Strategically Communicating

In our presentation the other week, Natalie and I highlighted the necessity for designating an individual or team that would be responsible for managing internal communications and employee engagement within an organization.  After reading the Edelman Trust Barometer, and the various codes of ethics documents, it seems like many big businesses could benefit from an ethics manager of sorts as well.

I’ve come to know Corporate Social Responsibility roles as being responsible for addressing sustainability and social issues but I wonder how much that role also involves dealing with the “crisis of confidence” amongst business leaders (Edelman Berland 2013) .   It seems to me that the CSR personnel would be a great fit to help navigate many of newly emerging complex issues presented in business in order to add value and build trust amongst all stakeholders.  I could see this role as a liaison of sorts that could integrate across multiple departments, the attributes in the five performance clusters that build trust outlined in the Edelman Trust Barometer: Engagement, Integrity, Products and Services, Purpose and Operations.

Could the CSR personnel be the all-encompassing answer for rebuilding trust in business?  Does one individual fill the CSR role best or would it be more beneficial to have a CSR team made up from individuals from multiple departments?