The notion of the ‘corporate conscience’ in business, whose roots are as ancient as the commencement of the Industrial Revolution, had commonly been associated with pure and simple philanthropy.

The financial scandals and the inattention of both the human and labour rights by many major corporations at the end of the last century – all of those unorthodox practices encouraged by globalisation – triggered the notion of ‘corporate conscience’.

In this way, ‘corporate conscience’ was linked to marketing artifices, generous financial contributions and other charity activities in order to embellish their damaged brand image. However, the arrival of the 21st Century brought to light a different and much wider connotation of ‘corporate conscience’ as the occasion demanded the corporations to act not only financially but also to become a good citizen. In 2006, the International Organisation for Standardisation, whose standards play an important role in assisting in building industries that are efficient, stable and competitive, launched the ISO 26000 International Standard providing guidance on Social Responsibility.

According to Harvard University, the ‘corporate conscience’ – or the official Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) nomenclature – deals with how organisations manage their economic, social and environmental impact on the society they live in. Furthermore, the corporate citizenship not only results in a relationship with the community where organisations operate, but also with other key spheres such as the marketplace and the place of work.

In fact, it is proven that CSR is setting up a source of value for companies in the ground of Human Resources, as reporting on their performance and boosting policies and programmes which in this regard enhance the reputation and trust in business. Consequently, it attracts and retains the best employees on a stage of high employee expectations and staff competition for talent, (which is the current backdrop).

The Future of HR in Europe – Key Challenges Through 2015, a survey conducted by the world’s leader advisor on business strategy The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the European Association for Personnel Management (EAPM) stated that companies in Europe have to face the fact that employees are increasingly selecting – or rejecting - jobs based on how well they can advance on personal goals and values. Regarding Corporate Social Responsibility, BCG and EAPM encourage companies to enthusiastically and visibly develop CSR programmes as these actions can help to enhance how it is perceived as a brand and its position in the market; therefore they ensure the access to higher-quality employees.

Martin Gregory, HR Manager of Vodafone Malta, described the link between CSR and HR in only three words: “it generates engagement”. A recent survey conducted by a European auditor showed that almost all the Vodafone Malta team – 98 per cent – believed that the local market is socially responsible, 19 per cent higher than the European average. “Developing a genuine CSR policy generates a lot of pride from the employee’s point of view, then motivation and, ultimately, real engagement,” Mr Gregory says.

The Future of HR in Europe – Key Challenges Through 2015 survey also pointed out that managing CSR today is related to a low developed aptitude for the majority of large companies in Europe, despite the fact that CSR management is one of the areas in HR that European companies should enhance to compete in the future. According to the responses of 1,355 HR executives from 27 countries in Europe, the introduction of CSR within an organisation leads to attain a medium important achievement in the short run – managing diversity and measuring HR and employee performance for instance have the same outcome.

FHRD CEO Joe Gerada explains how this is attributed to the recession and that companies had to focus on survival issues. However he claims that there are some good initiatives in Malta, namely in the area of ethical financing initiatives and capacity building to organisations involved in social projects or social enterprises.

Vodafone Malta is clearly an example. The company, being the mobile communications provider with an outstanding socially responsible organisation in Malta, took part in the Malta Standards Authority International Conference in November 2007 that focused at that time on Corporate Social Responsibility as well as on the ISO 26000 International Standard on Social Responsibility. Especially in the grounds of HR, the CSR scheme targeted to employees consists of voluntary actions such as employee donation scheme, participating in the St. Joseph Home’s Open Day, arranging activities with disadvantaged children, clean-up campaigns, tree planting and fund-raising marathons. Since 2005, the CSR Vodafone’s policy also included a Community Service Leave whereby employees are granted three days’ extra leave to carry out voluntary work with non-governmental organisations.

This article basically highlights that companies have to show their real corporate citizenship not only out of the office, but also within. It has been said that as much employees are involved in CSR issues, as much engagement of best workers will be guaranteed. But, what is the role of the HR manager? As Martin Gregory said, “familiarising myself with the principles of CSR, encouraging our employees to join all the activities and, obviously, participating in them”.

Ms Soriano is a Spanish journalist at the Foundation for Human Resources Development