The recession as an opportunity for Corporate Social Responsibility?

In the FT yesterday there was an article about companies who send their staff on sabbaticals abroad, to advise and support businesses in developing countries. It gives a number of examples – one who was on track for a partnership at Ernst & Young when she undertook a month’s assignment in India through Adopt a Business. This UK organisation matches people in large companies with projects in emerging markets.

This is a great example of Corporate Social Responsibility in action – employers recognising the value of their human resources to other countries and organisations, and giving their employees a fantastic opportunity to experience a totally different aspect of the world as well as to develop their own leadership skills, experience and expertise. The Ernst and Young employee returned to become partner in their fraud investigation and dispute services department in London. Dealing successfully with challenges outside her normal experience boosted her confidence.

One view might be that, in a recession, it would be particularly hard to persuade businesses to release staff for this sort of charitable activity. But it may be that it is also a great opportunity for businesses to use slack time during the recession to broaden and develop their staff. In an interview on BBC radio this morning a representative of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development referred to Corus’s decision to use downtime at their plants in the UK to invest time in training schemes. Usually people cannot be spared from their jobs to spend as long as a month away from the desk on a project in India or Africa, but it may be that initiatives like Adopt a Business can benefit from the recession if employers are prepared to see this as an opportunity to add to their human capital and prepare for the recovery, whenever it comes.

Read more about Adopt a Business here.