I can’t believe that my time at ORB is nearly at an end! It has gone incredibly quickly but in that short time I don’t think I could have learnt a lot more than I have. From being well and truly thrown in the deep end I pretty quickly learnt how to network, pitch, sell and market within the first week! However it was by working in this unique industry that I learnt the real importance of CSR for all businesses, big and small, as well as its importance for society and local communities. Whatever career path I go onto (who knows!) it is something that I will always be using and getting involved with.

Since taking on this internship I’ve realised that CSR isn’t, or at least shouldn’t be, a single department; it’s something that should be used within every aspect of the business from top to bottom. Personally I think it seems obvious that a company’s work in the local community should play a vital role in its PR, marketing and HR departments, yet it still seems to be a separate entity in many businesses whether they’re small sole traders or a multinational company. There’s nothing wrong with showing off how wonderful your business is and getting the benefits as this can go onto encourage other businesses to do good too –benefits for everyone! I have to say that one of the things that surprised me when starting this role was the really great amount of community work local businesses were doing but didn’t want to get it out there for the public to see. Don’t get me wrong it’s brilliant because it shows that they’re doing it all for the right reasons but from a business perspective they’re missing out on a valuable tool!

I truly believe that the Triple Bottom Line, People, Planet, Profit, is the next big thing for all companies as it just makes perfect sense! Luckily the trends seem to show that this movement is getting bigger and bigger which is helped by a change in incentives from the up and coming Millenials. If you have a look at my previous blog ‘The Millenials are Coming’ you’ll see that the future leaders will have a completely different look on business with their priorities being people and purpose and not just products and profit. Being a Millenial myself I have to agree it should be a business’s responsibility to look after its staff and local community because it’s just the right thing to do morally as well as for profitability.

There are too many things that I can say to tell you why your business should join the movement but I’ll blame my boss Jill Poet for that for taking me on in the first place and showing me the light! A big thanks goes to her for such an incredible experience with her never ending amount of passion for what she does in the CSR industry.

To see what Jill at ORB is up to take a look at the website 🙂 http://www.orbuk.org.uk/