Social entrepreneurs are often passionate, risk-taking individuals, ready to do whatever it takes to see an idea become reality.Goals in entrepreneurship have traditionally revolved around success related to monetization, innovation, and reach.Start-ups want to make it big, cash in, be recognized, and change the world with their ideas.
Be a Social Employer
But against the backdrop of an economy in recession and mass public protests against corporate corruption—there is an emerging focus on prioritizing job creation by entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs as a measure of success.Can start-ups be social employers? Can they create enough value to be able hire employees on a part-time or full-time basis? Can they challenge their staff, treat them with respect, and inspire them to create their best work. Here are a few reasons why start-ups might strive to put on an employer hat.
Employ for Talent
Social entrepreneurs may employ to gain talent that is outside their own expertise or that, if delegated, can allow them to focus on other aspects of the venture’s growth and development.
Employ for Opportunity
Employment creates opportunity for a social entrepreneur to build leadership and management skills with a team. Being able to work effectively in that environment can spell success as the organization grows.
Employ for Experience
During the memorable DreamForce 11 keynote discussion between Salesforce’s Mark Benioff and Google’s Eric Schmidt, Schmidt emphatically stated:
“We are on our way in America to having a generation of people who will never have jobs. The unemployment of youth is about 22% in America today, many of those people as they come out of college [are not finding] jobs. This is not healthy, it’s not good…it ultimately leads to societal problems [and] higher costs. Jobs are created by te private sector and government policies have a huge impact on this…” (see video clip here)
Social entrepreneurs employing individuals on part-time, full-time, and internship basis adds impact to the social venture—by offering valuable work experience in the field.
Changing times have called for changing trends. Whereas past generations may have been employed soon after graduation and worked in the same company for decades, today’s workforce can likely plan to span their careers over multiple workplaces and multiple roles. Rather than aiming to provide a ‘lifer’ experience for an employee…a social entrepreneur can, instead, aim to provide paid work experience—which can in turn help the employed learn about social innovation and gain a foothole into the field.
Steering From Recession
Small businesses can be nimble and agile, equipped to adjust to the changing economic tides. And with those qualities, they are being tasked to steer the economy out of recession.
The path back to a robust American economy may still be a ways off, but the downturn has created new goals and measures of success for entrepreneurs. Can they succeed—and also be social employers?
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