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Practicing Social Responsibility - YouTube
Channel: MVW Communications
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so no matter how you define it
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most definitions when they're talking
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about social responsibility take into
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account ethics
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trust
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responsibility service and societal
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impact
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welcome to the smart talk series
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the show for professionals who want
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strategies tips and real talk about all
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things pr marketing and social media
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your host is melissa vela williamson an
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award-winning accredited and nationally
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recognized pr pro and communication
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thought leader
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[Music]
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and now your host melissa vella
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williamson
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hello and welcome to season two of the
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smart talk series this is episode one of
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this season where we are diving into
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practicing social responsibility
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during this six part series i'll be
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explaining 360 degrees around what
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social responsibility is
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how it's practiced today in
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organizations
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what's missing in those strategies
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and how we can each make the world
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better through our own professional work
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if you're new to the smart talk series i
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kick off each season on my own
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bring in more industry experts to
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discuss these topics with and then end
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the series with final tips and insights
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to consider
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check out season one for topics all
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about communicating through turbulent
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times because it's still bumpy out there
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and moving with change is important to
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our success as pr marketing social media
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advertising
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and really all communication
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professionals
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let's get started with this season's
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focus practicing social responsibility
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if you're unfamiliar with corporate
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social responsibility
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or as it's written out often csr you may
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not realize you're taking part of it as
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an individual when you participate in
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your organization's united way campaign
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recycle items in the office or donate in
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a food drive
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these are all examples of corporate
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social responsibility but lately social
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responsibility has been getting
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increased focus due to political and
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social movements
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how csr is defined is different
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depending on what area of business
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you're in what trade association you
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follow what type of professional you are
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for example the public relations society
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of america defines corporate social
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responsibility as a voluntary corporate
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commitment to exceed the explicit and
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implicit obligations imposed in a
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company by society's expectations of
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conventional corporate behavior
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the american marketing association
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calls corporate social responsibility an
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evolving management practice that brings
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things like sustainability
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accountability and philanthropic efforts
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into a company's business model
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let me be clear about all this you don't
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have to be part of a corporation to be
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socially responsible
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this is something we as professionals
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can do on our own
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to me
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social responsibility is the effort an
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organization or individual makes to
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benefit their community or larger
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society through their work
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as an individual to me serving on boards
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committees commissions volunteering my
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time with non-profits
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is a way that i'm socially responsible
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in helping the community
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last night i just
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talked with our
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board of directors for our homeowners
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association and was very excited because
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i was able to propose and help pass an
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initiative to start a little free
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library in our neighborhood
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now i'm going to be the librarian i've
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always dreamt about being
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but for my community where
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kids will be able to donate books that
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you know are kind of crowding their
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homes and pick up books and take them
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home if they need something new to read
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and that's a small example but there's
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little ways we can really promote good
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things in our environments
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without having to have the backing of a
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corporation behind us
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so no matter how you define it
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most definitions when they're talking
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about social responsibility take into
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account ethics
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trust
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responsibility service and societal
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impact
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socially responsible professionals often
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act as a moral guide for the betterment
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of others
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but how do we get started with social
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responsibility principles
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i'm going to give you four tips to get
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started practicing social responsibility
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no matter where you sit in an
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organization or if you're a business
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owner like myself
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number one assess your position
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you want to first consider
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what is the mission of your organization
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what is your vision and how does the
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organization brand itself
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are you able to raise awareness around
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the issue that your organization has a
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proven record of supporting
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if you're thinking about this as an
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individual do you have a pattern of
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taking responsibility in that topic or
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for any missteps around that topic
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does your leadership positively
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encourage change
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and start set from within
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you want to really be careful
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when you do your assessment to have an
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honest look at where you are
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around practicing social responsibility
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particularly on something around
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diversity inclusion and equity because
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jumping into action to solve societal
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problems
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isn't wise if it isn't authentic
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or you can't really help
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number two
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ask tough questions
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if you heard me on season one we talked
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about real talk and the value of having
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those tough conversations
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you have to start with listening
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listening is the best starting point for
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assessing a situation or issue
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if you're tackling diversity and
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inclusion
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you want to first talk with employees
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from different backgrounds in your
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organization and ask them for advice and
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constructive feedback
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they would have your best viewpoint to
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help you understand what social
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responsibility principles are actually
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happening at your organization and what
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may need to be fixed
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companies can certainly hire outside
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professional help and facilitating some
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of those hard conversations often
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benefits from having that outside
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consultant or facilitator manage some of
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those sensitivities
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but always work with your employees
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first to give them a chance to be a part
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of that process and to be listened to
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you want to include their thoughts and
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their talents
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within your work and as you put together
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your plan
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or your practice
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the last thing you want is to make your
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existing employees feel excluded during
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this process
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number three
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collaborate together strategically
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corporate social responsibility or
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social responsibility practices are a
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commitment
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their commitment to go beyond what's
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mandatory
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or at the minimum for a business to
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operate so it's definitely not an
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overnight process
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working through ethical economic or
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legal responsibilities and ideals may
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take hosting regular meetings
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or listening tours with your staff to a
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structure an effective social
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responsibility program
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for example before you tell the public
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how diverse you are
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that reality needs to be a part of your
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culture and proven from within
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your employers are going to be your
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biggest brand ambassadors if you do
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things right
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but if your diversity inclusion efforts
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are only at surface level
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any external messaging you send out
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there into the world will be hollow
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and today's employees may actually call
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you out on it
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corporate social responsibility or
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social responsibility itself should not
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be left up to just one department or one
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person in an organization
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i've seen how even the smallest of
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companies tend to work in silos without
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considering how other departments or
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areas of the companies may want to be a
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part of an initiative
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or may have resources to help
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that's a recipe for blind spots an
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uneven program execution or support
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if the left hand doesn't know what the
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right hand is doing they won't work well
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together
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ideally a good social responsibility
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plan should come from or at least be
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championed by top leadership and shared
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down through other departments
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and number four be thoughtful and
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planful
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remember what's helpful to society is
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going to change over time
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you're always going to want to consider
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the core social responsibility
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principles that we mentioned before but
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then imply them to what matters most now
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i think a lot of us realize today what
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we worried about pre-covered that can be
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totally swept aside today
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don't jump on any social media train
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that just rolls on by
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instead think through what actions you
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can take
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what messaging you can share
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and what will withstand the shifts in
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public sentiment
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because they're sustainable to who you
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are as an organization or as a
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professional
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before 2020 many companies shied away
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from these sensitive topics we talk
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about today
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and now employees are looking for
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organizations that are socially
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responsible and support efforts that
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benefit the environment benefit our
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health social justice politics gender
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equality and even more
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companies should assess what really
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matters to them what are their core
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values what do they want to put money
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behind and neither commit to that space
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or don't step into it
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we have seen too many insensitive social
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pose from institutions or their leaders
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that really miss the mark
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planning ahead whenever you can and
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understanding what your stances are
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because they become principles to your
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organization will be critical in the
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world of social and digital media
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hopefully there's someone in your
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organization that has a social
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responsibility background or follows
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these principles as an individual a lot
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of public relations professionals do
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if not consider hiring someone who's
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experienced and can help your
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organization put together its core
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pillars and a plan in this area
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it's not flashy work but social
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responsibility does right by the
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community and promotes a long-term
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success for any organization
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and with everything being so uncertain
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and our time still being turbulent
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what's a better way to build for our
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future
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join me for the rest of this series
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where we will answer that question
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we'll see social responsibility come to
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life through discussions with more
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experts on how we safely return to
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in-person events
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how we can create a world where all men
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and boys are loving and respectful
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how social responsibility impacts hr
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practices
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and what it's like to focus on social
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responsibility full time
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thanks so much for joining me for
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today's episode if you want more content
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like this check out our site at
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mvw360.com
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there you can read helpful blog posts or
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sign up to get a monthly email with all
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kinds of important communication topics
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learn more about my background ways we
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can work together and visit the pr pro
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gear shop that has mugs shirts and new
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designs for the fall
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and as always think smart and
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communicate smart and i'll see you next
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time
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thank you for joining us for another
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episode of the smart talk series if you
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learned something or enjoyed our
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conversation share it on social media or
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send to a friend
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to learn more about this and other
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communication topics visit
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mvw360.com that's mvw360.com
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you
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