Acona, an independent CSR consultancy, Acre Resources, the recruitment agency, and Ethical Performance magazine have collaborated to produce a survey of salary levels for senior corporate social responsibility practitioners in the UK, both consultants and in-house. The first CSR Salary Survey, which came out in March, also investigates job titles, educational qualifications, day-to-day activities and the size of budgets such practitioners work within.
The online questionnaire gathered information from 281 senior CSR employees throughout November and December 2007, and it is hoped the programme will become a regular fixture, tracking the CSR industry as it develops.
An online health checking and assessment service for its employees was launched by the Royal Mail Group on March 7. The initiative also includes the recruitment of a team of health trainers and the aim is to give Royal Mail staff easy access to information on areas such as nutrition, stress and exercise. The programme can act as a benchmark for other companies and organisations that may with to implement similar initiatives.
Nike has highlighted the gap in Chinese labour laws in its China 2008 Corporate Responsibility ReportingSupplement – Innovatefor a Better World. The sports manufacturer discusses China’s new workers’ rights legislation, which came into effect in January and states that while it believes the new laws prevent discrimination and increase protection of workers rights, the legislation falls short of the basic protection outlined by international law. The Nike report aims to display transparency of Nike’s operations in China before the Olympic Games this summer.
ING U.S Financial Services and Nissan have both received the 2008 Catalyst Award for initiatives that support and advance the role of women in business. Catalyst, the organisation that campaigns for the role of women in business, believes that companies with diverse leadership teams encourage openness and foster innovation.
The ING programme – Beyond Diversity: Building One ING Culture – has championed diversity and inclusion as fundamental business strategies. ING has increased female managers at the top level, and has become a model for the global organisation. Nissan’s Women in the Driver’s Seat: Gender Diversity as a Lever in Japan has promoted women’s participation and contribution in all aspects of the business. Research identifying women as the weight behind two thirds of car purchases underlined the importance of the role of women employees within Nissan. The company subsequently addressed the issue from three perspectives – engagement, education and advancement of women. It was the first time an initiative from a company headquartered in Asia had received the Catalyst Award.
Effective people management can lead to business success according to a study published by The Work Foundation and the Institute for Employment Studies in February. People and the Bottom Line showed that organisations that adopt a range of people management practices can attain stronger financial performance than employers who invest in just one area. Examples of such people management practices include resourcing, employee engagement, skill development and job design. Not only does the report underline the importance of good people management, it also provides suggestions for how to expand and measure its effectiveness on a continual basis.
Investors in People UK also supported the two-year study and the research involved nearly 3,000 employees.
Unite, the trade union, has taken action on Marks & Spencer, the supermarket, for its alleged discrimination of workers in its meat supply chain. Demonstrations have been held in Moscow, Hong Kong, Zagreb, Geneva and Gibraltar as well as in the UK by Union activists protesting against Marks & Spencer. Action has been coordinated by the International Union of Food Workers, to which Unite is affiliated.
The argument is that the permanent two-tiered system for workers in some of M&S’s suppliers has resulted in conflict between migrant and indigenous employees, causing community disharmony. Unite’s Joint General Secretary has emphasised the importance of challenging the big super market chains over the treatment of the workers in their supply chains.
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