Welcome to the third edition of our newsletter. In this edition, we focus on our work helping organisations to form and sustain difficult relationships, particularly in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Often in these relationships, there is an imbalance in power and outlook of the global corporations who sponsor CSR work on the one hand and the charities and NGOs that they sponsor on the other.

Next month, Jane Linklater will be addressing the Ethical Corporation Stakeholder Engagement Summit in Barcelona – attended by some of the biggest names in business. She will be sharing the story of her work helping a major telecommunications company and an international children’s charity manage their differences and overcome their difficulties in working together. A case study, with more details of this work, is below.

We will be hosting a half day workshop at the conference on the theme “Engaging stakeholders: Creating and maintaining good working relationships under pressure”. The workshop is co-facilitated by Consultancy Works staff consultants Peter Hyson and Erica Packington, and supported by Veronica Scheubel from Scheubel Development.

It would be great to see some of you in Barcelona, both at the conference and at the workshop. We have arranged a 15% discount – just mention your link with Consultancy Works when you book. Full details of the event are given below.

Ethical Corporation Stakeholder Engagement Summit – Barcelona 13/14th October.

Ethical Corporation, at their first annual Stakeholder Engagement Summit scheduled to take place on the 13th/14th October in Barcelona, will gather together members of the European corporate responsibility community to look at the issues facing the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) sector today.

Some of the biggest questions facing CSR professionals are directly linked to stakeholder engagement; how to incorporate the results of stakeholder engagement into business strategy; how to identify the large, silent majority of stakeholders; and whether collaboration with competitors bring rewards - like a more efficient supply chain. Each of these questions have been incorporated into the programme for the Summit, and will be addressed by a variety of perspectives, from multi-national corporations to NGOs and charities.

The conference is a response to the increasing importance attributed to a firm’s stakeholder engagement strategy by the CSR community. As the IFC have recently stated, “Companies that build strong relationships with their constituencies – suppliers, customers, employees – are at an advantage.”

The conference also incorporates practical case studies from companies with expertise in particular aspects of stakeholder engagement. Allianz will be speaking with CARE international on how the NGO helped to improve Allianz’s knowledge and understanding about their stakeholders. Microsoft will be presenting on the EU’s European Alliance for Skills, and their contribution to this initiative.

The Summit speaker roster reflects the pan-European nature of an issue like this, and will give conference delegates an insight into European responses to such a complex and difficult problem. Speakers have been drawn from France, Italy, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and Great Britain. Companies such as Microsoft, Intel, BT, Sanofi-Aventis, Starbucks, Repsol and Ferrovial will all be contributing to the debate as well as NGOs and charities such as CARE International and Rainforest Alliance.

For a full set of topics, a list of speakers and the chance to sign up if you would like to attend, head to www.ethicalcorp.com/stakeholder.

We have arranged a special 15% discount on tickets at the conference. To take advantage of this discount, Register Now and use the code ‘CW15’ in the discount code box.

Helping clients build a bridge over troubled waters

Four years ago, Jane was approached by a major telecommunications company and asked to facilitate some teambuilding between them and an international children’s charity.

The two organisations were partners in a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project to provide support for youth organisations around the world. The relationship, which had been in place for several years, had deteriorated to the point of imminent collapse.

Whilst carrying out some initial inquiry, Jane realised that something more fundamental and transformational was needed in order to help the partners continue to work together.

There was clear commitment and a desire from both sides of the partnership to “make it work.” However, there was also a background of considerable organisational change in both organisations. The roles and responsibilities between the partnership members had become blurred as the programme grew in size and influence and this contributed to a loss of trust between the programme partners and a near total breakdown in communication.

Read the full case study by clicking here »

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