We’ve all been told listening is important, and hopefully we’ve all experienced the sense of belonging that comes from truly feeling heard. But how are we, as corporate social responsibility (CSR) leaders, incorporating that into our work?
In GlobalGiving’s journey to transform aid and philanthropy, we are committed to becoming more community-led. Learning how to listen and be responsive to the needs of our nonprofit community is an indispensable part of that commitment. Responding effectively requires collective curiosity and flexibility to tailor activities to meet nonprofit needs.
Before we respond to feedback, it’s critical to understand who we’re listening to. Our community-led research reminds us that we are all members of many communities. While the corporate social responsibility world often places “corporations” and “nonprofits” on opposite ends of the table, many people exist with a foot in both worlds. At your company, the director of marketing may have spent the first decade of their career working with grassroots organizations. Your rising people managers may be offering their empathetic leadership skills to the boards of nonprofits in their parents’ home countries. Your incoming hires may spend weekends volunteering at a nonprofit down the street from the office. But in a recent study from the Milken Institute, 74 percent of US corporate philanthropy leaders surveyed had never worked in the nonprofit sector. If you’re among this majority, listening to the wisdom of your colleagues with experience and seeking outside perspective is all the more important.
Once we understand how connected our worlds are, we can shift from one-way resource flow to two-directional relationships involving mutual growth and learning. Human-centered design tools such as co-creation, feedback loops, and social listening are ingredients for shifting perspectives. Projects like GlobalGiving Ethos are an active example of that thinking coming to life within GlobalGiving, but the possibilities are endless for your organization!
Here are three actionable ways to incorporate generous listening into your CSR strategy:
What might you learn by surveying your employees on their existing nonprofit engagements?
You might be your company’s only full-time CSR employee or part of a small team. However, you may have many more colleagues working indirectly with nonprofits. Source ideas from them to support you in assessing your programs.
How can you make time and resources available for employees outside your CSR team to attend events and share their takeaways?
We all have limited bandwidth, but people love to share what they’re passionate about. If you find the right ways to ask for help, your team will feel more valued while contributing to your shared mission.
What transferable skills could your team learn from nonprofit leaders?
Some organizations provide listening training to develop critical skills like nonviolent communication and boundary-setting, which can help your manager-team relationships evolve. Alternatively, partnering with an organization experienced in disaster relief could offer valuable insights to your leadership team on how to effectively manage crisis response.
Once you’ve embedded these habits into your CSR strategy, consider how to implement nonprofit feedback more effectively.
When asked about working with corporations, our nonprofit partners consistently highlight a few key priorities:
Here’s how some of our corporate partners have successfully aligned with these nonprofit priorities:
If this exploration intrigues you, we hope you’ll join us on this community-led journey.
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