Companies Strong On Donations - Study
23 August 2007 at 4:02 pm
According to a recent global study of HR practitioners, four out of five Australian businesses donate to charity as part of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy.
But the survey also found that only one in three connects branding to CSR policy, and one in five monitors global fair labour practices as part of doing business.
However, slightly more than half of Australian businesses (52%) monitor the environmental impact of business decisions, the study reports.
The findings are the results of a survey of human resource practitioners conducted in 2006-2007 by the US-based Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in association with professional HR bodies worldwide, including the Australian Human Resource Institute.
The findings draw on 1,985 HR practitioner respondents from seven countries: Brazil, Canada, China, India, Mexico, Australia and the US.
The study found that obstacles working against the adoption of a CSR policy include cost and unproven benefits, as well as a perception that CSR has little to no effect on productivity or profit.
Despite these negatives, the report found that companies were prepared to take up CSR policies, with 96% of larger companies (500+ employees) and 83% of smaller enterprises (less than 90 employees) taking up a CSR policy.
On the other side of the ledger, the study found that the main positive results of CSR were seen to be a stronger public image, improved employee morale, increased brand recognition and better employee loyalty.
The Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) is the national association representing human resource and people management professionals.
