What is Community Involvement?

Most large organisations operate community involvement programmes as part of their strategy of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Research shows that these programmes bring benefits to employees, local communities, shareholders and society. There is a clear connection between the health and profitability of a company and the general well-being of the community in which it does business. Organisations need local goodwill as a ‘licence to operate’; their active involvement as part of the local community helps to intergrate and align their needs with those of other community members. Where local communities have a high representation of ethnic minorities, it makes good business sense to specifically take these into account in an organisation’s community involvement activities.

Where to Start?

Provide an opportunity to engage with the community through structured and focused short term projects designed specifically to offer a skill or develop a core competence – employees can develop teamwork, communication, handling and managing change, innovation, leadership, influencing, decision-making, coaching or presentation skills. Projects can be easily integrated into Learning & Development strategies and provide a useful complement to appraisal processes.

Top Tip

Nurturing Talent – the creative sector makes up over half of the local economy. The use of street language appeals to young people and reassures them that this is a genuine opportunity. Larger businesses could benefit from what ‘Flex’ and others like them are doing, by working in partnership.