{"id":21373,"date":"2020-06-08T12:23:59","date_gmt":"2020-06-08T10:23:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cmi.es\/publicacion\/applying-csr-to-a-companys-human-capital\/"},"modified":"2020-06-08T12:23:59","modified_gmt":"2020-06-08T10:23:59","slug":"applying-csr-to-a-companys-human-capital","status":"publish","type":"publicacion","link":"https:\/\/cmi.es\/en\/publicacion\/applying-csr-to-a-companys-human-capital\/","title":{"rendered":"Applying CSR to a company&#8217;s human capital"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A company&#8217;s human capital needs to understand how CSR applies to them. In this article I will set out the most important considerations.<\/p>\n<p>Some years ago I had the chance to attend a talk given by Rodrigo de Salas, Director of Corporate Identity and Responsible Business at Leroy Merlin. One sentence stayed burned into my mind: <em>&#8220;CSR is not green marketing.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Far from being a passing fashion, corporate social responsibility represents a genuine commitment by companies to society \u2014 an identity. Through CSR, companies work to meet the expectations of their stakeholders. Building a sustainable commitment to the world around us through business activity is entirely possible.<\/p>\n<p>In many conversations on this subject, when I have asked <em>&#8220;what do you understand by a stakeholder?&#8221;<\/em>, the answer has usually named shareholders, suppliers, public administrations, trade unions and so on. Only rarely has anyone replied that a company&#8217;s own employees are part of that group too.<\/p>\n<p>This article looks at how CSR applies to a company&#8217;s human capital, and at the positive effects of getting that policy right.<\/p>\n<h3>Internal CSR: human capital<\/h3>\n<p>Following the model set out by Server and Villalonga (2005), we can distinguish between external and internal CSR. The first covers all CSR responding to the interests of actors in the external environment \u2014 trade unions, suppliers, NGOs or the company&#8217;s customers. The second, internal CSR, is the cornerstone of this article, and concerns every employee of the company. Figure 1 below shows the areas directly involved in internal CSR:<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cmi.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/rsc-figura-1.png.webp\" alt=\"areas involved in internal CSR\" width=\"660\" height=\"371\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Within the areas shown in Figure 1, it is worth being clear about what each one covers:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Responsible recruitment<\/strong>: establishing objective criteria for selection and hiring, based on non-discrimination by age, sex, religion, marital status, racial or ethnic origin, sexual orientation or political affiliation. There are still job adverts that ask candidates their sex when they apply. We need an equal framework that puts an end to discriminatory practices of this kind.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Managing environmental impact and natural resources<\/strong>: controlling energy consumption and putting waste disposal systems in place gives real impetus to environmental care. Employees should be made aware of this.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Adapting to change<\/strong>: companies must be able to adapt to the demands arising from social or economic change without neglecting good corporate governance towards their employees \u2014 in other words, striking a balance between the interests and concerns of everyone affected by that change.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Health and safety in the workplace<\/strong>: measures ensuring the work is carried out in a safe environment, protecting employees&#8217; health and safety without compromising the quality of the products and services offered. Workstations should also be adapted to the ergonomic needs and characteristics of each employee.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>The benefits of applying CSR<\/h3>\n<p>Developing a CSR policy within a company has immediate consequences for the employee. Figure 2 sets them out in more detail:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cmi.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/figura-2.png.webp\" alt=\"employee benefits of internal CSR\" width=\"660\" height=\"371\" \/><\/p>\n<p>As we can see, putting internal CSR in place brings employees a range of benefits:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>They want to work.<\/strong> When employees feel looked after, coming into work costs them no effort \u2014 which in itself reduces absenteeism.<\/li>\n<li><strong>They show interest.<\/strong> They get involved in the company&#8217;s projects.<\/li>\n<li><strong>They collaborate.<\/strong> Beyond simply being more involved, they feel a need to work with the company to see its projects through.<\/li>\n<li><strong>They help their colleagues.<\/strong> A climate of teamwork develops.<\/li>\n<li><strong>They are satisfied.<\/strong> Employees feel fulfilled and satisfied, with recognition from managers and colleagues playing a prominent part.<\/li>\n<li><strong>They set goals.<\/strong> Employees set themselves goals that let them progress in their work. They do not stagnate \u2014 a state that could otherwise produce boreout, and precisely the opposite effect.<\/li>\n<li><strong>They perform better<\/strong>, reflecting their greater motivation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In short, through these straightforward measures \u2014 that is, by applying CSR internally \u2014 we can make our human capital proud to be part of the company, and so avoid high turnover. The way employees are treated is one of the defining marks of any organisation. If another company looks after its employees better than you look after yours, then sooner or later you will lose your talent, with everything that entails.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Carlos Jes\u00fas Chen S\u00e1nchez \u2014 Student on the <a href=\"https:\/\/cmi.es\/en\/master\/master-in-human-management-and-organizational-development\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Master in Human Management and Organizational Development at CMI<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":3756,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"categorias-publicacion":[108],"class_list":["post-21373","publicacion","type-publicacion","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categorias-publicacion-publications"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cmi.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publicacion\/21373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cmi.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publicacion"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cmi.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/publicacion"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cmi.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cmi.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"categorias-publicacion","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cmi.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categorias-publicacion?post=21373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}