Task 6

Evaluate and Improve

What is an evaluation?

An evaluation tracks the overall progress of a firm's CSR approach and forms the basis for improvements and modification. With the information derived from verification and reporting, a firm is in a good position to rethink its current approaches and make adjustments.

Evaluation is all about learning. Learning organizations are those whose existence is based on continuous receipt and comprehension of new information and adaptation for sustainable advantage. They do not simply attempt to achieve objectives; they are constantly on the alert to adapt to changing circumstances or to find ways for improving their approaches.

An evaluation should involve stakeholder engagement, including comments and suggestions from management, CSR coordinators, managers and committees, employees and outside stakeholders.

Why evaluate?

An evaluation allows a firm to do the following:

determine what is working well, why and how to ensure that it continues to do so
investigate what is not working well and why not, to explore the barriers to success and what can be changed to overcome the barriers
revisit original goals and make new ones as necessary.

This base of information should allow the firm to determine whether the current CSR approach is achieving its objectives and whether the implementation approach and overall strategy are correct.

How to do an evaluation

Drawing on the CSR objectives and indicators, and the information obtained through the verification and reporting process, firms should consider and respond to the following questions.

What worked well? In what areas did the firm meet or exceed targets?
Why did it work well? Were there factors within or outside the firm that helped it meet its targets?
What did not work well? In what areas did the firm not meet its targets?
Why were these areas problematic? Were there factors within or outside the firm that made the process more difficult or created obstacles?
What did the firm learn from this experience? What should continue and what should be done differently?
Drawing on this knowledge, and information concerning new trends, what are the CSR priorities for the firm in the coming year?
Are there new CSR objectives?

Finally, it is important that firms celebrate their successes. When goals are met and progress is achieved all parties concerned need to give each other a pat on the back for a job well done.

hand Make sure to do this
Create a spreadsheet to track the evaluations from year to year. The spreadsheet can assist in identifying patterns or trends.

Quick tips

Ask employees what they think worked well and what did not. They may have a different perspective on how things could be improved.
During the evaluation is a good time to celebrate success and reward the team.

Reality check
“I don't get it. What will an evaluation tell us that our $60 000 CSR report doesn't?”

The evaluation stage is critical. It is really about sitting down and looking at what the CSR report is telling you. What goals did you set but did not actually achieve? Why? Are your reporting indicators the right ones? Are they aligned with your mission? Are you engaging the right stakeholders? Have you got the right people working on advancing CSR inside the company? This is the stage when you reflect on what needs to stay the same and what needs to change. It is critical to the continuous improvement of your CSR performance.

CSR AND SMALL BUSINESSES

“How is this different from the self-evaluation that we did a year ago? This seems like an extra piece of work.”

Repeating evaluations at periodic intervals ensures that the firm has an opportunity to identify and act upon new challenges and opportunities that have arisen. Without regular evaluations, there is a danger that the firm will repeat problematic practices and fail to act upon changes in products or processes that could open up new markets. The results of regular evaluations should reveal the firm’s progress. When the evaluation results have improved then the firm is probably on the right track. When the results have stayed the same or even decreased then the CSR strategy may need to be revised.

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