How Do Employees Value Corporate Social Responsibility?
One of the most important principles of Work and Organizational Psychology is that, when looking for job options, workers do not only value the pay they receive month by month. The reality is that beyond the needs that can be covered financially, there are many relevant emotional aspects that can make the difference between being able to maintain a stable team of workers, on the one hand, or having to constantly search for new personnel. to fill vacancies, on the other.
Part of the resources that organizations have to offer attractive options to potential employees has to do with Corporate Social Responsibility , an aspect that is often underestimated or considered a “mere facade” but that really has a real impact on the way in which the company is perceived both from the outside… and from within. Let’s see it in this article.
In short, Corporate Social Responsibility is the set of strategies and resources that organizations voluntarily allocate to social and environmental improvement. This way of participating in the maintenance and improvement of the environment is not limited to strict compliance with the law (taking into account that States create a legal framework that limits the room for maneuver of companies when operating in their territory), but really starts from the decisions made deliberately to actively engage in having a positive impact.
Although these types of actions have an immediate cost in economic terms, they are not limited to mere philanthropy or even charity, since in many aspects Corporate Social Responsibility has a positive return for companies Here we will focus only on those that have effects on the functioning of Human Resources, and specifically, on the way in which it influences the perception of the organization by potential future workers and workers who are already part of the organization. template of an organization.
How does Corporate Social Responsibility benefit Human Resources?
Starting from the idea that avoiding the constant need to find substitutes for vacant positions is the most effective way to manage a company through employee loyalty and speed when filling vacancies, let’s look at the main benefits and advantages that Corporate Social Responsibility produces in the image of the company for present and future workers
1. It helps to qualitatively differentiate yourself from competitors when recruiting workers
Especially in economic and productive sectors in which it is very difficult to offer working conditions that are significantly better than those of the competition in terms of remuneration, Corporate Social Responsibility helps to stand out not through the quantitative, but through the qualitative
2. Helps enhance group identification
Feeling part of a team that has a positive impact on the world makes it much more likely to create an emotional bond between workers and the organization, especially in essentially vocational profiles.
3. It leads to a better work environment
Corporate Social Responsibility generates an impact on the way in which workers perceive the company’s values, since human beings have a way of interpreting the moral burden of things that tends to be coherent and relatively homogeneous. Phenomena such as the halo effect show us that once an individual has perceived a quality that he considers positive in a person or a corporate entity, he tends to adopt an optimistic and more “kind” mentality when evaluating the rest.
Thus, Seeing that the company maintains a positive relationship with the environment predisposes us to also see the “work ecosystem” in a positive way or work environment within the company, which avoids problems such as avoidable conflicts, the appearance of opposing sides for spurious reasons, the fear of communicating problems in the work flow, etc.
4. Gives the opportunity for workers to get involved in the company
Once a Corporate Social Responsibility plan has been established, it is relatively simple to enable workers to also, on an individual level, contribute to these positive actions; for example, donating a small amount month by month. Thus increases connection with the company
5. It offers individual prestige on a social level
Finally, we must not forget that professionals who remain within the team or decide to join it through a selection process can also directly benefit from the Corporate Social Responsibility of the place where they work, thanks to the prestige this gives.
Do you want to specialize in the field of Human Resources?
If you are interested in training and professionalizing in the field of HR, the University Master’s Degree in Talent Selection and Management from the University of Malaga (UMA) is for you. This training program is especially oriented to the practical aspects of personnel selection, worker training and talent retention within the company, all with the help of a teaching team made up of professionals who dedicate most of their time their time to work as consultants or lead the HR departments of several of the most important companies in the Spanish territory. In addition, it allows the two main blocks to be taken separately in the format of a 25 ECTS credit university course: Expert in Talent Selection, on the one hand, and Expert in Training, Personal and Organizational Development, on the other. In addition, it allows you to carry out internships in the final section of the Master.
