How can I implement CCI?

Developing a successful CCI programme includes thinking about the following:

• Linking it to strategic planning
• Securing senior management involvement
• Addressing real community needs
• Engaging the whole company
• Devising incentives for employees to become involved
• Publishing information to external stakeholders on community investment
• Assessing and measuring the results.

• Strategic planning CCI works best when it is an integral part of the strategic planning process, linking the community’s needs with the company’s business goals. For example, in some community investment initiatives the beneficiaries represent current or potential customers. It is important that the community investment programme be consistent with the company’s mission, values, goals, and strategies. Wherever possible, it should use the skills, knowledge, and experience of managers, employees, and other key stakeholders.

Senior management involvement Senior management can play the same role in setting and endorsing the goals and strategies for CCI that they do for other business functions. See that business decisions - including recruitment, site selection, vendor selection, environmental performance, training programmes, banking relationships, and workplace conditions - take into account their effect on the community. It may be helpful if the commitments to the community are continuous and have a value that consistently reflects a targeted percentage of revenues, purchases, or profits.

Launched in 1986 by HRH the Prince of Wales as a benchmark for corporate community investment in the UK. The PerCent Club consists of members, ranging from large corporates to SME businesses. They are committed to making an investment in the communities in which they operate and are required to make a minimum investment of 1% of UK or global pre-tax profits. For further information go to www.bitc.org.uk/

• Address real community needs Community investment programmes will be viewed cynically unless they address real and critical community needs. Engage company representatives in a dialogue with community leaders to learn how the company can provide value to the community. Such a conversation may also elicit feedback on how the company is perceived in the community, providing opportunities for the company to improve or enhance its reputation. It may be helpful to solicit regular feedback from the community about the company’s performance and contributions.

• Engage the whole company As much as possible, involve all employees, divisions, and locations in community activities. Ways of doing this include:
  - offering paid time off for employer supported volunteering
  - providing a wide range of ways that employees, their family and friends can contribute to the project, from financial contributions to more significant commitments of time and resources
  - involving company retirees, employee families, suppliers and customers.

• Give employees incentives to become involved Consider policies that encourage or support employees’ involvement in community activities. Some companies, for example, match employee contributions to local charities or causes, or make contributions to nonprofit groups in which employees are involved. Other types of company support include creating a directory of community volunteer opportunities or holding a volunteer fair, in which local organisations are invited to meet with employees interested in volunteering.

  Use creative opportunities to communicate to employees that community support and involvement is important to the company. Encourage managers and supervisors to support employee activities whenever possible. Some companies also include in managers’ and supervisors’ appraisals their abilities to encourage community involvement amongst their employees.

• Publishing community involvement to external stakeholders Publicly describe the company’s contributions and investments, the criteria used to make them, and the decision-making process, and publish this information for interested parties who want to know whether they might qualify for support or otherwise wish to engage in activity with the company. Companies often promote such information internally to help employees understand the company’s commitment and to encourage their involvement, both in their jobs and during their time off.

• Assess and measure the results Take stock of the outcome of the company’s community investments and use this information to review and revise the company’s initiatives on an ongoing basis. Whenever possible, describe the impact of company community activities in quantifiable terms and make that data widely available to provide proof to the promises made about the company’s corporate citizenship. Some companies measure the direct and indirect cost savings and benefits for both the company and the community. Often, these companies opt to include such information in an annual report to employees and other stakeholders.

  There are several standards and measurement tools to help companies evaluate their community investment. They are not mandatory, but are very useful and illustrate the desire among leadership companies to adhere to a set of management practices in corporate community investment.

  The London Benchmarking Group www.lbg-online.net is an association of businesses and The Corporate Citizenship Company. The London Benchmarking Group and its model for the management and measurement of corporate community investment, have been helping member companies effectively assess and target their community programmes since 1994. This includes evaluating the impact of community investment on corporate reputation, employee development, morale and retention, and the impact of specific community investment activities on the community itself.

For further information on how to get started in CCI read Business in the Community’s How to develop a CCI Policy & Strategy