As budgeting season approaches, now is the time to reassess what your social value function truly needs to operate efficiently and make sound business sense.
Imagine asking your sales team to find new customers using a Rolodex. Or your finance team to produce annual accounts in Excel using self-made formulas. Outdated, right? We wouldn’t expect that in any other department, so why is it still acceptable in social value work?
In our recent research, many professionals managing social value shared that they still don’t use purpose-built platforms or technology to streamline their operations. Instead, they rely on custom spreadsheets, manual data entry, and endless email threads. When someone leaves the organisation, much of their work and knowledge disappears with them.
It’s no surprise that some executives see social value as “expensive” or a drain on profitability. Yet, academic research consistently shows that well-managed social value initiatives pay back multiple times over—through increased business opportunities, stronger stakeholder relationships, and better employee engagement. The problem lies in inefficiency: poorly managed, manual processes drain time and resources that should be going toward real impact.
Many teams are doing meaningful work, but scratch the surface, and you’ll find skilled professionals spending their days googling contacts, updating spreadsheets, and trying to track who did what and when.
In large organisations, social value delivery teams across different regions often reinvent the wheel, building partnerships and launching initiatives in isolation, without tools to share data or lessons learned across departments. One of the most common communication gaps is between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) teams and those managing contract-specific social value. These operations are often siloed, meaning vital contributions and outcomes tied to contracts never make it into annual CSR reports.
We’re talking about the same thing: social impact. But the data, communication, and coordination simply aren’t there.
Social value management deserves better. Just as marketing, HR, and finance have evolved with smart, structured digital systems, social value needs modern tools—especially when outcomes matter and funding is tied to performance.
We at whatimpact that social value deserves the same tools and support as every other business function.
See how whatimpact is helping organisations modernise their approach, without the guesswork or duplication.
