By David Wolf
Both McDonald's and KFC have been cleared of wrongdoing by the Guangdong government after allegations that their labor practices violated Chinese law. While both companies have escaped legal action, the entire matter brings to the fore a key consideration: employees are the best and most important nexus of CSR your company has.

If you want to improve your community, there is no better place to start than with the people who walk in the door every day.

Treat them Right
The McDonald's/KFC case proves you can treat your employees 100% in compliance with the law, and it won't be enough to buy you an ounce of goodwill. Of course, a lot of companies operating in China figure that complying with labor laws might be a good idea generally speaking, but it doesn't apply to them. The days when a company (especially a foreign-invested company) can get away with this are numbered, and increasingly companies are being held to a higher standard.

Rather than grudgingly having your company's China human resources practices dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, you should see this as an opportunity to re-examine how you treat your people, and look for ways to set a higher standard in your industry in China. Believe me, it will take a lot less than you think – expectations are pathetically low.

I'm not talking about your standard-issue human resources boondoggle activity like a company picnic, a karaoke night, or similar "morale booster." I'm talking about genuine, long-lasting improvements to the working environment. Those improvements will differ depending on your company. It may mean serving better food in the canteen, setting up an employee education program, or – perish the thought – actually paying overtime.

Encourage them to Serve
If your company is already going that extra distance to provide employees with a better place to work, the next step is to get them involved. A company can do CSR with any of its resources: donations of cash, product, or its facilities. But somehow there is nothing more profound than a company that actually allows and enables its employees to do good themselves.

(Note, please, that I say "enable," not "compel." All the good of an employee CSR program disintegrates when the participants see their effort as just another part of the job.)

There are two ways to go about this. The first is for a company to provide an incentive program for employees to choose an opportunity to volunteer their time. Most companies that pursue this path develop a list of recommended programs, but usually support whatever legitimate opportunity an employee finds compelling.

The second is for a company to develop one or more potential CSR programs for employees to get involved in. This approach usually works best in larger companies, or if a company is looking to gain some recognition for the efforts of their people.

Regardless of which approach a company chooses, the value comes both from deeply engaging employees – and their passion – in an effort in the community, and, even more important in the context of China, setting an example and a standard for others to follow.

Make Stars out of Them
The last reason is why, once you have your employee CSR program going, the next step is to celebrate their efforts. This is often the one place where companies fail to follow through.

By publicly lauding workers who take part in employee CSR programs, a company underscores to all of its employees that the way to success within the firm – and indeed in society – lies not only in doing well at work, but in working to integrate the firm into the wider community. By underscoring the company's role in the process, the company takes nothing away from the employees' accomplishments, and demonstrates to other companies that great work can be done when a company puts its employees into service.

And, of course, there is that additional, intangible, yet essential benefit: the gratification it brings to the employees themselves, and the satisfaction that it brings to their work. In a country where we are all fighting to keep talented people motivated, that itself is priceless.

The Last Word
In the April, the esteemed Bill Valentino noted that great CSR emerges from the nexus of many functions in an enterprise. If nothing else, the value and importance of employee CSR should underscore that smart, engaged human resources people belong at the CSR table.

About the author:
David Wolf, President and CEO of Wolf Group Asia, a management advisory firm providing strategic communications counsel to technology, media, entertainment, and telecommunications companies in Greater China and the Asia-Pacific region. He is also Contributing Editor for China CSR. David's opinions are his own and do not reflect those of either WGA or its clients.

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