Team engagement, trust and collaboration is crucially important to any business, especially when newly established and divided by screens. Our team operates remotely, but (almost) all are local to Edmonton!
As a new team we knew it was important to get together in person, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic plaguing our province we had to leave the dreams of the traditional social gathering aside for now. Giving back and doing good in the community has always been important to Launch57 as is evident in the products we’ve created to help non-profits, charities, and grassroots community groups grow through low cost and effective technologies; CommuniBee and Bid Beacon.
We are building a strong business, and an important part of that is the way in which we prioritize sustainability and the overall benefits we can provide for society.
What is Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility is defined as an organization’s responsibility to balance the economic, environmental, and social aspects of its activities.
Maintaining a positive public image is a part of a company’s social responsibility, but the image to the public isn’t the only important factor. Employees also want to feel that they are working with an organization that is doing good for the world. As the confidence in the company grows internally, we build up our goodwill with other stakeholders, gain and retain customers.
Corporate social responsibility is achieved through voluntary actions and can be accomplished by:
- Involving employees in decision-making and giving them the opportunity to participate in decisions that affect their work environment
- Adopting sustainable practices in the operations of the firm
- Providing economic, environmental, and social benefits for society
Most importantly, building a strong team that consists of young professionals means that businesses like ours must recognize the social issues that are important to the team. Never has a generation of workers been as invested in environment, sustainability and giving back than this workforce.
Here are some tips on hosting a community cleanup
We knew it had to be COVID-19 safe and well distanced. Luckily being a team of ten, we met the max gathering guidelines (at the time), and we remained cognizant of restrictions and proper safety requirements in our planning.
Hosting a team litter cleanup was simpler than you may expect. 5 steps and you’ve done it!
- Purchase supplies: you’ll need garbage bags, gloves, sanitizer, bottled water and prepackaged snacks.
- Choose your date, time and location: We chose a large public park that was central, well utilized with trails, and plenty of opportunities to distance should there be other people around.
- Set a time limit: you don’t want to lose anyone, be sure to set a time limit and have people meet back at the agreed upon time.
- Pair off and start picking: Head of in small groups or pairs, clear litter
- When you meet back, compare hauls to gauge who was the ultimate picker, draw names for small prizes and have some laughs.
A tip from Graham: If time allows, build some garbage picker tools with old hockey sticks and nails, a great way to save your back picking up litter!
Final Thoughts
As a team we enjoyed every bit of the beautiful day before returning to our respective desks with new friendships and a feeling of being involved in something “bigger”. We had a sense of the type of business we are a part of, and the ways we can interact with each other and the world.