Doing GOOD is good for business in Singapore and globally

When it comes to business, success is often measured by top line and bottom line performance.

In the middle of this equation are the less tangible but equally important components such as customer loyalty, employee morale and corporate reputation. Yet there is one more crucial metric that affects overall success and today’s consumers in Singapore and the world over are increasingly using it to measure your business – and that’s corporate citizenship. Yes, doing good is good for business.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) typically focuses on a particular aspect of giving back to the community, and in turn, demonstrating that the company offers the intangibles of safety, security and goodness that are valuable to all. This giving generates, among other things, a higher morale among employees, an increased sense of corporate culture and value, as well as a stronger and admired reputation.

Doing Good from the Inside Out. When you are striving to meet your business objectives, it’s essential that to have the right people who are deeply committed to the corporation’s mission and long-term vision.

When a company is able to maintain high morale among employees, it is better able to retain top talent and is better equipped to succeed in an increasingly competitive world. One factor that plays a major role in maintaining high morale among employees is the level of connection they feel within the organization.

Employee programs that promote volunteerism, community outreach and humanitarian support provide employees with a common cause that allows them to feel connected and more loyal to the company and its business objectives.

Let me illustrate this point from my own experience. Since 1998, Nu Skin has set up a Southeast Asia Children’s Heart Fund to sponsor children who are diagnosed with congenital heart disease each year, but the family does not have the financial resources to go for the life-saving surgery.

I had the opportunity to take part in this Force for Good initiative and together with our distributor forces as well as fellow colleagues to keep up a healthy fund to help these children. Today, we have helped save the lives of more than 4,500 children.

Interestingly, these children and their families are not the only lives to be changed. We find that our employees are more fulfilled. They are more committed to the company. They have a stronger desire to help others and because they are involved in a company that has the same desire, their loyalty grows, and they are all working together toward the same goals of helping the company grow and changing lives in the process.

In our Singapore operation, we have seen the effect of this simple CSR initiative on employee retention. Their commitment to the long-term business success of the company is heightened by their connection to the cause we support.

We have also seen a number of our independent distributors and customers become more and more involved in this program – again, strengthening the tie between them and the company.

When this strength is combined with the quality of our products and business opportunity, we find that we have been able to achieve greater success. Of course there are other factors that contribute to this success – to suggest otherwise would be untruthful. But the common thread that unites all of the efforts that make up this success is as simple as working together to make a positive impact in the lives of helpless children.

Doing good is good for business.

Conclusion. Whether a company’s CSR efforts stem from a desire to improve morale, uphold values, improve reputation or a combination of the three, the good that we can do as a business community will have a great impact – not only on the lives of the people around us, but also on the success of our business endeavors.
 

Ms Melisa Tantoco Quijano, President, Nu Skin - Pacific Region and Southeast Asia Region