
It’s important to become a company that moves with purpose. You’ll be in a better position to not only attract the right talent but to keep it as well. Employees who feel fulfilled and appreciated are more likely to continue working with their employer. This is crucial for companies that want to build a company culture with talented, driven people.
Help Address Climate Change
Insightful data analytics and industry-best marketing practices won’t be useful if there’s no planet to do your business on. While this may sound like a hyperbolic statement, it’s not that far off from what can potentially happen if there’s continuous inaction from individuals, governments, and businesses. A lot of socially conscious efforts are geared towards saving the planet and improving the quality of life of people on it, including your target consumers.
Five Ways to Become a Socially Conscious Business
There are many ways to become a socially-responsible business that people want to work for and consumers want to support. Here are five simple ways to get you started:
- Gender Pay Gap & Equality Review
Make a concerted effort to address inequality in the workplace. Your company can audit its labor and salary policies. Doing so will help identify and close wage gaps. Plus, it can also bring attention to changes that can help make your workplace truly inclusive and diverse.
- Second Chance for Ex-Prisoners
There are prisoners who are growing and learning while incarcerated in the hopes of earning a living after serving their sentence. Your company can be a trailblazer in your industry by overcoming bias and giving this traditionally untapped workforce a second chance. You’re not only getting skilled talent, but you’ll also be helping lower recidivism, or repeat offenses.
- Expand Your Recruitment Pool
Bias, even the subconscious kind, can limit your company’s aim to build diverse and talented teams. If you want a diverse workforce, then you will need to review your recruitment process. One of the most effective steps is to have a diverse hiring team. You must also make sure to expand your candidate search to schools and industries that are usually not on your radar.
- Reach Out to Local Communities
Connecting with local communities and suppliers instead of working with vendors from other locations can benefit your company in more ways than one. First, you’ll be shortening your delivery lead times and improving your production process. Second, you can spend less on transport fees. And lastly, you’re reducing the carbon footprint from your total operations.
- Learn from Industry Experts
The great thing about today’s digital age is that information can be easily shared, reviewed, and verified. You can get information about best practices from a company located on a different continent at lightning speed. Your company should maximize this easy access to various resources. Then, you can choose which ones you can adapt or tailor to help you reach your CSR (corporate social responsibility) goals.
It’s becoming clear that being socially conscious is no longer a “nice-to-have” business quality but an essential one. This is not only a customer expectation but also a necessity for companies that are in it for the long haul. In case you haven’t started yet, it’s time to make more socially conscious efforts on all fronts.