Is it time to run a responsible business? If so, who can help you get there? This is my story of finding ORB – the Organisation for Responsible Business, and how they could help you.
I started running my own recruitment company back in 2012 and knew I wanted to be different from some of the corporate organisations I had previously worked for. When I decided to start another business – The JobsBoard - in 2020, I was able to put responsibility at its heart.
If you decide to run your own business, you have many decisions to make. There are obvious things like what to call the company, what colour the logo will be, who will work in the company, how we are going to fund the start-up, etc.
All of these are important, and some take on a crazy level of importance. But what about "Am I going to run a responsible business?" or "Is this going to be a company that makes a difference?".
When you are starting, everything seems to revolve around not having enough time or enough money, and decisions about whether the company is going to do good things may be a long way down the list. But maybe they should be higher. Starting your business as a "responsible" set up is much easier than trying to change your whole way of doing things later. Once you have started working, changing is much harder. Running a responsible business can be a great way to engage with customers and show that you are in it for the long term. It can act as an important differentiator.
I developed The JobsBoard out of my recruitment business. It is a UK job board offering an advertising space for all job types. The job advertising industry is dominated by Indeed, LinkedIn and some large European boards. So, I knew I had to offer something different, something better, in order to make an impact. I also wanted to be "surprising" in the way I ran the business and I mean "surprising" in a positive way!
The JobsBoard's Core Offerings
- Free advertising for employed and voluntary roles for UK charities
- Support for small companies, including advert writing
- Support for small recruitment agencies, especially during start-up
Not Enough
Just being a responsible business and doing something different is rarely enough for you to be successful. I knew I could help many more people if more people only knew about my business. But how do you find the right people to use and promote your business?
In 2023, I began looking for somewhere that understood what I was trying to do. I wanted support and engagement with people who I could help and who could help me.
ORB
My business is commercial, and the recruitment sector doesn't always have a good name, so I was pleased to have found ORB. The answer is in the name – Organisation for Responsible Businesses. At first, I wasn't sure they would let me join. Thankfully, Jill Poet took the time to understand me and what the business does. She could see how it could help other companies and charities that needed to find more people but often didn't know where to start.
What’s Next?
So what's next? As my business is mainly a website, I want to help reduce the site's environmental impact. Most people do not consider this when running their business, but storing and accessing web pages uses a lot of electricity. Website metrics are a whole other world of measurements, but generally, the faster your website loads, the lesser its carbon footprint.
Google does not yet rate websites on their environmental impact, but I think this will come. Websites that have a lower carbon footprint should rank higher in people’s search results, as this measurement would help everyone.
I hope that through ORB, I will be able to use The JobsBoard to help many organisations and not-for-profit groups find the people they need to do their work.
I hope that through The JobsBoard, I can do something to make the world a better place. Running a responsible business is also a good place to be. It gives you extra peace of mind, which is important for business owners.
Please look at the ORB website. They may be able to help you link with responsible businesses.
