What does it take to be an organisation for good?

When you talk about impacting the world, you may get dragged into the debate about whose responsibility it is to make things better. Some say it’s down to individuals, some say it should be governments, others say charities or corporations.

We believe it’s not solely down to the general public to make a difference. Sure, we can all 'do our bit’, but until the organisations providing the products and services we use on a daily basis offer more impactful options, we can only do so much.  For a change to the status quo, we need organisations to do things differently.

One thing we’ve learned building Escape over the past 11 years is that you don’t need to be working for a charity or NGO to do something good. There are plenty of organisations with a great purpose that also make a profit. A charity could have a great mission yet not have policies to make them environmentally friendly, or not take care of their employees. The non-profit route is just one model for having an impact, but it may not always be the most sustainable.

What does an ‘organisation for good’ really mean? 

We’re sure you’ve heard of a million acronyms and buzzwords like CSR (corporate social responsibility), ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance), perhaps a few P’s (people, planet, purpose), or responsible business. In reality, these all simply mean the effect a business has on the outside world.

We believe organisations can’t afford not to have a positive impact on the planet. In 2021, any organisation without a purpose will soon find themselves irrelevant. This is about more than charitable giving and philanthropy, it’s about having true purpose and actions aligned in a way that has an impact.

Why does it matter?

It’s beneficial from an organisation’s perspective to be an organisation for good for several reasons, including: 

1. Employees: A company aligned with purpose will help to attract and retain employees. It will increase morale, motivation, and enhance the working culture. At companies that have clearly defined and communicated how they create value, 63% of employees say they’re motivated, versus 31% at other companies; 65% say they’re passionate about their work, versus 32% at other companies.(PwC 2019)
2. Brand: Customers look for brands which are purpose-driven. It drives customer loyalty, differentiation within the marketplace, and more authentic partnerships and collaborations.
3. Profits: It will mitigate risks for yourself, future investors and you’ll meet mandatory requirements. Certified B Corps in the UK are growing 28 times faster than the national economic growth of 0.5%. Leading B Corp FMCG brands grew on average 21% in 2017, compared to a national average of 3% across their respective sectors.(B Corp 2018)

How can one tell if an organisation is genuinely doing good things?

At Escape, we’re all about helping people to find work that’s more meaningful to them. This means we’ve worked with our fair share of organisations to understand the difference between when an organisation is really mission-driven and focussed on helping others and when they’re… well… not.

We want to make it as easy as possible for you to find organisations who are as caring as you are. That’s why we drew up the Escape 100 list to find the best organisations to escape to in 2021. As part of this, we came up with six key criteria to measure against. We believe these are the things which make an organisation truly impactful.

Mission

All organisations exist to solve a problem. But how they fit into the problems and needs of the wider world is what we believe a good organisation will take into consideration. In a good organisation, shareholder primacy is balanced with stakeholder primacy the (i.e the people affected by the organisation). Who does the product or service benefit?

We believe that to be a good organisation, a company mission should be working towards one of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These include poverty, climate action, gender equality, and responsible consumption and production. 

Research found that 64% of millennials won’t take a job if a potential employer doesn’t have strong corporate responsibility practices. If you want to work for a good organisation, research into whether their raison d’etre benefits society in a meaningful way, or whether they’re solving more of an ‘annoyance’.

Ask yourself if the mission they have is something that breaks your heart because we need more organisations out there solving these problems. Even if it’s a by-product of a product or service, they should be solving the pressing problems our world faces.

Environment

76% of millennials consider a company’s social and environmental commitments before deciding where to work. 

Climate change is the biggest challenge our society faces today. Every business, no matter how big or small, needs to recognise their contribution to it.

Being a good organisation doesn’t require that organisations tackle climate issues every day, but rather adapting their ways of working to a way that is conscious of the environment. Having planet-friendly policies and a commitment to minimising their environmental impact is a minimum requirement in our book.

B Corporation Certification

Fast becoming a globally-known initiative, certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.

The certification doesn’t just look at products or services alone but looks at the entire company’s social and environmental performance, both now and for the future. Created by B-Lab, B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

Companies can apply to gain B Corp status for free by filling in an assessment. They are then scored out of 200 and must have a minimum of 80 points to be considered a certified B Corporation. Their score is also listed on the B Corp website. This makes it a really transparent way of showing how much a company is doing to make an impact. 

Once certified, each B Corporation is listed in the B Corp directory so you can easily search by industry and country. 

You can search for the latest career opportunities with B Corp companies using our search function.

We believe that it won’t be long until organisations are required to adopt many of the policies that B Corp encourages.

Impact

This measure is more pragmatic than practical. Our theory is that if an organisation has a broad reach, they’re likely to be helping more people and communities. This isn’t about how big the company is, but about how many people they’re impacting.

When searching for a good organisation, this isn’t the be-all and end-all. If they’re doing great things but only in one local area, that’s still great. For example, a startup may not have a huge impact and reach in the beginning.

Our friends at Impactful have created a comprehensive guide for businesses who are wanting to make more of an impact. You can find it on their website.

People

We spend around one-third of our waking hours at work. If an organisation isn’t interested in creating a supportive culture and providing real perks to their employees (a fruit bowl doesn’t count) it’s a bad sign. 

There’s a greater understanding of progressive organisations today that employees are what make a company successful. Looking after the employees well is what will keep them working for you, and working to the best of their abilities. Humans need to feel nurtured and appreciated.

This might not necessarily mean having the highest salary, in fact, 75% of millennials would take a pay cut to work for a socially responsible company. Having recognition from senior management, opportunities for learning and development, career progression, and team support are what keep people from leaving. 

People may come for money but stay for the community and the sense of purpose and satisfaction felt when working on the things that matter. 

Innovation 

Innovation is about how unique a company’s mission is. Not just a quirk of originality - it inspires the world and sparks progress by providing creative solutions to pervasive problems. There is an element of real excitement about working somewhere which throws a spanner in the machine and builds a truly unique solution from scratch.

Every organisation is innovative in some way, and we believe that if organisations are thinking ahead and attempting to do things differently, the world will start to change for the better. We need more organisations disrupting business as usual and making big changes.

These aren’t the only things which make an organisation ‘good’. But in 2021 we believe it’s a good place to start, even as a baseline. We believe that organisations need to think more holistically about how they show up in the world, balancing profit, with planet and people, and making sure that each of these things are prioritised in decision making. It may feel like a daunting task, but it’s about assessing where you are and starting small, making little changes to improve across these areas.

Being a good organisation means constantly thinking about how you can do better, it’s being open to change as the world does and standing for something that’s important to you. Not only does this help to make the world a little better, but it makes the lives of the people you work with better too. 

If you’re looking for a new role and want it to be with an organisation for good, check out the Escape 100: Best organisations to escape to in 2021. Out of 8,000 nominations, these are our top 100 companies doing great things and they’re hiring for more than 350 roles!