LAIZER EDWIN N.
BAPRM 42691

CORPORATE COMMUNITY IN COMMUNITY INVESTMENT                                                  

As community investment becomes ever more embedded in company strategies, we help link the needs of the communities in which you operate with your company's need for real return on your investment.

Our experience of working with thousands of companies and more than 45,000 charities means we’re uniquely placed to:

• Help you identify potential charity partners

Work with you to develop sustainable partnerships that create shared value for you and your chosen charities

• Grow your corporate community investment globally through our network of international offices.
• Provide ongoing support for your community investment programme
• Advise you on, employee engagemen including volunteering
• Help you to communicate your community investment successes

Corporate Community Investment

In the communities in which we develop and build, Skanska is dedicated to creating long-lasting value for local societies and our customers – positive legacies that go beyond concrete and steel. We do this through our structured Corporate Community Investment (CCI) framework, through which we provide our time, skills and gifts in kind for mutual benefit.

With CCI, we concentrate on stimulating local economic development and supporting educational opportunities in our focus areas of Safety, Ethics, Green and Diversity and Inclusion. Also, we support technical education related to project development and construction. As an example of how our sustainability areas are interconnected, we use project apprenticeships to enhance integration with local society, linking CCI with Diversity and Inclusion.

Corporate Culture is Out, Corporate Community is In

Last month I had the opportunity to attend the great place to work conference in Dallas. One of the core themes from the event centered on creating and sustaining corporate culture. Several CEOs talked about this being their number one challenge not customers, not talent acquisition, but maintaining their culture.

In fact, they likened their culture to more of a community. That was the term they used too community. When I think about creating a community a few things come to mind:

• Creating shared beliefs, experiences and traditions
• Building authentic relationships
• Supporting the other members of the community

Culture and community sound very similar. The one thing that’s clear is the measurement of success. Communities are successful because their members are successful. For a community to thrive, it needs care and attention. This means building and growing a community is about people, not programs.

Building a corporate culture based upon programs will only take the organization so far. What sustains your culture is developing people for leadership roles, finding purpose in their work and connecting with the company. It’s what simon sinek refers to in his book and TED talk as “Start with Why.

 Why (companies do it) How (companies do it) What (companies do)

Lots of really good organizations know what they do and how they do it. But great organizations know why they do it. It makes me wonder. Is it possible that corporate cultures know what they do and how they do it but corporate communities know why they do it?

Sinek takes the conversation one step further. Customers decide to buy from businesses because they believe in the “why” of a company. From a talent perspective, is it possible that employees decide to apply because they believe in the “why” of an organization?

If “why” is the differentiator, then I completely understand the CEO comments about community. Community is their “why.” It’s what makes the company great. It attracts customers. It attractsthe  best talen . It creates competitive advantage in every way.