Corporate social responsibility policies increase the motivation, productivity and sense of belonging of work teams, strengthen a company’s ability to attract and retain talent, and improve the workplace climate. These are the main conclusions of the study  Influence of CSR on People Mangement: Best Practices, carried out by the ESADE Institute for Social Innovation in collaboration with ISS Iberia. The report was presented today at ESADE’s Madrid campus.

The aim of the report is to study and describe the impact of social responsibility on the way in which organisations manage their people. Specifically, the study analysed flexibility and work-life balance policies at Calidad Pascual, policies on the integration of people with disabilities at ISS Iberia, corporate volunteering experiences at BASF and 'healthy company' policies at Henkel in Spain. These four examples show that the interaction of the two organisational areas, through dual-dimension programmes and an appropriate organisational model, can facilitate decision-making for managers, generate initiatives and assist in overcoming obstacles. In addition to these benefits, the report describes the advantages of other initiatives, such as fostering diversity, caring for emotional health, providing skills training and responsible outplacement.

Ignasi Carreras, Director of Executive Education Programmes for NGOs at the ESADE Institute for Social Innovation and co-author of the report, commented: 'Social responsibility practices play a highly important and effective role in achieving the desired level of employee engagement with the company due to their ability to offer a purpose, boost corporate ethics and create a work environment that is worth belonging to. In short, CSR guarantees responsible and effective people management.'

Javier Urbiola, Executive Chairman of ISS Iberia, commented: 'At a company like ISS, people are a fundamental asset. Our aim is to create a cooperative, innovative work environment that facilitates the inclusion of all sorts of workers. Taking social responsibility actions and creating opportunities for everyone are essential parts of the company’s culture and values. That’s why we are committed to providing quality employment for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. At present, people with disabilities account for 5% of our staff.'

Ten commandments of responsible people management

By way of conclusion, the authors of 'Influence of CSR on People Management: Best Practices” – Ignasi Carreras, Lecturer and Director of Executive Education Programmes for NGOs and researcher Carlos Cortés, both based at the ESADE Institute for Social Innovation – presented a list of 'ten commandments' describing key lines of action that can help a company evolve towards the concept of responsible, effective, high-impact people management.

1. Incorporate responsible people management into the company’s overall strategy.
2. Promote and consolidate a 'responsible leadership' style.
3. Generate and nourish a culture of responsibility.
4. Set up effective mechanisms for listening to and involving stakeholders.
5. Create added value throughout the company’s management chain.
6. Facilitate interaction between CSR, people management and all other areas.
7. Set medium- and long-term objectives and goals, accompanied by a system of metrics.
8. Take advantage of interactions between CSR and people management.
9. Define a responsible people-management agenda.
10. Integrate CSR and people management into 'responsible people management'.