A Q&A with Racquel Russell, vice president of government relations and public affairs at Zillow Group

Doing good as a company is no longer a nice-to-have. Instead, people of all ages want businesses to do more than make money — they expect companies to be good corporate citizens.

While the definition differs between industries and organizations, being a good corporate citizen involves some form of corporate social responsibility (CSR). For property managers, CSR efforts are a “must-do in today’s business environment,” with more than 80 percent of industry executives saying that CSR “does or can impact company performance.”

To be a good corporate citizen, companies should have a healthy mix of community engagement and looking at their internal policies, says Racquel Russell, vice president, government relations and public affairs at Zillow Group.

“Every company is a little bit different, but most have enough agency to make a positive impact for their employees and customers,” she said. “Being strategic about using your platform to raise awareness, advocating for issues important to you, or creating social impact allows you to do good while running a successful business.”

Racquel knew from an early age that she wanted to “use voice to help those who don’t have a voice.” That brought her to Washington, D.C., after finishing law school, where she worked for several notable figures including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former President Barack Obama. She transitioned to Zillow Group a little over three years ago to continue making an impact from the private sector.

We recently spoke with Racquel to learn more about how property managers can engage socially and civically to make a greater impact on their community. Here's what she had to say:

Zillow Rentals: Can you tell us about your work at Zillow Group?

Racquel: Engaging with your community and government is different for all companies. There’s a multitude of ways for companies to give back and get involved — to get a seat at the table.

It’s incumbent on every company to make its best decision based on its priorities, goals and resources. For Zillow Group, that takes the form of three focus areas: thought leadership, public-private partnerships and social impact work.

Zillow Rentals: Can you tell us what you mean by ‘thought leadership?’

Racquel: For Zillow Group, thought leadership means working with federal, state and local government officials, as well as elected officials, think tanks and other thought leaders. We believe in empowering people through data, and are trying to raise awareness of important issues through our economic research.

We use our research to tell compelling stories about affordability, economic mobility, veterans initiatives and race — among others. And the great thing is that we have three powerful brands all doing different research, so it creates a much bigger impact. Take Trulia’s fair housing research, for example. It examines how your neighborhood — this idea of place — determines access to amenities such as banks and parks that help people thrive. There are still tremendous issues to overcome, and our data helps illustrate those.

Zillow Rentals: Can you give us some examples of the other types of work you do?

Racquel: We engage in public-private partnerships with government, nonprofits and other philanthropic organizations. An example is our continued partnership with the National Fair Housing Alliance, which has been a phenomenal partner. We’ve worked with the people there for two years, including creating a fair housing webinar, and we also support the organization financially.

Our civic engagement work, sometimes called community engagement or CSR, is typically in conjunction with nonprofits, government, community leaders and other businesses.

But some of the best examples are employee-led efforts that didn’t actually originate with my team. A recent example is Trulia’s LGBTQ local legal protections. A group of employees thought this was the right thing to do, and they were empowered to create it. This wasn’t part of some program.

Yet, none of these are one-offs. Zillow Group is a mission-driven company. It's about doing the right thing and implementing the right business practices in everything we do. It's woven into our DNA.

Zillow Rentals: You said you wanted to work in order to give a voice to people. How does that happen at Zillow Group?

Racquel: Empowering people has been the through line of my career — whether that’s empowering people through policy or through Zillow Group’s research, programs, and features that focus on the underserved and underrepresented in the housing market.

I was one of the chief architects of our first social impact program, The Home Project, which focuses on those who are housing insecure. Zillow Group has pledged $5 million cash and in-kind contributions over five years. The day we decided to move forward with The Home Project — not the day it launched, but the day the senior executives said, 'Yes. Let’s do this.” — is one of the proudest moments of my career.

Zillow Rentals: How can a property management company look at ways to be a good corporate citizen?

Racquel: Being a good corporate citizen doesn’t need to be a huge undertaking. Again, it’s what’s best for each individual business. A company can make a difference by hiring a low-income mom with three kids, or giving an internship opportunity to someone who wouldn’t normally have one. It could be about setting aside more units for renters with barriers. It could be about programs that go beyond fair housing law to create inclusive communities.

There are different ways to do it — it doesn’t need to be macro. It can be down to the individual level. We all have a role to play when it comes to making sure our community and everyone in it is thriving.