Mind the Implementation Gap

While the professional corporate citizenship community built up a fair amount of expertise in engaging external stakeholders - often because of the threat of reputational damage if this fails - engaging employees and managers in this work previously received little press. There seemed to be a growing focus on addressing this "implementation gap" in the first quarter of 2003.

In a survey of CEOs prepared for the World Economic Forum in Davos, many "acknowledged that their companies are still at the 'starting blocks' in terms of establishing key performance measures for corporate citizenship issues and integrating these into executive development and recruitment programmes, or into performance appraisals and incentive structures." Through the survey, the CEOs offered some advice on what works. "The 'internal communication of values and policies' received more 'votes' by the CEOs than any other option in the questionnaire. It was listed as being one of the three most important factors by 90% of respondents. This was followed by 'establishing key performance measures'. 'Building internal skills and capacity' was also ranked highly, after the key external activity of "engaging in dialogue and partnership with external stakeholders". 1

The United Nations Global Compact also looked at implementation. Their Annual Learning Forum discussed "the experiences and problems of integrating the nine principles into core business operations." 2 Participants "felt the need for more analytical case studies; the dissemination of best practices; and a professional guide to the principles". One such tool will be the Global Compact Performance Model for sustainable development, developed by Claude Fussler of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). "The model is based on the "plan, do, check, act" model," a working group noted. "It embraces the following elements: (1) vision, (2) leadership, (3) empowerment, (4) resources, (5) policies and strategies, (6) processes and innovation, (7) impact on society, environment and value chain, and (8) reporting. 3

Training courses also looked at the issue. For example, Deloitte & Touche included a session on "Implementing CSR: change strategies and clearing the hurdles on the way" in their March workshop with the New Academy of Business. Publications also offered some advice. The organisation CSR Europe launched Exploring Business Dynamics - mainstreaming CSR in a company's strategy, management and systems. In it, "CSR leaders such as Johnson & Johnson and BP explain how they have managed to translate the concept of CSR into a daily business reality, using tools such as integrated management performance systems, the balance scorecard, and new forms of staff training and recruitment. Companies show how they have managed to combine CSR issues with a strong performance culture, for instance by making non-financial goals up to one third of their performance appraisals and reward structures." 4

One such company is the food giant Danone. In February, they announced the continuation of their "Danone Way", which aims to mainstream social and environmental responsibility across the whole company. "The programme features an intranet site," say Danone, "that asks each company to assess their own performance on the basis of 130 questions related to issues such as food safety, human resource policies, environmental impacts and relationships with suppliers. At each company, a management committee conducts this self-assessment with the assistance of working groups bringing together managers and other employees." Danone have created a link between corporate citizenship performance and reward. "Up to 40% of the bonuses paid to each company are based on the performance in the 'Danone Way' exercise." 5

As the focus on implementation grows, so the professional field of Organisational Development (OD) is coming into view. OD, normally left to the devices of the Human Resources professionals, "focuses on various aspects of organisational life, aspects that include culture, values, systems and behaviour. The goal of OD is to increase organisational effectiveness and organisational health, through planned interventions in the organisation's processes or operations. Most often, OD Services are requested when an organisation is undergoing a process of change." At the heart of OD are questions around leadership, organisational culture and change management. The director of Future Considerations, a consultancy specialising in organisational development for corporate citizenship, Paul Gibbons points out that "you need to work deeply with employees' values and organisational culture, and that takes leadership." 6