Seven practical examples of social value for your business
Social Value and you - There are things that you can be doing, however small, that could influence genuine change.
Photo By: Markus Spiske on Unsplash
Even if your day job has nothing to do with creating social value, you will likely have ideas about how to make things better in your workplace
We want this year to be the year you take ownership of these ideas and find ways to put them into practice. And if social value is part of your day job – lucky you! We hope you find some of the following ideas useful in persuading colleagues that it needs to be integrated across all functions rather than simply funnelled through CSR.
It’s easy to assume that ‘change’ can only be implemented by decision-makers in the boardroom or legislated in Parliament. Each and every one of us has a sphere of influence that can nudge organisations to change. We are all cogs in the machine, and we have the power to move things along.
Companies are not heartless or faceless organisations. They are made up of individuals. You and I; are members of the general public who increasingly say they want organisations to be ‘doing the right thing’ and are not afraid to hold companies to account. You are as much a stakeholder in the workplace as investors, customers and local communities, and in this day and age, stakeholder capital matters.
This blog will provide you with some practical ways that you can push for change. Photo By: Brad Starkey on Unsplash
Finding the solution to the problem
It can be hard to move from talking about something to doing it, especially when you work for a large or complex organisation. Depending on your workplace culture and hierarchy, your passion and drive to create more social value might lead to frustration than action. But there are things that you can be doing, however small, that could influence genuine change.
The first step is getting your employer to see that social value is a growth driver. If your bosses are generally reluctant to look up from the bottom line, it’s time to show them how social value and economic value are inextricably linked and that there are tangible business benefits to be had from ‘doing the right thing’. These include, but are not limited to:
Strengthening brand reputation
Reducing reputational and operational risk
Helping you win new customers and retain existing ones - making you the supplier of choice in your market
Helping recruit and retain employees
Strength your supply chain
Delivering on ESG requirements demanded by investors
Helping your business prepare for legislation changes before they come into force
Where to start?
So how are you going to put your ideas into practice? Here are some practical ways that you can push for change.
1. Spread the word. So many interesting people are talking about how companies can and should maximise their positive impact on society. If you spot interesting articles or examples, send them to colleagues or share them on LinkedIn. Our blog is a great place to start with perspectives on social value in many different sectors, or you could set up a Google Alert for ‘Social Value’ to get a daily dose of inspiration in your inbox.
2. Start from where you are. Social value can be a vague term, but if you think about it in terms of the people you are working with and impacting, it becomes much more tangible. Understanding your stakeholders and how you can deliver value for them is key to effective social value. Map out all the stakeholders you connect with – customers, the environment, shareholders, communities, and suppliers, and think about their needs. Take a step back and think about how you can tweak your work to deliver more for them. What can you do to add value to those groups, no matter how small? You may think that you can’t make that much of a difference, but all action starts somewhere, and making small differences is a really good way to test ideas and gain support. This can be a great exercise to demonstrate that creating social value can be a byproduct of doing what you want to do as a business.
3. Step outside your department. Organisational change cannot happen in a vacuum, and the more you understand the breadth of your organisation, the more likely you are to identify solutions that could not only solve problems but make your overall business stronger. Do you understand how all the different parts of your workplace fit together? Can you have conversations with colleagues to better understand their pressures and goals?
4. Read PPN06: If ‘social value’ still seems a bit vague, or you wanted to understand what it can look like on a practical level, check out the government’s latest policy procurement note on social value, PPN06. It’s essential reading for those working in or for the public sector, but even if you don’t, it provides a useful list of topics to focus on, including supporting Covid-19 recovery, tackling economic inequality, fighting climate change, equal opportunity and wellbeing.
5. Look beyond social value. By now, you’ll better understand what you might like to change in your sphere of influence and what that might look like. To move to the next stage – action – it’s important to identify the commercial benefit of making this change and map out what you think the solution would be and any risks or unintended consequences. Your employer is much more likely to listen to the problem if you can help them see the commercial benefit of change and offer a suggested solution to make it happen. It can help to look at your company’s strategic aims too. We’re not aware of any company that says its goal is only to make money (at least out loud!), and your company will likely have a mission statement and strategic aims that can be a useful lodestone when thinking about what social value means to your company, and the language you need to use to get buy-in.
6. Approach your employer. You’ve identified what you’d like to change, spoken to colleagues in other departments, gathered a portfolio of best practices, listed your commercial benefits and outlined your suggested solutions. Now’s the time to approach your employer. This might be in a formal letter or meeting. Whatever your approach, encourage colleagues to support you and do the same. Don’t forget that decision-makers will probably only pull the lever if you help them to see the personal and commercial benefits of doing so.
7. Offer to start a Social Value Working Group or Network. Improve your internal networking by formalising it as a working group or network. Effective social value requires cooperation from across a business. It doesn’t usually work as an add-on, or if it’s all funnelled through CSR. It might be that your company isn’t ready to embrace the concept, but bringing together a group of like-minded people from across the business can be empowering, and as long as you are clear on your remit (initially, it could be simply bringing together research on what you currently do in your company, and what competitors are doing) then it can be a useful indication to Senior Management that there is an appetite to explore further.
Making a difference
Once your ideas are being listened to, there are plenty of ways you can continue to take ownership of the issue and drive change forward.
Undertake some formal training. Check out our training sessions for Suppliers, see Social Value UK, or the many free resources on www.socialimpact.tools/
Facilitate discussion. Ask your employer to book one of our Social Value Practitioners to host a facilitated Social Value Conversation in your organisation. We have two versions; one with strategic senior managers and one open Q+A with staff from across the organisation. These open and honest conversations are a great way to kickstart social value conversations in your business and only take a few hours.
How we can help
At Samtaler, we understand the importance of your social value commitment. You’re here because you care about the impact your business has on society and want to be better. We want you to succeed, and we know from experience that achieving social value requires skill, strategy, and support.
To find out how we can help send an email to hello@samtaler.co.uk
Sign up to The Social Value Files for inspiration and practical ideas to create social value for your business.
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