Make no mistake, CSR participation starts at home, within the organization. Getting employee buy-in and engagement is critical to the overall success of any CSR initiative, says Jack McFadden, director of corporate responsibility and internal communication at Deloitte. "CR/sustainability must be embedded into the fabric of the organization," says McFadden. "There should be top/down and bottom/up engagement."
As one of the chief architects of Deloitte's successful Greening the Dot initiative, McFadden also believes employees need to know their personal impact on CSR initiatives, recommending interactive "one-to-one communication with real-time results." Here are McFadden's 10 internal engagement principles:
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Stress the importance of any level of participation—lots of small steps can have a big impact.
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Make it painless (no long surveys) and fun.
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Include activities with near-term completion satisfaction.
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Spread the praise…everyone gets credit.
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Make it opt-in/opt-out (self-accountability). You can’t create enthusiasm for a program that's forced on people.
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Be credible; never over-promise.
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Use technology as an efficient enabler—it's cost effective and pervasive.
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Encourage participation through interactive feedback mechanisms.
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How you communicate can be as important as what you communicate.
- Collaborate with other existing engagement elements.
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