PROBLEM / SITUATION DESCRIPTION:
Institute of Monitoring Media decided to build its competitive advantage based on principles of responsible business.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION/ SOLUTION
The strategy of responsible business of IMM is a complex set of actions encompassing relationships with the company's most important stakeholders.

Relationships with employees:
IMM introduced the study of satisfaction for all the employees in the form o fan anonymous questionnaire. The results of the study run by an independent entity were presented to all the employees. At present work on the company's code of conduct are underway. The objective of the code of conduct will be to avoid discrimination of employees, promoting respect for individuals, and promoting on-going education. The Institute achieved the goal of equal remunerations for men and women working on the same posts (54% the management staff are women).

Relationships with clients:
A regular survey of satisfaction (every six months). Questionnaires contain valuable information which help to raise the quality of services. The Institute gets involved in the social campaigns of its clients. Because the Institute is too small  to independently support all the stakeholders in need, it decided to become active in all the social initiatives through the monitoring of the media market and performing required analyses for its clients participating in such social campaigns.
In August 2004, Institute launched another project for current and potential clients – this is the news service on public relations called PRoto (www.proto.pl).

Relationships with society:
Institute prepares analyses and report for the public use such as analysis of the presidential campaign. Such actions impact recognition of the institution. It also cooperates with numerous social organisations. With one of such organisations IMM organises a competition entitles "Work Abroad” ("Popracuj zagranica"), addressed to Public Relations and Social Communications students. The competition gives students a chance to gain professional experience through foreign internships in international PR companies.

Relationships with partners and suppliers
Thinking of media, IMM worked out a special project monitoring the number of citations appearing in the media – the report "The Major Opinion Shaping Media in Poland" which allows media to receive reliable information about their activity. It has direct impact on the increase of a given medium and what follows - the increase of its readership, viewing or listening. Data obtained from this survey is spread every month free of charge.

BENEFITS:

• improvement and reinforcement of relationships among clients and partners 
• boosting satisfaction of the employees via a positive assessment that clients give them; 
• doubling the value of sales of IMM services; 
• increasing employee retention, which limits costs in the training department in turn / increases the quality of provided services, ensures long-term increase of the value of the company and sets standards of cooperation with other companies 

CHALLENGES: 

• coordination and development of strategy as a whole and financing it 
• cooperation with partners

WORTH REMEMBERING:

• additionally, one has to carry out a dialogue with all the employees whose actions and attitudes are a proof of actions and attitudes how the strategy is carrier out in real life (and does not remain the dead letter).
• in case of campaigns on many so varied platforms (clients, employees, local community etc.) communication plays a very important roles just as demonstrating that particular actions do stem from the adopted strategy. This is when they are better understood by the team.