Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a constantly evolving concept in this day and age, where the concepts of work and industries are constantly shifting to adapt to new paradigms. The Tata Council for Community Initiatives (TCCI), in tandem, is also reorganising its focus on CSR to include more than just 'giving' to the communities that they are present in.

"Our aim is to institutionalise social responsibility on various levels within the group at levels of the company, employee and programme-wise," says general manager for group corporate social responsibility, TCCI, Anant Nadkarni. At the company level, it translates into a five point programme, on the employees' level, it is a ten point leadership profile performance and a management system and on the programme level it is 12 point process sheet which is self evaluating.

In its effort to institutionalise the building of a community TCCI has taken an approach to change the very intrinsic nature of volunteering. It has now to adhere to a very structured mode which includes process or brand driven networking to become a group from activity based social work to developmental work for the community, from welfare based dependence to creating self reliance, from doing work for approval, especially that of the organisation (or that of immediate superiors) to working for a self realisation.

From management to governance and most importantly, from a single profit-as-a-goal oriented company to a concept of triple bottom line all these are now an intrinsic part of what the Tata group calls helping build the community, regardless of whether in an urban context or in a remote location ( its plant) for any of its group companies.

"The important thing for us, besides having community-building at the center of our activities is that there has to be sus-tainable development After our volunteers have left, the ability to continue doing the job must remain whether it is computer training (like the literacy programme of TCS in Andhra Pradesh) in or it is protecting environmentally endangered species (protection of Mahseer by Tata Power) "adds Nadkarni.

Says executive vice president, group human resources, Tata Sons, Satish Pradhan, " Every Tata employee has the capacity to see something larger than themselves on which they can hang their beliefs. It must be a way of life for the employees. It is this part of CSR which is constantly evolving. Since it is evolving, CSR requires for the employees to think up their own part and method for contribution. We can act only as an enabler.

Especially in this medium of community-building, it is folly to regiment That will ensure only compliance but if volunteering is done in the correct spirit then will we get commitment" TCCI and its guidelines is also an ingrained part of the Business Excellence Model.

Here it translates into a concept of the triple bottom line which includes building social capital in the community (which translates into building the community though various initiatives including volunteering and resource allocation)being environmentally aware (which the again translates into reduction of the negative impact and finally adding the economic values (the basic purpose of business).

This then results in a triple bottom line. As part of this programme, human resource heads of various companies have to ascertain which is the key result areas (KRA) that the employee can utilise to the maximum for volunteering for example: training people, counselling and similar vocations. It also calls for continuous upgradation of the KRAs in order to be able to mobilise the learning garnered by the employees.

Feedback from volunteers has indicated that the entire exercise of volunteering has resulted in a massive increase in the confidence of employees and has improved their ability to handle more responsibility. In some cases, the employees have even asked for more responsibility. Also the constant monitoring and measurement of performance of activities undertaken for community building help in seeing if the resources are being utilised judiciously and to make sure that the initiatives continue to align themselves with the company strategy.

The primary distinction in the activities of TCCI as opposed to the various trusts of the Tatas, is that TCCI consistently deals with a community which believes in and is willing to help itself first, since such people often express their needs in a collaborative voice, as opposed to helping a community get its asked-for wish list. To go that extra step in order to take proper care of its volunteers, the TCCI has also asked the human resource teams of the companies along with the community facilitators to do some amount of reputation and risk analysis.

This is expected to protect the employees from the additional risks that they may face while volunteering. The council is aiming to change the way of looking at community development from work that grows around individuals to regional groups which aim at fostering leadership. The primary aim is to attract employees who can innovate and initiate so that the regional groups can function in an autonomous manner.

TCCI is a nodal community development and environmental management network for the Tata group that acknowledges the support of over 200 champions, CEOs and directors of all major Tata companies. It has currently over 15,000 volunteers but as Pradhan puts it, there is a volunteer inside every Tata employee so the sky's the limit.