Summary:
• A demonstrably ethical CEO is a far greater draw for bright young talent than CSR initiatives, which are often seen as ‘PR puff’.
• Organisations need to communicate these personal ethical values carefully so as not to create similar scepticism about their motivation.
As the war for talent rumbles on, companies may be misjudging what it takes to attract bright young recruits, who value social responsibility, ethical behaviour and transparency in their prospective employers.
Behaving as a good corporate citizen has long been a hygiene factor for organisations – though the gap between rhetoric and practice in many instances has fuelled scepticism that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is often mere ‘PR puff’. Young job seekers still care about CSR, which means that firms must continue to invest in and communicate their activities on this front, but even genuine efforts are no longer a differentiator when it comes to recruitment.
What does set some organisations apart from others, however, are the demonstrable ethics of their CEOs, according to new research from the University of Calgary, McMaster University and the University of North Carolina. The research found that potential candidates see an ethical CEO as a far more reliable indicator of an organisation’s own stance than its CSR activities.
Through three different studies, the researchers identified several key reasons for this.
1. Job seekers tend to believe that a company run by an ethical CEO will treat its employees fairly.
2. They are also likely to believe that it cares about society and the environment.
3. They tend to experience feelings of awe, admiration and inspiration when they learn about the CEO’s ethical goodness. This leads to a state of ‘moral elevation’, which occurs when someone witnesses someone else act in an unusually moral way.
The research also found that, unsurprisingly, candidates who see themselves as ‘moral’ are more likely to respond positively to organisations led by ethical CEOs than those who don’t, creating a virtuous circle.
But while people need to be aware of your ethical principles if your company hopes to use them to attract high-quality candidates, how do you demonstrate and communicate them without this too being interpreted as a cynical PR exercise? You’d like to think you could just be your best ethical self, but the researchers offer a few tips for striking the right balance – and the emphasis is on doing, not saying.
They advise: “Send ethical signals though observable acts of prosocialness” – such as attending a charity event, or expressing anger at a social issue during a news conference, or expressing compassion on social media towards victims of an injustice.
While warning against ‘greenwashing’, they advocate promoting genuinely powerful CSR initiatives that align with the company’s values and mission by sharing stories or case studies that demonstrate how the CEO’s personal ethical convictions inform them.
Posting blogs, awards and presentations on social media that specifically highlight the chief executive’s ethical leadership is helpful, while videos of the CEO talking about their ethical values and how they shape the company’s values provide a versatile visual representation of the chief exec’s moral compass.
But, as with CSR, being proactive, rather than reactive, is key. Convincing integration of CEO ethical leadership into a firm’s recruitment strategy will require careful planning and long-term commitment, conclude the researchers.
Image credit: Nuthawut Somsuk via Getty Images
