How CSR spills over into HR and quality functions

The topic of CSR took on a new dimension with the vote on the CSRD directive on sustainability reporting at the end of 2022. A company's non-financial performance will be measured as rigorously and in as much detail as its financial performance. This exercise will require at least as much meticulousness as a quality process! Beyond this news, it is a fact that, as it continues to grow in importance, the issue of social responsibility is no longer the sole preserve of the CSR manager and is spilling over into other strategic functions of top management: the quality function, of course, but also human resources. Two studies conducted by the AFNOR group in 2022 highlight this trend. The first, which can be downloaded here, was conducted among 700 quality decision-makers with the BVA institute. The second, which can be downloaded here, surveyed a thousand

HR decision-makers in

the public and private sectors. Performance and transparency How are quality and CSR linked, and how can a chief quality officer take on the role of chief sustainability officer? The link between the two spheres is the concepts of performance and transparency, summarizes Karine Georges, head of research for the AFNOR group. The concept of quality is strongly determined by customer satisfaction. Today, however, customers are no longer satisfied simply by the product or service they have purchased. They are now also satisfied by the fact that the company reflects values and behavior that are consistent with its principles, without hiding anything. Quality managers must therefore take these expectations into account. "The challenge for quality is that everything we say must be justified. It's not just a matter of writing 'made with milk from our farmers' on a jar; it has to be true and we have to be able to prove it," says a quality specialist in the agri-food sector in the study. Quality managers are therefore involved in the adventure as evidence specialists. This is the case within the AFNOR group, where the quality department is responsible for steering the CSR approach. The theme is clearly identified as part of the role. In our study, quality decision-makers rank CSR third among the challenges of today and tomorrow, after ecological transition (of which it is a part) and automation.

The Isère-based SME Paturle Aciers has also incorporated CSR into its quality control process. Céline Marotte, QSE Manager, reports on the initiative to senior management, whom she has trained on the subject. She confirms that transparency is the concept that links the two worlds, but suggests another: the 2015 version of the ISO 9001 standard, which, by adopting a structure common to other major management system standards, encourages us to look beyond customer relations and extend the concept of satisfaction to other stakeholders: suppliers, local partners, and employees. This brings us to questions of ethics, meaning, and trust, and covers the three pillars of social responsibility: the environment, society, and the local community, she explains. In

this spirit, the quality manager also comes to play a role as a driver of change: "The majority of companies are undergoing transformation (...). It's a question of seeing how the quality department can support this transformation strategy to help and formalize these changes and ensure that best practices are consolidated," says a quality manager in the IT sector in the study. This is a movement that also involves the HR department! "When a company changes its model, which is the case with CSR requirements, it is the role of the HR function to support these changes and adapt skills and jobs," explains Damien Monier, Director of Human Resources, CSR, and Assets—a triple role!—at Paredes, a company specializing in occupational hygiene. Employees in a real estate asset management department, for example, now have to think about energy savings and water reuse. Marketing specialists no longer have to sell a product, but rather its use, the way it was designed, and how it will be recycled at the end of its life. These are

all

new skills to acquire.

Attractiveness

at Paredes Another aspect that makes HR functions lean towards CSR is the issue of attractiveness and employer branding. A company that does not display its CSR credentials would be putting itself out of the running in the job market, asserts Damien Monier. Candidates, as well as external partners and internal employees, expect it to provide meaning, consideration, exemplary behavior, and best practices. This therefore affects the social climate, and the social climate is the playground of the HR function. As a result, HR finds itself at the center of CSR issues, in addition to being naturally at the forefront of issues related to quality of life at work, if we want to link them to the broader CSR galaxy. However, the AFNOR study shows that CSR in the strict sense of the term ranks only 13th in the top 15 HR issues considered important today. It even ranks second to last on the list of issues to which the organization devotes its efforts, a list dominated by change management and new ways of working. The decision-makers we interviewed are unanimous in saying that CSR is an HR issue, but also that they would like to do more, but are unable to find the time alongside the fundamentals of the job, which are health, safety, payroll, and employee representative bodies, says Karine Georges.

HR topics rated from 1 to 10 according to their current importance

The evidence: 55% believe that HR departments should contribute to the company's CSR policy in the same way as other departments in the organization chart, compared with 22% who believe that this should be the prerogative of a dedicated unit reporting to senior management (9% even claim that it should be the sole responsibility of the HR department). HR departments are at the forefront of CSR issues. They are in charge of everything related to the social pillar, concludes Olivier Graffin, health, safety at work and sustainable development coordinator for the AFNOR group, in an interview with the media outlet Parlons RH. This is an opportunity to bring this pillar, which is often overshadowed by the environmental pillar but is just as important, to the forefront.