Frying the Ant: The CSR Measurement Conundrum

Attention recent MBA grads and pencil pushers, please consider yourself warned…you’re not going to like this post.

Because it’s about measuring corporate social responsibility efforts and how this conversation is starting to make me a little bit, um…CRANKY.

Because you see, my faithful ROI chasers, you’re kind of missing the point of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by demanding a “social impact” calculation before you’ll even glance in the direction of CSR.  You insist on “proof” that this will positively influence your business model before you condone even the smallest projects.  Or perhaps you reluctantly agree to pilot an initiative, then rush to measure its impact nine ways to sundown and come up short in the tangible “proof” department.

Of Course Measurement is Important

Of course I realize that capturing key metrics of CSR is important.  I believe that, inherently, CSR efforts will lead to long-term and sustainable impact in your bottom line.  Just not the way you’re trying to prove that it will.  And probably not as quickly as you’d like.  CSR is a long-term investment, not a quick fix.

At the end of the day, my personal belief is that, if you fail to “get” this movement, whether you call it CSR or not, your business will go the way of the dodo.  Not today.  Not tomorrow.  But someday.  As Gil Friend astutely points out in a recent blog post,

“The question is not ‘Can you find a viable business case for the carbon-constrained world that is rapidly heading your way?’ The question is ‘How can you create one?’ Because you will find one, create one or die.”

Here’s are a few of the challenges with measuring CSR efforts as I see it:

The Uncertainty Principle (or “Frying the Ant”)

As soon as you step in to push your measurement agenda, the spirit and passion that leads those efforts dies a little.  In quantum physics (bear with me here), scientists discovered that “the very act of measuring one magnitude of a particle, be it its mass, its velocity, or its position, causes the other magnitudes to blur”, making accurate measurement impossible. This is called The Uncertainty Principle and I think it applies to CSR in a roundabout way.

Being a better corporate citizen is hard to measure.  How exactly do you measure intangible benefits like authenticity, good will, community investment and trust?  Yet these are the very things that engender customer loyalty.  Hold up the magnifying glass too closely and too often and you risk frying the ant.  And let’s be honest…as a kid, did you really use a magnifying glass to examine the ant or send it out of this world in a blaze of spontaneous glory?

Not Enough Emphasis on Future Trends and Risk Analysis

Also in the aforementioned post by Gil Friend is the consideration of risk.  Friend advises,

“Volatile times demand that companies ‘factor the future’ into these assessments, with explicit consideration of risk in the sustainability business case.”

He points to unknowns such as energy availability and prices, changing regulations and financial crisis.  Friend also mentions changing customer expectations which is, I think, a biggie and one that savvy companies will keep an eye on.  Recent surveys by Edelman, Cone and Burson-Marsteller clearly demonstrate that, if given a choice, customers will choose the company demonstrating socially responsible practices over one that does not.

Too Many Useless Metrics

What you measure IS important.  Again, calculating every metric known to man on your CSR programs is probably a huge waste of time.  At the end of the day, what are the key metrics that demonstrably matter?  Do you know?  If you’re unsure as to whether it matters or not, think seriously about measuring it.  I was intrigued to read the comments of The Harlem Children’s Zone founder, Geoffrey Canada when asked, “Harlem Children’s Zone is midway through a 20-year completion cycle. How do you define success? What benchmark tells you the work is successful—or not?”  Canada replied (to much controversy),

“The only benchmark of success is college graduation. That’s the only one: How many kids you got in college, how many kids you got out. Everything else is interim.”

Ask yourself what it is you truly need to capture.  Think long and hard.  Measure it because it matters, not because fear and the status quo dictate that you should.

@meganstrand

You can also find this post in a shorter version as a guest post for Semiosis Communications.

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