I love the fact that that from the beginning, there are actions to complete, actions that follow on from honest dialogue with people who really care about social value. It gives businesses an opportunity to pause and reflect on their current social value activities – giving a bit of breathing space that allows consideration of future trends, areas to improve on or excellence to really celebrate.
I think I have been a bit surprised at the amount of times when I’ve seen a kind of ‘penny drop’ moment where the member representatives have gone, ‘Wow, we are doing much more that I thought’ – we’ve said this a few times now, so it does really seem like for some members this is the first time they have had a mirror held up to their own social impact. Its enabled them to see the passion of their teams more clearly and helps wider stakeholder groups to see it too.
It’s not a nod and a wave exercise, we can be quite critical friends. Its incumbent upon us to emphasise the need to understand the motivation behind social value activities.
At the end of the day, if the projects don’t serve core business goals – are they really fit for purpose? For example, and this really is a hypothetical, is it purposeful to support a national animal charity, for example, if people in local communities you work in are in need? The process can provoke some quite ethical questions which is very interesting to me personally.
I like that the SRAG Charter has embedded reflection and review in the framework of progression – there is always more to do and change. As teams set their future goals, they don’t stop and pat themselves on the back, it is a constant drive for improvement that underlines that this work never stops. Life doesn’t stop throwing people curve balls, so we can’t stop learning about what is really going on for people and their communities.
Getting a Charter Mark and having that discussion provides a new prism for organisations to see themselves through – I didn’t expect how powerful that could be. It takes a lot of work to do this, so it’s exciting to work with people who have really done their homework and get what is going on out there. That is where the magic happens – and light bulbs go on all round!
The Charter Mark puts in place goals that our employers can aspire to – whether that’s starting off as bronze or being an ambassador for social value recruitment.
We regularly review and update the tools we have to support our members - and this has led to our exciting partnership with ANTZ and a genuine focus on people-centred reporting not just a simple fiscal calculation. It’s this framework that enables us to cover all the bases, from candidate attraction, recruitment through to internal and external training and excellence in social value delivery, measurement and reporting.
Best of all, it’s great to see the collective impact we’re making as a network – with the SRAG Chartermarks and the Social Recruitment Covenant driving even more employers to question what they are doing and how they can do things better to be genuinely inclusive. Every charter mark awarded shows great commitment - whether Bronze, Silver or Gold - with members demonstrating the changes they’ve made to achieve progression, which for some is Ambassador level!
Our standards are also aligned to other standards such as Disability Confident and the Armed Forces Covenant. We want to make things as simple as possible for our members. Crucially, by working within the charter we can help employers to support a range of different demographics - from prison leavers through to unpaid carers. It's about giving a different perspective, encouraging employers to think differently and lean into the SRAG, our specialist partners and our lived experience voices.
The model doesn't stand still - it evolves as we all continue our journey with social value – and will reflect the employment landscape as it changes politically and economically. Whatever employers and members want to achieve, we can support their commercial and social value objectives.
Because the team and I are engaging on the front line with members daily, we are hearing the challenges first hand. One of the biggest things is how to embed social value into the DNA of the business, so that it’s not one individual carrying the expectations of the whole organisation on their shoulders, and so legacies can be built.
We’re coming up with new and fresh ideas on this all the time as we bounce off each other throughout the charter process. Also, the more we go through this journey with multiple organisations, from diverse sectors, the more we can challenge ourselves to make sure the process is relevant and meaningful for members. We can seek solutions with SRAG specialist intervention partners, confident that working together will drive mutual benefit.
We’re also able to make the picture of what good looks like relatable – talking about the benchmarks in ways that make what members at each level can set out to achieve clearer for stakeholders.
The more we all do, the more there is to do! It’s gathering pace and driving focus and a sense of purpose. This work is a source of huge energy for me. When I see organisations go up the charter mark because of being part of the SRAG, it’s hugely fulfilling, personally, and for the team. We are seeing the ripple effect of positive action every day!
