We asked Chat GPT to tell us the benefits that come from organisations supporting social enterprises.
Like lots of social enterprises and entrepreneurs, we often find ourselves wearing many hats and spinning many plates as we build our business and increase our social impact. So, for the purpose of ‘research’, we were therefore very happy to jump on a time-saving trend.
Despite being a little bit late to the party, we wanted to test out Chat GPT as a tool to help us build some valuable content that will support our partners in getting their CSR agendas prioritised.
And we were not disappointed.
We asked the OpenAI Chatbot some questions that would give us an insight into the true value of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies and why businesses should prioritise investing in social enterprises as a really easy way to increase their social, environmental and community impact.
This blog is a combination of Chat GPT responses, and our unique insight as a social enterprise who empower students from underrepresented backgrounds.
We started by asking, what are the top reasons that businesses should invest in CSR or ESG...?
CSR or ESG refers to the voluntary actions and strategic commitments that businesses take to improve their environmental, social, and economic impacts on society. There are some key reasons why businesses should invest and commit to prioritising their CSR and ESG agenda:
- It enhances reputation and brand image: Investing in CSR and ESG can help businesses build a positive reputation and brand image. When organisations are seen as socially responsible, customers, employees, and investors are more likely to have a much more favourable opinion of them.
- It attracts and retains employees: Employees – particularly Millenial and Generation Z early careers professionals – are more likely to work for companies that demonstrate a commitment to social responsibility. By investing in CSR adn ESG, businesses can attract and retain these innovative, skilled and forward-thinking employees who share their values. 94% of Gen Z believe that companies should address pressing social and environmental issues. Being able to retain these employees also promotes greater diversity and all the benefits that come with having a more diverse workforce, including increased innovation and impact.
It improves customer loyalty: Customers are far more likely to support businesses that demonstrate a commitment to social responsibility. By investing in CSR and ESG, businesses can build customer loyalty and gain a competitive advantage.
We then wanted to know why engaging with social enterprises and not for profit organisations can so valuable to businesses...
Doing so adds value in several ways. Firstly, it supports social impact goals, helping to create a more just and equitable society for all. The more that businesses can help create positive social impact and support the growth and development of organisations that are committed to social and environmental causes, the greater the impact for society.
Engaging with more social enterprises also gives organisations access to new markets and diverse workforces: Social enterprises and not-for-profit organizations often work with underrepresented or underserved communities, providing businesses with access to new markets. This can help businesses diversify their customer or employee base and tap into new revenue streams from customer bases they may not have previously considered before.
Engaging with these kinds of organisations also demonstrates thought leadership and positively impacts innovation within a company. Social enterprises and not-for-profit organizations are often at the forefront of innovation, developing new products or services that address social or environmental challenges. By engaging with these organizations, businesses can gain access to new ideas and technologies that can enhance their own products or services.
By partnering with reputable social enterprises and not-for-profit organizations, businesses can enhance their reputation and build credibility with customers, employees, and other stakeholders.
So, how can businesses who don’t currently utilise or engage with social enterprises start supporting them in simple, tangible and consistent ways?
- Starting a supplier diversity programme: One way businesses can integrate social enterprises into their processes is to begin a supplier diversity programme. Supplier diversity programmes aim to create a more diverse and inclusive supply chain by seeking out and working with minority-owned businesses, including social enterprises. They could involve outreach efforts, such as attending social enterprise events or connecting with networks of social enterprises.
- Breaking down contracts: businesses could also break down large contracts into smaller parts that social enterprises have the capacity to fulfil. Many social enterprises can’t bid for certain contracts because they are simply too large for them to successfully fulfil. Instead, if smaller social enterprises can tender for certain parts of bigger contracts, it can support them to access new opportunities and build their capacity over time.
- Mentorship and training: Businesses can offer mentorship and training programs to support social enterprises in building their skills and capacity to fulfil contracts or to better engage with corporates. This could include training on specific skills or processes, as well as ongoing mentorship to help social enterprises grow and develop over time. We can absolutely vouch that this is a really valuable way for businesses to support social enterprises In May 2023, we were invited to a brilliant mentor ‘Troubleshooter’ day organised by Social Starters and supported by mentors from Pernod Ricard.
- Collaborative partnerships: Another option is for businesses to form collaborative partnerships with social enterprises. This could involve co-creating products or services, joint marketing efforts, or other types of collaboration that help both parties achieve their goals.
- Sponsorship: Lastly, businesses can offer to sponsor programmes and projects that social enterprises and charities have committed to do, clearly demonstrating their support for community and causes that give back.
How working with Inclusive Futures can really benefit your organisation.
We ended our conversation with Chat GPT by asking how working with us can be so beneficial to an organisation.
Inclusive Futures are committed to improving social mobility, social inclusion, equality, and diversity. When organisations invest in their employees’ development through Inclusive Futures, they are also investing in young people: the employees of the future.
Working with us also gives our partners access to our expertise. We pride ourselves on the high-quality training, programmes and facilitation that we deliver as well as our expertise on how your organisation can better promote social inclusion, diversity, and equality.
As a Community Interest Company, we don’t make a profit: our profits are used to deliver coaching programmes that support students from groups currently underrepresented in higher education or specific industries such as Insurance and Law. Our partner organisations get to see exactly how their investment has been paid forward and reinvested in a young person’s future. For every £10 that a partner organisation spends with us, £2.50 is re-invested in supporting students from underrepresented groups.
We also love creating networking opportunities and create peer networks that allow our partners to share best practice, and support each other in areas such as Gen Z retention, Inclusive Leadership and Coaching Evaluation in Higher Education. This can help them forge new relationships with potential customers, suppliers, and partners who share their values.
If you’re looking to support a CIC that is dedicated to improving social mobility and making huge differences to the lives of students from underrepresented backgrounds, then we’d love to chat. Get in touch at hello@inclusivefutures.co.uk and we’ll be so happy to hear from you!
