Impact investment helps companies attract higher calibre staff

Impact investment - sustainably supporting charities and social enterprises for the long term - can be used as key way to recruit and retain high quality staff says a new survey from SharedImpact.

The SharedImpact Corporate Purpose survey conducted by YouGov also shows that 95% of people would be encouraged to work for a company that acted socially responsibly, and 87% would prefer to work for a company if they were told that it placed importance on empowering its employees in its donation decisions.

But it is not enough to simply donate to charity, says the survey. Engaging employees and helping charities get access to loan finance is also highly desirable. In fact, 84% of people believe that charities should have the same access to finance as businesses, and the vast majority that employees should be involved in the donation decisions.

SharedImpact, the world's first global donor-advised impact investment fund, maintains the survey reveals that people are becoming increasingly socially conscious, and place a great deal of importance on companies behaving with a socially responsible corporate purpose.

Paul Cheng, chair of SharedImpact, commented: “Our research shows that the majority of people are looking to work for a company that embraces a socially responsible corporate purpose. With more and more people looking to become engaged in this process, it is vital for businesses to follow suit in order to win the war for talent.These findings reveal that customers and employees are encouraged to purchase from and work for a business if it is socially responsible. That message has never been stronger.”

You can view the entire report here. 

Picture credit: Astellas employees volunteering at the White Lodge Centre, Surrey.