Over the past months, DFGE has released checklists with simple questions to help organizations improve their CSR programs. The questions help identify potential gaps that organizations can then decide to tackle.
First, we explained how to structure the program as a whole. Then, we focused on the aspects of CSR listed in ISO 26 000: environment, labor practices, human rights, community involvement and development. A new checklist has just been released on customer issues management.
What is customer issues?
Customers are one of the stakeholders of a company. Stakeholders is defined as any impacted party. More precisely, according to the ISO 26 000 standard, “Organizations that provide products and services to consumers, as well as other customers, have responsibilities to those consumers and customers. Responsibilities include providing education and accurate information, using fair, transparent and helpful marketing information and contractual processes, promoting sustainable consumption and designing products and services that provide access to all and cater, where appropriate, for the vulnerable and disadvantaged.“
To check the customer issues management, we asked seven major questions:
1 – Is the program structured?
2 – How does your organization ensures Fair Marketing?
3 – Is there a process to customer’s health and safety?
4 – Does your organization promote Sustainable Consumption?
5– Is there a customer service management program in place?
6– Does your organization protect customer data and customer privacy?
Structuring the program is key to make sure employees are responsible and targets are met. The organization also needs to identify if the following topics are relevant according to their operations.
Fair Marketing is key to make sure that there is no misunderstanding on the products and services provided by the organization. It also implies protecting vulnerable group and avoid perpetuating stereotypes.
Customer Health and Safety makes sure that the product or service is safe for the end-user. It goes from product design to avoid hazards to information to customers and reclaiming mechanisms to return products.
Sustainable consumption is a way to offer products that minimize resources and pollution. It can save resources, avoid costs and represents an opportunity to address new market demands.
Then, an organization needs to interact with the customers/ service recipients to deal with potential issues and suggestions. In this sense, organizations are recommended to set up a customer service management program.
Finally, it is key to protect customer data and data privacy to avoid breaches and losses and also to preserve brand reputation. Various solutions can be implemented to avoid such incidents.
To read the full checklist and discover relation actions, please consult this link.
If you also want to read the four recent checklists – please see
- No 1 –A checklist to easily improve sustainability programs
- No 2 –A checklist to easily improve your environmental program
- No 3 –A checklist to easily improve labor practices
- No 4 –A checklist to improve respect to human rights
- No 5 – A checklist to improve Community Involvement and Development
