Standing for something

The voices are clamouring… ‘be our sponsor’, ‘lead our effort to support this cause, ‘use some of your huge profits to deal with this important issue’. If you are a Director, a CEO or a Corporate Affairs executive these are common refrains.

But while we all naturally wish to support worthy causes and advance important social issues, how do you decide to back a particular issue?

At Daymark we have dealt with these questions both as executives in large corporations and as advisers to our clients. This is a bit of what we have learnt over the journey.

First some context. Over the past few years reputation surveys by RepTrak, Edelman and others show that trust in governments, institutions and corporations has been in decline. Globalisation, the rise of autocracy, economic and health impacts caused by the pandemic and governmental responses to it, rising corporate profits, product failures and job insecurity have all contributed to this threat to trust.

Staff, customers and voters are more discerning, more demanding, more informed and have a louder voice. Your efforts to take a stand on social issues must be viewed through this prism.

In choosing where to take a stand consider the following issues:

1. Relevance to your business purpose

Your cause should be relevant and hopefully consistent with your corporate purpose – the reason you exist. At global pharmaceutical company, Sanofi, its purpose is [to] ‘…chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives.’ Consistent with its purpose, Sanofi says it has a responsibility ‘to play our part in addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges.’ It undertakes work under four pillars: affordable access, R&D for unmet needs, planet care, and in and beyond the workplace. In these areas Sanofi is uniquely positioned to make a difference.

2. Staff input

Of all of your stakeholders, in this regard your staff are your most precious asset and most likely to select your issue or cause. In large organisations they reflect both their demographics and the specific needs of the cities and regional areas they live and work in. In a large multinational public transport company where Daymark has worked the Corporate Affairs team worked up 10 options for the management and staff to choose five causes that the company would support. The long list met certain criteria in keeping with the CSR strategy. The engagement of the giving program that resulted was largely due to the democratic nature of the process; many people commented that it was empowering for a bus driver to have the same say as an executive team member. The program has grown and thrived because the seeds were sown in the minds of all staff.

You may have noticed that Coles has been an active and loud supporter of the Pride movement over many years and a key plank of its strategy here is that it is staff-led. Even staff who are not particularly interested in LGBTQIA+ issues are proud that their employer lives this key pillar of its Better Together strategy under its ‘everyone is welcome at our table’ banner.

3. Strategic alignment

A strategic approach to these matters is critical to build long term support at Board and executive level and within your stakeholders.

In our experience the most successful programs have arisen from a CSR strategy or a commitment to ESG outcomes driven by internal and external stakeholders. Several years ago Daymark worked with Medibank to help establish the Medibank Community Fund with a view to identifying suitable, established community partners to provide pathways to better health outcomes for its members. This approach was driven by a commitment from the very top and a strategy linked to broader goals of the business.

4. Stakeholders can make or break your strategy

We have mentioned the importance of staff. Other stakeholders are also critical to the success of your pursuit of having a voice on the big issues of the day. If your company is determined to engage on issues that are likely to cause controversy – and tackling big issues should lead to debate – assign senior executives to engage with your clients or other stakeholders to explain your thinking. We advised one client in this regard and even though its key customer was expected to be ‘uncomfortable’ with the stance it was going to take, the customer eventually came on board and became a supporter once the initial storm abated.

5. Be Brave

Martin Luther King Jr said that ‘the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice’. But it doesn’t bend by itself, people have to ‘do the bending’. This can be individuals, governments, corporations or civil society. But they must all be brave to advance justice and improve outcomes. No organisation is perfect but some have been pioneers of certain causes be they BHP on Indigenous issues in various countries (even as a result of previous failures), the Victorian Government on seat belt and drink driving laws last century and with voluntary assisted dying more recently, or Westpac and its work on gender equality.

6. Future focused

Once a company has a track record on working on certain issues and delivering genuine outcomes they can turn their minds to what the next big issue will be. A focus on future issues will keep staff motivated and stakeholders actively engaged. It is the role of the Corporate/Public Affairs team to be at the vanguard of the ‘next issue’. We can imagine that issues flowing from AI, blockchain technology, hybrid working, deglobalisation, supply chain disruptions, geopolitical breakdowns and the increasing importance of ESG will feature in the very near future.

7. Communicate

You won’t be surprised to learn that a reputation/PR agency recommends more communication! But it is true that communication about your causes is absolutely vital. Starting with the engagement of staff and harnessing their passion to engage your external stakeholders, you must use all of the communication tools at your disposal. We often see that the old school methods still work in certain settings, eg: the tool box talk, the poster in the lunchroom while the use of modern tools such as Slack, other social channels and targeted micro campaigns are important too.