Finding & Measuring Social Value In Family Business

For many family businesses, social value is an inherent part of their identity, deeply rooted in their legacy, long-term vision and strong community ties.

Beyond financial performance, these businesses often consider their positive impact on the community and wider society as a crucial measure of success.

This social value can be showcased in various ways, from apprenticeship programs to supporting local initiatives. However, effectively measuring and credibly reporting this social impact remains a significant challenge.

That’s where Axiom Sustainability Software comes in. As the only all-in-one platform that integrates social value, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), procurement, supply chain mapping and employee engagement, Axiom gives family firms the tools they need to actually measure their impact beyond the traditional financial metrics.

What Is Social Value – And Why Does It Matter?

Social value is the benefit an organisation creates for its community, employees and wider society. For family firms, that can mean apprenticeship programmes, volunteering, local procurement, fair employment practices, charitable donations or employee wellbeing initiatives.

These actions contribute not just to the company’s reputation, but are also beneficial to recruitment, employee retention, stakeholder trust and stability.

As already mentioned, family businesses often have an inbuilt affiliation with social value, but if you’re looking to build on your social value metrics, here are 10 key ways a family business can measure its social impact and the benefits it brings:

1. Apprenticeships and Training

Taking on apprentices, mentoring young people or investing in staff development builds local skills, supports succession planning and helps create a feeling of loyalty.

Measurement: Track the number of apprentices taken on, retention rates post-apprenticeship, total staff training hours per year and spend on local training providers. Auditing what you already do often reveals you’re contributing more than you might realise!

2. Volunteering and Community Engagement

Encouraging employees to give time to local charities or support community events demonstrates values in action and builds strong relationships. At Axiom, we have several volunteer days each year where we help out at Dove House in our hometown of Hull.

Measurement: Log and report the total hours volunteered by employees, the financial equivalent of those hours and the number of community projects supported.

3. Local Procurement and Supply Chains

Sourcing from smaller local businesses or socially responsible suppliers helps keep economic benefits within the community.

Measurement: Calculate the percentage or value of goods and services procured from businesses within a defined local radius, and the number of local suppliers supported.

4. Fair Employment and Wellbeing

Inclusive hiring practices, flexible working, good pay and a focus on wellbeing create a positive workplace culture and help retain talent.

Measurement: Use relevant metrics including the Living Wage commitment, staff turnover/retention rates, mental health first-aiders trained, diversity and inclusion metrics or staff satisfaction scores.

5. Charitable Donations

Direct financial or in-kind support for local non-profits and causes.

Measurement: Track the total monetary value of donations and the value of any in-kind support (e.g., use of facilities, donated products).

6. Skills Transfer

Providing pro-bono support or workshops to community groups or local schools, utilising the firm’s specific expertise.

Measurement: The number of hours spent on pro-bono work or educational outreach, and feedback from the receiving organisations.

7. Long-Term Employment

A hallmark of many successful family businesses is retaining staff for many years, providing stability and secure livelihoods.

Measurement: Average length of service for employees and the percentage of staff with over 5, 10 or 20 years of service.

8. Local Economic Multiplier

Understanding the full economic impact of the business's spending in the local area.

Measurement: Use established social value methodologies to quantify the benefit generated by local spend, jobs and wages.

9. Employee Consultation and Engagement

Involving employees in decision-making and creating a transparent and democratic workplace.

Measurement: Track the frequency and outcomes of employee forums, and participation rates in employee surveys.

10. Environmental Stewardship

While often classed as 'Environmental' in ESG, activities like tree planting or supporting local environmental clean-ups have a real social benefit on the community's quality of life.

Measurement: The number of hours/employees involved in local environmental initiatives, or the area of land protected/improved locally.

Where Axiom Makes a Difference

The most powerful step is turning good intentions into measurable and comparable outcomes.

Platforms like Axiom capture real-time data, link social value to ESG, procurement and emissions, giving you a full reporting capability. Sharing these stories builds trust. And that legacy is not only about what you’ve built, but also about what you are building for others.

As the only all-in-one sustainability platform, Axiom is proud to be a member of Family Business United and works with several FBU firms, providing clients with:

• All-in-one platform: Axiom integrates social value alongside environmental and governance metrics, emissions, procurement and more. Everything from apprenticeship schemes to Scope 3 emissions can be tracked in one place, removing duplication and blind spots.

• Practical Tools and Support: We offer a free carbon emissions calculator for Family Business United (FBU) members to help firms measure where they are and set realistic goals. Expert guidance also helps family businesses navigate complex regulatory requirements. Check out the emission calculator here

• Strong Family Business Roots: Co-founder Joe Oughtred comes from a long line of family business, being sixth generation in the William Jackson Food Group. This background means Axiom’s leadership shares many of the values - and understands the challenges - that family businesses face.

• Trusted by Fellow Family Businesses: We’ve started helping several family firms with their sustainability work, including the John Good Group and Bagnalls.

For many family businesses, social value isn’t optional - it comes with the territory and is an important part of our legacies. But without structured measurement, that impact can remain invisible.

Axiom’s all-in-one platform gives family firms the tools to capture, manage and report social value as part of a broader ESG and sustainability strategy.

About Axiom Sustainability Software - Axiom sustainability reporting software has been designed to help organisations reduce their carbon emissions, achieve net zero quickly, and accelerate their sustainability performance.

Axiom is a powerful, cloud-based sustainability and environmental accounting platform that helps businesses monitor, analyse and improve sustainability performance. It provides a complete suite of tools to help organisations in every industry gain complete visibility and control over sustainability performance.

For additional information, visit their website here