With the year 2020 coming to an end and with 2021 right around the corner it is about time we start planning. The timing is perfect for both individuals and businesses to sit back, rewind, evaluate and set new goals for the future. The past year has taught us many valuable lessons and most of them the hard way but that shouldn’t stop us. On the contrary this should make us more stubborn and motivate us to try harder, better and smarter.
If there is one thing we should keep from last year’s lessons that would be the importance of being socially responsible. Understanding that your actions can instantly affect someone next to you while someone else’s actions can instantly affect you is gold. That means that people have now been more exposed to the importance of this matter and awareness has been raised. If this lesson was taught to our society many years ago then maybe many problems would either be avoided or solved.
Since we as individuals seem to have learned our lesson it is about time we apply it elsewhere too. Being socially conscious is not only a matter that affects people and society but it also affects businesses. Therefore the plans you make for your company’s upcoming year should also include becoming more socially conscious. Here is some piece of advice that might help you along your journey to achieve that.
Becoming Socially Conscious
The truth is that in order for any company to start doing something they have to first understand it. Therefore let’s start with the basics and see what becoming socially conscious really means. For a company to become socially conscious means only one thing. To understand the impact it might have on either people, society, the environment or anything else. It is not enough though to only understand that but it also has to work towards changing it. This means that in order to become socially conscious you must first understand how you affect others and then try to resolve it.
Your Message Is Your Attitude
The message you communicate as a company to both your employees and your clients is what shapes you. Many people might believe that a company message is just some words put into order forming a sentence. The truth is that it is way more than that. Your message is your official statement, it is the declaration of your beliefs, and it is the soul of your company. Therefore you should be very careful when composing it and it is the very first thing you should focus on. Starting off with your company message is the easier way to pass on the new values you want to set. Make sure you have a clear understanding on what you want to communicate and why. Then formulate it in the right way and show it to the world. Your message is your attitude and if you set the mood, your people will follow.
Redesign Processes & Procedures
If your company is an engine then your processes and procedures are the bits and parts that bring it together. If you are looking to become more socially conscious then the next thing you should focus on is processes and procedures. Map all existing pipelines from production, to sales, to customer service, to logistics and try to find features or parts of them you can change. Although you might believe that you have it all figured out you would be surprised of what the naked eye can’t see. Once you have done that you and you start changing it you will be rewarded by the outcome.
First Conscious, Then Responsible
Making a business socially conscious is not an easy task. It takes a lot of time, a lot of effort and most importantly like any change it takes a lot of will. The truth about businesses who aim to become socially conscious is that they have to change everything they knew until today. That is exactly why this procedure is so beautiful. Once you have adopted the new mindset you will start working towards implementing it too. Therefore the rule in this case has always been that first you become conscious of the matter and then responsible. In simple words this means that first you become aware of an issue and then you start working solutions around it.
