Civil Service Live
Corporate Responsibility – changing fashion or fashioning change?
This content is written by the Civil Service News Team
In 'Corporate Responsibility - changing fashion or fashioning change?', Judy Greevy and Ed Williams outlined their vision of corporate responsibility and why they see it as relevant to Whitehall.
Ed Williams began with an example of The Passage, a homeless centre in London run by Sister Ellen. The Passage charges its homeless users a small fee – it may be 50 pence or £1 – for clothing. “The users may have to make a choice between clothes or a beer.“ This charge actually has a positive impact on people's lives: “the main issue is not that they're homeless, it's that they've lost control. A small nominal charge can allow an individual to take back control.“
The Civil Service can benefit from this model too, Ed pointed out – by using corporate responsibility to drive performance. For example, steps to make employees happier in a department of 50,000 could save millions of pounds in sick days.
Ed believes that the will is there in the Civil Service to make a difference,
“When people are asked why they most wanted to join the Civil Service, they most often say because they wanted to make a positive impact.“
But in order to make a true impact, it is essential to “take the holistic view“ – that all levels of the service get involved.
“With Corporate Responsibility, you've got to embed it into the organisation, into its DNA; it's not something just bolted on. It's about a habit, it's about a mindset, it's about behavioural change;
Ed Williams
Why is the corporate responsibility agenda so high now?
According to Ed, we've gone in a short time from a “trust me“ world, in which institutions simply through their heritage were trusted, to a “prove to me“ world. People now ask first, “Why should I trust you?“
Judy also explained ways in which HM Revenue and Customs are tackling this, attempting to build trust on a local level and interact with communities. Though she admits that, “We're at the moment setting out on our journey“, she does believe that through concerted efforts at all levels and across departments step changes can be made.