This leads to activity that is characterised by a collective approach: compliance with best practice and adherence to common standards. This is important - it helps to ensure that companies comply with society’s expectations and protects them from criticism - but it alone is unlikely to lead to significant, sustained competitive and commercial advantage. This is delivered by leadership activity designed to exceed societal expectorations and set the organisation apart from its competitors.
We develop bespoke leadership strategies for companies wishing to use their CR activities to say something powerful about their organisation, its strengths and its values.
One of the ways in which we do this is by developing flagship programmes which use the company’s strengths to address a social or environmental issue. Such programmes create a vehicle for a company to communicate a key message and showcase its assets in a publicly demonstrable way which avoids being self-serving because it is for the benefit of society. They are therefore a very powerful device.
The programme development process tends to include the following stages:
- Define objectives
We facilitate the articulation of clear and precise objectives right at the start of the process. It is important to ensure that the objectives defined are ambitious, but also realistic. Simplicity is also essential. - Issue identification and development
This builds on the objectives defined in the first stage of the process. We conduct research to identify the issues that have a natural fit with the company in question and its objectives, and explore whether it could effectively use its core strengths and resources to address them. - Risk analysis
We conduct a thorough stress testing of the issues identified from the perspective of all the different, relevant stakeholders. This uncovers all the possible risks and drawbacks that could be associated with pursuing each of the issues and provides a rating of the level of risk of each. - Programme development
The original issue research combined with the risk analysis will indicate which issues are most promising. An issue(s) normally emerges as making the most obvious and intuitive sense. Once this has been agreed, we explore the different ways in which the company could effectively tackle the issue and build potential programmes which demonstrate how this could be done. The one which we collectively agree is most promising is then be further developed and brought to life. - Testing
We conduct some light touch research with key company stakeholders and issue stakeholders to test the idea. This plays an important role in securing buy-in from the process – crucial for the implementation stage. - Programme refinement
We refine the programme in order to incorporate stakeholder feedback and modifications and ensure that it is as robust as it could possibly be. Demonstrating that we have listened to the relevant stakeholders and acted on their advice also helps secure their commitment and support. - Identification of partners
Programmes of this nature tend to involve a partnership with a major voluntary body or NGO. We identify the most suitable partners for the programme and make broker the relationship. - Implementation planning
This stage of the process entails working out the detail of how the programme will be implemented, when and where. This includes detail budgetary planning and timing plans. It will also include the development of an initial communication strategy designed to ensure that the activity delivers maximum benefit.
