RECOGNISING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ‘S’ IN ESG AND ITS ROLE IN THE TOTAL EXPERIENCE

Deborah Johnson, Head of ESG at Agilitas

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) has gained significant momentum in recent years, with businesses, end-users and partners becoming more aware of the impact that their decisions have on the environment and society. It could be argued that companies are prioritising the environment and governance due to increasing market and legislation pressures. But it’s no longer an option to simply meet the legal requirements - organisations must take proactive steps to address social issues and promote sustainable development.

With that in mind, many businesses are now considering a strategy that encompasses the Total Experience (TX). TX puts stakeholders at the heart of everything a company does, which not only helps to mitigate ongoing business and market demands but also provides solutions that are aligned with the needs of its people. This strategy recognises the role that each stakeholder has to play in the business, ensuring the organisation can act with impact, lead by example and remain competitive in the longer term.

WHAT IS THE ‘S’ IN ESG?

Social sustainability involves identifying and managing a company’s impact on the wider community. It’s all about the organisation’s relationships with people, as well as its policies and actions to help individuals, groups and society. This includes ensuring employees are treated fairly, providing equal opportunities for all, and working to address any social disparities. Social considerations such as diversity and inclusion, worker rights and employee welfare also play a crucial role in a company’s long-term and sustainable growth.

The goal of these factors is to measure how well a company is meeting its human obligations across its operations, global supply chains and local commu- nities. Businesses that successfully adopt the social pillar of ESG recognise that social considerations need to be ingrained across all functions and practices, fostering a cohesive approach that aligns with their overall vision. This means employees are more likely to actively work toward a future where they value their place of work enough to forgo external opportunities.

Introducing The Total Experience

Many organisations aren’t waiting for regulation to develop before making progress on social factors. Organisations are increasingly going above and beyond what they’re required to do, to show they’re doing the right thing for all of their stakeholders. Designed to connect employees and customers, the TX’s intention isn’t to focus on the business’s products or services, but rather on the relationship between its stakeholders and their business.

The strategy is made up of four key areas; the multi-experience, the customer experience, the employee experience and the user experience. By meeting the goals of stakeholders - across all channels and interfaces, during an engagement or interaction - businesses can ensure more effective and efficient operations. Ultimately, providing more meaning, value, and purpose to stakeholders.

As employee and customer experiences mature, the need for internal and external synergies has never been more important. A recent survey from Gartner revealed that in 2024, organisations providing a total experience will outperform competitors by 25%. This is because organisations are adequately equipped to implement user feedback, focus on employee wellbeing and retain customers. TX helps position organisations as forward-thinking, one that puts people over profit, and ensures its products, services and presence positively impact stakeholders’ lives.

Bolstering The Business

FROM THE INSIDE OUT

Embracing social responsibility is crucial for businesses to realise their ESG potential. By considering the needs of all stakeholders, organisations can contribute towards improving their total experience (TX) strategy and align with their wider ESG goals. Social responsi- bility enables companies to support their customers and employees, ensuring a cohesive environment for business development.

Engaged employees who feel valued and supported are more likely to deliver better customer service by identifying issues quickly, mitigating problems efficiently, and keeping client satisfaction rates high, creating a customer-centric culture. By optimising total experience, companies can enable consistent delivery of information, allowing end-users to solve issues while staying engaged with the brand. TX also creates a better understanding of the customer journey, allowing companies to identify points where customers are having difficulty and improve those experiences.

For companies looking to lead by example, TX seamlessly interlinks experience ecosystems, meaning they will benefit from reduced customer friction, empowered employees, and improved stakeholder relationships. By optimising the total experience, companies can ensure that every touchpoint is as efficient and effective as possible. This helps drive further investment while allowing companies to stay ahead of the competition and remain poised for growth.

Staying Esg Compliant

Compliance is critical, but to successfully implement a TX strategy, it is essential. Without the capacity to be held accountable, many businesses can and will take advantage of their hardworking employees. Businesses with high staff turnover rates often need to be more consistent with their services and customer support teams.

Adhering to strict labour, supply chain laws and partnerships is indispensable for companies. Employing ESG compliance frameworks helps to considerately evaluate the impacts a business can have on the environment, society and industry. Adhering to guidelines and standards like the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and the International Sustainability Standards Board also further a business’ impact and accountability to its ESG targets.

The Future Of Social Sustainability

The ‘S’ elements of ESG have played a secondary role to environmental and governance factors to date. This is because environmental and governance issues have been much more defined with better-developed regulations and data that are easier to measure and quantify.

However, the changing consumer preferences, employee attitudes and emerging regulations encourage firms to re-focus on social issues. As a result, more businesses are realising that social issues should be an integral component of their sustainability strategy - which is where the total experience comes into play. Employee, user and customer satisfaction underpin the TX and helps businesses evaluate the impact of social initiatives and how best to harness these practices to improve performance in the long term.

Overall, an organisation’s purpose can only be fulfilled if environmental, governance and social challenges to the business are considered together, and a total experience strategy stands as the cornerstone of sustainable business success. c