Mission proposed and carried out by Karine Lecomte, interim manager – CSR Director.
BACKGROUND
The client is an SME in the banking/insurance sector that wishes to call on an interim manager to help it define its purpose and better structure its sponsorship actions as part of its CSR approach.
A purpose makes it possible to unite teams around a meaningful project, develop employee engagement, get the ecosystem on board, improve trust and the relationship with stakeholders and activate the company’s transformation through a strong and ambitious social, societal and environmental policy.
The company had also set up many sponsorship actions but without any real strategy, employee involvement and follow-up of actions.
MISSION
The definition of purpose is a process that has been structured in several stages. Karine Lecomte first conducted an audit phase with a series of qualitative interviews with employees from the various departments to better understand the DNA and uniqueness of this company. Then, with the support of a task force of volunteer employees, it drafted a first version of the raison d’être. In a third step, it organized working sessions with internal experts from different departments to challenge the written rationale and refine it. Finally, the rationale was presented to the company’s management for final validation.
Karine also supported the company in the implementation of a Patronage policy, including the creation of a Patronage Committee to structure local anchoring actions, one of the dimensions of CSR according to ISO 26 000. After an audit phase of the sponsorship actions carried out, it recommended a sponsorship policy to the company’s management. She then proposed to various employees recommended by their managers to join the Sponsorship Committee and then collaboratively defined the Committee’s operating methods and areas of action during the first meeting. The employees have organised themselves in pairs to manage each territory. Partner associations were selected collectively and the actions were then implemented.
Karine has also defined a methodology for monitoring and assessing the actions undertaken shared with the members of the Patronage Committee.
CONCLUSION
The purpose is the fundamental step in initiating a CSR approach and anchoring it internally. It sets the company’s course for the next few years and provides a framework for making the company’s strategic decisions.
Defining the purpose is a delicate exercise because it must be intimately linked to the business model and activities of the company while being forward-looking.
A well-defined Patronage policy with internal employee engagement is a lever for strengthening its employer brand and positive visibility of the company with its external internal stakeholders.