The social enterprise is here to stay: How Canadian leaders/organizations can rise to the occasion

The social enterprise is here to stay: How Canadian leaders/organizations can rise to the occasion

Sponsored by:

The definition of a ‘successful organization’ has evolved over time, starting from delivering strong financial performance and producing high-quality goods and services to becoming a good corporate citizen when it comes to their employees, customers and communities. But now more than ever, an organization’s impact on society at large and on the environment is becoming an essential ingredient to success.

Welcome to the social enterprise era; a notion where leading organizations listen to and invest in the trends shaping today’s world, and shoulder its responsibility to be role models for their peers to meet these evolving expectations. Doing so is critical to maintaining an organization’s competitive advantage, from reputation; to attracting and engaging critical talent; and to cultivating loyalty among customers.

Canada is uniquely positioned to foster the growth of social enterprises since Canadian organizations are seen as ‘the most trusted in the world’, reaching at 68 percent, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer. But in order to take advantage of this privileged position, leaders need to continue to look beyond the bottom line and have the courage to make the necessary changes.

So, how can organizations become a social enterprise? In our 2018 Global Human Capital Trends report based on a global survey of more than 11,000 business and HR leaders, there are four areas that enable and drive the urgency of the rise of the social enterprise. Firstly, C-suite must operate as a high functioning team; secondly, organizations must listen to their employees and the larger community; thirdly, develop strategies that address societal concerns beyond the organization; and finally, make use of the latest technology to drive productivity and tap into larger talent pools.

An essential part of creating social enterprises is breaking down functional hierarchies in the C-suite, replacing them with a team-based approach. We call this the “symphonic C-suite,” where executives operate as a high-functioning team with unprecedented cross-functional collaboration, to run the organization as an agile network and help promote citizenship across both internal and external initiatives.

Canada is well-positioned since thirty percent of survey respondents said their CxOs regularly collaborate on long-term, interdependent work, and most Canadian respondents (86 percent) consider C-suite collaboration important. The impact of this collaboration could be significant since the global survey findings indicate organizations with the highest level of CxO cross-collaboration are the most likely to anticipate growth of 10 per cent or more over the next year.

As the working environment becomes increasingly transparent, social enterprises require a new type of leader, who is in service to the team—not the other way around.

These leaders must continually sense and listen to the internal and external environment, and align the team’s activities to respond to what is happening around it.

Leaders must shift from a one-size-fits-all talent management approach to one that is more bespoke for each employee, including the rising number of contingent and gig workers. Forty-three percent of Canadian respondents anticipate they will increase their use of contract workers by 2020, and also anticipate an increase in their use of freelancers and gig workers, by 25 percent and 20 percent respectively.

Stakeholders today are taking an intense look at the impact organizations have on society, and their expectations for good corporate citizenship are rising. In fact, according to the Deloitte 2018 Millennial Survey, climate change and income equality are the top two issues in society that millennials are personally most concerned about. If organizations take steps to embed their citizenship strategy into overall talent strategy, it can help them create an engaging experience for their workforce.

Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics can help connect diverse workforce segments within and outside the organization. Fortunately, Canada’s robust technology sector, highly skilled and educated workforce, and regional technology hubs offer a distinct advantage to Canadian businesses. Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster, a consortium of some of the world’s biggest names in healthcare, telecommunications, natural resources and computing, along with start-ups, SMEs, researchers and post-secondary institutions, are all working together to solve some of the most pressing productivity, health and sustainability challenges facing Canada and the world today. The Digital Technology Supercluster will accelerate growth — and the growth of other innovation ecosystems across Canada. The rapid rise of the social enterprise can drive positive outcomes for the bottom line, communities and the world at large. Becoming one takes collaboration, strong communication across the workforce, and a high degree of courage to go beyond traditional performance metrics.

Canadian organizations currently enjoy a high degree of respect and trust, both at home and around the world, and most of them already recognize the importance of being good corporate citizens. They have made a great start in transforming themselves from business enterprises into social enterprises. As more Canadian businesses summon the courage to transform themselves, Canada will continue to be in an ideal position to rise up to the occasion and lead the world.

Kate Morican is a Human Capital Consulting Partner at Deloitte Canada

 

Latest stories