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CSR practitioners are to be offered a new training programme that
concentrates on improving their ability to communicate with and
influence people.
Ashridge business school's Centre for Business and Society (Acbas) has devised the Integrating Corporate Responsibility programme after studying the training needs of 49 CSR practitioners in the UK. The research, which was carried out with the Corporate Responsibility Group, found that most respondents felt their greatest need was to learn how to push CSR through their organization - and that this meant they wanted training on 'influencing and communication skills' rather than instruction on activities such as stakeholder dialogue and reporting.
Chris Gribben, associate director of Acbas, said that the programme would explore a new direction in corporate responsibility training.
'The over-riding message we got was that while CSR practitioners are broadly confident they have the CSR-specific skills and knowledge to undertake the requirements of their role, they appear less confident in meeting the challenge of integrating corporate responsibility across the business,' he said.
'Historically it has been enough for CSR practitioners to know how to carry out stakeholder engagement or form external partnerships, but what is increasingly necessary is an understanding of how business operates, the roles of different departments, and having the skills to engage with and influence people. That's missing from current training provision.'
The three-day Ashridge programme, due to begin in December, will include sessions on understanding business strategy and culture, as well as psychometric assessments of participants' influencing skills and communication styles.
The Ashridge/CRG study, based on interviews and a questionnaire, found that almost half of respondents had been working in CSR for more than four years, so felt they understood the basics. However, about two-thirds had come to their roles from a community affairs or corporate communications background and therefore 'very few' had direct experience in mainstream functions such as purchasing or finance.
Ashridge business school's Centre for Business and Society (Acbas) has devised the Integrating Corporate Responsibility programme after studying the training needs of 49 CSR practitioners in the UK. The research, which was carried out with the Corporate Responsibility Group, found that most respondents felt their greatest need was to learn how to push CSR through their organization - and that this meant they wanted training on 'influencing and communication skills' rather than instruction on activities such as stakeholder dialogue and reporting.
Chris Gribben, associate director of Acbas, said that the programme would explore a new direction in corporate responsibility training.
'The over-riding message we got was that while CSR practitioners are broadly confident they have the CSR-specific skills and knowledge to undertake the requirements of their role, they appear less confident in meeting the challenge of integrating corporate responsibility across the business,' he said.
'Historically it has been enough for CSR practitioners to know how to carry out stakeholder engagement or form external partnerships, but what is increasingly necessary is an understanding of how business operates, the roles of different departments, and having the skills to engage with and influence people. That's missing from current training provision.'
The three-day Ashridge programme, due to begin in December, will include sessions on understanding business strategy and culture, as well as psychometric assessments of participants' influencing skills and communication styles.
The Ashridge/CRG study, based on interviews and a questionnaire, found that almost half of respondents had been working in CSR for more than four years, so felt they understood the basics. However, about two-thirds had come to their roles from a community affairs or corporate communications background and therefore 'very few' had direct experience in mainstream functions such as purchasing or finance.
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