The majority of people are looking to work for companies that empower their employees through social responsibility, according to new research from SharedImpact – the world’s first global donor-advised impact investment forum.
The SharedImpact Corporate Purpose survey conducted by YouGov and published online at www.sharedimpact.org has revealed that 95% of people would be encouraged to work for a company that acted socially responsibly, and 87% would prefer to work for a company if they were told that it placed importance on empowering its employees in its donation decisions.
The Problem
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It is well known that businesses have problems recruiting and retaining high quality staff. However, nearly all of the people surveyed said they would be encouraged to work for an employer who listens to its employees and 95% for companies that behave in a socially responsible way.
Customers care too: nine out of ten people say they would be encouraged to buy from a business knowing that they treated their suppliers ethically, with even more saying that it would be important to them that the business treats its customers responsibly.
But it is not enough to simply donate to charity: engaging employees and helping charities get access to loan finance is also highly desirable. In fact, 84% of people believe that charities should have the same access to finance as businesses, and the vast majority that employees should be involved in the donation decisions.
The SharedImpact Corporate Purpose survey demonstrates that impact investment – sustainably supporting charities and social enterprises for the long term – can be used as key way to recruit and retain high quality staff.
Finding a Solution
SharedImpact’s survey reveals that people are becoming increasingly socially conscious, and place a great deal of importance on companies behaving with a socially responsible corporate purpose.
SharedImpact has been set up to meet this demand, and help companies meet this need in an inexpensive and hassle-free way. By opening a SharedImpact corporate account businesses can enable employees to engage with the funding process without the business incurring management overheads.
With businesses able to benefit from both higher employee and customer satisfaction, it is crucial that companies take advantage of this opportunity now.
Paul Cheng, Chair of SharedImpact, a registered charity, said: “Our research shows that the majority of people are looking to work for a company that embraces a socially responsible corporate purpose. With more and more people looking to become engaged in this process, it is vital for businesses to follow suit in order to win the war for talent.
“These findings reveal that customers and employees are encouraged to purchase from and work for a business if it is socially responsible. That message has never been stronger.”
