Most companies have a clear end goal—maximize profit. Yet, in today’s social climate, patrons are increasingly calling upon their beloved brands to pursue an alternative goal of social responsibility.
Indeed, in the past, many businesses have been ruthless in the pursuit of absolute profit, wreaking havoc on the environment, and exploiting human resources. We are paying for the negligence of these companies to this day, dealing with the long-lasting aftermath of environmental pollution.
Now more than ever, the responsibility falls on creative entrepreneurs to engineer their for-profit organization to also have a positive impact on the society it depends on.
Skills Development
next_academy/Unsplash: Developing useful skills
What does your task-force look like? Do you see that majority of your employees belong to the same race or gender?
No organization benefits from a homogenized employment roster. A sincere effort must be made by companies to create opportunities for people of marginalized communities. This could take the form of skills development, where companies recruit keen hopefuls and provide them with on-the-job training with the skills needed for their job. While this may not work for highly specialized or niche skillsets, it can be applied to a variety of tasks like coding, assembly lines, and infrastructure development.
Trade for Talent
huntersrace/Unsplash: Professional environment for all employees
Many organizations usually shy away from recruiting more employees simply because they do not have the budget to dole out more salaries. However, money is not the only incentive for work.
Payment can come in many forms, including meal vouchers, subscription services, and even stocks. New additions to the workforce, in particular, would be more flexible in terms of how they would like to receive a gratuity for their services. They can be recruited to perform additional tasks like contact-tracing during a time of crisis in lieu of increasing the burden on current employees beyond their station.
Cross-Subsidization
Practiced by many businesses on a small scale, cross-subsidization involves capitalizing on ‘normal’ sales to offset the cost of subsidizing ones. This could include ‘pay it forward’ initiatives, where one purchase from a regular customer allows the business to provide a product free of cost to someone else. The company could also benefit from taking a portion of the profit from regular sales and channeling it into a subsidized sale.
Companies who sell essentials, like medicine, food, and other necessities, are encouraged to explore cross-subsidization. While it will eat into your overall net profit, you will be expanding your consumer base while simultaneously helping those in need.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
noahbuscher/Unsplash: Minimize pollution using bio-degradable
If your enterprise produces a physical product, it is a worthy investment to redesign it such that it minimizes pollution. Many companies have sought creative solutions, such as using bio-degradable packaging.
If your product cannot be reused, another suggestion would be to make sure it can be ‘upcycled’ after use. This means providing suggestions on the packaging that show consumers different ways a used product can be repurposed rather than thrown away.
Besides the monetary goals, it is essential to have social objectives that drive your company. Having a strong set of values will ground your employees, and a noble common goal can be a powerful motivator. Consumers, too, are increasingly doing research into the products and services they use and choosing to contribute only to those businesses that give back to the community.