What if we start with the Settlement?
If the small businessman wants to grow in a sustainable way and achieve success in today's business world, he must adopt a different attitude towards business, creating a model where social and environmental issues are part of his business vision. The businessman convinced of the benefits of acting in a socially responsible manner, is called to lead change and improve the quality of life of the inhabitants and their environment.
The leader of an SME must manage his company taking into account 6 premises:
- Citizens require more and more products to which certain values can be associated, such as if they are manufactured respecting the human rights of workers, if they are not polluted in their production and if they respect the environment Differentiation in a competitive market It may come from the perception that stakeholders have regarding the social and environmental achievements of companies The public demands transparency in the management of companies regardless of their size and dimension They have CSR tools available to them They allow you to build an image and reputation that will benefit your company when it comes to obtaining resources through financing.You can increase your reputation in society if you communicate the results of your economic, environmental and social actions,gaining credibility The internationalization of production processes has given rise to the need in large companies to implement responsible practices in thesupply chain that guarantee decent working conditions and minimize the impact on the environment. If the small businessman wants to be part of that chain by creating commercial ties with large companies, he must adopt these responsible practices.
The use of the tools offered by Corporate Social Responsibility –RSC- can help you include projects and initiatives on your agenda that will guide you towards a sustainable model.
A first step may be to think of one of your internal stakeholders, the people with whom you interact on a daily basis, your employees.
A Policy for the Reconciliation of personal, family and work life is a very effective instrument to take that first step towards change and innovation.
These Conciliation policies constitute a tool that provides competitive advantages to companies, among others: they improve the work environment, retain talent, produce greater loyalty and less absenteeism of workers, improve customer service, increase work performance and motivate greater involvement and commitment to the company reducing labor disputes. In addition, of course to personal benefits and to society in general.
To be successful they must respect the levels of possibilities of each company. Not all employers respond the same to the same situation or problem, often due to organizational issues, shortage of personnel or financial issues.
7 Steps to implement a Policy for the Reconciliation of personal, family and work life in SMEs
1.- Management commitment
To implement a good work-life balance policy, it is necessary for senior management to take on the challenge and commit to carrying it out. The management at the highest level will assume the commitment and in writing.
In addition, this commitment must be communicated to the entire staff and this project must be included in the objectives of the company policy and, mainly, in the human resources management policy.
Internal communication of this commitment within the company will contribute to the progress and proper functioning of the project because it allows the incorporation of a conciliation philosophy that is equivalent to an increase in internal co-responsibility for the common good of the company.
2.- Prepare a current diagnosis of the company
It is essential to analyze and have well identified the needs of the company and its staff.
A detailed quantitative and qualitative study of the current situation will be carried out, collecting information, analyzing the organizational structure of the company and working conditions from a gender perspective. The study should identify the specific areas of action.
The involvement of the entire workforce must be achieved and its basic and transversal principle must be to integrate equal opportunities between women and men in the organization.
3.- Allocation of Resources
It is necessary to provide the necessary resources, both material and human, that will be used to implement the project.
The resources to be allocated are generally not economic but organizational.
Reconciling is not expensive, the expensive thing is not reconciling.
4.- Formation of a Permanent Work Team
A team will be formed made up of staff members with influential and decision-making positions.
This team will carry out information and awareness tasks within the company. He will be in charge of preparing the Conciliation Plan based on the results of the diagnosis and will be the one who will then control its compliance.
5.- Preparation of the Plan
The Plan defines the guidelines for its execution, what are the measures to be adopted and when and how they will be carried out. The measures will be identified based on the needs detected in the diagnosis (point 2).
In positions where it is possible and as long as the organization of the company is not hindered, the management must be open to a change in the organization of work, where the quality of the work prevails and not the presence of workers in the position of work.
Some examples of measures are:
- Flexible Work –flexiworking-, Part-time work Telecommuting Go home on time day Shared work position § Hours exchange
Once the measures to be worked on have been established, it is necessary to prioritize the order of action of each one of them.
The prioritization criteria must be established based on the impacts they will produce on the different workers and the company, as well as on their economic viability. The management must be prepared for possible obstacles that may arise, which can be of very different types.
One of the most probable is resistance to change, not all people understand work-life balance in the same way, but if the company culture is clearly defined (Point 1), potential solutions will be found. Incorporating new technologies can facilitate change.
Its writing must be clear, simple with very detailed measures so that as few doubts as possible arise.
The indicators that will allow its evaluation and monitoring and an implementation schedule will be established.
For best results it may be convenient to request external advice at this point.
6.-Internal Communication
Communication of its implementation is vital for the success of the Plan. The work team should help promote this communication.
Communication actions will be carried out to ensure that the entire staff knows the project and its objectives.
7.-Assessment and continuous improvement
A follow-up should be done to analyze how the plan process is developing and reflect on the fulfillment of the actions.
To assess the results, the established indicators will be used that will allow the necessary corrections to be made in the case of deviations from the objectives to be achieved, in accordance with the commitment acquired.
With this continuous monitoring, it is guaranteed that the actions are adapted to the new realities that may arise over time, making the process more dynamic.
conclusion
A Conciliation Policy applied to the company is one of the CSR Tools that the employer has at his disposal to develop his company.
The different CSR tools allow adopting a different attitude towards business, creating a model where economic, social and environmental issues are part of its business vision.
They allow differentiation in a competitive market where the perception that customers, suppliers and other interest groups have regarding the social and environmental achievements achieved, however small they may seem, are today highly valued.
If you want to be part of the supply chain of large companies or the public administration and create strong commercial ties, you must adopt good responsible practices.
The knowledge and application of tools offered by CSR can help to include projects and initiatives on the entrepreneur's agenda that will guide them towards a sustainable model.
Bibliography
- López López, Mª T.; Valiño Castro, A. (2004): Family and Work Conciliation in the European Union, Economic and Social Council, Madrid. Quintanilla, B. (2005): "The conciliation of work and family life in the current legal framework", Cuadernos de Relaciones Laborales, vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 95-129 European Commission (2001). "GREEN PAPER: Promoting a European framework for corporate social responsibility". Organic Law 3/2007, of March 22, for effective equality between women and men- Spain Saba, Roberto (2016), Beyond formal equality before the law, Siglo XXI Editores- UNDP- RBLAC (2005) Strategic framework UNDP Gender Regional in Latin America and the Caribbean 2005-2009. International Standard ISO 26000 Standard SA8000.
