Corporate social responsibility done right: 5 ways to help your company shine

Thanks to the 24/7 digital connection between customers and companies, organizations can no longer treat corporate social responsibility as an afterthought. Here are some ideas to step up your game.

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Corporate social responsibility used to be a bolt-on afterthought for many companies. Firms would budget some leftover funding for charity, make some end-of-year donations or schedule volunteer time for their employees and check the corporate social responsibility box.

Today, thanks to a 24/7 digital connection between customer and company, empowered consumers are demanding more from the corporate world. Companies are responding in a variety of different ways as they operate in this new landscape where they are expected to be more transparent, communicative and hands-on in trying to make the world a better place.

Related: The Power of Giving Back: How Community Involvement Can Boost Your Bottom Line

Here are five ways that you can try to develop authentic and powerful corporate social responsibility programs:

1. Crowdsource ideas. A top-down, command-and-control type of company hierarchy is a bad match for inspiring a truly vibrant corporate social responsibility program. Use digital tools to engage employees in the idea-generation process. Ask them what they want the company to take on to give back to the community.

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