The community that lives where this company is located is very crucial. They have a huge effect on how you will run the business and whether or not it will be successful. Rejection from the community can prove difficult for any company. There is no business that can grow in a unfriendly environment. Try and be on good books with this community all the time. Read more here and find out ways you can strengthen this connection.
The first thing is you need to empower people in the community. You can allocate this service to some of the locals. It creates a feeling that they are a part of the company. It will create a feeling of responsibility to the company. They will do their part and ensure the company’s working environment is conducive. They will inform you when something is being plotted against and will also protect the company in ways that they can.
You should also offer sponsorships to the community. This is a great way to give back to the community. You can sponsor children’s education where people nominate students who need this help. You can also pick the best students in their exams and sponsor them to the next education levels. Other activities that are not educational can be sponsored. Sporting events, community events like fundraising can be great ways to give back.
You can form collaborations with other companies can offer charity to this community. A race like a marathon can be conducted and all the money that will be collected can be put to a charity that is within the community. You can partner with the government or other organizations and build a health centre or drill a borehole that will provide them with water. These projects should be done regularly. It keeps making your impact fresh each time in their minds. You must form a relationship with the leaders in the community. Remember that people will listen and believe in what their leaders say. Get in touch with formal and also informal leaders.
In any environment communication is very vital. You must create a very good communication channel between you and the community. Select a number of representatives who will be your contact people to the community.Hold public participation to projects that will have direct impact on the community. This communication makes them feel loved which will be great for the business. Make this relationships when your business is at its initial stages.This creates a good image of your concerns from the start. Postponing this task for later will have a strain on building trust with the community.