Why every organisation needs a CSR program

Today, business performance is no longer solely measured against traditional functions like sales or development. In recent years, we have witnessed a new wave of leadership that sees businesses taking corporate social responsibility (CSR) seriously, using their own resources, products and technologies to help reduce global inequity. This trend towards corporate citizenship or responsible business has consecutively become key to attracting and retaining talent, and is increasingly feeding into other business areas such as operational efficiency and profitability.
At Qlik, through our Change Our World program, we innovate and push the boundaries of how much good a CSR program can do, both internally and externally. For example, whilst we continuously work with more non-profits and charities by providing our software on a pro-bono basis, we also take this opportunity to innovate through the feedback we receive from these organisations on how our technology can be enhanced.
The global reach of a CSR program
We work with many amazing organisations within our CSR program, including the United Nations. Our partnership started three years ago, when we were approached to provide the analysis of UN data on the organisation’s efforts to provide immunisations through UNICEF. From here, our relationship quickly evolved. The United Nations now leverages our data analytics platform to create applications (apps) of their own, managed through the Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT). These apps are advancing the United Nations’ missions by aggregating and presenting information in an easy-to-use way that provides valuable insights for prompt and effective action.
Through the efforts of OICT, the UN aims to support the analysis of the Sustainable Development Goals by presenting indicators from the massive amounts of data available to them, to identify and track improvements to barriers to population well-being.
This has all been made possible through the software grants we have awarded the UN Secretariat to leverage our technology. In addition to these grants, Qlik has delivered ongoing training and assistance, helping to lead the data revolution across the UN.
Charity closer to home
Qlik supports over 350 NGOs worldwide, and locally we work with sleepbus, Movember, and the Sydney Children’s Foundation to impact change in Australia. All of this occurs through the global support of a one-person CSR team that manages our internal and external CSR efforts. Employees receive one ‘Volunteer Day’ per year, and have the opportunity to volunteer internationally with our NGO partners, like Medair. Through this inclusive program, we ensure that every employee feels engaged and plays a central part in our CSR efforts.
 As CSR programs evolve, becoming common place for businesses, it’s important to recognise the importance our tools, people and technology can play in enacting real change across the globe. I feel that with the resources we have at our disposal, it’s our responsibility to leverage our company’s tools to do what we can to create change and improve the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves.
At Qlik, we’re using technology in a smarter way to do good, and I want to use our discoveries to reduce the inequity we see in the world. It’s very humbling to realise how you can impact change at one level. And how, in turn, it can create a knock-on effect across the non-profit sector; as organisations learn from their peers about how to leverage their technologies to help teams on the ground, increase transparency and improve operations.
Change often starts from the top: lead and others will follow. This is certainly true of CSR programs – plans start at the top and quickly snowball into bigger, better initiatives than we could have possibly imagined. The key? Engage your entire organisation by leveraging your own resources to create real change in the world.
Sharryn Napier, Vice President and Regional Director, Qlik Australia and New Zealand.