Methodology
SocialMarks is defined by three distinct categories: People, Brand and Community. Within each category, we analyze the most important social metrics that companies and third parties are currently developing. Focusing on the most relevant metrics, we recognize the company’s existing measures, and then build on those to create new data sets. All of this is driven by the challenges the client has determined are of primary importance from a business, regulatory, and sociality standpoint.
SocialMarks metrics are designed to be actionable, based on both existing data points that have been evaluated, and unique measures which we have put in place. In order to assess its actionability, the data has been assessed relative to each sector, in order to benchmark companies against their industry competitive set.
You will be able to integrate these metrics, measure your performance against your competitors, and benchmark yourselves going forward. Our list is not meant to supersede or replace existing measures, but rather add to and provide fresh actionable insight using the SocialMarks analysis.
People
GENDER EQUALITY
Gender Equality, our first parameter under People, is broken into a few subsections. The Women Employee Overall figure utilizes hard data to measure the number of women in a given company against the total number of employees. Women On The Board also uses hard data, measuring the number of women on the board against the total number of board members. Women In Senior Management measures the number of women in senior positions, and Gender Targets works off a yes/no dichotomy according to whether a company publishes goals and targets as they relate to gender equality.
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
Our second subcategory under People, Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), is also broken down into parts. The Internal Networks figure looks at the number of networks in a given company and the number of employees that belong to a network. The Diversity and Inclusion Awards portion assesses whether a company has received awards for D&I, working off a yes/no binary. Programs and Training in the realm of D&I requires assessment of the quality, innovation, and breadth of a company’s D&I programs. Diversity and Inclusion Events is based on a yes/no binary about whether or not a company runs internal or external events. The Percentage of Employees figure breaks down different categories within D&I, including people of color, veterans, LGBTQ+, and those with disability, and measures the number of employees that identify within these categories against the total number of employees within the company. The Goals and Targets figure utilizes the same D&I categories and assesses whether or not a company has targets in this area, based on a yes/no dichotomy.
Next, we break down Employee Development. External Employee Measures looks at a company’s internal employee engagement survey and provides a score based on employee satisfaction. Customer NPS (Net Promoter Score) is assessed so that a 100 NPS score gets the highest score and -100 gets the lowest score. The Glassdoor Ratings figure looks at how employees have rated their company on the Glassdoor platform. This is scored so that five stars on Glassdoor earns the highest score possible in this parameter and no stars earns the lowest score possible. Skills, Knowledge, and Training looks at the amount spent in dollars ($) on training employees and the number of training hours spent for each employee. This also assesses whether a company has a training platform, working off a yes/no dichotomy. Internal Development Courses require assessment of the quality, innovation, and breadth of a company’s internal development and training programs. Wellbeing also requires an assessment of the quality, innovation, and breadth of a company’s wellbeing programs.
Brand
As most Private Equity firms do not produce advertising campaigns, this category focuses predominantly on how a company depicts their company externally, requiring assessment on the part of the assessor. Sponsorship in the realm of social impact are also assessed here, looking at factors such as innovation, scale, and duration. The Products & Packaging category looks at the physical products and online resources that a company provides in the realm of social impact and ESG, working off a yes/no binary if they provide this or not.
Community
The third major component of the report looks at Community, or the ways in which a company engages with and benefits wider society. This portion is particularly focused on employee volunteering initiatives, apprenticeships, and education programs offered by the company, in addition to donations and corporate giving. A quality assessment of company reporting processes is key.
Volunteering is comprised of the following figures: the total number of hours employees of the company have spent volunteering and the number of paid working days given to employees for volunteering purposes. For any given volunteering program already in place, an assessment is made as to how many employees were involved, how much time was dedicated to volunteering, how innovative the project was, and how well the purposes and details of the project were reported.
SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND TRAINING
This looks at whether a company runs apprenticeship schemes based off a yes/no binary. An assessment of the external development courses already in place is made factoring in how many individuals are reached, the length of the program, the level of innovation, and the quality of reporting.
DONATIONS
Donations looks at overall dollar amount donated to charitable causes by the company. There is also a yes/no binary about whether a company has a charity or foundation. If charity partnerships already exist, an assessment is made of each partnership, looking at the breadth, depth, and overall quality of the partnership.
FUNDRAISING
This category looks at whether a company has a match-funding or payroll giving scheme, working off a yes/no binary, and then assesses the amount donated via match-funding against the number of employees in the company. An assessment of the fundraising activities is made taking into account the number of employees participating, the amount of money raised, the level of innovation, and the quality of reporting.
REPORTING
The final element of the analysis is Reporting. This looks at whether a company has a CSR or ESG report (using on a yes/no binary), and then looks at whether there is a social impact strategy (using a yes/no binary) and whether there are definable KPIs within.
We standardize all data into a scoring system from the bottom up, beginning with the generation of SocialMarks criteria scores by the People, Brand, and Community categories. This data is then modelled into specific assessments using algorithmic analysis; detailed scores are then weighted by importance within each industry sector. A score for each pillar is generated first; People, Brand and Community, and ultimately this ladders up to a SocialMarks score.
- Government websites and associated resources
- Company websites
- Company newsrooms
- Reporting
Annual accounts and filings, company reports, annual reports, ESG reports, CSR reporting, impact reports, human capital reports
- Third-party subscriptions
- Newsfeeds
- Web articles
- Stakeholder websites
such as the Carbon Disclosure Project and the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre