Yell - creating a vision of 'where we want to be' with CSR
Client challenge
The Yell Group wanted to create a CR programme that delivered benefits to the community and also supported their business objectives. They wished to take the opportunity to start with a blank sheet of paper on CR and to, if necessary, re-launch their CR programme. The aim was to come up with a one sheet positioning paper explaining their CR strategy, identifying what it is, what it looks like, the key features and how it links to the parallel development of Yell values. The company wanted to re-engineer and recommend their CR programme around the current role Yell plays and identify what further role they could play in developing local communities and business.
What did we do?
Article 13 supported Yell’s in-house steering group involved in the re-launch by providing creative facilitation. Article 13 carried out a stakeholder research to help Yell focus their existing CR programme and start to understand what issues might be material and affect their relationship with Yell. This research identified areas of good practice as well as areas for improvement. It also established a starting point for the refocus of Yells’ CR strategy and, when put alongside the current Yell CR policy, the group, facilitated by Article 13, was able to revisit the strategy and suggest a reworking of the policy in terms of the stakeholder workshop results.
The initial results arising from the stakeholder engagement facilitation enabled Article 13 to come up with actions that Yell could implement as part of its CR approach. These responded to areas of improvement identified by stakeholders as parallel to Yell’s values as well as material to Yell’s role in the local community and business. Article 13 was then able to advise Yell on how to move from a collection of recommended activities to an articulated strategy, with the intention of shifting Yell’s position to from an invisible player in the community to a company that linked business strategy and impacts to what stakeholders were looking for.
In facilitating the Yell workshops, Article 13 elicited targeted information that gathered stakeholders’ views on subsequent developments of the strategy. It also allowed stakeholders to build the relevant language and demonstrated active inclusion and listening. Communication was core to the project and not only one way or two way; it developed governance structures that deepened stakeholder focussed communication, stakeholder salience in measurement and reporting, and ongoing top level commitment.
Innovation PLUS
Article 13 facilitated the development of the Yell CR strategy, by Yell people, and in turn made the implementation distinctively ‘Yell’. Article 13 believes that there is a need to ‘walk the walk’ to principles of sustainable development and thus moved the strategy further towards ‘how we do business’ as well as how we go beyond responsible business to ‘put the Y in CR’.
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© Article 13 2008
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