CSR for HR in the Big Pandemic

Last week I had the honor and pleasure to contribute to the Live Interactions Program of the International Institute for Corporate Social Responsibility (IICSR) and share my thoughts about CSR for HR (human resources). Many thanks to Harsha Mukherjee, IICSR founder,  for her kind invitation. 

Since the publication of my book, CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices in 2010, which now seems like a lifetime ago, I have written and collaborated on several papers, briefings, book chapters and articles on this topic, delivered talks, workshops and facilitated discussions and engaged with HR leaders. Overall, while there has been some shift in approach, I think my mantra: It's time for HR to wake up to CSR is still relevant today. I believe the HR function in general is lagging in its understanding of sustainable business, its willingness to think beyond the traditional HR role and its openness to be a partner in leading sustainable business transformation. A few months back, I gave a talk to a large group of HR professionals in a global company about the connection between HR and the Sustainable Development Goals. For many, it was the very first time they were seeing the broader picture. The arguments are compelling. Companies with progressive HR leadership are undoubtedly, for me, the ones that will be the most agile, resilient and successful over time. 

And then came the Big Pandemic. And with it, an entirely new level of understanding of that well-worn and not entirely true-ringing phrase "our employees are our greatest assets". Now, corporate leaders are using this phrase like they actually mean it, with a new kind of respect in their tone and a degree of compassion in their heart. Through this pandemic, employees have been in focus - both because of their new vulnerability in the workplace and because of their flexibility, creativity and willingness to go the extra mile in a time of crisis. Beyond the essential workers, who in every market have been risking their lives to keep work going, keep people connected, protected and motivated, the rank and file of our global corporations have suddenly become the center... really the center.. not just lip-service to being at the center. I believe a new level of respect for employees by corporate leaders is one of the positive outcomes of COVID-19. I call it a leadership awakening, and if the Human Resources function does not emerge from its comfort zone, embrace this awakening and leverage it to drive a new kind of HR leadership, in a new kind of world, then it will be one of the biggest failures of business today. (I won't dwell here on the Black Lives Matter movement, which is combining with COVID-19 to amplify the need for proactively inclusive business in an inclusive and equitable society. This is of course no less important.) 

Anyway, despite a few technical hitches on the Zoom platform, I delivered an overview of CSR for HR: The COVID-19 Differential, covering the following points:

• CSR for HR: An overview 
• The impact of COVID-19 on the management of work 
• The new challenges for HR leaders managing workplaces in light of the COVID-19 pandemic 
• The new focus for HR Leaders post COVID-19 
• The CSR opportunities for HR leaders post COVID-19

Here it is:

Stay well, stay safe, stay optimistic!

elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Ice Cream Addict. Owner/Manager of Beyond Business Ltd, an inspired Sustainability Strategy and Reporting firm having supported 107 client reports to date; author of three books and several chapters on Sustainability Reporting and the Human Resources connection to CSR; frequent chair and speaker at sustainability events and judge in several sustainability awards programs each year. Contact me via Twitter , LinkedIn or via Beyond Business   

Betting on a sustainable (MBA) future?

This is just a reminder to interested readers of the CSR Reporting Blog that I also run a blog which is specifically focussed on the role of the HR function in driving CSR. You can find it at CSRforHR.com. This is in anticipation of my forthcoming book: CSR for HR - A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices (publication in October). Please do take a look at this blog and I would be delighted if you would subscribe by email :)

My most recent post on Green MBA's , which follows my editorial on CSRwire.com entitled "Will Green MBA's save the planet?" relates primariliy to the recruiting practices of corporates who talk sustainability but blithely ignore the thousands of Green (sustainablility) MBA grads who enter the job market each year.

As I continue to read and scrutinize numerous CSR reports, I will be watching for those Companies which mention the encouragement of appropriate CSR and sustainability education in their recruiting programs. It seems to me that a Company who is betting on a sustainable future ought to be concerned enough to support the business schools that are aligning themselves with this objective.

elaine cohen is co-founder and co-CEO of Beyond Business, an inspired leading social and environmental consulting and reporting firm. Visit our website at www.b-yond.biz/en

What is Deutsche Telekom's report worth ?

I was disturbed to read about the criticism by its own employees of Deutsche Telekom's alleged unionbusting practices in the USA and commented on this in my blog on CSR and HR practices, with reference to Human Resources practices of this company. Clearly, this backlash was timed to conincide with the publication of Deutche Telekom's  2010 Corporate Responsibility Report , announced earlier this week, and forms part of an ongoing and well-planned campaign which includes a report called "Lowering the Bar" published by Dr John Logan of San Fransisco University, a seemingly credible figure, a website, and many interventions  on Facebook and social media. An organized campaign designed to enable Deutsche Telekom's employees at T-Mobile in the USA to unionize and discredit the Company for allegedly not allowing them to do so. 

Why would employes have to resort to this sort of campaign for unionization? Freedom of association is one of the fundamental principles of the International Labor Organization and the United Nations Global Compact which Deutcshe Telekom declare support for. The German employee population are unionized and enjoy a strong position. What's the big deal here? Where is the truth ?

The Press Release for the 2010 report on EthicalPerformance.com stated:

The report, titled 'We take responsibility', claims that Deutsche Telekom is well on the way to adopting an international leadership role on sustainability and corporate responsibility and 'is making it easier for customers and suppliers to participate in modern everyday life with sustainable and international products, processes and services'..........The report has also been checked by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) for an A+ application level against the GRI G3 reporting framework. 

In this report, despite the GRI index, and UNGC communication on progress, I couldnt find any reference to labour disbutes in the USA. The most that Deutsch Telekom says in the report is this:

I wondered how materiality was assessed and if the Assurance process for this for the A+ report  touched on these issues.

Re Materiality - there is a nice materiality matrix which shows Employee Satisfaction and "Employee codedetermination and labor rights" in the top right segments, indicating high importance for the Company and for stakeholders, but, beyond the paragraph captured above, no further information. There is refererence to Group wide employee safisfaction but no disclosure of results.  

Re Assurance - PWC's pathetic assurance statement says "Based on our limited assurance engagement, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the data of the CR Report for the calendar year 2009 marked with the check symbol ( v) has not been prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with the GRI criteria." This limited, partial assurance, covering a small section of the report data , is not worth the paper it is written on.

Now, what conclusions can we draw from this?  One the one hand, a seemingly perfect and transparent performance by Deutsche Telekom in its reporting. On the other hand, a massive campaign which completely discredits the company's labour relations and human rights activities in the USA. Who should we believe ?

The point is, really, that it is of no consequence who we believe. I am sure there are two sides to every story and I learnt many many years ago that things are not always what they seem, so on the issue of labour rights, I suspend comment and judgement. But on the issue of reporting, I believe Deutsche Telekom is abusing the system. This is clearly a visible and higly material issue. Even if Deutche Telekom believe they are squeaky clean in this respect, they should have made reference and provided a response in their 2010 report, in the name of transparency, and fair and balanced representation of their sustainability performance. Equally, the Assurance statement, which does not cover employee issues, is a farce. If you are a stakeholder  in Deutsche Telekom, you should be bombarding the Company with requests for detailed information on labour practices. As I complete this post, I will also be writing to them to ask for their position on this issue. After all, what is sustainability reporting all about if not issues such as these? And what other issues are hidden behind the glossy texts ?

elaine cohen is co-founder and co-CEO of Beyond Business, a leading social and environmental consulting and reporting firm. Visit our website at www.b-yond.biz/en

HR Job Descriptions for CSR

Some of you may know that I am now in the final stages of writing my book to be published later this year by Greenleaf Publishing, on the ways Human Resources Managers need to change what they do and how they do it in order to become more relevant partners in Companies who adopt a strategy and practice of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability. Most HR Managers, I maintain, do not have a CSR mindset, many don't even know what CSR means and why it is relevant to their function. In around 250 packed pages, I have already described this interplay in great detail, with many examples from businesses around the world and some inputs from leading HR professionals in global Companies.  I am now writing the final piece, pulling all the separate analyses of the different HR functional areas together, with a toolkit for what and how to change. One piece of this is a new-style Job Description for the HR (generalist) Manager in a business which assimilates CSR strategy as part of its way of life. I will share my thoughts on how this looks to me, in the hope that any of you out there with a particular interest in HR may respond with insights which will improve my version and which I can use as I finalise the book.

Job Description for an HR Manager in a CSR-minded organisation (draft)

Job Purpose

The HR Manager is responsible for developing and assimilating tools and processes which enhance business and individual capability, in a way which develops a positive and healthy organizational culture, upholds business principles and values, and maintains accountability for the effects of business and individual actions on all stakeholders including society at large and the environment.

Job Objectives

1. Support the delivery of business strategy, objectives, goals and targets through the effective engagement, deployment and development of people.
2. Assure the resourcing of the business with appropriately skilled talent, in the right place at the right time to perform the required tasks.
3. Contribute to the development of a corporate culture which encourages dialogue, support for individuals, openness to new ideas and the ability of each individual in the organization to achieve professional and personal fulfillment.
4. Assure the understanding of people in the business of the impacts of all their activities on stakeholders, society and environment, and support programmes in which all may contribute to improving these impacts.

Key Areas of Responsibility

1. HR Strategy: Development and implementation of HR Strategy which is aligned with business objectives and supports business strategy delivery through all professional HR functions in a responsible way.
2. HR Stakeholder Engagement: Identify all direct and indirect stakeholders of the Human Resources function in the business and engage with them in different ways to ensure complete understanding of their needs and aspirations, and ensure responsiveness to theses needs.
3. Personnel Planning and Resourcing: Analyse the long-range resourcing needs of the business in the context of changing market and business dynamics, and manage processes to ensure that people with the right skills are available as needed to perform tasks as required.
4. Organizational culture: Promote the development of an ethical, inclusive and diverse organizational culture based on respect and values, in which all are able to contribute in a context of open information and dialogue, acceptance of continual change and focus on professional leadership and personal accountability.
5. HR Functional Contribution: Develop, deliver, monitor and measure processes and tools to ensure effective attraction, recruitment and retention, training and development, remuneration and reward, performance management, and employee relations in the business, in line with the principles and practices of social and environmental responsibility.
6. Internal Communications: Ensure a high, dynamic and interactive level of internal communications in which all employees are engaged and can feel part of the business community.
7. Sustainability: Ensure the HR function is aligned with the business's sustainability strategy by providing sustainability awareness training for all employees, and developing HR programmes which support Sustainability strategy, which may include community involvement and volunteering programmes and environmental activities undertaken by employees, amongst others.

Key Measures of Job Outputs

1. Employee Satisfaction and Inclusion
2. Employee Diversity
3. Stakeholder Satisfaction with the HR Function contribution
4. Adherence to Ethics and Values by employees
5. Attraction, Recruitment and Deployment Effectiveness
6. Employee Health and Safety and Well-Being
7. Employee Retention and Turnover Rate
8. Individual Skill Development (training)
9. Performance Review Implementation
10. Employee Engagement in Internal Communications
11. Employee Volunteers and Hours Volunteered in the community
12. Employee contribution to reduction of the business's Environmental Footprint

Key Knowledge, Skills and Competencies required to meet the job requirements


Knowledge and Skills :
• Business strategy, processes, performance drivers, risks and opportunities
• Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility principles and practices
• Business and sustainability issues in the wider societal context
• HR Strategy Development
• Stakeholder Engagement and Dialogue Processes
• HR Functional development and implementation expertise in all HR sub-functions
• Human Rights, Labor Codes, Health, Safety and Well-being frameworks
• Communication tools including advance application of social media internally and externally


Competencies :
• Leadership, clarity of purpose, long-term thinking and visioning skills
• Ability to challenge the system using an inquiring mind and analytical skills
• Listening, Mediating, Integrating and Influencing skills
• Commitment to help people grow and develop (in alignment with business needs), and a passion for business with social and environmental responsibility
• Outstanding proliferate communicator via diverse channels
• High degree of integrity, personal ethics and commitment to social justice
• Optimism and a sense of humor

(NB: I did not add Chunky Monkey addict as a key competency, though, of course that helps).

Any of you CSR Leaders or HR Professionals out there with a view on the above ?

elaine cohen is the CEO of Beyond Business, a leading social and environmental consulting and reporting fitm. Visit our website at www.b-yond.biz/en

HR behind the times on CSR

The Human Resources function is a critical partner in the development of a responsible and accountable corporate culture. Corporate Responsibility is often referred to as improving impacts on stakeholders. Nothing new here. Employees are stakeholders. Nothing new here either. The better you treat, or impact on, your employees, the better the business will perform. Numerous statistics and surveys prove this correlation. The engagement of every employee in the business is really the only way to ensure flawless corporate responsibility.  I am reading Adam Werbach's book at the moment, Strategies for Sustainability, and quite by chance, or not, he makes the same point - more eloquently than I do, I must admit. However, it's nice to be in such illustrious Company. Adam says: ... "to execute a strategy for sustainability, you must engage individuals personally" (page 132).

Ultimately, corporate reponsibility is not just about treating employees well, or investing in their development, or providing a ramp if they are in a wheelchair. It's not only about how satisfied they are on the job. Corporate responsibility is transforming every employee into an ambassador of the corporate responsibility message of the business. Ensuring that they understand, are involved, are inspired and know where they can play a role. This means moving from impacts ON employees to impacts OF employes. Each employee in the business interacts with any number of stakeholders every day, maybe thousands of daily connections. This potential, to turn every single stakeholder interaction into one which moves the CSR agenda forward, is more powerful than almost any other single business activity.

CSR reporting is often seen as something which primarily benefits employees. Through the report, they get a comprehensive view of the way their Company interprets and progresses sustainability themes. Often, the CSR report contains news and information which had not cascaded through to them via regular internal communication channels.  In some cases, Corporate Reponsibility reports even state the names of individuals in the Company who are responsible for progressing different action items - an example of this is Vancouver City Savings Union (Vancity) (page 35). But when I recently tried to ascertain how many Companies actually track how many employees read all or part of their reports, I couldnt get an answer.

I found one example of something coming close to this on the Adidas website where readers of their online report are asked to own up and identify themselves. The results are displayed in a neat graph.

We dont know how many people took this survey, and I am not quite sure what the difference is between an employee and a worker, but this is a great way to see what kind of people are taking interest in the report. And a very brave move on the part of Adidas to have an open survey such as this on their reporting site . In a recent dialogue with Symantec,  i understood  they progress many activities in the framework of internal communications to ensure employees are aware and engaged. But, bottom line is, overall, we DON'T KNOW if employees take any sort of interest in one of the most important documents the Company publishes to stakeholders, and if they are capable of being the ambassadors for that document, and the Company.

 

Who is repsonsible for this ? After the CEO, it has to be the HR Function. The HR function must ensure proceses are developed within the busnesss to raise employee awareness of key strategies and processes, especially those which are in the public domain. Why doesnt HR do this ? Because, I submit, most HR Managers just don't see how they link to Sustainability strategy, beyond matters relating to ethics and values, and sometimes, community volunteering (because no-one else does it). Most HR Managers really don't see the relevance of ensuring high quality communications and dialogue about sustainability programs. When was the last time you had a progressive conversation with an HR Manager about sustainability in the supply chain and the HR role which supports that ? How do HR Managers recruit people into sustainability jobs ? In what ways does HR adopt sustainable practices  as a function ? Most HR Managers cannot tell you. The HR function has still not grasped the principles of a stakeholder society and stakeholder-driven business.

 

This is a pretty damming picture of HR people. This is why i am writing a book as a guide for HR Managers on all things sustainability and corporate reponsibility, due for publication next year. In order to test my theory, I produced a short survey for HR Managers. Of the lowish number of responses I have had to date, this is some of the initial data:

• 100% of HR Manager responders say that HR Managers need to have some understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility
• 54% of HR Managers say CSR  is something they are involved with as part of their ongoing role
• 80% and 70% respectively say this involvements relates to ethics and community involvement, with zero being involved in supply chain practices and external stakeholder engagement.
• 45% said that HR Managers need additional skills (and knowledge) to support CSR
• 30% said they had targets related to CSR

and one HR Manager, in responding to the question "What does the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility mean to you ?"  wrote : "Sustainability" . Well, at least that's something.

So, they all think it's important, half of them are responsible for it (in a limited way), and a third are measured on it. Less than half think they need to learn new ways of doing things in order to do it. Frankly, I think this is a saddish picture of the HR function. And i am keen to get a wider sample of opinions from a broader range of HR Managers so PLEASE pass this on to any HR Manager you know and request they complete the survey HERE: http://bit.ly/3HpxnS
I promise to update you all with the results. Thank you !

elaine cohen is the joint CEO of BeyondBusiness, a leading reporting and social-environmental consulting firm . Visit our website at: www.b-yond.biz/en

#CSR without EMBEDDING is like CHUNKY without MONKEY

One of the popular csr-speak terms you need to be familiar with these days is EMBED. Dictionary.com says this means "to fix into a surrounding mass: to embed stones in cement". So if your Company is a mass of cement, your CSR program is the stones. Makes sense, right?  The concept of embedding CSR is not new. I suspect (I am guessing) that one of the first to use this term for CSR was AccountAbility in their first exposure draft of the AA1000 principles in 1999.  EMBEDDEDNESS was one of the principles related to management of the process on an ongoing basis :
" Embeddedness – or systems integration, concerns making the social and ethical accounting, auditing and reporting processes part of the organisation’s operations, systems and policy making, and not treated as a one-off exercise to produce a social and ethical report"  (they like long sentences at AccountAbility).
Many Companies who report on their CSR or Sustainability LOVE to use this great word EMBED. It expreses the fact that CSR is not just something you add on to your "real" business activities, but something that is part of the fabric of your business and integrated in all processes and practices. Most mature CSR reporters like to express the embeddedness of their CSR. Sounds kinda noble and professional, right?
The Stagecoach Group in their 2009 CSR report say: "We have a clear set of values which underpin our business and are firmly embedded in our Group’s culture." And thousands of reports offer variations on this theme. And my recent post on "When CSR reporting is a waste of paper"  provided an example of the problem of UN-EMBEDDEDNESS - ie what happens when you really haven't got this embed thing covered at all levels of your organization.

So this is why i was interested to read Ethical Corporation's latest research publication on How to embed Corporate Responsibility across different parts of your Company. This is a 100 page report published at end September 2009. It provides an analysis and case studies covering 5 organizational functions: Human Resources, Finance and Accounting, Communications, Procurement and Logistics and Operations. I will blog about each of these functional zoom-ins and the related embedding stuff one-by-one in the next few posts. (Disclosure: Ethical Corp kindly provided me with a complimentary copy so that i could read, learn and share - but, they didnt tell me what to say! - all views are my own) Ethical Corp's research data is "aggregated, analysed and triangulated".( I am glad its triangulated. Meant I got to learn the meaning of another long word.)The report is in two sections - first, an overall survey of the way CR is embedded, practiced and communicated in large corporations, and second, specific functional guides. And of course, there is a set of recommendations. I guess Ethical Corp wouldn't be too pleased if i revealed all their recommendations free of charge to the world, but i can't resist quoting the one which says: " Reporting Effectively: Producing a CR report ... remains a highly effective tool."

I will start my blog series with one of my favourite subjects: Human Resources.
CR minus HR = PR. (Wish i knew who said that!)
The Ethical Corp research covers how to embed C(S)R via the Human Resources function in order to achieve maximum productivity and staff morale, and refers to :

• recruiting and training staff
• maximising employee performance and competencies
• managing a company's personal employee evaluation and appraisal system
• building an ethical corporate culture and engaging employees.

I always say that CSR is about moving from accounting for "impacts on employees" to enhancing and accounting for the "impacts of employees" ie transforming the business perspective into one which ensures that every single internal and external touchpoint of employees in an organization leverages the CSR approach of the business.

The HR research uses input from CSR Managers  at Hewlett Packard, Boots, Novo Nordisk and BT, and case studies from Starbuck's and Campbell Soup regarding their HR-CR practices. Interesting reading, actually. The section ends up with a short checklist for HR Managers with the key learning points from the research. 

All the Companies quoted in this section are of course strong CSR reporters. 
HP's 2008 report (GRI B self-declared) doesn't actually use the word embed to describe their CR - perhaps this is because embedding is also associated with technology ( review steps for accessing the HP embedded web server (EWS), but their report covers quite a lot of detail of employee engagement in CR activities.
Alliance Boots 2008-2009 Report (not GRI indexed) say that embedding comes naturally: "As a pharmacy-led heath and beauty group, our corporate social responsibility principles are naturally embedded in the working practices of our people."
Novo Nordisk's 2008 (GRI A+ self-declared) integrated report  describes how strategies are revised after the management of CR issues has been fully embedded in the organisation so that they are fully integrated into business processes, as part of the way they determine materiality.
BT Group's 2009 (GRI A+) report talk about the  BT Sustainable Marketing Programme as part of their commitment to embedding the principles of sustainability into business as usual
Starbucks 2008 (GRI B+ self declared) Global Repsonsibility Report confirms that "being a responsible business is a commitment that is embedded in our culture. "
Campbell Soup Company's first 2008 (non-GRI) report talks about four "overarching themes" which are embedded in their mission statement.

So there you have it, people are embedding CSR, or trying to. At least they have adopted the politically correct csr-speak. Embedding is no small task and does require a level of maturity and organizational alignment which are not achieved overnight. And there is no doubt that a strong, professional and skilled Human Resources function can play a significant role. So if you aspire to have both the Chunky AND the Monkey, think about the way your HR function embeds YOUR csr program .

elaine cohen is the joint CEO of BeyondBusiness, a leading reporting and social-environmental consulting firm . Visit our website at: www.b-yond.biz/en 

Are you a health-risk ? $100 to find out.

I visited Chloregy.org and went straight to the Reports and Awards page. This headline caught my eye: Texas Health Resources Recognized by National Business Group on Health as Leading Employer Promoting Healthy Lifestyles for Employees .63 employers were awarded prizes for encouraging employees to adopt a more healthy lifestyle. Texas pays them to. They have a wellness program, called Be Healthy, which promotes awareness, healthy lifestyle choices, and disease prevention. Each year, employees are invited to complete a health risk assessment and are given a $100 award for doing so. Additional awards are given for getting a physical, lab panel, various health screenings, or for taking a stress assessment. With 18,000 employees, if all opt in, thats an investment of $1.8 million and more, depending on how many choose to do a full physical or feel particularly stressed. (I have to say, i wouldnt mind someone giving me $100 every time i went to the see the family doc).
I wonder what happens once employees take the risk assessment and what ethical questions this poses for the organization. Do employees waiver right to secrecy and disclose the results of their risk assessment to Texas? Is this a a precondition for getting the prize money ? And if so, what consequences could this have on their continued employment? No doubt that by any standards, its better to face up to the risks than ignore them, but do i really want my employer knowing the exact location of all my warts and the BMI effect of lask weeks 4 Chunkey Monkeys?
I also wonder what happens if the assessment shows that there is a real risk ? Does the employer have some obligation to support the employee in his or her plans to address these health risks? And what form does that support take?
And finally, as i am doing so much wondering, I will add the point about effects of the risk assessment on the employee's performance, motivation or future potential in the workplace. And the implications for her/his next salary review.

Now, Texas Health dont produce a Corporate Reponsibility Report and there is nothing on their website about this.(Mantra no 6: Transparency is a Virtue) So i to continue to wonder. (fortunately, being a woman, i am a great multitasker, so i can wonder and do 14 other things at the same time) .

This is an interesting issue, and one which i wonder about as i review responsible employment practices for clients, especially those inthe pharma or healthcare industry. Healthcare is their core business proposition, so one would expect that the employees of such an organization would gain some benefit through the internal application of CR material issues. And this is beyond the responsibility of employers to provide a healthy working environment and even the "enlightened self-interest" of employers through investing in healthy a workforce. I wonder if $1.8 million in annual health risk assessments exceeds the potential costs of employees living unhealthy lifestyles ?

Finally, well done to Texas Health, despite my trademark flippancy, i do applaud the intent to encourage employee wellbeing, and see this as a good example for others. As i am self-employed, i wonder how much i can afford to pay myself to do a health risk assessment. And if i should reveal the results to myself or not.... hmmm... tough question

elaine cohen is the joint CEO of BeyondBusiness, a leading reporting and social-environmental consulting firm based in Israel . Visit our website at: www.b-yond.biz/en

HRM and CSR - a match made in heaven ?

Marginally off-topic - but relevant to the cause .... So all you reporting buffs, please bear with me.

I am writing a book on the role of Human Resources Management and the way HRM interacts with and supports the CSR strategy and practices of a business. A kind of guide for the Human Resources Manager. Having served as a Country VP HR in a global company for several years, and assumed responsiblity also for promoting the Company's CSR programs, and now through my interactions as a consultant to businesses, this is a mix that i have many insights about that i would like to share. I have opened up the first chapter of the book for public review prior to completion and publication, and would welcome any form of input.

For those who are interested, you can download the first chapter here: http://tinyurl.com/ppd4d8

Second chapter available on request for those who are really keen !!!!

thanks in advance !

elaine cohen is the joint CEO of BeyondBusiness, a leading reporting and social-environmental consulting firm based in Israel. Visit our website at: www.b-yond.biz