Community Relations: Food for the Soul of Your Manufacturing Company

The end of the year is often a time of looking ahead, and looking back. But this year, it’s also got me thinking about “giving back,” and how that fits into a larger business strategy.

I often write about company culture on this blog because I believe it’s foundational to business success. Understanding your company values, and being intentional about baking them into your company culture, is a cornerstone for success and longevity.

It’s easy to think about this in terms of internal policies and business processes. But in my experience, it’s more than that. Taking an external perspective — thinking about how your organization “shows up,” if you will — offers an opportunity to put those values into action.

In today’s post, I want to explore the advantages of looking outward, not at your customers or your competitors, but at your community, and how that focus can help build a stronger brand and culture in the long run.

Community Relations Are Values in Action

Here at Syte, we’re big on helping our clients find ways to build a strong company culture. It’s a fantastic way to up-level their organizational muscle for scale and growth. And while we often focus on internal dynamics and processes, we recognize that those elements aren’t the only way that company culture manifests itself.

The concept of “corporate social responsibility” has been around for a while, but when I think about community relations, I think about something a little closer to home. I’m talking about how manufacturing companies show up for, and in, the communities they’re part of.

There are many ways that a manufacturing company can show its commitment to the community it operates in, from arm’s length sponsorship to hands-on volunteerism, and everything in between.

Corporate donations to a local organization — One obvious way to support your community is to put dollars behind a particular cause. Think corporate support for any kind of community initiative — sponsoring a local sports team, providing funds for a seasonal event, or donating goods or services free of charge to support a local nonprofit.

This kind of dollars-and-cents support goes a long way to supporting the local community. Fundraising can be an onerous task for many community groups, and covering operational expenses with contributions from individuals alone can be a challenge. Providing monetary support can literally be a lifeline to some of these worthy organizations.

“Boots on the ground” — Another powerful signal of your company’s commitment to the community is putting effort and labor behind a cause. This is where you can get more creative in how you contribute to the community — and the possibilities (and impact) are endless.

For example, you can start a food drive at work in support of a local food bank, or a toy drive for families in need during the holiday season. Organize a cleanup day for a park or trail in the community, or partner with a local nonprofit to paint a recreational center. Having a real presence in the community in this way is a compelling experience for everyone involved.

Community focus as a company value — If group activities aren’t a natural fit for your organization, you can still embed this spirit of “giving back” into your organizational culture. For example, many companies run “matching donation” programs for their employees, whereby they match 100% of charitable donations made by employees (up to a certain amount).

We’re also seeing more and more companies provide a fixed number of paid volunteer hours for employees to use as they see fit. I really like this approach for a couple of reasons. For one, it removes the logistical headache of trying to coordinate a large-scale effort for an entire team. But it also allows employees to express themselves (and their personal values) more individually, and expands the company’s impact over a wider variety of initiatives.

Good Community Relations Build Strong Organizations

The tangible benefits to the community with any of these efforts is pretty obvious. But the business wins too. Giving back to the community in this way generates a lot of goodwill and reputational advantage.

In particular, manufacturing companies who prioritize good community relations distinguish themselves as great places to work.

Attracting and retaining talent is becoming more and more critical for many manufacturing companies.

Positive community relations, and explicit values around contributing to the community, create a stickier work culture, and can help attract talent to the organization. Employees are proud to work for a company that puts community front and center, and they’ll talk about it to people in their network.

But I think this approach also strengthens the organizational DNA of existing teams.

When we work with our clients on their business transformation initiatives, we always look closely at the people and roles they have in place, and how those teams work together in day-to-day operations. One thing we’ve seen time and again is that business processes and relationship-building go hand in hand.

The cross-functional collaboration that goes along with business transformation is empowering — and I believe it has a ripple effect outside the workplace, into families and communities. Company-sponsored involvement with the community has the same effect: co-workers get an opportunity to interact outside of the work environment, discovering common interests and building new connections.

Collaborating outside the office brings collaboration back into the office, but it’s underpinned by something bigger than hitting production numbers or revenue targets. It’s based on a shared value of giving back.

Giving Back Yields Big Dividends

When we’re looking to grow a business, we often focus on the “quantitative” side of things — revenue and expenses, waste and efficiency, headcount and so on. But tending to the “soul” of your organization is critical for long-term sustainability and growth too, and fostering a healthy relationship with your community is part of that.

It’s also just the right thing to do.

Are you looking for more meaningful ways to engage with your local community? We’d love to help you brainstorm some ideas. You can schedule your complimentary collaboration session right here.