No matter how the information comes – word of mouth, through the media or the various periodic indicators – one thing is agreed; the nation’s construction sector is in a bad way, consistently and precariously placed on the wrong side of the growth/contraction divide. Indeed, one index forecasts a staggering 16% shrinkage in the sector during 2009. The technical data is unfortunately backed up by lay-offs, redundancies and closures on the ground.

However, even this thunderhead has something of a silver lining.

In the last six months a major builder has bucked the trend, securing contracts worth over £6.5 billion. Its total orders to June are estimated at £12.8 billion. Another company has gained preferred bidder status for a contract worth £35 million. These and others up for grabs are all public sector infrastructure contracts: schools, hospitals, roads, museums. Faced with the scarcity of privately funded projects, builders are fighting tooth and nail to win them.

Those that do win these contracts, apart from being very good at what they do, have another thing in common. That is, a history of going beyond ‘best endeavours’ in attempting to deliver local recruitment and procurement. They have robust working relationships with the sector skills councils, colleges, training providers, job brokers, funding bodies, schools and charities. They get involved with schemes designed to train and employ women, people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, ex-offenders, the homeless and NEETS (young people not in employment, education or training).

And, increasingly, in a time of burgeoning unemployment, when central and local government look to award contracts on more than simply price alone, this track record can mean the difference between a healthy order book and the struggle to survive.

The most forward looking have embraced Corporate Social Responsibility activity and made it a core element of their business model because it works. Corporate Social Responsbility is fast becoming an accepted aid to the all-important maintenance of the bottom line.

The economic downturn has hit the construction sector very hard. When people are losing their jobs and livelihoods it could be seen as highly unfeeling to argue that the bad times could possibly have a progressive outcome. But, switching proverbs, it would be an extremely ill wind that blew no-one any good at all. If there are to be winners when these austere times are done, CSR itself looks set to be one of them, together with those companies who looked into the storm and saw its value.

Whilst the headlines these days are grabbed by multi billion pound bailouts of the banking system there’s a growing view in politics that a more ground up approach might actually be the best route out of the credit crunch.

Speaking at the Voice 09 conference, the Conservative party leader said Britain needed to open up its training system to third sector alternatives and social enterprises so that standards can be raised:

“This is where I see a really important role for social enterprises. Enterprises like City Gateway in Tower Hamlets, which takes young adults from local estates and trains them in the skills our economy will need in the future like web design,” he said.

“These social enterprises have the local knowledge, the human touch, and sensitive understanding of the complex and interconnected problems of educational failure and worklessness and I want to see more City Gateways come in, take this recession by the scruff of the neck and help get people into work.”

And the Conservative party aren’t alone in looking beyond the banking system – City Gateway, a charity set up to link businesses into their training projects in the local community, recently celebrated its 10th Anniversary at the Canary Wharf East Wintergarden. Stephen Timms (Financial Secretary to the Treasury) recognised the dedication of the third sector: “We need more of that passion and commitment in our communities at times like this one when we’ve got economic problems around the world.”

Andy Burnham, Secretary of State for Media, Culture & Sport, who also spoke at the event added: “In this period it is difficult, it is a challenge, but in this area there is a once in a lifetime opportunity with the Olympic games. I think there are exciting times ahead, there are hopes and dreams people can look for. In my point of view this is a great time for this part of London to really open up opportunities and really ensure that we change as many young lives as possible.”

City Gateway is launching it’s own 1 year blog project in mid April to capture a wide range of opinions on CSR, volunteering and regeneration – find out more on our website.

…I hope that you all had a happy Valentines weekend and enjoyed spending time with your loved ones.  Last week, City Action was busy gearing up for the weekend by collaborating with CNN on a Valentine’s themed feature, broadcast on Saturday 14th, about our volunteering brokerage service.

CNN reporter Adrian Finighan visits Spitalfields Crypt Trust where Bank of Montreal employee volunteers support a lunchtime drop-in once a week.  Despite the slightly tongue-in-cheek approach to this news story, the value of City Action’s service is highlighted as it is described as “a unique initiative that allows volunteers and non-profit groups to work together”. 

Adrian also goes on to say: “Though it might not be ‘true love’ in the traditional sense, this relationship has had benefits for many…there are many types of (volunteer) matches but one clear goal – a relationship – built on a foundation of generosity of spirit”.

As programmes like The Secret Millionaire become ever popular due to the deeply personal and transformational nature of the volunteering stories featured and Barack Obama’s celebrated inauguration speech which focuses on “a new era of responsibility” – perhaps engaging in volunteering is going to become a vital part of rebuilding our economies and communities.  To quote Obama:

“We have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world…duties that we do not grudgingly accept but seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task…this is the price and promise of citizenship”  

Please do watch the full news story here and let us know your views on the future of volunteering…

Last week, Goldman Sachs (GS) announced their new partners for their 10,000 Women scheme.  Some news sources viewed this as ill-timed.  But why should current economic conditions affect their Corporate Responsibility (CR) announcements? Would they delay the announcement of new contracts, investment decisions or any other business as usual? 

The GS announcement is only insensitive if we believe other institutions will be significantly scaling back their CR activity.  Let’s be honest.  There will need to be efficiency savings in CR budgets – and possible resource cuts, but this will also be true across other departments.  Let’s not forget there is a strong business case for CR activities.  Consequently, CR activities should not experience any more pressure than other departments.  If we don’t stick by that business case when it matters, what is the point of promoting it in the first place?

Those who aren’t convinced by the business case for CR will be looking to make substantial cost savings from cutting CR budgets (if not teams) during this economic decline.  This is a mistake.  We are now operating in a climate of accountability and responsibility.  Severely cutting back on CR programmes now will not only expose all businesses to a threat of future regulation, it will also continue to damage your reputation even once we are through these difficult times.

Take for example Bank of America and HSBC, who have stuck by their business case.  Both are retail banks (and therefore consumer-facing) and recognise the importance of maintaining a global brand value by developing strong CR identities.  And they continue to weather this economic storm quite well.  Let’s hope their colleagues and competitors follow suit.

For more assistance on developing the business case for Corporate Responsibility, please visit:

http://www.city-action.org/resources/index.html

http://www.volunteering.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/2A38DB92-7B74-4CA5-9C79-46364B7FC2FA/0/business_case_SMEfinal1.pdf

http://www.responsiblepractice.com/english/issues/wbcsd-business/

http://www.bitc.org.uk/resources/publications/cr_business_case.html

Jerry Daykin is the Marketing Manager for City Gateway and has provided the below posting on the effect of the Lehman Brothers collapse on their organisation:

‘Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, who were due to co-run a course with my charity, the Sunday papers conjured up a quote saying: “My job is to get support from companies and it’s difficult enough at the best of times. This week has been awful.”

Thankfully, as I’ve been assuring friends and family, you can’t believe everything you read and I actually had quite a nice week. It was remarkable to see the way in which individuals, firms and other agencies have tried to step in to fill the gaps left in the project and even the guys at Lehman’s have made the effort to keep in contact during a week which must have been awful for them.

The enthusiasm and passion with which they picked up City Gateway’s new Women’s Project had made my job easy: we identified the needs of our project, they identified what they hoped to get out of a partnership and when this clicked away we went. In the few short weeks that we did work together, a number of their staff had already volunteered at the centre and dozens more were queuing up to get involved.

Unfortunately it wasn’t to be, and yes our course has been caught rather short of volunteers, office visits and placements, but if building this partnership has taught me anything it’s that more City firms than ever are ready to embrace the third sector.  We need to tie into this in a way which can benefit both parties and will lead to lasting engagement.

City Gateway was set up 10 years ago in Tower Hamlets, a Borough defined by dramatic inequality between big business and the surrounding community. We work with some of the hardest to reach NEET young people and low skilled women across the Borough and seek to engage them, train them and ultimately progress them.

Partnering with large firms has never been an option or an added extra for us.  Corporate engagement through volunteering, hosting tours and placements are a core focus of our work – only then can the real barriers be broken down and individuals given the chances they deserve to succeed.

The crunch has tightened belts and cut CSR spending but perhaps it will unlock some of the other skills and resources firms have to offer.’

What with the great strain that the economy is currently under, it is understandable that community investment, and employee volunteering more specifically, may not be a top priority for many City businesses. It appears to me however, that it is more important than ever that City businesses and community organisations in neighbouring boroughs join forces and develop even stronger ties. Both sectors will feel the impact of economic decline to some extent, and many City workers are also residents of these boroughs.

Despite the negative press attention that is currently surrounding the City, employee volunteering has gained some very positive press.  City Action gained a feature in last week’s Sunday Times which showcased a 40% increase in individual volunteering activity compared to last year and a 50% increase in new businesses recruited. This article along with another that recently featured in the Mail on Sunday (31st August 2008), also shed light on the incredibly positive impact that voluntering can have on City employees during this uncertain period.

The Sunday Times article was supported by four City-based advocates that were interviewed for the feature, with Rachael Hewson, associate director at Mason Blake, a financial recruitment firm, making the point that ‘CSR is here to stay…It’s not something that companies can just dip out of once they have dipped in. They are often in long-term partnerships with the local community.’

We at City Action of course understand the worries and constraints that many City-based companies are facing, and are able to provide varied volunteering opportunities that can suit all levels of involvement.  Let’s ensure that current economic circumstances don’t hinder the fantastic difference that employee volunteers make to our neighbouring communities.