Early in 2022, Verity London kickstarted a new research project – the Responsible Business Professionals Survey – to help us understand the experience of today’s Responsible Business professionals, and how the role of communications assists them in their important work.
We conducted the research through one-to-one interviews, a wide range of desk research, discussions with our clients and contacts, as well as gathering information via our online survey.
It was an eye-opening experience with a number of important themes coming through.
We launched our Report on April 27th. Download it here in full, and in the meantime, here’s a sneak peek of some of the core findings.
A big theme, and one that we heard across the board, is that Responsible Business Professionals are passionate, committed and absolutely invested in the difference their work can make to their organisation. But you knew that already.
What’s perhaps less well known is that, at times, the sheer volume of activity these individuals and small teams are being tasked with is taking its toll. The growing demand for Responsible Business policy and practice starting to wear down some of these otherwise passionate professionals.
The pressure is coming from all angles; Investors requiring enhanced ESG and sustainability reporting, HR requiring details for employee engagement and recruitment, Procurement needing case studies and data regarding Social Value commitments for tender documents and bids and the CEO’s office asking for details to include in speeches, presentations and meetings.
Which means that – at times – these brilliant people, despite their commitment, feel conflicted as to which way to turn first. What work to prioritise. Everyone wants a piece of the Responsible Business professional at the moment, and some feel they almost need a clone to get the job done.
Of course, a volume of work is not an experience unique to those working in the Responsible Business space. Many other business areas are feeling the pinch right now as we return to a new normal way of working while everything in the world still appears to remain anything but. But the purpose arena spreads across so many departments and interests, that those who took part in our research felt like they had many different areas to serve.
So what can we, as the Strategy and Communications Agency for Responsible Business, do to help? In short, we can listen and we can act.
Which brings us back to the purpose of our research. What we hope is that, by discussing the experience of Responsible Business professionals, we can open up the conversation on the importance of this work moving forwards, and its centrality to ongoing organisational strategy and comms. We’ll also tailor the advice and support we provide to clients. Making sure that it’s garnered, not only from our own experience and know-how, but also from that of our clients and their peers. In this way, everything we do for our clients is grounded in practical application and delivery. It’s based on what we know works.
Above all else, a key learning we’ve heard, based on our research, is that communications remains the absolute ‘super power’ when it comes to enabling the impact and efficiency required around Responsible Business activity.
Either through the creation of Responsible Business strategies with associated and agreed priorities, through narratives based on clear and easily understood messaging, or through the development of a portfolio of high-quality creative content for use by all in an organisation, content that prevents the time-consuming creation and recreation of an organisation’s responsible business messaging and which encourages buy in, understanding and emotional engagement in a brand’s unique purpose.
But what’s behind the pressure to deliver everything ‘now’? Largely, it’s the need to meet a range of metrics, regulation and stakeholder expectations for details of items such as carbon emissions, social impact and ESG measures that in many cases didn’t exist a year ago. Something that is naturally creating a sense of urgency.
But to this we would simply say. Simply breathe. It is vital to remember that for many organisations this is the ‘beginning’. And that this is OK.
As much as the analogy of the ‘journey’ is somewhat overused, we still find ourselves turning to it regularly because to use another overused idiom, Rome was not built in a day, and neither was it built by a single Responsible Business manager or their – usually small – team.
Many of the demands being placed on these individuals actually require what we call the joining of the dots– a whole organisation approach which starts with the development of effective Responsible Business strategies, a roadmap and associated communications plans.
So committing to that first step – working to understand where the business is now, where it wants to be, and what frameworks and fundamentals are required to achieve this – is time well spent.
Finally, one other important theme that came through is that we need to ensure Responsible Business professionals feel less ‘alone’. Something we heard repeatedly is that, as a relatively new and often quite lightly resourced function, those in these posts can sometimes feel quite exposed.
At Verity London we’re the expert outsider who understands these issues, and can discuss and debate suitable approaches to every unique Responsible Business need in an informed way.
We work with our clients to explore their Responsible Business challenges and opportunities. And due to our ever-expanding network of those working in this space (at the last count we had several hundred Responsible Business professionals in our community) we can chat through these with anybody, regardless of their needs or ability to use agency resource. Whilst also making introductions between peers. For example, our regular webinars often result in new connections being formed and networks established around sectors or areas of particular interest.
To read the report in full, download it here.
Top line takeaway for now – if we had one piece of advice for any organisation with high hopes for their brilliant Responsible Business professional it would be this. Give them support, give them time, give them resources and give them the ability to prioritise as they see fit. Because it’s a big job, and every company has to be in it for the long haul.
To become part of the Verity London community and receive ideas about of how the power of strategy and communications can help your organisation, follow us on LinkedIn, check out our website veritylondon.co.uk or get in touch debra.sobel@veritylondon.co.uk
