04 Aug Choosing how to B good
It is fair to say that recruitment consultancies have a poor reputation in certain quarters. We are aware of this and one of our favourite things is when we receive feedback like “you are not like other recruiters”.
Clearly we are not alone in this and many recruitment businesses out there are working hard to build trust and demonstrate their authenticity and upstanding character.
This has resulted in many B corp certifications sector wide. Which is great for candidates and clients alike. Isn’t it?
Well sure, to a certain extent.
PSR looked into securing B Corp status several years ago now. It was great for helping assess our internal policies, employee standards and involvement, environmental standards…all sorts of cool stuff.
One of the best elements at the time involved supply chains and monitoring your own standards and those of the businesses you rely on. I really liked this but it felt much more aligned to a company that produced or sold a product rather than a service. And this was our problem at the time. It didn’t really feel like it held us to the ethical standards that we had already adopted. There were gaps that, should we be the sort of recruiter that generates the bad image I spoke of earlier, that meant that we could quite easily accrue the required points to qualify as B Corp and then happily operate as an ethical recruiter in a purely performative manner.
I must stress at this point that B Corp is great and none of what I am saying here is directed at B Corp.
The issue is organisations gaining certification and regarding it as job done. Gaining status is just the first point in a continual improvement process and looking at some recruiter companies out there displaying the badge they are not still pushing for better with many still just over the qualifying mark years after gaining it. Some are not even appearing on the register anymore despite displaying the logo.
So in search of a better suited affiliate I found the Good Business Charter. This accreditation covers care for employees, suppliers, customers and the environment (whilst paying your fair share of tax) by meeting 10 core components (9 for public and third sector organisations).
We think its great. It meets our ethical framework, covers all business types and is simple and fair. Not only that but this year to put their money where their mouth is they made gaining accreditation free.
It is how we choose to show we can be a trusted partner. Its part of how we choose to be good.