Corporate Social Responsibility has become a buzzword within the business community in recent years. In this article in The Business Times, Achieve CEO Joshua Yim shares his thoughts on how enterprises can better match their corporate giving to social needs, and why doing good is ultimately good for business:

“Offering employment to two groups in particular – the elderly and people with disabilities – is a much more holistic approach than just giving them handouts. Despite their challenges such as age and physical disabilities, many of them still have a capacity to contribute in certain roles so companies should look into offering them opportunities that will bring out their talents and abilities.

Over the years, I’ve witnessed many companies offering employment to people with disabilities in areas such as call-centre work and back-end office administration. These are very good initiatives which I hope more companies can adopt. Another way that society can help these individuals as well as other groups such as ex-offenders is by giving them entrepreneurship opportunities. It could be a very simple franchise run as a one- or two-man show such as a hawker stall, for instance. I’ve come across groups, be it government agencies or non-governmental organisations, that help such individuals who have an entrepreneurial spirit to seek funds to start up their own small businesses or social enterprises.

In this day and age, the more enlightened companies understand that doing business is no longer just about making profits. They know they have a social responsibility to give back to the society they operate in. There is also a lot of public recognition for companies that are strong in CSR these days. Besides being good for the company’s reputation, CSR activities can help to cultivate a more caring culture within the company.”

Source : The Business Times, 24 March 2014