Corporate Volunteering from a Company s Perspective - An approach to social impact, employee satisfaction and innovation

Transcription

1 1 Corporate Volunteering from a Company s Perspective - An approach to social impact, employee satisfaction and innovation Notes from the Field Issue # 2 01/06/2015 1

2 2 What do 27 of the 30 biggest companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange have in common? 1 They all make use of corporate volunteering to engage with social issues relevant to their businesses, motivate their employees and strategically position themselves as attractive employers. This issue of Beyond Philanthropy s Notes from the Field shines a light on the trends and success factors in corporate volunteering, based on nine expert interviews with companies from the DAX, the EURO-STOXX 50 and other organisations conducted as part of a Master s thesis. 2 Successful corporate volunteering is a triple win situation. When companies invest their employees time and knowledge in the pursuit of social and/ or environmental objective, the company, employees and society can benefit. In the most recent Deloitte Volunteer Impact Study, 88% of HR managers surveyed believed that corporate volunteering has a positive impact on their company s reputation. Furthermore, 62% said that employees have a more positive view of their company as a result. 3 This conclusion was supported by the seven companies surveyed, which all acknowledged that the influence on their perception among current and future employees and in the local area was important. One software company, for example, uses corporate volunteering to boost its reputation in the local area by sending its employees to local charitable organisations. The improvement in its perception in the region was soon confirmed by surveys conducted by a third party. The chance to encourage innovation also played a role with the companies surveyed. Deploying employees in the local area allowed them to better identify customer needs and market opportunities. One international telecommunications company expects, among other benefits, to discover new and emerging market trends. Corporate Volunteering (CV) as seen by HR managers 3 Positively impacts the company s reputation Employees benefit from improved skills Employees value the opportunity to develop through CV Employees view company more positively Very important part of company culture In addition, 65% of HR managers surveyed for the Deloitte study believe that their employees improve skills such as teamwork and communication through corporate volunteering. Corporate volunteering also improves how employees engage and interact with clients, according to one surveyed audit and consulting firm. 2

3 3 The companies surveyed further agreed that their employees benefit most from the change of perspective, in that they have a chance to put their professional skills to work in other challenging areas. This leads to an improved motivation and can make employees feel more connected to their company. As the results from our interviews and background research show, committed management, communication, a needs assessment, collaboration with intermediaries and a clear structure within the company are some of the most important factors for success. To establish a successful corporate volunteering programme it is vital that both executives and management recognise the value of corporate volunteering and actively participate in its implementation. All of the companies surveyed agreed that without the support of the executive level there could be no corporate volunteering programme at all, or that at best participation rates would be very low. Impact of Corporate Volunteering Increased productivity and stronger connection Improved skills and increased motivation Company encourages involvement Employees Volunteer with Partner Organisations More positive perception Society Disadvantaged people Local area Suppliers Customers Improved services Communication is another vital factor in corporate volunteering, emphasised by all of the surveyed companies. It is important to make the distinction between external and internal communication. With regard to the latter, all of the companies reported maintaining regular communication about employees ongoing corporate volunteering projects. External communication, however, is only pursued to a limited extent, since companies are keen to avoid the perception of engaging in whitewashing among both employees and the public. Possible criticism of whitewashing can be further avoided when companies and partner organisations first analyse where the need for corporate volunteering lies, in order to make a meaningful contribution. Corporate volunteering adds real value when it addresses an existing social need that would not otherwise be met. Furthermore, corporate volunteering provides many people with their first exposure to social engagement, which is a very important yet greatly underemphasized consideration of corporate volunteering. 3

4 4 We know from our work with charitable organisations that resources are often scarce. Additional support in the form of people s time and business know-how is always welcome in the non-profit sector if it solves an existing problem and helps the organisation to fulfil its social mission, says Claudia Leissner, of Proboneo, a marketplace which connects people with charitable organisations looking for pro-bono support in legal matters, communication, strategy, IT or finance. Which types of corporate volunteering have you used to date? 2 (multiple answers possible) (e.g. construction and renovation) (e.g. pro bono and know-how transfer) Also, the majority of companies surveyed recognise the benefits of working with intermediaries and have already made use of their expertise. Intermediaries can provide support to companies throughout the process, from developing an appropriate corporate volunteering programme and finding local partner organisations to implementation and evaluation. This can significantly increase the likelihood of a successful outcome. For an ever-increasing number of German companies, corporate volunteering is a key component of a comprehensive CSR strategy that they couldn t imagine going without, confirms Dr. Reinhard Lang, of UPJ, a Germany-wide CSR network of responsible companies and regional intermediaries which helps businesses develop and implement corporate volunteering programmes and find suitable local partners. Now it s a matter of taking that potential both internally for the company, and for non-profits and their beneficiaries and leveraging it.

5 5 If you would like to take advantage of the benefits of corporate volunteering for your company in order to launch effective community engagement, improve motivation among your workforce, encourage innovation among your employees and position yourself as an attractive employer, UPJ, Proboneo and Beyond Philanthropy are looking forward to hearing from you. Authors and contacts for this issue of Notes from the Field are: Beyond Philanthropy - invest impact GmbH Michael Alberg-Seberich alberg-seberich@beyondphilanthropy.eu Tel.: +49 (0) Fabian Suwanprateep Project Manager suwanprateep@beyondphilanthropy.eu Tel.: +49 (0) Anja Quandt Master Student Leuphana University of Lüneburg anja.quandt@stud.leuphana.de Proboneo ggmbh Claudia Leißner claudia.leissner@proboneo.de Tel: +49 (0) UPJ - Netzwerk für Corporate Citizenship und CSR Dr. Reinhard Lang reinhard.lang@upj.de Tel: +49 (0) *** Beyond Philanthropy is a specialized consultancy which helps businesses, foundations and individuals to maximise the impact of their philanthropic activities. We support our clients with tailored services spanning strategy consulting, project management and research. Using our team and expert network, to date Beyond Philanthropy has successfully cooperated with more than 50 clients on projects in over 30 countries, addressing themes such as children and young people, sustainable development and democracy and human rights. Beyond Philanthropy is a social business, since any generated profits are donated to the charitable organisation Forum for Active Philanthropy. Footnotes: 1. Correction: A previous version mentioned 25 companies. However, there are 27 companies which have corporate volunteering programms in place. 2. Expert interviews were conducted by Anja Quandt (Leuphana University of Lüneburg) from January to February 2015 over the course of her Master s thesis, Evaluating the Success Factors for Corporate Volunteering from a Corporate Perspective 3. Deloitte, 2013, Volunteer IMPACT Survey 5