Realized Worth | Employee Volunteering & Workplace Giving

How to Pitch Sustainability (Part 2 of "Sustainability and Your Employees")

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:54:00 +0000

So, you want to get active but you're not sure your company will go for it? In part 2 of this interview, Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt of The Natural Step tells us what you can do.

Employee Engagement in Sustainability - An interviw with Karl-Henrik Robèrt Part 2 from chris jarvis on Vimeo.

Dr. Robèrt assures that it only takes one person—a “change agent”—to get the ball rolling toward sustainability. No matter what strata of the company you find yourself, there are some basic steps that can help you initiate change.

Find your change agent. It all begins with someone someone who has a passion for sustainability. Is that you?
Find Your Allies – Build momentum around you by finding people who share your interest.
Create a Sustainability Team – As you find your allies, seek to find out which higher-up managers might be receptive to your cause and then build a team.
Make Your Pitch – As you find managers above you to be on your team, ask them to help you get in front of top level executives to make your pitch.

So Far, So Good . . . How Do We Pitch?

The Natural Step is an open source that has many informative, free-of-charge resources on their website to help you make the pitch. In brief, as Dr. Robèrt hints in the interview, the outline might progress as follows:

Tell the story of how the robust framework for decision making toward sustainability came about through 20 years of refinement and testing, and explain the framework.
Assure them that the framework is not about penance or merely about doing good; it also helps us to avoid costs, be more innovative in future markets, and ultimately be more profitable as a company.
Tell some inspiring stories about how this framework is being applied by a growing number of businesses around the world.
And, then, humbly ask them, “after hearing this, what advice do you have for us? What would it take in order for us to move in this direction?”

Robèrt reveals his sales prowess by giving us a tip about technique: in this view, asking for their advice in a spirit of humility is better than asking for them to accept a proposal. He insists that asking top level executives to accept a proposal is not effective because it gives them the opportunity to say no. Instead, if you ask, “what are the conditions required in order for you to say yes?” people will typically give you their thoughts. If you have a contrarian who she sees you following the advice she gave you, you are more likely to win her over.

For more information about the sustainability framework and how to be a catalyst for change within your company, check out their website and Part 1 in this series.

Realized Worth works with companies to engage employees in CSR initiatives. Contact us to discuss what we can do for you! 317.371.4435 or chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com or angela@realizedworth.com

Sustainability and Your Employees: Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Parker) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:30:00 +0000

Want to help your business forge a path toward sustainable practices? Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt has an excellent framework to help you. Listen below to part 1 of a 2-part interview series with Dr. Robèrt and Realized Worth’s very own Chris Jarvis.

Sustainability Made Simple with Dr Karl-Henrik Robèrt of the Natural Step | Part 1 from chris jarvis on Vimeo.

A Sustainable Society?

Karl-Henrik Robèrt founded The Natural Step in 1989 with a desire to create a common language to engage issues of sustainability. In his view, the scientific community had not yet produced a definition that could help ‘decision makers’ in various sectors (e.g., business, government, education, etc.) redraft their practices in accord with the values of sustainability. Intuitively, he felt that if you can define sustainability at the level of key principles, and if you give these principles to intelligent decision makers in any sector of society, they should be able to come up with new and creative ways to make money that are part of the solution rather than the problem. That spark of intuition set off a wave of research involving input from an international network of scientists, and, eventually, a unanimously agreed upon set of principles crystalized.

In their view, there are four fundamental ways that human society is systematically undermining the capacity of nature to function and the capacity of human beings to meet their needs. To become sustainable as a society, we must:

eliminate our contribution to the progressive buildup of substances extracted from the Earth's crust (for example, heavy metals and fossil fuels)
eliminate our contribution to the progressive buildup of chemicals and compounds produced by society (for example, dioxins, PCBs, and DDT )
eliminate our contribution to the progressive physical degradation and destruction of nature and natural processes (for example, over harvesting forests and paving over critical wildlife habitat); and
eliminate our contribution to conditions that undermine people’s capacity to meet their basic human needs (for example, unsafe working conditions and not enough pay to live on).

(Read more here: http://www.naturalstep.org/the-system-conditions)

Making it Practical

At first reading, you may wonder – are these super-smart scientists really suggesting we must stop all mining, shut down our factories, close paper mills, and stop producing chemicals? Can we never disturb a natural landscape? How does this framework get practical in today’s world?

The Natural Step assures us that the problem is not that human beings consume natural resources, per se. It is, rather, that our society is systematically increasing our consumption year after year, and, in so doing, systematically decreasing the ability of natural systems to provide the resources and services we need to survive. Even though we know that we are running out of oil, fish, and trees, we continue to spend money and energy finding, processing, and consuming them. And, we typically don’t stop until the system breaks.

The challenge for businesses is to appreciate our present situation and find creative ways to reduce the growing pressures caused by increases in consumption and decreases in what the earth can naturally provide. None of this, they argue, should dampen entrepreneurial drive. Included in their framework is an understanding of sustainability as a business opportunity, not a liability.

The Natural Step

To learn more about the four principles and how to develop a framework for leading your organization through a process toward sustainable practices, we recommend perusing their very helpful website. Beyond hiring their services, they offer many excellent resources for free that can help you lead your organization toward sustainability on your own. A great place to get started is their very helpful ‘Sustainability Primer’.

Watch for Part 2 of this video series where Chris and Dr. Robèrt talk about practical steps employees can take to start grassroots sustainability initiatives.

Confused about the difference between Sustainability and Social Responsbility? Learn a little more about their respective definitions here.

Meet Brent Croxton, the author of this article and latest addition to the Realized Worth team. With a background in sales, psychology and philosophy, Brent has a lifelong interest in what motivates human beings. He writes and speaks on issues related to personal growth and corporate change. Recent topics have included managing generational diversity, emotionally intelligent leadership, transformational community, and conflict resolution. You can connect with Brent on LinkedIn, Twitter, and via email.

Realized Worth works with companies to engage employees in volunteering and sustainability programs. Give us a call or send an email to discuss the possibilities for your company. 317.371.4435 angela@realizedworth.com, chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com

Corporate Volunteering in Eastern Europe

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:30:00 +0000

We're happy to report, corporate volunteering in Europe is on the rise. Learn here about a few of the organizations doing great things.

This past November, a few of us from Realized Worth took a jaunt through 7 European countries, presenting on and researching our favorite topic: employee volunteering. We had the opportunity to learn from great organizations such as ICEP in Vienna, Austria, HÍD in Budapest, Hungary and Altruista in Rome, Italy as well as great people such as Andrew Wilson, from Corporate Citizenship in the UK and co-author of “Volunteering – the Business Case.” As the weeks passed, we became convinced that the enthusiasm of just a few strong leaders in western and eastern Europe may be enough to catapult that part of the world into innovative practices that the US and Canada would be wise to follow.

The Pontis Foundation - Bratislava, Slovakia

In Bratislava, Slovakia, we joined the Pontis Foundation at their annual Corporate Philanthropy Forum. The forum was attended by nearly 100 representatives of both local and transnational companies, many with existing corporate volunteering and CSR programs; all eager to strategize for greater effectiveness. When speaking with Pontis program officer, Olga Shaw, she told us about the cooperation of companies across Slovakia in an event called "Our Town." Nearly 4500 (which has increased from 400 5 years ago) corporate volunteers helped restore of castle ruins, removed illegal dumps, cleaned up forests and parks, painted schools and community centers, and more. This kind of event marks a significant development in corporate volunteering in eastern Europe.

To learn more about the Pontis Foundation, the Corporate Philanthropy Forum, and "Our Town," please click on the video below and listen to Olga Shaw speak about it herself.

Pontis Foundation Inverview | Bratislava, Slovakia from chris jarvis on Vimeo.

Realized Worth works with companies to engage employees in CSR and corporate volunteering programs. Give us a call to talk about what we can do for your company: 317.371.4435 or email me here: angela@realizedworth.com

A Vital Connection: Executives & Employee Volunteers

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:15:00 +0000

We'd like to thank Sabrina Dinelli-Viva for the following guest post. Sabrina has extensive experience in managing volunteers in both the public and private sectors; we're pleased to offer some of her knowledge to our readers. To find out more about Sabrina and follow her on Twitter, scroll to the bottom of the article.

The benefits companies should not overlook when considering employee volunteer programs

The late Steve Jobs, had a degree in MBWA. Not an actual university degree, but a degree nevertheless in Management by Walking Around . Yes, believe it or not, the Chairman of Apple, Mr. Steve Jobs himself, would answer customer calls and emails directly and personally resolve customer issues. The TV show Undercover Boss takes a company’s CEO undercover to work with front line staff. The purpose is to unveil the issues on the frontline, meet with staff and implement better practices from there on in. Why is it so important for executives to be involved and connected with their frontline staff? What are the benefits? How can employee volunteer programs tap into this vital connection between executives and one of their most valuable stakeholders– their employees?

The Vital Connection

The hospital where I work, hosts “talks” with our CEO and executives. These talks give staff the opportunity to ask questions, hear updates and discuss issues. The dialogue begins. I am always amazed at how well attended these forums are. Employees do not miss any opportunity to ask questions and bring issues forward. Great, right? Realized Worth refers to Gallup’s Two Factor Theory, “what makes employees happy at work is not the same as what makes them unhappy.” They could not be more right. When conditions like workplace safety, budgets to operate effectively, salary and benefits are improved, a better work environment is created, but an employee’s happiness with their job goes well beyond that. Employees want and need to have a voice and connection with top level staff. They want them to know the real issues because they (employees) are invested in their career and in their workplace. They want an employer who genuinely cares about them and their development. Someone who knows their name; a personalized relationship built on trust, where ideas and feedback are welcomed and can be shared freely. In large corporations, with thousands of employees, it is not easy to be and stay connected with your front line staff, but it is possible and it may be the most vital connection corporations can make.

The Benefits

Something happens when leaders are present and involved in the day to day operations. They are able to stimulate ideas, motivate, engage and find better practices. When they are in the trenches with their staff, they can provide support and teach, rather than lead from a corporate head office removed from the real issues. One of the most sustainable ways corporations can achieve this is by developing an employee volunteer program.

Realized Worth’s recent blog outlines many of the benefits of developing an employee volunteer program:

· Increased corporate social responsibility

· Increased employee loyalty

· Employee recruitment and retention

These are just a few, but here is the full article.

When a company decides to implement an employee volunteer program they are creating an opportunity, a “space” as Chris and Angela so eloquently speak of; to allow the vital connection to exist. Now, front line staff from across the corporation, have the opportunity to work alongside executives in creating and implementing a program that they are passionate about. What happens next? The connection begins.

This is the essential benefit that should not be overlooked. When you are out of your immediate workplace in a setting that is relaxed and altruistic, employees and executives will have the opportunity to discuss issues, share ideas and find solutions to problems in the workplace. Here, the nitty gritty can come out and real issues can be addressed. Employees can connect with their managers in a comfortable, open environment where feedback is welcome. This leads to various positive outcomes for the corporation and their stakeholders, here are just a few:

· Issues being discussed and resolved

· Implementing better business practices

· Fostering a stronger, open and trusting relationship with your stakeholders

· Increased job satisfaction = retention and greater recruitment potential

· Growing as a corporation, increased profit

· Challenging the status quo and being a leader in your field

It is in the midst of an employee program where people can loosen their ties and real progress can occur; with the sharing of ideas across bridges that wouldn’t have existed otherwise. This is the real worth of an employee volunteer program.

Bridging the Gap

Mastering a practice like MBWA is not something you can learn in business school, but it is essential to your business. Take the time to bridge the gap the lives in most large corporate settings. Invest in your employees, take the time to listen and build a stronger relationship that goes beyond the boardroom. Create practices and programs like employee volunteering that are sustainable and allow that relationship to flourish. Your stakeholders will quickly realize the worth of your efforts and everyone can reap the benefits that are obvious when you invest in people.

About Sabrina:

Sabrina and her husband David, who is a professional musician and private music teacher, live in Toronto, Canada. They recently welcomed their little girl Sol to the world. Sabrina is fluent in Spanish and some Italian, as her background is from Argentina. She studied Psychology at York University and has spent the past decade working as a Senior Volunteer Coordinator with the William Osler Health System, while also consulting for various non-profits. Sabrina has also volunteered locally and internationally for the past 15 years for many causes near to her heart. On her free time she enjoys the outdoors with her family, playing guitar, good music and good wine. Follow Sabrina on Twitter here or check out her LinkedIn profile here.

Set Goals & Find Collaborators: How to Start A Corporate Volunteer Program

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:23:00 +0000

Here are some practical steps to take when designing your employee volunteering and workplace giving program. Be sure to read part one of the series “Starting An Employee Volunteering Program? What Do Your Employees Think?”

Begin with the end in mind

In his book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” Stephen R. Covey explains that everyone should take time to decide what they want out of life. For Covey, this means that we "Begin with the End in Mind". We should "begin each day, task, or project with a clear vision of your desired direction and destination, and then continue by flexing your proactive muscles to make things happen." Often we get caught in the tyranny of the urgent and forfeit the important.

This is good advice for life. It is also good advice for designing and managing employee volunteer programs.

One of the earliest steps in creating an employee volunteering or workplace giving program, is identifying the purpose and parameters of the program. Ask yourself, “What are all the good things that could happen as a result of this program?” These benefits should be based on ideal, desired outcomes. Don’t worry - you will be adjusting them later based on potential constraints and other realities within your context. But for now, list as many objectives as possible. Here are some possible benefits that may be of interest to you:

Improved image as a good corporate citizen
Increased brand recognition and customer loyalty
Increased employee loyalty
Increased employee health and lower health care costs for company
Decreased employee absenteeism
Increased ability to attract new talent
Positive perception as solid investment
Increase in employee morale
Enhanced employee skills
Leadership development for employees
Increased team work
Improved networking among employees across departments and divisions
Acquisition of new skills and competencies
Increased social capital within the broader community
Decrease in unemployment in community (fascinating study here)

Identify shared benefits

After compiling a list of objectives, separate the list into the three groups who will benefit from the program: the company, the employees, and the community. For example, take “recruit new talent” and place it in the category that benefits the company. Similarly, take “improve employee morale” and place it in the category that benefits employees. Some objectives will fit into more than one category. It is important that employee volunteer programs are built to offer benefit to all three categories. When the objectives are separated into categories, choose the 3 or 4 top goals that appear to be highly beneficial for everyone.

Find collaborators in other departments

Employee volunteering is not philanthropy. In order for the program to function as a part of the company’s CSR/corporate citizenship strategy, it is essential to integrate the program within other functional and departmental strategies. In some cases these connections may be fairly obvious.

For example, if one of the benefits of the employee volunteer program is the ability to better recruit new talent you should be talking to Human Resources. Without a doubt, your HR department already has a recruitment strategy in place. This is a great opportunity to integrate employee volunteering with the existing HR strategies for recruitment.

Another natural connection with HR is in employee development. Here’s an example of how this might work based on a great bit of research by Corporate Citizenship based in the UK. (Read Volunteering - The Business Case here).

The corporate responsibility team at Société Générale engages with the HR department with regard to the development of training programmes. Typically, the head of CR will look at programmes which have been developed by HR and see if there is scope to add a CR element. Training which tends to lend itself to this kind of input includes leadership, resentation, confidence, listening and innovation development. Discussions between the two departments have begun regarding individual development linked to realising managerial potential. HR identifies areas for development for individuals and volunteering can sometimes be used creatively to fill that need.

Take some time to discuss the potentially mutual benefits of employee volunteering or workplace giving with other departments and business divisions. Ask for input on the program objectives and determine whether or not there is potential for working together. This process will not only provide essential information, it will begin to offer each department the opportunity to buy in to the employee volunteering program before it even launches.

There’s still a lot of work to do at this point - but you’ll be on the right track. What’s more - you won’t be the only one invested in the program’s success.

Stay tuned - we’ll have more soon.

If you’d like to learn more about this, we'd love to talk to you. You can reach us here:
chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com
angela@realizedworth.com
317.371.4435

Do You Know What Employees Are Saying About Your Volunteering & Workplace Giving Program?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:20:00 +0000

Are you responsible for engaging employees in your company's volunteering or giving program? Are you being realistic about your employee's perceptions of the program? Do they even know you have a program? Or are you 'bending the map'?

The first step in any of our client engagements is to understand what employees think of the existing corporate citizenship or CSR programs. Employee perceptions provide essential information. Why? Because companies often make assumptions regarding what employees know and feel about the corporate citizenship programs. Most of the time, these assumptions are woefully wrong.

Managers responsible for CSR and corporate citizenship spend every waking moment (and many sleepy moments) getting the word out the company initiatives. The idea that there are thousands of employees who may not know about these initiatives is almost too hard to believe. Just the suggestion that two out of three employees have never even heard about the companies community investments, philanthropic efforts or CSR strategies seems absurd.

The problem is - it’s true. Most of your employees know little to nothing about your company’s corporate citizenship program. We know it’s true - because we ask them.

This misunderstanding will doom any program from the very beginning. Believing your one place and building an employee volunteering program based on that misinformation will get you lost in the woods. Very lost.

Oh no! I’m lost!

Each year, over seventy million Americans head out into the wilderness to reconnect with nature (or go hunting). Hiking into the woods is a great way to rediscover something about ourselves and to find our true selves. The problem is, in an effort to find our true selves, thousands of Americans get lost doing it. Literally lost. People may be finding their true selves and the meaning of life, but they have a hard time finding their way back to the car in the parking lot.

Being lost in the wilderness can be a frightening experience. It can also be quite deadly. William G. Syrotuck, a search-and-rescue (SAR) expert, conducted systematic research on 229 SAR cases. He was interested in a number of things, but focused on the behaviour of people who get lost. He discovered that 11% of those who had gotten lost ended up as a fatality. Out of all of the fatalities recorded in that group, almost 75% died within the first 48 hours. Most of the deaths were due to hypothermia.

Amazingly, most of those who died did so within 2 miles of their group or parked car. A 30 minute walk. How is that possible? How can someone, usually with a map, some sense of direction, and hiking gear forget where they are or not find their way back 30 minutes of travel?

Well for one thing, it’s easy to get lost. If you are having a great conversation on the trail or deep in thought, you are probably not paying close attention to the details that could act as markers to retrace your steps. Or, if you are a little inexperienced with being in the wilderness the terrain can look pretty similar, this tree or that tree, this rabbit trail or that one, they all look similar. Especially because of a normal human reaction we all have in moments of crises or panic. That reaction is called "bending the map."

Bending the map

If you have ever done any traveling that involved looking at a map that did not have clear street names, highway numbers, or other indicators of your location you may have experienced "bending the map." You look around and for whatever reason believe that you may not be where you thought you were. You grab the map, scrutinize it, look around again, and then stare back down at the map as if it were for the wrong city, state, province, region or even country. You look back up and mutter something under your breath (or at least that’s what I’ve been doing as I get lost in the maze of streets here in Rome).

Next, you begin to line up the landmarks with what is on the map. In a city, usually you can deduce your problem, or just ask someone walking by to make sure that the map in your hand isn't some horrible practical joke by the printing company. They point out a couple simple misunderstandings in YOUR perspective and you suddenly make sense of everything.

Now, put yourself in the middle of nowhere, with 2 other guys who weren’t paying attention either (or worse, they were but their ideas on which way is north don’t agree). No one is going to walk by and help you with perspective. The bears are kinda glad you showed up, and now it is just a waiting game for the locals to open the buffet. You’re in a world of hurt and you know it. Problem is, you cannot quite believe it. So, we become ridiculous optimists. We look at the horizon, then back at the map, then at the trees and river next to us, then back to the map. We bend the map.

We tell ourselves, and the guys next to us, that that river shouldn’t be there, but maybe it’s the river that’s on the map just a few inches over. And that there isn’t a mountain on the map, but maybe it’s the mountain from over on the right a bit. ‘Yeah, yeah, that must be it. We must be right here (no where near where you actually are) so that means we go this direction for an hour (it will end up being five) and we’ll be back at the car before dark.’

Professionals have identified five general stages of bending the map;

You deny that you're disoriented and press on with growing urgency.
You admit you're lost, you begin to panic.
You calm down and form a strategy.
You deteriorate both mentally and physically as your strategy fails to get you out.
You become resigned to your plight as you run out of options.

This is a dangerous and fatal mistake. We try to make reality conform to our expectations rather than see what is actually there.

Bending the employee volunteering map

A similar process happens when managers responsible for employee engagement in sustainability programs, CSR, volunteering, and workplace giving find their best efforts are yielding minimal results.

You deny that employee engagement in the program is all that bad. Instead, you press on with growing urgency believing that improved communication will raise awareness resulting in improved participation numbers.
You admit it’s not working and you begin to panic. You reach out to other sources of information, mostly other company’s, and try to compare notes. There is a strong belief that somewhere out there is a ‘best practice’ that will solve your problems.
You calm down and form a strategy based on what another company has claimed worked for them.
You deteriorate both mentally and physically as your strategy fails to get you out. To your horror, you discover that most other companies are in exactly the same position. Low participation rates. Low awareness. Everyone is asking each other ‘What’s working?’.
You become resigned to your plight as you run out of options. You decide to reset your expectations. Employee volunteering is never going to be very popular (beyond the one big day/week out of the office). This is the rest of your life.

Seeing things clearly

The reality check of knowing what your employees know and seeing what your employees see will save you and the corporate volunteering program from this depressing and fatal process. The best part? Gathering this information is not as difficult as might be imagined. Here are three actions that are relatively easy to perform:

1. Conduct a simple survey: Asking as few as six questions will offer some very important insight:

Do you volunteer in the community? Why or why not?
Have you ever participated in the company’s employee volunteering program? Why or why not?
Do you feel the company invests enough in the community? Why or why not?
How would you describe your neighbor’s or friend’s perception of the company’s community investment?
What could we do better in this regard?
Do you use the resources and online tools to help our employees volunteer in the community? Why or why not?

Make sure to ask enough people to get a decent response rate. You may want to limit your survey to a particular market or region. You can even attach the questions to other surveys going out - such as an HR survey (they may or may not like the idea). Survey Monkey is an easy and free tool if you’re sending it out on your own.

2. Hold a few focus groups: This takes a bit more time than sending around a simple survey. First you’ll want to get a good representation in the room. Make sure to include people who volunteer alongside those who do not. A good number is probably six to ten employees. (Although we’ve done larger groups and they’ve worked just as well). Ask questions similar to the ones above, but spend more time facilitating the discussion between employees. Make sure to take copious notes.

3. Conduct one on one interviews: This process yields very useful information but can be time consuming. We recommend spending most of your time interviewing people you know volunteer already. That’s because they have a lot of insight as to why their fellow employees do not volunteer (and this just saves a bit of time). Here are some ideas for putting together a list of people to interview:

Ask other senior managers in various departments to help you identify a sample of employees who they feel are active as volunteers in the community on behalf of the community or in their own personal time.
Make sure the sample includes a cross section of all company divisions, markets, regions and hierarchical levels
Conduct a limited number of phone and in person interviews to understand the employee’s volunteering experience and interest in community investment.

In each interview, be sure to explain you are interested in growing/improving the current employee volunteering programs. Following introductions, you might use two open-ended questions to invite responses. Follow your opening questions with additional questions focusing on more specific information about what the interviewee talked about. Here’s an example of how we do it:

Have you volunteered before? (With the company? In your personal time?)
What is your current perception and/or understanding of volunteerism (sustainability, workplace giving, CSR, or whatever the focus is) at the company?

Your follow-up questions might include:

In what ways does the company benefit when employees volunteer?
How have you (or have you) benefited from the employee volunteer program?
What barriers might be keeping employees from volunteering?
Do you have any suggestions for increasing volunteerism at the company?

Getting where you want to go

This is just one part of the process of starting or growing your employee volunteer program. Stay tuned - we’ll have more soon.

If you’d like to learn more about this, we'd love to talk to you. You can reach us here:
chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com
angela@realizedworth.com
317.371.4435

IKEA Pays ‘LIP’ Service To Community Investment

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 17:29:00 +0000

Should marketing and corporate citizenship go together? Yes and no. Thanks to IKEA for providing an instructive opportunity.

A good example of what not to do...

Last night, during a delicious meal in Venice (cool, eh?) I received an email asking what I thought about IKEA’s Life Improvement Project (LIP). The reason my friend thought to write and ask specifically about IKEA’s program was because our review of the program last year. Let’s just say it was less than favorable.

The goal of IKEA’s program is to “help inspire and empower people to improve their lives, as well as the lives of others in their community.” Good enough, but it misses that goal - by a long shot. While there have been some changes in this year’s version, the fundamental flaws remain the same.

We don’t make a habit of pointing out the flaws in the community investment programs of specific companies, but the IKEA program offers an instructive opportunity to point out what companies need to avoid if they want to design credible corporate citizenship programs.

Besides which, they’ve spent a lot of money and time marketing the program so we figure it’s more than fair to make a few observations on our little blog.

So very briefly, here’s what the program includes:

“A Life Improvement Sabbatical Contest which offers an opportunity to win a year-long sabbatical* (worth $100,000) to improve the lives of others”

“A series of free, in-store Life Improvement Store Seminars which provide tips and inspiration to improve people’s lives at home”

“Random Acts of Life Improvement, unexpected moments when IKEA will surprise the public with tokens of appreciation to improve everyday moments in their lives”

“A Life Improvement Challenge, where every IKEA store will commit $10,000 to support local community initiatives”

“A Soft Toys for Education Campaign to donate 1 euro to children’s education programs for every IKEA soft toy purchased during the holiday season”

We want to be clear - none of these things are bad. These actions will not contribute to the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. No one is going to be hurt by these initiatives. No animals will be harmed.

So what’s the problem?

It’s not real. The Life Improvement Sabbatical Contest is almost a guaranteed waste of money. Worse yet, offering someone $100K to do something good suggests that to really make an impact, you need to quit your job for a year. While that’s an interesting concept, it’s just not true. Good community investment programs utilize the resources, time and interests that people have in the every day of their lives. If someone wants to work full time in the nonprofit sector, that’s fantastic. But we can all contribute from where we are. That’s an important message for a company’s citizenship program to declare.

Again - nothing wrong with quitting your job and devoting yourself to a cause or community. But that’s not sustainable for society. It’s not even a reality for most people. In fact, IKEA can only offer this opportunity to one person out of 7 billion. We need to think through more realistic approaches to creating shared value for as many people as possible.

There’s no transparency. As I read the press release, I realize that I have absolutely no idea where the $100K from last year really went. I know dogs and vets were involved but there isn’t one (not one) metric as to outcomes or impact. Nothing. This obvious omission tells me that it was never really the point in the first place.

It lacks engagement. Voting for your favorite cause/charity/desperate situation is so 2009. There are so many more interesting and engaging ideas for involving customers in corporate citizenship programs. They can vote by giving small amounts (a quarter for example - organizations like Benevity can help you do this). They could join the employees in the volunteering programs (Starbucks has successfully done this). But the biggest problem is that voting programs don’t actually do much more than engaging people in voting. There is no attitudinal or behavioral change. (Voting happens between November 28 and December 23).

It’s a marketing program. The Random acts of Life Improvement is solely marketing. Giving out free stuff to customers has nothing to do with CSR or Corporate Citizenship (or at least not the way it’s described here). Neither do the Life Improvement Store Seminars.

It’s blind philanthropy. Donating 1 euro per sale of a soft toy is fine, but that’s straight up philanthropy. Which (I want to be very clear) is fine. Companies that make philanthropic donations a part of their product sales are smart. The problem is that neither I, nor the customers who donate the money, will have any idea how IKEA helped 8 million kids? Apparently, to date, the company has been able to donate $47.5 million to help kids in 40 countries. The euros are used “to support children’s educational programs in developing countries.” But how? Were the children able to go to school? Did they have access to clean water so they could stay in school? Were they supplied with vaccines and affordable medicine so they didn’t miss school?

We don’t know.

(Here’s a better example of how a program connects donors to impacts.)

IKEA has made improvements

There have been some improvements which should be noted. This year “IKEA is providing $10,000 to one team in each of its 38 stores ($380,000 total) to support a local community project.” That’s a significant increase from last year’s contribution of $10,000 to just five community projects.

So that’s cool.

But IKEA’s greatest mistake is confusing marketing and community investment. Again, we (Angela and Chris) need to be clear about something - corporate citizenship and marketing or PR should be working together. But they should never be confused.

Companies that have good corporate citizenship programs should make every effort to ensure their customers, vendors and shareholders know about what’s being achieved. That’s a smart and integrated approach to corporate citizenship. But mixing together obvious sales strategies such as the ‘Life Improvement Store Seminars’ and calling it community investment is not credible.

Here’s the rule - marketing serves corporate citizenship. It is never the other way around.

This whole program was conceived by Ogilvy & Mather, IKEA’s creative agency, so... I’m not sure why I would have expected anything else. (I’m sure they are a fine firm - but it’s tough for most marketing agencies to develop corporate citizenship programs).

You can read more about IKEA’s other 'Responsibility' initiatives here. They are a bit buried on the corporate website but they cover an impressively wide range of issues and activities.

If you’d like to learn more about this, we'd love to talk to you. You can reach us here:
chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com
angela@realizedworth.com
317.371.4435

What Is Real Corporate Citizenship?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:22:00 +0000

Will corporations be successful in their citizen efforts to address critical social and environmental issues?

The Rise of The Corporate Citizen: The Promise

As we noted in part one of this blog series, corporations are assuming a new role in today’s society. Historically, it has been religious groups, nonprofit organizations, and governments that have mobilized to address social and environmental issues. Now the corporations of the world are playing this role.

Why?

Corporations Want to Make the World Better

Corporate citizenship continues to grow as a key element of today’s business strategy. Granted, the idea of corporations acting as good citizens has been around since the 1950‘s. Yet developments in the economic, technological and geopolitical landscape of the past couple decades have significantly increased the scale and power of the private sector. As the influence of corporations grow, so do the expectations of stakeholders.

Non-financial performance has quickly become an important, if not expected, piece of the corporate annual report. Governments, non-governmental organizations, investors and consumers are demanding leadership in the management of social and environmental issues related to the company’s sourcing, supply chain, production and sales.

Corporations not only have the unique opportunity to address social and environmental concerns, the public has given them a mandate to do so.

Water is Critical to a Better World

The list of social and environmental ills that clamor for attention is seemingly endless. It is likely however, that there is widespread consensus on the issue that is number one on the list: water.

According to Water.org, the nonprofit Matt Damon helped to establish, almost a billion people around the world lack access to safe water. That means more than 3.5 million people will die from water-related diseases. Not even war has seen the consistent killing of so high a number of people. The situation is so critical that in October of 2010 “the main United Nations body dealing with human rights has affirmed that the right to water and sanitation is contained in existing human rights treaties, and that States have the primary responsibility to ensure the full realisation of this and all other basic human rights.”

What Role Can Companies Play?

Companies like PepsiCo use water to make their products - a lot of water. In 2001 PepsiCo used 7.1 litres of water to make just one litre of Pepsi. Water is obviously a big expense for PepsiCo. Decreasing the amount of water it takes to produce a bottle of Pepsi would be a huge benefit to the company’s bottom line. Over the past decade, the company has managed to dramatically reduce water usage - to as little as 2.4 litres by 2010.

As a corporate citizen PepsiCo’s expertise could be said to be essential to addressing the global water crises. But knowing a lot about water is one thing; using that knowledge to help make the world better is another. In an effort to contribute to a solution on a global scale PepsiCo joined the United Nations’ CEO Water Mandate, “a unique public-private initiative designed to assist companies in the development, implementation and disclosure of water sustainability policies and practices.”

Is PepsiCo Acting? Or Just Talking?

By joining the CEO Water Mandate, PepsiCo has agreed that “they have a responsibility to make water-resources management a priority, and to work with governments, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders to address this global water challenge.” More specifically, the company has gone on record and pledged to provide safe water to 3 million people in the developing world by 2015.

Admittedly, while important, signing documents and making public declarations of intention alone will not solve the water crises. Even the UN’s declaration that access to clean water and sanitation is a human right probably matters very little to small villages in Ghana.

In order to be responsible corporate citizens companies have to take real action.

This past year, PepsiCo announced a new idea based on the tradition of the US Peace Corps called PepsiCorps. Within a matter of months, 168 applications came in from employees around the world willing to participate in the month-long pilot taking place in Ghana this past October. The eight employees chosen for the team came from Vietnam, US, Turkey, Canada, and Spain representing various PepsiCo business units, functions and company locations.

The team traveled to Southern Ketu, on the coast of Ghana. The team’s objective was “to equip district leaders, local chiefs, and the community with the means and business tools” to ensure access to clean and safe drinking water.

Real Corporate Citizenship

The success of company’s corporate citizenship program ultimately depends on people. To be precise, it depends on employees. The same could be said of the Peace Corps. The success of the program depended on individual citizens traveling abroad, building relationships, and doing the work that needed to be done. Therefore, in order to gain credible insight to the PepsiCorps program we need to look beyond the strategies, UN initiatives, and press releases. We need to hear from the employees themselves. What did they see? What did they experience? What did they do? What’s different?

Is the world better because eight PepsiCo employees spent a month in Ghana?

Next time we’ll take a closer look at the PepsiCo team and the specifics of the project and try to begin to answer that question.

Realized Worth works with major corporations to launch high impact employee volunteer programs. We focus specifically on the challenge of employee engagement. Call us to chat: 317.371.4435.

Employee Volunteering - An Amazing Resource or a Terrible Waste?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:46:00 +0000

Are you meeting your employee volunteers at their highest level of contribution? Here’s how one Microsoft employee is changing the world.

Your Employees Have a lot to Offer

The employees at your company are smart, energetic, and driven, right? Not only that, they are probably generous and socially conscious. They thrive in settings that have a clear purpose and offer a sense of meaningful accomplishment. Yes, they know they are there to get the job done for which they were hired. And when the work they do is connected to making the world a better place, you know it's true - your people give 110%! (Just in case you're not sure we're right; read this).

For many of your employees, the chance to contribute to the community is a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding activity. Many times painting fences and cleaning youth centers can be the right fit. (We’ve talked about why these activities can be a good fit here.)

However, for a significant number of your employees, painting and cleaning is a terrible waste of a valuable resource.

What Do You Offer Your Employees?

During last month’s Giving Campaign at Microsoft, we met with Adnan Mahmud, a program manager for Microsoft. But more famously, he is also the Co-Founder and Director of Jolkona.

Jolkona is an online micro-giving platform. People can find hundreds of projects to which they can make donations of any size. That’s great - but it’s not all that new.

What’s fascinating about Jolkona’s giving platform is the feedback loop. Every donor, no matter how small the amount, is personally contacted on a regular basis. So if you’ve donated $5, you’ll receive updates on how that donation is making an impact. Your dollars don’t just go toward a cause or end up in a big bucket. With Jolkona, you have the chance to give to low cost, high impact projects and receive tangible proof that your dollars achieved an important and measurable impact.

Here’s an example of what we mean by an important and measurable impact:

2 girls were saved from honor killing in Iraq
8 orphans received clothes in Iraq
6 women received farming training in Sudan
2 girls received 1 year of education in Afghanistan
2 businesses showcase opportunity provided in USA
2 mothers and newborn received nutritional support in India
2 months of primary education provided in Uganda

Knowing how what you gave made a difference is incredibly compelling. It may even be addictive.

Outgrowing Microsoft

Jolkona went live about 2 years ago with just 4 projects. Since then, Jolkona has quickly grown to include more than 100 projects spread across 70 countries. A big part of that growth has been a result of being included in Microsoft’s Annual Giving campaign. Kevin Espirito, the Senior Manager of Employee Engagement for Microsoft Community Affairs, offers his employees the opportunity to donate through Jolkona along side thousands of other community and nonprofit organizations. (Kevin's a great guy - you can find him on twitter).

The Microsoft employees are very enthusiastic about Jolkona. Adnan admits he has the wonderful problem of trying to keep up with demand for the site. With only two full time employees, Jolkona has processed over $200,000 in donations to date. In fact, the current rate of donations is quickly moving past the $10,000 per month. That’s with only 1500 users.

Yet the largest single donor doesn’t work at Microsoft. He’s not even an American. Apparently, a gentleman in Switzerland found Jolkona online and loves it. He donates on a weekly or monthly basis.

It’s not just individuals. Companies other than Microsoft are now using the platform to facilitate their workplace giving and philanthropic initiatives.

Waggener Edstrom Worldwide (WE) just wrapped up a successful giving campaign where they matched up to $5,000 (U.S.) of individual donors' contributions to global development projects.
In China, Hias Gourmet, a culinary company, is using Jolkona to manage their philanthropic activities.

This is exactly why we think Jolkona is a great example of how to meet your employees at their highest level of contribution.

For many employees, almost 2 out of 3, volunteering is not a regular part of their lifestyle. There are a lot of reasons why that’s the case, and most of them make a lot of sense. Maybe they grew up in a home where no one modeled volunteering. Maybe they have a young family and there doesn’t seem to be any extra time. Maybe they have commitments to family members who are ill or in some kind of need. Whatever the reason, most employees don’t volunteer.

For the segment of your employee population who doesn't volunteer, painting fences makes a lot of sense. You want to offer an achievable, experiential, and rewarding experience. People need a chance to fall in love with volunteering. Asking inexperienced volunteers for a huge up-front commitment is a very tough sell. (Here is a more thorough discussion of this reality).

Offering Employees a Higher Level of Contribution

Adnan is not one of these volunteers. He was already convinced that ‘giving back’ was something that needed to be part of his life. Adnan grew up in Bangladesh. He witnessed some of the worst conditions on the planet facing people trying to make a living and raise their children. A big part of his life has been about trying to figure out how to use what he knows as a program manager at Microsoft to improve the lives of his fellow countrymen in Bangladesh.

Asking Adnan to paint a fence wouldn’t have been a terrible crime. We’re sure, having met Adnan, that he’d be more than happy to participate in these types of community investment programs at Microsoft.

But limiting Adnan to paining fences would have been a terrible waste.

Adnan is using the skills, networks and promotional opportunities offered by Microsoft to create an effective tool allowing people around the world to join him in saving lives.

If you’d like to learn more about how to do this, we'd love to talk to you. You can reach us here:
chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com
angela@realizedworth.com
317.371.4435

The Rise of the Corporate Citizen

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:28:00 +0000

A new idea

John F. Kennedy was exhausted. It had been a long day and now, at 2 a.m. Kennedy was just arriving at the University of Michigan. The upcoming Presidential election was just three short weeks away and Senator Kennedy had been traveling across the country in a last ditch effort to secure every last possible vote.

Kennedy stepped to the podium. A cheering crowd of some 10,000 students filled the auditorium in front of him. His speech began weakly with a joke that he had come to Ann Arbor to go to bed. The students cheered, their energy filling the air. Kennedy’s exhaustion was replaced by their enthusiasm and as he stood in front of the future of the nation, something magical happened.

An idea was born.

Kennedy set aside his prepared notes and spoke from his heart:

"How many of you, who are going to be doctors, are willing to spend your days in Ghana? Technicians or engineers, how many of you are willing to work in the Foreign Service and spend your lives traveling around the world?"

A couple of nights later the students wrote out a call to action on a napkin. Within a few days time 1,000 students had signed the petition to create Kennedy’s Peace Corps. Six months later, having won the election, President Kennedy signed an executive order and the Peace Corps began. Since then, more than 200,000 citizens have participated in the Peace Corps serving in 139 countries around the world.

An idea with a rich tradition

The Peace Corps may have been born that night in Ann Arbor, but the idea itself had been around for awhile. In 1951, Kennedy, as the Representative of Massachusetts, proposed the following:

"Young college graduates would find a full life in bringing technical advice and assistance to the underprivileged and backward Middle East ... In that calling, these men would follow the constructive work done by the religious missionaries in these countries over the past 100 years.”

This idea of mobilizing American citizens to assist nations and communities around the world had been considered by Kennedy and other members of Congress since the conclusion of second World War. Yet Kennedy’s comments revealed an idea with a much richer tradition. The Peace Corps was rooted in missionary work that had been carried out by churches and other religious bodies for hundreds of years.

When asked where the idea for the Peace Corps came from, Kennedy answered that he had based much of his thinking on the example of Operation Crossroads Africa founded by Rev. James H. Robinson.

A Tradition Continues

Just a few weeks ago on October 14, PepsiCorps landed in Ghana. An 8 member team, drawn from around the world and across PepsiCo’s business units, was tasked with addressing the acute issue of access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene in the Ketu South District.

PepsiCorps is a month-long project in partnership with CDC Development Solutions. Each member of the team is expected to draw on work-related skills to help the host community and achieve the goals of the project. The team will be living and working alongside members of the Ketu South District community. The hope is that they will become “more attuned to on-the-ground realities and develop deep insights into the connections between business and social needs.” (You can read the teams' blogs here).

Ghana was the first country in the world to receive Peace Corps Volunteers on August 30, 1961. Inspired by the best qualities of missionary work around the world, the United States government mobilized citizens for the benefit of other nations facing seemingly insurmountable social and environmental crisis. The Peace Corps was established for the following purpose:

“To promote world peace and friendship through a Peace Corps, which shall make available to interested countries and areas men and women of the United States qualified for service abroad and willing to serve, under conditions of hardship if necessary, to help the peoples of such countries and areas in meeting their needs for trained manpower.”

Now, 50 years later, PepsiCorps has landed on the beaches of Ghana. Inspired by the best qualities of the Peace Corps tradition, PepsiCo has mobilized its employees with similar aspirations:

“PepsiCorps is about more than volunteering; it speaks to the responsibilities of businesses to the communities and the larger world in which they are embedded. This theme of prospering at the intersection of what’s good for business and what’s good for society derives from PepsiCo’s mission – Performance With Purpose.”

Over the next few weeks we will examine the rise of the Corporate Citizen. This will not be a theoretical exercise (although we admit that the field of corporate volunteering and corporate citizenship is in need of good theory). Instead we will be taking a closer look at the PepsiCorps experiences, successes, and failures in Ghana over the past few weeks.

We’ll be looking to better understand this new role corporations are taking in the world. In light of the past successes and failures of the earlier initiatives of religious organizations and governments, what should we expect? What can we hope for?

Stay tuned, this should be interesting.

Realized Worth works with major corporations to launch high impact employee volunteer programs. We focus specifically on the challenge of employee engagement. Call us to chat: 317.371.4435.

Dollars for Doers: The Incentive Nobody Wants

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:33:00 +0000

When 184 managers of employee volunteering programs were asked which program was most successful they answered “Dollar for Doer programs”. But they’re wrong - and here’s why.

Employers think it's great

According to the latest report produced by the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP), Giving inNumbers: 2011 Edition, "Dollars for Doers has been the most frequently offered employee-volunteer program” for the past few years. More companies offer Dollars for Doers than any other employee volunteering incentive including employee recognition awards, flexible time for volunteering or even a day of service.

That makes sense. Dollars for Doers programs enable employers to recognize the volunteer efforts of their employees with cash. When an employee volunteers with an eligible nonprofit, the company matches their volunteer hours with financial donation to that nonprofit. The typical formula is $10 per each eligible hour spent volunteering, although according to the CECP report it is not uncommon to see corporate matches of $20/hour or more.

If you'd like to learn more about Dollars for Doers, the Entrepreneurs Foundation offers details about this type of program with a sample template.

I suppose the reason Dollars for Doers enjoys such widespread popularity is that it makes use of the most universally understood incentives - money. Apparently its working. When CECP put the question to program managers what is the 'most successful domestic and international programs” guess which incentive program topped the list? Dollars for Doers.

So why then are only 7 employees out of 100 applying for this cash incentive?

Employees don’t care

That’s right. Dollars for Doers is arguably the least utilized employee volunteer program. We’ve often heard that the participation rate for Dollars for Doers is around 20%. It’s not. According to CECP it is a minuscule 7%.

We spoke with our friend, Kevin Espirito about this very issue during our visit to Microsoft a couple weeks ago. Kevin is the Senior Manager of Employee Engagement for Microsoft Community Affairs, and is responsible for the company's volunteer strategy, giving campaign, Puget Sound employee engagement, and the year-round matching gift programs.

Despite the huge financial and volunteering investment Microsoft makes in communities across the United States, (this year the company and employees are on track to give a whopping $100 million) Kevin will tell you that only 7.8% of Microsoft employees participate in Dollars for Doers.

Kevin has implemented a number of strategies to increase this number:

Simplified the application process - drastically.
Implemented an App for smart phones that allows volunteering employees to immediately record their hours.
Invested time with Microsoft’s vendor who processes the Dollar for Doer funds to increase the program’s efficiency.
Partnered with Nonprofits to encourage Microsoft employees to record their hours.

We wrote about Kevin’s brilliant out-of-the-box thinking during last year’s annual campaign at Microsoft. Each year he invites hundreds of nonprofits on to the Microsoft campus, offers great food and drinks and asks them to partner with him to increase the participation rate in the Dollar for Doers program. You can read about "Microsoft’s Smooth Kung Fu Moves" here.

The result remains to be seen, however. Even with Kevin’s solid strategies there may not be much change this year.

Why the disconnect?

In a recent interview with Margaret Coady, CECP's director, I asked why managers of these programs consider 7% a success. Margaret said that unlike almost every other question in the survey this one offered little guidance in defining "success." Managers were left to determine what success meant for each program and didn’t include their thinking in the response.

I asked Margaret to conjecture a bit as to why Dollars for Doers ranked number one given the low levels of participation. She offered two insights that made a lot of sense: First, Dollars for Doers is usually lumped in with other successful workplace giving initiatives. If the annual campaign is a success then it follows that the Dollars for Doers program contributed to that success. Second, Dollars for Doers appeals to managers. It’s flexible and it has that universal incentive of cold hard cash. How could it not be the smartest and best part of the employee volunteering program?

The Problem with Dollars for Doers

The Cost is High: The CECP report indicates that “companies that dedicate large portions of their cash contributions to matching gifts appear to have a higher ratio of management and program costs relative to total giving. Matching gift programs require substantial investments in grant-management technology, employee communications, and staff to manage these programs.” These high costs can be worth it but you’ll need a higher participation rate to realize a solid ROI on the Dollar for Doers portion.

The Awareness is Low: If your company has a Dollar for Doers program, I guarantee that most of your employees don’t even know about it. Posting information about the program on the employee volunteering website is not going to work. Sending emails and reminders may actually incentivize people NOT to participate (it feels like nagging). The most successful strategy for creating awareness is collaboration through one-on-one conversations. This means you have to appeal to people’s WIIFM (What’s In It For Me). And you have to do it in person. Of course you can’t be everywhere, so you’ll need a strategy to multiply your efforts. Keep reading to find out how.

The Process is Clumsy: Unless you're a technology company like Microsoft you’re probably not going to be developing smart phone apps for your Dollar for Doers program anytime soon. Asking employees to remember to record hours and fill out semi-lengthy application forms is a huge barrier - not to mention all the work managers are required to do to develop the forms, post them online, collect the information and submit everything in a timely manner to release the funds. Instead consider using a third party solution like AngelPoints. If your budget is really tight (or non-existent), you might want to consider Spark! by Benevity which only requires a one-time, minimal setup fee.

The Eligibility is Low: Most of your employees who volunteer won’t qualify for the Dollars for Doers program. Companies often require a minimum number of hours per year to qualify. 40 hours is probably the most common threshold among the companies in our circles. Yet only 1 out of 3 employees volunteer on a regular basis - or enough to even qualify for the program. That means that the best companies can realistically hope for as a participation rate is 33%. On top of that, many companies do not include part time employees, further limiting the impact of the program to act as an incentive or reward.

The Motivation is Wrong: The bottom line is that for the employees who are both eligible and likely to take part in this program - it just isn’t motivating. Understanding the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations will help managers position Dollars for Doers in a way that makes sense to employees. The following blog articles and video explain what I mean:

Making Dollars for Doers work

We use a process of ‘Capture and Convert’ to increase participation rates in employee volunteering programs.

Capture: Find the employees who are already volunteering in the community and embody the corporate purposes and vision. They may be volunteering on their own personal time or as part of corporate volunteering events. Either way these employees are influencers. They are a key to spreading the word about the Dollars for Doers program and are uniquely able to mobilize their colleagues to participate. The goal is to capture their hearts and minds with a vision for what the corporate volunteering program can accomplish for the community, the company and the employees.

Influencers can be identified through interviews and surveys. Once we find them we begin collaborating. This process should include both one-on-one conversations as well as focus group meetings. (We refer to as ‘Collaboratives’.) The process itself is important. Meeting with employees already volunteering in the community and collaborating on achieving shared goals and objectives creates strong peer endorsement. The result is an environment in which the program is offered by management while enjoying the advocacy of colleagues at every level within the company. (For more on how to do this).

Convert: Begin building interest and awareness among employees who may only volunteer on occasion. As I already mentioned, two out of three employees in North American companies volunteer less than once a year. A successful program needs to ‘convert’ non-volunteering employees by offering a meaningful experience. An experience-first approach is key to allowing employees their own intrinsic motivations for volunteering. This is achieved through a strategy of clear messaging which utilizes traditional communication channels as well as the personal invitations of influencers to ‘try it out’. The key is a volunteer experience which is both accessible and immediately rewarding.

Here are some of the benefits of this approach:

Increased Participation - This type of ground-swell approach is able to grow exponentially year over year.

Clear Leadership - You’ll be able to find employees most likely to be early adopters of the Dollar for Doers program due to their existing interest in and passion for volunteering.

Strong Advocates - Enabling influential employees who already volunteer in the community and have a desire to see more of their colleagues involved in community service while increasing their impact through Dollar for Doers.

Effective Support - With minimal training for your influencers, you’ll be able to multiply your one-on-one messaging and coaching for employees across the company.

Increased Satisfaction - People who use Dollar for Doers programs think they are great!

More about the CECP:

The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy is the only international forum of business CEOs and chairpersons focused exclusively on corporate philanthropy. Membership includes more than 180 global CEOs and chairpersons of companies that together account for more than 40% of reported corporate giving in the United States. Download CECP's Ten-Year History to learn more about the organization's acccomplishments in its first decade.

The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy has been collecting corporate giving data since 2001. Download the 2011 Giving In Numbers Report (PDF).

Realized Worth works with major corporations to launch high impact employee volunteer programs. We focus specifically on the challenge of employee engagement. Call us to chat: 317.371.4435.

Your City Could Be Smarter & IBM Wants To Help

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:42:00 +0000

Cities across the world can now apply for year-two of the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge – a 100 city, US$50 million grant program that furnishes expert advice from IBM consultants to 100 progressive municipalities.

Can Cities be Smarter?

I often complain about Toronto’s public transportation (and so do all of my friends). It seems oddly inefficient, out of date and grumpy. I figure it’s because elected officials have no resources to improve it. Or maybe it’s because no one really knows what to do. But I know it can be better. I’ve been to Portland, Oregon. That city has an amazingly efficient, modern, friendly and even partially free public transportation system.

Your city may be the same way, but maybe it’s not about public transportation. Maybe there are other challenges your city or town is facing. It could be jobs, health, public safety, social services, recreation, education, energy or sustainability - areas where year after year there seems to be little improvement and the basic priority is....decay management.

IBM is offering your mayor help - for free!

Last month I was speaking with my friend, David Robitaille. Dave is the Manager of Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs at IBM Canada. After catching up on life in general, he began telling me about this cool initiative he had been working on: the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge.

Turns out your city doesn’t need to merely manage decay. Even though there may be little to no money in the budget for improvement, something can be done. Cities across the world can now apply for year-two of the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge. This is a US$50 million grant program that is being spent across 100 cities. The grant furnishes expert advice from IBM consultants to 100 progressive municipalities. And according to David, the results are worth it!

If your application is approved, your city will have access to IBM's top talent. They will devote weeks of their time analyzing unique opportunities and challenges your urban center may be facing. During this time, the IBM team will meet with officials, citizens, businesses, academics and community leaders to ensure an accurate understanding of the issues involved. Finally, the IBM team will recommend steps to make the delivery of services to your neighbors more efficient and innovative. The value of the talent provided for an individual engagement in a given city is approximately US$400,000.

Why this is a good idea

I love it when companies play to their strengths when it comes to CSR. The IBM Smarter Cities Challenge not only aligns with IBM's brand, it utilizes employees in strategic roles. This isn't philanthropy, but it does make the world a better place. It isn't volunteering, but it
engages employees in unique and interesting ways to improve communities. The initiative certainly passes our litmus test for high impact community investments.

Other community programs do not. (Pharma companies planting trees, for example).

Is it working?

The program is already helping cities that engaged with IBM in 2011. For example, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina is now planning its budgets and improvements with all its towns and villages in a more coordinated way. St. Louis, Missouri has hired officials to better share of information among agencies involved in criminal justice so that they can make better legal decisions. And Edmonton in Canada is using data more effectively to improve traffic and pedestrian safety.

Here’s how to apply

In order to be eligible for the IBM grant, city mayors need to apply before December 16, and the application is online.

To find out more, please visit http://smartercitieschallenge.org/ or YouTube for videos from some of the 2011 Smarter Cities Challenge grant winners.

Realized Worth works with major corporations to launch high impact employee volunteer programs. We focus specifically on the challenge of employee engagement. Call us to chat: 317.371.4435.

The Annual Giving Campaign: 6 Tips for Success

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Here are Microsoft's six recommendations to increase employee engagement in your company's next annual giving campaign.

The real question:

October has become the month of corporate giving in North America. If you’re one of those companies looking to break the giving record you set last year you know exactly what you have to do - increase the number of employees who give and the enthusiasm with which they participate.

Simple, right?

Sure, until you ask yourself the question, "How exactly do I increase employee engagement in my annual giving campaign?"

The answer?

To find the answer to that very question, we traveled to the Microsoft campus in Seattle for a behind the scenes peek at one of the largest workplace giving campaigns in North America. The giving goal this year is a whopping 100 million dollars. No small feat - not even for mighty Microsoft.

(For more information about how these funds are invested in the community, read this article by Brad Smith, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Microsoft).

Microsoft uses a strategy that we’ve seen successfully employed by other companies looking to create widespread participation in workplace giving campaigns. The strategy is to issue the role of "Executive Sponsor" to a senior executive who is willing to step up as a champion for the giving campaign.

Last week in Seattle, we sat down with S. Somasegar (who goes by Soma), the corporate vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft, to talk about his insights as the Giving Campaign Executive Lead in this year’s campaign. Soma has been with Microsoft since 1989 and is an avid supporter of the Campaign.

We asked Soma how he champions the campaign at all levels of the organization. Without hesitation, he outlined six action points that blew me away. I think these action points are brilliant and may prove helpful in your campaign.

Microsoft's 6 Tips for Success

1. Distribute Responsibility. As an executive, Soma has the opportunity to sit with his peers and have conversations with them about the campaign goals, tools, and benefits. Enlisting your peers is the first logical step toward broad engagement.

2. Think Small. Yes, it’s important that the CEO give a mandate for the month of giving, but if Microsoft relied on Steve Ballmer to make this campaign successful, it would fail. The key is to look at the bottom of your org chart instead of the top. Where are the smallest teams or units of business within the company? These people are on the ground level, executing every day. It is essential to go to these employees and engage them directly. Soma does this by making sure managers and supervisors at this level have all of the information and tools they need to talk about the campaign during their team meetings. This equips an army of people to pitch for the campaign, rather than relying on the voice of the big guy or gal.

3. Hold Big Events. Too many options for giving and volunteering can be confusing for employees who wish to participate for the first time. Yet Microsoft knows that by increasing the options for employees the participation rate will increase. The key is to do both. Microsoft holds one or two big events designed for everyone. This provides clarity and direction for those employees who may be joining in for the first time. They also offer hundreds of small events and opportunities to give and get active in the community.

4. Deal with Nay-sayers. Managers are very aware of their business targets. So sometimes when they are approached by employees who want to spend time volunteering or raising funds they are less than enthusiastic about granting time away from work - even for sanctioned, community investment activities. Soma believes that one-on-one conversations are they only way to help these managers see the value of activities that may not seem to contribute directly to the business unit goals.

5. Give What You Can. Soma doesn’t like asking people to give money. He prefers to present opportunities and then enable people to give however they can. Some employees give money. Other employees give time. Microsoft also loves to give away software products. Whatever the contribution, Microsoft is working to match each type of donation. Matching allows people who can only give a little feel a sense of significance. Successful campaigns enable individuals to matter.

6. Have fun. This should go without saying, but sometimes annual giving campaigns can be dreary or boring. Microsoft’s Giving Campaign is neither. For example you can bid online in an auction for the world’s best baloney sandwich. Or, following the 5k run/walk, you can join your colleagues at the beer garden for food and live music. (We made sure to join this one - you can check out the pics on the Facebook Page). But maybe the most interesting/fun/bizarre event is the Flamingo Flock:

This year the Microsoft Operations team is ‘flocking’ the offices of unsuspecting employees with plastic flamingos. Employees can plot and surprise co-workers with their own flock of flamingos. There are four levels of participation:

Flock‘em - Allows an unsuspecting individual’s office to be overtaken by FLAMINGOS!
Flock Migration - A Flock Migration allows the ‘flocked’ individual to pass the flock over to another colleague.
Flocksurance - The well prepared and those with Flamingo Phobia can purchase the Flocksurance to avoid these pink creatures.
Flocksurance Side Stepper - The Side-Stepper is a premium product which allows one to override another’s Flocksurance.

Weird - but fun (and financially successful).

More about Microsoft’s Annual Giving Campaign

Microsoft’s campaign is held during the month of October. Employees are mobilized to engage in the local community and support nonprofit organizations nationwide. The month is filled with engaging fundraising events driven by employees and executives across the United States. Every year, full-time Microsoft employees receive up to $12,000 in corporate matching gifts. Microsoft will match employee volunteer time at $17 per hour. If employees wish to give financially during October, Microsoft will make a dollar-for-dollar match of an employee’s financial donation to the non-profit. Last year, the company raised a record-breaking $96 million throughout the year with a big push during the October giving campaign that helped achieve this exemplary goal.

Full Disclosure: Our trip to was sponsored by Microsoft. They kindly covered all of our travel related costs. We received no fees for writing or posting this article.

Realized Worth works with major corporations to launch high impact employee volunteer programs. We focus specifically on the challenge of employee engagement. Call us to chat: 317.371.4435.

Shifting Trends in the Corporate World: Your Guide to CSR

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:00:00 +0000

A big thank you to Brook Folliot, a recent business school graduate who developed this educational resource on business ethics as part of her business degree project. We are pleased to offer our readers a look at the definition of CSR, how the concept has infiltrated business and education over the years, and where to go to learn more.

Is Corporate Social Responsibility Changing The Way We Do Business?

The short answer is yes, of course. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a specific type of business self-regulation that many companies around the world have begun to mesh into their business models. It can be described abstractly as an approach to doing business that focuses on things on like environmental stewardship, cultural sensitivity, and a general willingness to improve the quality of our world's societies. Aside from the obvious external benefits of such an approach, there are plenty of intrinsic boons associated with developing a solid CSR plan for any business, whether large or small. Corporate social responsibility emphasizes the importance of having a positive impact on the world, but it is certainly not meant to deemphasize profit. CSR tempts businesses to focus on the triple bottom line (people, planet, profit) in order to drive growth in a way that adds a certain intangible value to a venture. The specific policies and protocols that blossom from CSR have helped many corporations use their size and power to create positive change in the world and the trend seems to be steadily increasing. CSR continues to gain traction as a popular buzzword in schools and workplaces, but the idea itself actually dates back to the Industrial Revolution. This is not surprising, considering that most innovation happens as a result of juxtaposing old principles in unique ways to fit the times.

CSR In Schools

Corporate social responsibility is a prevalent theory in higher academia that touches on a diverse gamut of business nuances. Successful entrepreneurs and professors of business often stress the importance of ethical behavior, as well as the need for social responsibility in long-term, international corporate strategies. But why a professor would do such a thing seems to elude students and employees alike. There are volumes of information dedicated to corporate ethical disasters that could have been averted, or at least repaired more efficiently, had CSR been practiced in better faith. A few of these cases are listed below, along with substantial studies that help highlight how this mantra has developed over time.

The Minamata Disaster: methylmercury from a Japanese chemical company was released into a local fishing bay and the Shiranui Sea for over 35 years starting in 1932. The toxic chemical accumulated in fish, which were eaten by Minamata's populace resulting in mass mercury poisoning. A settlement for this case was just reached in March 2010.
The National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling is a paper that was commissioned by the Obama Administration as a scrutiny of the disaster. In addition to being an anecdotal keepsake, it functions as an educational business case study that hinges on CSR principles.
The Three Mile Island accident is a historic nuclear failure that occurred in 1979 near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. There are many opinions still circulating about the auxiliary ethical details of this accident, but its core mishaps and lessons learned remain. The nuclear industry is an especially powerful example of how CSR consciousness has improved an entire business niche in a short period of time.
The Seveso Disaster occurred in Italy in 1976. A toxic cloud of corrosive chemicals was accidentally dispersed into the air, cause a slew of acute and chronic illnesses that would affect generations to come. As this interesting case study points out, however, this disaster was a landmark in the new models of disaster relief and prevention that followed, arguably influenced by the overarching ideas of CSR.
The Bhopal Disaster, sometimes called the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, is one of the world's worst of its kind. In Madhya Pradesh, India in 1984 the escape of methyl isocyanate gas contaminated many people, killing over 3000 and injuring thousands more nearly beyond repair. As with other disasters, what the chemicals industry and others in the industrial world have learned from this incident is indispensable to CSR discussion.

These case studies should help you think about why being cautious about the environmental implications of a company's operation are considered important, both in academia and in the real world. Today, the "Ethical MBA" has become a popular term used around the globe, and even Executive CSR Programs are offered (or are in development) at some of the most prestigious schools. Whether you are a student or a CEO, there is wealth of archived information from which to learn and bolster your ability to leverage CSR in your own pursuits. It is well known that CSR helps the bottom line , so it's worth keeping up-to-date.

CSR & Engineering

Engineers are often involved in jobs that have a long-term impact on the development of a major community, and as such they have a large role as employees when it comes to corporate social responsibility. Books like Citizen Engineer and Socially Responsible Engineering are used as primers to help engineers think about their positions when it comes to CSR. Thereâ€™s also a lot of helpful information that a business student can learn from socially responsible engineering practices and the risk management associated with things like the building of bridges, chemical plants, and petroleum operations. Broadening your knowledge base, regardless of whether or not your interests and passions are technical in nature, will only benefit the savvy entrepreneur in the long haul. A few examples of socially responsible and fascinating inventions can be found below. These examples are excellent proof that a product with strong social value can be highly marketable, too.

Time's Top Inventions of 2010 contains an array of socially responsible inventions, from devices to help paraplegics more efficiently to sailboats made of plastic bottles.
A mirror that monitors vital signs - see for yourself.
A Pen That Screens for Disease

Additional Case Studies

Corporations often find out that they can't reach a CSR quota and then stop being socially responsible. The Coca-Cola case study is a prime example of how being socially responsible must be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The Harvard Business School is one of the premiere online spaces for comprehensive case studies on CSR, and is designed to help people develop an understanding of how complex CSR issues manifest work environments.

Socially Responsible Companies

Society is beginning to take note of the world's most socially responsible companies, and this list provides a brief insight into how these companies are differentiating themselves in terms of CSR.
Another list of the Top 100 socially responsible companies might come with a few surprises. Companies like BP, who have been responsible for large environmental calamities, have actually been involved in plenty of CSR projects and therefore rank high on the list.
Projects related to CSR come in all shapes and sizes, but this list of 8 revolutionary socially responsible companies contains a few unique ideas that could end up changing the world.
While there is no doubt that CSR is becoming increasingly important in the business world, this does not mean companies can't be successful without CSR programs. For example, Apple, one of the world's most admired companies, also has a notorious history of non-charitable practice.

Organizations Dedicated to Corporate Social Responsibility

Business for Social Responsibility is an organization that works with over 250 companies to develop sustainable business strategies.
The World Council for Sustainable Development is an association of over 200 companies working together to establish socially responsible practices, and to ensure that the world is living within its means by 2050.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development provides a forum for governments to work together to foster and promote socially responsible practices.
Find out how one government is attempting to make a difference by following the Environmental Protection Agency as it works to establish a socially responsible mindset from within the government.
For more information about the various organizations making a difference socially, this resource (while slightly outdated) provides a solid list of organizations working internationally and locally to establish social responsibility.

Brooke Folliot is a business graduate, with an entrepreneurial background. She is a non-profit and sustainability enthusiast, who wants to see CSR make a difference for both companies and communities across the globe.

A Story of International Corporate Volunteering

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:57:00 +0000

As employee volunteering takes its place in the spotlight, more and more companies are stepping up to share their story. Here's one that came to us after our recent post highlighting The Next Big Thing for CSR: International Corporate Volunteerism.

Dow Corning Goes to India

A Story of International Corporate Volunteering

by Deirdre White, CEO and President, CDC Development Solutions

“On this project, there are no distinctions – everyone is a leader,” says twenty-two year old Ashley Crandall. Ashley is an electrical apprentice on the manufacturing floor of one of the world’s largest silicone producers, Dow Corning (specifically, its joint venture company – Hemlock Semiconductor Group). Last year, she traveled to India to spend four weeks with nine other Dow Corning’s employees, as well Bangalore’s local community. The project she is referring to is Dow Corning’s Citizen Service Corps, a skills based volunteer program in which the company sends employee teams on pro bono assignments in emerging markets to work with local NGOs and social entrepreneurs.

This was Ashley’s first time outside of America. She spent this time improving the manufacturing process of local clean cookstove producer, Sustaintech. One month later, she returned to Eastern Michigan with a different understanding of her work with Dow Corning. “When I first got here, I just graduated college. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. But I can see myself ten years from now and I want to be one of our Senior Managers.”

In Realized Worth’s recent post, The Next Big Thing for CSR, they reported on International Corporate Volunteerism (ICV). CDC Development Solutions conducted a survey that revealed some interesting statistics about employees once they return from an ICV trip:

· 97% are more motivated in their job

· 94% are more invested in their company

· 92% say ICV learnings now impact their day job and will ultimately lead to a positive business impact for their company

· 86% say they are stronger team players

· 92% say they are more resilient

What Happened on the Trip?

In the case of Dow Corning, ten volunteers were selected from countries as far reaching as Belgium, Korea, and Mexico, and then divided into three groups. Each was assigned to one of three local organizations in Bangalore – Ashoka, Sustaintech, and Envirofit. Along with the usual culture shock of entering a new country, the Dow Corning teams were doubly challenged to develop business solutions for these organizations in an entirely new culture – India. The learning curve can be steep! For Sustaintech, the group was asked to improve the company's manufacturing process. In the case of Envirofit, the team was assigned to improve its sales strategy and provided methods to better evaluate messaging around a culturally sensitive topic – cookstoves. Lastly, the Ashoka team worked on a sustainable housing project for low-income communities.

The Dow Corning volunteers were already talented in their respective fields of manufacturing, marketing, and supply chain when they left for India. But by transplanting them into a foreign culture, international corporate volunteering nurtures a softer skillset that can otherwise take years to develop including leadership, out-of-the-box thinking, and company loyalty.

From a Few to Many

To expand on the experience of ten volunteers, Dow Corning created a global blog. Each volunteer shared real-time pictures, videos, and entries about their work in Bangalore. The entire company had the opportunity to experience the trip with them online. At one point, Ashley’s team needed support on a manufacturing problem they were facing at Sustaintech. They reached out through the blog. Co-workers from offices around the world chimed in with responses and this company-wide collaboration prompted the team to uncover ideas for a solution for Sustaintech.

What Happened Afterwards?

For Dow Corning, ICV is a form of social R&D. Volunteers returned from Bangalore with forty new ideas, some of which are being further evaluated as potential new business development opportunities.

In addition, last month, Dow Corning announced a five million dollar commitment to Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, and its effort to create a global marketplace for clean cookstoves. As the market develops over the next decade, Dow Corning will understand its needs and be prepared to meet them. “The one-month trip to India produced ten people who now have the equivalent of a Harvard MBA, forty new innovation ideas, and good will from a community standpoint,” says Ed Colbert, Director of Talent Management. “If we look back ten years from now, some of these people will be leading Dow Corning’s presence in the world, and hopefully, some of those products will be in market.”

Right now, the second Dow Corning team is in Ujire, India. You can view their experience here on Dow Corning’s Citizen Service Corps blog.

CDC Development Solutions
cdcdevelopmentsolutions.org

CDC Development Solutions (CDS) provides International Corporate Volunteer programs to IBM, Dow Corning, Pfizer, FedEx, Deloitte, Novartis, Pepsi, and others. CDS guides and manages these initiatives from start to finish, from program design, to in-country partner and assignment identification, to monitoring and providing support to corporate teams, to assessing the effectiveness and lasting impact.

Realized Worth believes volunteering is transformative. We work with companies to design and implement programs that meet employees where they're at - producing better companies, better communities, and a better world.

Contact us at 317.371.4435 or chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com or angela@realizedworth.com

The Business Case Against Employee Volunteering?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:29:00 +0000

Our recent blog series, The Business Case for Employee Volunteering, has proven to be popular with our readers. We wrote the series because we knew that CSR managers wanted good information and research to demonstrate the value to the company generated by these programs.

But what happens when you're not quite convinced that these types of programs should have a business case at all? Maybe corporate responsibility has its place, but the idea of doing good and making a profit shouldn’t get all mixed up together.

If you’ve been looking for some hard-nosed critical debate on the actual value of corporate citizenship strategies and sustainability programs, I suggest checking out next week's COMMIT!Forum in NYC on September 26^th.

Corporate Responsibility Magazine and the New York Stock Exchange are hosting an Oxford-style debate on "whether shareholder value is eroded or enhanced when companies integrate sustainability strategies and pursue corporate responsibility initiatives.” Two teams will take their best shot at presenting compelling arguments and offering their strongest rebuttals.

Here’s a bit more information to help you decide whether to buy that plane ticket and join the debate:

Is sustainability sustainable for the bottom line? If corporate responsibility programs erode or reduce returns, why do companies pursue them? On the other hand, if they are profitable, why do executives and CFOs steer away from these valuable strategies?
The team arguing that “shareholder value is eroded by sustainability and corporate responsibility” is Gerry Sullivan, Portfolio Manager of the VICE Fund (ticker: VICEX – www.usamutuals.com) and Dr. Aneel Karnani, PhD, from the University of Michigan and author of "The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility,” published in The Wall Street Journal.

“In general, the capital markets reward companies that exceed expectations and shareholders benefit from that success. I have only seen anecdotal evidence that sustainability enhances shareholder value. Of 11 selected ‘Green Funds’ only 2 have one-year performance better than the S&P 500. It will be difficult to show that sustainability has sufficient evidence compared to the everyday markets that are hyper-efficient and serve the best interest of investors,” said Sullivan, developer of the NASDAQ OMX Industry Leaders Index. A former Salomon Bros. corporate finance analyst and O'Connor & Associates options trader, Sullivan holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and an undergraduate degree from Columbia University.

“As society faces many large challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation, pervasive poverty, and disease epidemics, a critical issue is determining the appropriate roles for business and government in addressing these problems. This debate will explore the arguments about the role of business in society,” said Karnani, associate professor of strategy at the University of Michigan; and the author of Fighting Poverty Together. Karnani holds a doctorate from Harvard Business School as well as an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management and a B.A. from the Indian Institute of Technology.
The team advocating that “shareholder value is enhanced by sustainability and corporate responsibility” includes R. Paul Herman, Chief Executive and Chief Investment Officer of HIP Investor Inc. (www.HIPinvestor.com), and Dr. Vinay Nair, chief investment officer of Ada Investments (www.adainvestments.com) and Associate Professor at the Columbia Business School.

“We will show that investors have the potential to enhance their upside and limit their downside when investing for positive change,” said Nair, CEO and CIO of the New York based Ada Investment Management LP and adjunct associate professor at the Columbia Business School. The co-author of Investing for Change and a Senior Fellow at The Wharton School, Nair holds a doctorate from NYU’s Stern School and a B.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras.

“This spirited, but civil, debate will put front-and-center the real value of business to society and the potential for more profitable and lower-risk investor portfolios from the implementation of sustainability,” said Herman. The author of The HIP Investor: Make Bigger Profits by Building a Better World and a lecturer at The Presidio Graduate School (MBA) and Thammasat Business School (Thailand), he holds a B.Sci in Economics from Wharton.

The event will be held Sept. 26-27 at the Javits Center in Manhattan, a global investment hub. You can find out more information here - http://www.commitforum.com/

If you do plan on attending, you can get a 20% discount. Just use this code JARVIS20 when registering.

Since I can't make it this year - you have to promise to keep me up to date on twitter! I'll be looking for you.

At Realized Worth, we work with major corporations to design and implement strategic volunteer programs. Give us a call to chat about how we can help you: 317.371.4435 or contact Chris or Angela at chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com or angela@realizedworth.com

Direct Action: The East African Drought

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 16:48:00 +0000

Realized Worth would like to thank Faith Bachlow for the following guest post. For all the talk we do about the value of volunteering, we thought it was time to provide our readers with a direct route to take action. Here's a significant way to address the desperation that is rampant right now in East Africa due to the multi-year drought.

What do long weekends, long-term development strategies, bobby pins and drought have in common?

Normally nothing, but this Labour Day weekend they had a lot more in common than I would have ever thought.

Fridays at Free The Children's head office, I must admit, are my favourite time to be there. By 5pm it’s quiet, I’m at my most creative (not to mention productive), and I can still feel the energy in the rooms. I just love it. I even get to play the very best of the 50's and 60's on internet radio and sing my heart out!

This Friday was different.

After my final e-mail was sent, computer shut down and all of my things ready to go, I was just about to head home for the long weekend. Then I made one last stop before the trek home: the bathroom.

I entered the bathroom, closed the door behind me and went to lock the door when something terrible happened—the doorknob fell loose into my hand. I'm not sure if anyone else has had this moment, you know the one, where your life flashes before your eyes. Well, right there, in the bathroom, I had that moment.

It’s Friday at 6pm, it’s Labour Day weekend, and there I was, locked in a bathroom with no one to rescue me until Tuesday morning. I was in quite the pickle.

There I sat; no clock to watch the time pass and no food to eat. Nothing to do but think. Then, a positive thought came to mind: at least I have water!

Free The Children

Working at Free The Children I get to read stories about individuals with so much strength and tenacity, individuals that inspire me to do more. It has made me realize how important it is to be grateful for the little things like having enough food to eat, clothes to wear, a roof over my head, family, joy, hope—and running water.

I remember the story of Achan Ngwaigigoch, a young woman living in the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya. Recently interviewed by Justus Mwendwa, one of our Program Mangers in Kenya, she tells her story:

I came to Kenya in January 2004, but let me take you back a bit. In December 2003, there was a genocide targeting our community. We had to leave in order to save our lives. The militia came to our home, killed my husband and hit me with a machete. When I fell down, they wounded me all over my body [showing Justus several scars on her legs and face].

When the war broke out, what was important at that point was where we could find peace. Since we had heard about Kenya, we started running towards the Ethiopia- Kenya border. I called my sister who lives abroad. I used some money she sent to pay bus fare from Addis Ababa to Moyale after walking for 5 days. At the Moyale border, we couldn’t cross from the main border since we didn’t have the right travel documents so we paid people to take us through the bush routes. I was in a lot of pain because of the wounds I had suffered back home and my back was aching a lot. With the people we had run together, we boarded a truck to Nairobi. Immediately we went to the UNHCR offices there. On February 18, 2004, the UNHCR sent us here.

Life at this camp is not easy at all. A few weeks ago, my brother was attacked and stabbed nine times. Nobody knows the cause for that. He was badly beaten and he is just lying in bed, yet he has a family. [Achan got so emotional they had to pause the interview.]

I have also been attacked in the past by people who came to my home and started throwing stones at my house in the middle of the night. As our girls go to the market, they have to cover their hair, yet that isn’t our culture. Many have been attacked here. Another problem is that when you go to the shops there are differences in prices for the majority and the minority tribes here. We have also had cases where we can’t go to look for firewood because we fear for our security. Security is bad here.

By now you must all be wondering, how does this story end? And, in light of stories like Achan’s, who am I to complain about my measly bathroom situation?

The Drought Relief Efforts

Free The Children helps communities with real problems. The Adopt a Village communities in the Narok District are facing significant stress due to drought, and are amongst the 23 percent of Kenyans living in absolute poverty. They rely on agriculture both for their primary source of income and to feed their families. This year, both crops have failed, leaving them with almost nothing for their tables and little income to buy food in the market. To compound the problem, the prices of maize and beans in the marketplace has quadrupled so that every shilling buys only 25% as much as it would normally.

In response to this situation, Free The Children is administering a feeding program for 6,000 kids attending Free The Children schools, as well as 3,500 pregnant women and new mothers. We are also working in partnership with the UNHCR to arrange for food and medical shipments to Somali refugees in Dadaab. As always, our initiatives will be paired with our continued focus on sustainable and long-term development so that communities are less vulnerable to these challenges in the future.

Free The Children has a 12-year history of working in East Africa and is seeking your support for both short-term emergency food relief and long-term agricultural development programs that will enable communities to cope with this crisis while building towards a more sustainable future.

To learn more about Free the children’s East African drought relief efforts and to make a donation visit http://www.freethechildren.com/donate/kenya/ , call 416-925-5894 ext 148, or e-mail projects@freethechildren.com.

2 Hours and 5 Bobby Pins Later...

But wait! You’re probably wondering how I got out of the bathroom (assuming I’m not still there now). If I have learned anything from my two years at Free The Children, it’s that us FTCers are tenacious workers who know how to get the job done. My Baba (Russian for grandmother), a woman who lived through WW2, once taught me as a child how to pick a lock with nothing but a bobby pin. Two hours and five bobby pins later, I was free!

If you’ve learned anything through reading my experience, it should be these two things: ONE: always carry your cell phone to the bathroom. TWO: we need to do more to help those living in East Africa, where everyone should have access to clean water and everyone should have hope. Be a friend of East Africa!

ABOUT FAITH

Faith first became involved with Free The Children as a volunteer during We Day in 2009 and was inspired by the organization ever since. With a passion for humanitarian rights, she is also a Level 2 disaster relief worker with the Disaster Management Program at the Red Cross (which means that when there's trouble, she'll know what to do!) Follow her on Twitter @FaithBachlow.

http://www.freethechildren.com/blog/minga_faith.jpg

Tackling Canada's Image Problem: CBSR's 9th Annual Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 18:50:00 +0000

How is Canada's social and environmental performance measuring up globally? This is the question being asked at the 9th Annual CBSR Summit on October 26, 2011. The answer may surprise everyone.

Signing of bilateral free trade agreement between Canada and Honduras

As a Canadian, I am dismayed at the erosion of good will around the world toward my nation of birth. Canadian newspapers print self-admonishing captions such as “Canada backs profits, not human rights, in Honduras” revealing unsavory political policies which further threaten some of the world’s most vulnerable populations.

The Canadian Image Problem

In December of last year, Dirk Matten and Andy Crane, business school professors at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, wrote a scathing evaluation of Canada's lack of leadership in ethical business practice around the world.

“For a long time Canada – certainly in the rest of the world – had this image of a very progressive, liberal and forward looking country in terms of social and environmental responsibilities of business.....This all sounds like long ago now.”

Matten and Crane were responding to the recent actions by the Canadian Parliament. Two important Bill’s were voted down. The first, Bill C-300, would have addressed the lagging or non-existent environmental and social responsibility standards required by Canadian mining companies operating around the world.

The second, Bill C-311, would have brought Canada closer to a serious position on climate change. Voting down the bill (using the Senate, which in Canada is appointed - not elected) was widely perceived as an attempt to placate the large oil and gas companies operating within Canada. Most Canadians, on the other hand, are eager to improve Canada’s environmental record. The problem is that Harper doesn’t actually believe in the science behind climate change research. The result is that most Canadians believe their nation is far more progressive than it actually is.

“It’s definitely a scandal,” said Graham Saul, Executive Director of Climate Action Network Canada. He added that the government was “muzzling scientists; they’re putting climate deniers in key oversight positions over research, and they’re reducing funding in key areas [...] It’s almost as though they’re making a conscious attempt to bury the truth.” (read the full article here)

Conflicting Perceptions

This is the political and social setting for the 9th Annual CBSR Summit: Canadian Business as a Global Citizen: Social andEnvironmental Performance on the World Stage

Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR) asks “How is corporate Canada perceived around the world? How do our initiatives influence our bottom line and have an impact outside our borders?”

As CBSR rightly notes, much of corporate Canada’s actions around the world are positive:

“Canadian companies operate abroad, our supply chains extend outside our borders, we contribute when disaster strikes overseas, and we have one of the most culturally diverse workforces in the world. How is our social and environmental performance measuring up globally, and what action is required for a sustainable future?”

But the question is one of perception. And the answer may surprise everyone.

Here's more info about the conference:

Attend the Conference

October 26, 2011, Toronto

Canadian Business as a Global Citizen: Social and Environmental Performance on the World Stage

Plan to attend the 9th CBSR Summit on Corporate Social Responsibility to:

Hear from Canadian and international visionaries including, keynote speaker Stephen Lewis, Distinguished Visiting Professor, Ryerson University, Celebrated Humanitarian and Former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Additional Summit Speakers include:

Andrew Heintzman, President & CEO of Investeco,

Dr. Michael Schull, Chair of Dignitas International and Past President of Médècins Sans Frontieres Canada

Janet Longmore, President and CEO of Digital Opportunity Trust.

Discover and Learn new ideas and best practices through discussions with business leaders concerning expectations and responsibilities, opportunities and risks in the global context.

Network with peers and thought leaders.

Take a deeper look at key global CSR issues by attending a morning workshop.

Be inspired by the lunch keynote presentation and participate in an afternoon of discussions.

If you are a CSR Professional, Senior Executive, Communications Director, Environment, Corporate Affairs or Sustainability Manager - the 2011 Summit is your day to learn, reflect and connect on the global role of Canadian business.

Register by September 15th to take advantage of the early-bird discounts.

We look forward to seeing you at the CBSR 2011 Summit!

Learn more and register at: www.cbsr.ca/summit

Contact Realized Worth for consulting services or speaking engagements on the topics of corporate volunteering, engagement through social media, or CSR: 317.372.4435 or chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com or angela@realizedworth.com

The Key to Unlocking the Benefits of Corporate Volunteering

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:14:00 +0000

Skills-based volunteering vs. general volunteering: When it comes to long-term impacts, skills-based will win every time. So why am I still an advocate for general volunteering? Read on and join the conversation. You can comment at the bottom of the page or contact me at chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com.

I want to be very clear - I am a fan of Taproot and Aaron Hurst, the President and Founder of the Foundation. Realized Worth lists Taproot as a highly competent option for companies seeking out help with their skill-based or pro-bono volunteering efforts (read more about our thoughts on hiring consulting firms to help with employee volunteering).

If you’re unfamiliar with Taproot, I recommend you learn about them. “Taproot is a nonprofit organization that makes business talent available to organizations working to improve society.”

Recently, Aaron and I exchanged a couple tweets about the value (or lack thereof) of non-skilled volunteering. Aaron strongly believes that skilled volunteering is the way to go for companies looking for genuine impact through their employee volunteering programs. This past June, he wrote an article for the Huffington Post entitled “The Fortune 500 Need to Take Their Own Advice."

“The vast majority of companies still support employee volunteering programs that consist primarily of painting fences and cleaning parks, despite the fact that data clearly shows it has less community impact and provides less employee satisfaction, skills development and networking value compared to pro bono service.

On behalf of the nonprofit sector, I would like to ask companies to act more like businesses. If you truly care about making a sustainable difference in the community, do less hands-on volunteering and focus on where you can make your talent matter.”

Not only am I a fan of Aaron’s, but I think he’s right. When it comes to high impact employee volunteering, pro-bono or skill-based volunteering is the way to go.

But there’s a bit more to consider....

This is Not an Either/Or Conversation

Typically, when people refer to employee volunteering they tend to categorize the activity into one of two types:

General Volunteering (also known as non-skilled or hands-on volunteering). This type of volunteering involves activities that usually require little to no skill or long term commitment.
Skill-Based Volunteering (also known as pro-bono volunteering). This type of volunteering utilizes a specific skill set possessed by the volunteer. Often the engagements involve a longer commitment but that’s not always the case.

Given these two options, skill-based volunteering will always yield a greater return. For example, let’s say you are an accountant and you have the option to either: a) paint a fence, or; b) help a nonprofit with their financials. Which would provide the greater benefit for the nonprofit?

Admittedly, these two categories offer an easy way to discuss volunteering. However, when it comes to corporate volunteering this simple duality creates some confusion.

The litmus test for effective corporate volunteering is not skilled vs. non-skilled.

This is the litmus test: If you remove your company from the equation, does it matter?

If your employees are able to volunteer in the same way, achieving the same outcomes on their own time using their own resources (and that of the nonprofit), then your company may be offering nothing more than a day out of the office. This kind of volunteering is still good, it’s just not good enough (here are some examples of what were talking about).

The company’s resources are the key ingredient for creating high-impact volunteering - whether it is skilled or non-skilled volunteering.

This is a Both/And Approach

Companies looking to generate high levels of impact as a result of their corporate volunteering programs need to pay attention to three realities and requirements:

REALITY ONE: Most employees don’t volunteer and are not interested in significant commitments.

On average only one out of three employees volunteer on a regular basis (UK, USA, and Canada). Yet companies have the amazing opportunity to promote volunteerism through corporate volunteering programs. According to the University of Toronto, in 2009, 42% of surveyed employees in Canada volunteered for the first time (in their lives) through the corporate volunteering program.

Business has the opportunity to significantly increase the civic engagement in the communities and nations in which they operate.

REQUIREMENT ONE: Provide employees quality experiences which allow them to explore the idea of volunteering and how it connects to them personally.

Companies need to design employee volunteering programs that allow their employees to fall in love with volunteering. This may involve skill-based activities, but at this stage it’s not about impact - it’s about conversion. It’s about creating a business culture where civic engagement is the norm.

Here’s how to do it:

Understanding The Journey of a Volunteer - Part 1

Understanding The Journey of a Volunteer - Part 2

The Key To An Engaging Volunteer Program

REALITY TWO: One out of three employees does volunteer on a regular basis, but probably not as part of the corporate volunteer program.

Many people view volunteering as a personal activity. Corporate volunteering programs are a nice option for those employees who volunteer regularly, but they’ve already made a connection with a cause or community that fits their interests. A significant number of these employees are volunteering their skills and they are highly committed.

REQUIREMENT TWO: Find and collaborate with these seasoned volunteers.

If you want your program to get off the ground, you need to find the employees who are already volunteering. They are influential because they possess the experience, knowledge and compelling stories to convince their colleagues (who have never volunteered) to try it out.

Here’s how to do it:

How to Find Your Influentials and Let Them Lead

REALITY THREE: If the company’s assets are not essential to the employee volunteering program, it’s not having the impact it could.

There are major pharmaceutical companies that plant trees as the main employee volunteering activity. That’s good because it may turn a number of employees on to volunteering - but it’s not good enough.

Why?

Because anyone can plant trees. The pharmaceutical company is not adding anything to the equation.

Even if the pharmaceutical company was encouraging pro bono work among it’s accounts as part of the project, it’s still not good enough. Accountants don’t need their employer to volunteer in that scenario.

Remember the litmus test: If you were to remove your company from the equation, would it matter? That litmus test applies to both skilled and non-skilled volunteering.

REQUIREMENT THREE: Design corporate volunteering programs that depend on the business’ unique tangible or intangible assets (here’s an explanation of these assets)

Here’s a great example of how to do it:

A Great Example of Employee Volunteering Done Right

The Future of Employee Volunteering

Employee volunteering programs need to offer opportunities to experience volunteering and fall in love with it. This takes time. It also requires enjoyable experiences that ask for low commitment.

Companies also need to enable/allow employees to invest their skills and abilities in ways that increase the impact of the nonprofit or community they serve. (Through Taproot, for example! They are brilliant at this.) If your employees connect with a cause or community, they’ll most likely be looking for this kind of opportunity.

In both cases, companies need to design these volunteering experiences in light of their brand and unique resources. This is the key to unlocking the profound benefits of corporate volunteering.

Contact us to talk more about it! chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com or angela@realizedworth.com or 317.372.2435

A Great Example of Employee Volunteering Done Right

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 19:37:00 +0000

It takes a little thought to make an employee volunteer program run well. Here are 5 pointers from a company doing it right.

Not all employee volunteer programs are created equal. Many lack any real mandate or purpose and are little more than a 'nice to have' perk providing a day out of the office (for more of our thoughts on this click here).

There are other employee volunteer programs however, that inject so much value back into the company – as well as the lives of the employees and the community– that I can’t help but talk about them wherever I go. Lately, I can’t say enough about Edelman Canada’s “The Little Give.”

The Little Give, Toronto

Here’s how it works:

To ensure cross-practice and cross-level interaction, the entire Toronto office is divided into 10 teams.
Each participant donates 48 hours of their time to help 10 local charities and non- profit organizations with the PR-related challenges they are currently facing.
At the end of the 48 hours, the teams gather in celebration to present the results of their time spent volunteering while a panel of judges determines who “wins.” (In 2010, Realized Worth had the privilege of sitting on the judging panel.)

Edelman employees benefit from The Little Give as they build teams and gain new skills, the community benefits from problems solved and money donated, and Edelman as a whole benefits as their employees become better, more-educated people and their reputation increases in the community. The Little Give is wildly popular and eagerly anticipated by employees.

The question is, what makes The Little Give work so well?

1. The volunteer activities align with the brand.

Edelman is the world’s largest independent PR firm. Public relations firms are made up of graphic designers, marketers, writers, advertising experts, web designers, software engineers, and more – essentially, people with huge amounts of value to offer charities and non-profits. For The Little Give, Edelman engages in projects that utilize these skills. Some of the non-profits they worked with needed help promoting an event, some needed to create a business plan, and others needed a website overhaul. All of the projects aligned directly with the specific skill sets within which Edelman operates.

2. The volunteer activities are high impact, meaning; without Edelman, these activities could not take place.

This point connects directly with point #1. There’s nothing wrong with taking employees out to plant trees, but anybody can do that (here's an example of what we mean). Excellent employee volunteer programs will depend on your company’s unique resources in order to function. For more on high impact volunteering, download Bea Boccalandro’s excellent paper, The End of Employee Volunteering. Bea is a thought leader in the areas of CSR and corporate volunteering with an experience-based understanding of why some types of volunteering are good for a corporation, and others are….pointless, really. Here are some examples of what Bea calls 'high impact' community service programs.

3. The volunteer activities make the company better at what they do.

When Edelman employees engaged in solving the challenges of the non-profits they were working with, they found themselves practicing some of the following skills:

project management,
problem solving,
resource identification,
public presenting,
teamwork, and more.

While the task itself required skills regularly used in their every day jobs, the work that surrounded it required practicing skills that served to make them higher functioning employees overall. At the Little Give celebration event in 2010, we spoke to one manager who was quite overwhelmed as she listened to a strong presentation given by a team member who had previously been fearful of public speaking. She commented that he may never have had the opportunity to practice and hone this skill had it not been for The Little Give.

4. The volunteer activities – and the program overall – are so integrated with the business that extra costs are minimal.

Edelman plans each year to donate a certain amount of money to their partner charities through The Little Give (this year each charity received $2500 to be used as part of the 48-hour project), but the running of the program itself is light on cost. Because the skills and materials necessary are built into the employees themselves as well as that initial $2500, Edelman does not have to put piles of cash down for trees to plant or experts to hire or even materials for promotion. They didn’t even pay for their post-project celebration space – it was provided by a client, Labatt Brewing Company. (Labatt also provided the celebratory refreshments!)

5. The volunteer activities are fun.

Never underestimate the power of turning work into play. The Little Give is something Edelman employees eagerly look forward to every year. It is a sense of intrinsic motivation – rather than obligation – that allows them to help make the program a success by way of their own enthusiasm. From working as a team with colleagues they’ve never met before, to practicing long-forgotten skills, to solving a major problem for a non-profit that needed the help – and celebrating well at the end of it all – the elements of fun in The Little Give are nearly endless.

What works for you?

These 5 elements may not translate directly to your company, but something like it does. Just remember, don’t rush into a half-assed program before you’re ready. You’ll just end up fixing a lot of broken parts somewhere down the line. Take a few minutes to consider what an excellent employee volunteer program looks like for your company - and then, if you want to, give us a call. We’d love to help you make sure you’re on the right track.

Contact Realized Worth at 317.371.4435 or chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com or angela@realizedworth.com

The Next Big Thing for CSR

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:00:00 +0000

International Employee Volunteering is about to become the next hot topic in CSR. Don't be confused, however; international and global volunteering are 2 entirely different things. Here are the differences - plus, who's ahead of the game and why it's important.

What is it?

The next big development in corporate social responsibility (CSR) is quite possibly the impending explosion of international employee volunteering programs. All of this language can be a bit confusing so it’s important to be clear: an international employee volunteering program is not the same thing as a global employee volunteering program.

The Difference

A global employee volunteering program is a corporate citizenship strategy that seeks to implement opportunities and support for employee volunteering in countries, societies or markets in which the corporation operates. Obviously, only large multinational companies have these types of programs. A key objective is to offer volunteer opportunities to employees around the world that have similar supports and brand alignment yet retain a uniquely indigenous quality that makes them relevant within the context of the employee’s social setting.

International employee volunteering is when companies send employees from one country to work in another. This corporate citizenship strategy may be an aspect of a company’s global volunteering program in that employees from one region or market travel internationally to volunteer alongside employees in another region or market. Since companies of any size are able to send employees to work in other countries, this employee volunteer strategy is not exclusive to large, multinational companies.

Who’s doing it?

Currently, only a few companies have employee volunteer programs that include opportunities to go abroad. The recent report “Global Companies Volunteering Globally” noted five large multinational firms that have publicly committed to expanding their international employee volunteer programs; BD, Dow, GSK, IBM and Pfizer. Besides the five noted in the report, a number of other companies are currently investigating or enlarging their international employee volunteering programs. For example KPMG Canada launched an innovative program in partnership with Free The Children just last Fall (watch our interview with Tania M. Carnegie, the Executive Director and Community Leadership at KPMG).

This trend has been growing over the past few years. At the moment, the most notable international corporate volunteering program is IBM’s Corporate Service Corps. We met with the Canadian manager of the program, Dave Robitaille, when the program was launched in 2008 to discuss the potential for both IBM and the communities in which they would be working. Even at that early stage of the program, the goals were clear. Dave shared that the program had three objectives in mobilizing IBM employees to volunteer internationally:

a) build local infrastructure and strengthen communities around the world,
b) develop the technical and leadership skills of their employees, and
c) create a new generation of global leadership within IBM
(read more here).

This past February (2011) IBM crossed an impressive milestone in just three years: a total of 100 teams sent to 20 countries around the world. These teams were made up of 1000 employees from 50 countries in which IBM works. Stanley Litow, the VP of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs views these ‘citizen-diplomats’ as something more than a means to making IBM more productive and profitable. These programs work towards a more civil society on a global scale, to the benefit of all (you can follow @citizenIBM on twitter and read the Citizen IBM Blog here).

What’s next?

There is growing interest in improving the practice and support for international employee volunteering. Nations and multinational corporations are eager to access the potential resource and energy employees represent. Here are three examples of new initiatives to expand the practice and understanding of international employee volunteering:

The United States Agency for International Development USAID, in cooperation with IBM and CDC Development Solutions (an NGO), recently announced a public/private partnership that will provide a Virtual Center of Excellence for International Corporate Volunteerism. The goal is to provide practical tools to help companies, NGOs and governments coordinate effective implementation.

Another recent American initiative is Service World. This joint venture between Building Bridges Coalition, Civic Enterprises, Global Peace Service Alliance, International Volunteering Project at the Brookings Institution, the National Peace Corps, the Points of Light Institute, and ServiceNation intends to “reform, strengthen and leverage existing programs and infrastructure, and launch new initiatives to create more opportunities for Americans to work alongside volunteers from other countries.” The coalition hopes “to ignite a campaign in support of this agenda linked to events commemorating the 10th anniversary of the United Nation’s International Year of Volunteers and the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps.”

The Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC^,is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wing focused on promoting corporate citizenship) has recently launched the International Business Corps. This program is part of BCLC’s Global Corporate Citizenship initiative and is funded by a number of member companies. The focus of the program is to provide a “platform for companies to engage in long-term, skills-based volunteering with vetted NGOs in developing countries.” For more information you can watch this Rainmakers TV video featuring BCLC's Taryn Bird describing the program.

Why is it important?

Employee volunteering provides an effective strategy with which to address often negative or at best suspicious relationships that exists between business and society (find the article here). This potential becomes even more profound on the international stage given the backdrop of weakened nation states and globalized societies (read the PDF).

Mobilizing employees as volunteers in local and international communities for the benefit of the company, the community and the employee is a powerful idea. Employee volunteering goes beyond the efforts of CSR strategies in it’s unique utilization of social capital.

Corporate volunteering programs enable employees to mobilize their personal resources for broad social benefits. The employees not only leverage the assets of the business, but combine these assets across broader social networks utilizing trust and localized norms of cooperation (read the PDF).

These actions are akin to social movements which are “a purposive and collective attempt of a number of people to change individuals or societal institutions and structures” (read the PDF). In order to effect social movements necessary to address many of the massive social issues of today, mobilizing resources of people, money and most importantly legitimacy are essential (read the PDF). By organizing employees and mobilizing numerous types of resources, companies are positioned to play a key role in broadly addressing contemporary global concerns.

Going forward

Although much has yet to be discovered and understood about international employee volunteering, there are some obvious areas demanding immediate attention:

1. The creation of a common methodology and understanding for evaluating the outcomes and long term impacts of various international employee volunteering. This methodology must be able to account for the diversity of industry and cultural contexts in which the volunteering will occur.

2. A mechanism that can leverage the numerous regional and national initiatives (such as Service World and the European Year of Volunteering 2011) in order to raise awareness, create stronger networks, and work together for greater impacts than are achievable by one company or nationality alone.

3. The possibility of fiscal incentives (such as tax incentives and grants) for companies to support international employee volunteering given the large investment required by these programs.

4. Potentially creating a level of international recognition for employees who participate in longer term international volunteering. Similar to the ‘citizen-diplomats’ described by Stanley Litow of IBM, but through an international body and with an international (versus merely American) perspective. This type of recognition would encourage both companies and their employees to create new opportunities to volunteer abroad. It would also increase the potential for multinational corporations to foster global bonds of peace and prosperity.

The business benefits of employee volunteering:

Business Case #1: Employee Volunteering Creates Employee Engagement

Business Case #2: Employee Volunteering Attracts Better Talent

Business Case #3: Employee Volunteering Is Employee Development

Business Case #4: Employee Volunteering Offers A Competitive Advantage

Business Case #5: Employee Volunteering Increased Corporate Intelligence

Business Case #6: Employee Volunteering Reduces Health Care Costs

Business Case #7: Employee Volunteering Increases Value Generation

At Realized Worth, we help companies design and implement effective and sustainable corporate volunteering programs. Give us a call or email to talk about what we can do for you: chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com or angela@realizedworth.com or 317.371.4435.

Conversations You Need to Know About re: Corporate Volunteering

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 19:16:00 +0000

If you’re responsible for your company’s employee volunteering program you need to know where the important conversations are happening - and who’s having them.

The Academy

One level of dialogue happens within clusters of academic and research institutions such as The Academy of Business in Society (EABIS) and the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship (BCCCC). While they provide an avenue for practitioners to access important research, there remains much potential for thought leadership from these groups.

EABIS was launched in 2002 by five founding companies – IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Shell and Unilever – and a number of Europe’s leading business schools at INSEAD with the support of the European Commission.

BCCCC is a non-profit research center that is affiliated with the Carroll School of Management.

The Association

There are a number of regional events sponsored by associations such as the Global Corporate Volunteer Council (GCVC) of the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) and the US Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC). These associations have recently given more attention to the practice of employee volunteering through reports such as the GCVC “Global Companies Volunteering Globally” report and new initiatives such as BCLC’s Global Corporate Citizenship initiative.

In the UK, Business in the Community (BITC) has raised awareness for employee volunteering and increased corporate participation in the practice through programs such as Give & Gain Day 2011. While this past year, Canadian Business for Social Responsibility CBSR has produced a number of tools and informational sessions that have contributed to the development of employee volunteering practices.

IAVE is an international non-governmental organization that promotes, celebrates, and strengthens volunteerism worldwide. IAVE has individual and organizational members in some 80 countries around the world.

BCLC is a 501(c)3 affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and is focused on promoting corporate citizenship and developing partnerships among the private sector, government, and non-profit community.

BITC is a British business-community outreach charity promoting responsible business, CSR, corporate responsibility, and is one of the Prince's Charities of Charles, Prince of Wales.

CBSR is a non-profit, membership organization working with Canadian companies on social, environmental and financial performance.

The Government

Government support in the United States finds expression through the Corporation for National Community Service (CNCS⁾ and the Points of Light Foundation (POLI). While not specifically a government organization, POLI was founded by President H.W. Bush and retains strong ties with the Bush family by actively seeking to promote President H.W. Bush’s legacy as the founder. (For example, the default setting on the “tribute to voluntary action” wall is to write a tribute to President Bush.)

CNCS was created as an independent agency of the United States government by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993. The mission of the CNCS is to "support the American culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility."

POLI is a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to engaging more people and resources in solving serious social problems.

National Organizations

Organizations representing national interests, such as the Clinton Global Initiative or the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) are also fostering conversations on Corporate Citizenship with a specific interest in corporate volunteering. The recent EESC conference, organized in support of the European Year of Volunteering 2011, exemplifies this trend. During the conference on May 24, 2011, the EESC President, Staffan Nilsson, emphasized the role of the business sector in stimulating volunteering. With almost 350 participants, the EESC conference demonstrates an interest in the importance and potential of corporate volunteering beyond the specific concerns of a particular industry or corporation.

The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) was founded in 2005 by President Bill Clinton. CGI is a non-partisan organization that convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.

The (EESC or EcoSoc) is a body of the European Union (EU) established in 1958 as a consultative assembly composed of employers and employees as well as representatives of various other interests.

What’s Missing From the Conversation

There is an obvious need to gather together the diverse interests, conversations and practices newly developing in the field of employee volunteering. So far, both the practice and discussion tend toward localized settings that reflect national interests and cultural expressions of volunteering. We see a need for further dialogue in the following 3 areas as key steps toward the advancement and development of corporate volunteering:

1. Theoretical reflection

Many existing employee volunteering programs are based on empirical data that supports current practices rather than offering alternatives. By convening multiple social and scientific disciplines related to corporate volunteering, new paradigms may be explored, thereby enabling growth, innovation and improvement (read the PDF).

2. Empirical data

Given the nature of volunteerism and the desire for altruism, it is understandable that there is scarce data on the specific benefits of employee volunteering, whether for the community, the employees or the business. Data born out of localized settings is also lacking in that most companies with an employee volunteer program are global and must account for that diversity. What’s needed is a global perspective on the issues that would enable globally relevant strategies.

3. Practical solutions

Corporations face multiple obstacles when considering corporate volunteering, especially within a global context. These include:

Accountability and norms for partnerships with NGO’s
Identifying salient social issues and funding appropriate NGO’s
The ethics of employee volunteering such as ‘paid time’ to volunteer and the ability to maintain the voluntary nature of corporate volunteering strategies
Implementing volunteer programs within cultures possessing an alternate pedagogy of civic engagement.
Appropriate policies to protect the employees, the business and the communities

What do you think?

We know we’ve missed some organizations, academic institutions, government agencies and membership associations that are key to the advancement of employee volunteering. We’d love to have you share them with us in the comment section.

Also, what do you see as essential discussion points in this whole conversation.

Look forward to hearing from you.

You can also always contact us to discuss any and all things corporate volunteering here: chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com or angela@realizedworth.com or 317.371.4435.

The Business Case for Employee Volunteering - Case #7

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 17:22:00 +0000

Case #7 - Value Generation

Employee volunteering has the capacity to generate important value for your company and community. This blog series offers compelling reasons why your business needs to invest (a bit more) in employee volunteering.

Corporations are fast becoming the new gatekeepers of civic engagement. This trend has been growing in the US for some time. A study conducted in 1996 discovered that the workplace had become second only to religious bodies as an organizational source of volunteers. Now almost one-third of US corporations embrace some form of employee volunteering representing a growth of nearly 150% in the last few decades. Currently, as part of the CSR or the efforts of a Corporate Citizenship strategy, the idea that employees participate in volunteering time within community activities is widely accepted as a norm.

Despite the apparent self-interest of companies regarding employee volunteering, it is important to note that this self-interest is not at the expense of the interests of the public, but in collaboration with them. US companies intend to send nearly 2000 employee volunteers to 58 nations this year (up from just 280 in 2006). Stanley Litow, the President of IBM International Foundation views these ‘citizen-diplomats’ as something more than a means to making IBM more productive and profitable. These programs work toward a more civil society on a global scale, to the benefit of all.

The strategic importance of utilizing employees in local and international communities “for the benefit of all” is a powerful idea. Employee volunteering goes beyond the efforts of CSR strategies in its unique utilization of social capital. Corporate volunteering programs enable employees to mobilize their personal resources for broad social benefits.

These actions are akin to social movements that are “a purposive and collective attempt of a number of people to change individuals or societal institutions and structures.” (Read more here PDF) To effect social movements necessary to address many of the massive social issues of today, mobilizing resources of people, money and most importantly legitimacy are essential. (Read more here PDF) By organizing employees and mobilizing numerous types of resources, companies are positioned to play a key role in broadly addressing contemporary global concerns.

Social Capital

There is no easy definition for social capital. A concept born out of sociology, it is now used by multiple disciplines (economics, organizational behaviour, political science, public health) with numerous interpretations. In simple terms, social capital is the value that accumulates in actual human relationships. There is valuable information, skills, and networks to be found in most relationships. This value is accessed every time individuals or groups gather to ‘do something’ for the greater good by making contributions of skills, information, and connections. The health of a society may be measured in the generation and use of social capital (read more here PDF).

Generating Value for the Community

CSR is an effective avenue for companies looking to generate and use social capital. When corporations pursue a CSR strategy, it is possible to leverage the networks that form out of shared social concerns. By contributing corporate resources such as skills, intellectual and physical capacities, companies are able to collaborate with communities in the discovery of new solutions. Social capital generates from the opportunity, motivation and ability to act. It is “the sum of the actual and potential resources embedded within, available through, and derived from the network of relationships possessed by an individual or social unit” (read more here PDF).

It is this context of mobilizing resources and establishing broad networks within and without the company that employee volunteering becomes a uniquely powerful strategy. Employees not only leverage the assets of the business, but also combine these assets across broader social networks accessing trust and localized norms of cooperation. In doing so, they are able to effectively act as a conduit between the company and the community acting as levers in the creation and use of social capital.

As noted, social capital is a telling indicator of the health and potential of a community. For example, in a study conducted in Italy it was discovered that communities with greater social capital and stronger traditions of civic engagement were far more likely to grow and thrive. The growing popularity and unique qualities of employee volunteering hold the promise of accruing significant value for local and global communities in which companies operate.

Generating Value for the Company

Employee volunteering not only enables the growth of social capital in surrounding community contexts, but also within the corporate context. Specifically, this expression of social capital may be understood as the set of resources, tangible or virtual, that accrue to a corporate player through the player’s social relationships, facilitating the attainment of goals. These resources are only accessible if high levels of trust exist within the culture of the company. Employee volunteering programs tend to foster trusting relationships between the participants. The visible expression of higher levels of trust is more effective cross-functional work and teamwork.

Obviously, creating cooperative relationships among employees is one of the most important factors in creation of a highly productive firm. The ability of employee volunteer programs to create strong and trusting relationships should be a key consideration when looking to improve the performance of a company. Social capital is an essential intangible asset and offers significant competitive advantage.

Generating Social Capital through Employee Volunteering

Keep it social. Given the social interaction necessary to produce social capital, it follows that only those corporate volunteering programs designed as social experiences will be successful. Employee volunteer programs should “facilitate social interaction, use existing social networks, foster bonding and trust among actors and allow for participation which is for the mutual benefit of actors”(read more here PDF).

Find your influencers. As we’ve already noted, employee volunteer programs have much in common with social movements and as such are somewhat fragile in character. It is essential to achieve the acceptance and support of the core activists or influentials. Without their blessing and participation, widespread acceptance will probably never happen. For more about how to find and collaborate with your influentials.

Keep it voluntary. Corporate volunteering must be seen as less corporate and more voluntary. For the two out of three employees who don’t volunteer on a regular basis, this is a non-negotiable. Without a strong voluntary component, the program may likely feel manipulative and forced. In some cases employees have been known to work against employee volunteer programs in an effort to assert the voluntary nature of the movement.

Let people fall in love. Understandably, companies want to present a compelling case for employees to participate in the corporate volunteer program. While this is not ‘forced volunteering’, it runs very close to it. Employees will comply with these expectations to volunteer to avoid penalties and obtain the approval of their supervisors. The unfortunate result is that the pressure provides “an external justification to which they can attribute volunteering, preventing them from internalizing it as a self-determined, intrinsically motivated choice.” (Read more here PDF)

Be sure to check out the other blogs in this series:

Business Case #1: Employee Volunteering Creates Employee Engagement
Business Case #2: Employee Volunteering Attracts Better Talent
Business Case #3: Employee Volunteering Is Employee Development
Business Case #4: Employee Volunteering Offers A Competitive Advantage
Business Case #5: Employee Volunteering Increased Corporate Intelligence
Business Case #6: Employee Volunteering Reduces Health Care Costs

Contact us anytime at Realized Worth to discuss corporate volunteering. chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com or angela@realizedworth.com or 317.371.4435.

The Business Case for Employee Volunteering - Case #6

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:40:00 +0000

Case #6 - Healthier Employees

Employee volunteering programs generate multiple health benefits in the workplace. For companies that want to decrease their health costs, volunteering is an affordable and accessible solution.

Health care is expensive. In the US, a recent survey conducted by the National Business Group on Health estimated health care costs for large American employers such as GE, Microsoft and GM will jump by 8.9%. Mitigating these increasing expenses is a priority for companies.

An employee volunteering program may be a good option.

Employee Volunteering is Healthy

In a recent study conducted by VolunteerMatch and UnitedHealthcare entitled “Do Good Live Well Study Reviewing the Benefits of Volunteering” researchers found that employees who volunteer through their workplace report improved physical and emotional health. The specific benefits include reduced obesity, reduced stress, increased levels of activity, a more positive emotional state and higher levels of overall satisfaction with life.

In a report released in 2007 by the Corporation for National Community Service (CNCS) revealed that several longitudinal studies revealed that people who volunteer live longer. Even after accounting for factors such as physical health, age, socioeconomic status and gender, the overall positive effect of longevity persisted. Even more interesting is the fact that these results were evident at a macro level. States with higher levels of volunteering enjoy lower rates of health concerns such as heart disease (read the PDF).

For companies that want to decrease their health costs, volunteering is an affordable and accessible solution.

What’s the connection between volunteering and health?

Safety

As we noted in our first blog in this series, there is a connection between volunteering and employee engagement. It turns out that increased employee engagement in the workplace leads to lower levels of boredom and risk-taking thereby reducing injuries. An extensive meta-analysis of 7,939 business units across 36 companies reveals that when employees are engaged in their roles and tasks at work there is an increase in the attention to workplace safety (read the PDF).

Connection #1 - Employee volunteering leads to engagement in the workplace. Engaged employees practice safety. Safer employees reduce health care costs.

Social Support

Improved relational connections have the immediate benefit of increasing trust and empathy. This type of positive relationship increases the level of cooperation within the workplace and may be one of the most important ingredients toward improving general productivity. Employee volunteering programs tend to foster trusting relationships between the participants. We’ve recently written about the importance of a highly relational and networked company. Functional social networks are necessary for strong ‘social supports’ to exist.

Researchers have observed that strong social supports in the workplace not only protect against poor health and mental health problems, but also increase job satisfaction, lower absenteeism, and reduce the potential for job induced psychological distress. These same researchers believe that creating and improving opportunities “for supportive social contact are a high priority” and could even be viewed as ethically mandated (read the PDF).

Dr Shelley Taylor, a professor of psychology at UCLA, defines social support as “the perception or experience that one is cared about by others, esteemed and valued, and is part of a social network of mutual assistance and obligations. Social support can be emotional, instrumental (or practical), and informational, and in the workplace it occurs through social interactions with coworkers and supervisors” (read the PDF).

Connection #2 - Corporate volunteering fosters a unique expression of corporate connectivity. Increased connectivity in the workplace results in stronger social support for employees. Strong social support reduces negative health issues while increasing positive health benefits.

How to Create a Healthy Workplace Through Volunteering
(a couple reminders)

Social support in the workplace can take many forms. For companies looking for an effective approach that accomplishes numerous benefits throughout the organization, a corporate volunteering program is an excellent option. Just remember:

1. Offering employees free space to work together and relate socially is more important than trying to force closeness and intimacy. Understanding the Stages of theVolunteer is instrumental in this process.

2. Social support can backfire easily if it feels mandated. This goes for the entire volunteer experience. Offer people the opportunity to participate at the level they feelcomfortable.

3. Make sure that the employee volunteering events include a good mix of people from other departments and hierarchical levels of the organization. There are numerous benefits to thisapproach, some of which we’ve already discussed in this post.

Be sure to check out the other blogs in this series:

Business Case #1: Employee Volunteering Creates Employee Engagement

Business Case #2: Employee Volunteering Attracts Better Talent

Business Case #3: Employee Volunteering Is Employee Development

Business Case #4: Employee Volunteering Offers A Competitive Advantage

Business Case #5: Employee Volunteering Increased Corporate Intelligence

Give us a call to discuss your company's employee volunteering needs: 317.371.4435 or email us here: chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com or angela@realizedworth.com

Hiring a Corporate Volunteering Consultant? Here’s what to expect.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Jarvis) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 18:33:00 +0000

Your consultant should be intelligent, experienced, and competent. Here are a few pointers to help you choose the corporate volunteering consultant who can meet your company's needs.

Most of our readers work in the field of Corporate Citizenship, CSR, Corporate Community Investment and Corporate Volunteering. The majority are directly responsible for their company’s employee volunteering programs.

In conversations with these readers, we’ve become aware of a significant increase in the number of large companies interested in either starting or expanding their employee volunteer programs.

We’re not imagining things...

Sure, examples of corporate volunteering have been around since the early 1900’s in the US. But now, almost one third of US corporations embrace some form of employee volunteering, representing a growth of almost 150% in the last few decades. These days, it is widely accepted that employee volunteering is a key component for the success of a company’s CSR and Corporate Citizenship strategies.

So...why the growth? Why this incredible interest in employee volunteering?

One perspective is the fact that employee volunteering is able to provide an effective strategy with which to address often negative or at best suspicious relationships that sometime exist between business and society. The potential of this strategy becomes even more profound given the backdrop of weakened nation states and globalized societies.

In addition to the relational benefits, there are also strong business benefits to be had. Corporate volunteering programs promise returns beyond traditional philanthropic activities; they add value to the recruitment potential, retention rates, training, development, loyalty and overall satisfaction of the company’s staff.

Check out our latest series on the Business Case for Employee Volunteering:

Case #1: Employee Engagement
Case #2: Better Talent
Case #3: Employee Development
Case #4: Competitive Advantage

Getting some help...

Since the ideas, theories and practices surrounding employee volunteering are relatively new, where to start when building an corporate volunteer program can be unclear. There are multiple questions to answer, each seemingly leading to even more questions:

What is a best practice - and why?
What are some good benchmarks when it comes to participation rates?
What kind of risks are involved?
How do other companies achieve widespread support and agreement around programatic elements?
What kind of recognition and reward incentives work?
How big of a budget will this require?
Is it a good idea to connect workplace giving programs with volunteering?
How should nonprofit’s be vetted and then partnerships formed?
What is appropriate when it comes to promoting the program inside and outside of the company?
What kind of metrics can or should be collected and for what purpose?

Consequently, many companies are looking to consulting firms for help - and even that task becomes daunting as they try to determine what kind of kind of help to ask for and where to look.

You can peruse this blog to find some guidance in this area, but in case you’re still feeling unclear, we’ve complied a short list outlining what kind of help you should expect from consulting firms when it comes to employee volunteering.

1. Intelligence (Duh.)

Research is an important aspect in the development of any theory or practice. Employee volunteering is new enough that there are relatively few voices contributing to research which means there is quite a bit of work to be done in the field. It also means that any consultant worth their salt is active in either researching and/or writing on the topic.

There is a wide range in the type of work that reveal the “smarts” of your consultant. First, your consultant should be making concerted efforts to keep his/her finger on the international pulse of corporate social responsibility. It may look different from one consultant to one another, but one way we chose to do this was by conducting a major survey of 150 companies in Canada, USA, and the UK. (Watch for its release soon.)

Second, contributions to academic research will show that your consultant’s perspective has been tested and proves relevant. A great example of this kind of research is The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship report Mapping Success in Employee Volunteering: The Drivers of Effectiveness for Employee Volunteering and Giving Programs and Fortune 500 Performance, authored by Bea Bocolandro.

Writing a book on the topic is, of course, a great indicator that the consultant is informed on the topic. Elaine Cohen did this with her new book, CSR for HR. Two other great ones on slightly broader topics are Joe Waters’ Cause Marketing for Dummies and Jason Saul’s The End of Fundraising.

2. Experience

Hiring a consultant who knows how to consult is not the same thing as hiring a consultant who knows the field for which they are consulting. Both are obviously important, but actual experience with volunteering and designing successful approaches is essential. Often we find large consulting firms offering expertise in the area of employee volunteering - who really haven’t figured out how to do it for themselves. Since employee volunteering is growing so quickly it seems every type of consulting agency is being asked to provide services. PR firms, marketing agencies, engineering firms, financial firms, you name it - if they are consulting on some related aspect of CSR, they are being asked to help out with employee engagement and employee volunteering programs.

Some of these firms have the expertise to help you research, design and implement a good volunteering program. Most do not.

One way to determine if your consulting firm has the experience you need is to ask how many of their consultants have been employed with nonprofits. This is usually a good indicator of their ability to appreciate the subtleties of not only partnership with nonprofits, but of the volunteering experience itself.

Another indicator is whether the consultant (or their firm) has appropriate experience is by whether or not they provide training, seminars and education specific to volunteering and employee engagement in volunteer activities. This can take many forms of course, but typically the more a consultant is asked to speak on the topic of volunteering, the more depth of experience they are offering their audiences.

3. Competence

A competent consultant will be able to bring together all of that knowledge, experience and skill to provide a client with the required help. Expecting a consultant to be competent feels like a no-brainer, but consultants will have varying degrees of competency based on the type of work required.

For example, when starting a new employee volunteer program, many companies are merely looking to plan and execute a successful half-day employee volunteering event. If that’s what you need help with, you actually have quite a few options, such as:

If you want a consulting organization with competencies specific to skills-based volunteering you can check out these organizations:

Another indicator of competence is in how a consultant responds to your hiring inquiry. If they are well-informed about the field, they will understand that not all companies want the same thing when it comes to employee volunteering. They will ask you about your company, your CSR history, and your long-term goals. Essentially, a competent consultant will assess you as much as you’re assessing them. You may or may not be a good fit as a client and they will not want to take on someone that’s not right for them.

We use the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship matrix when figuring out whether or not a client is a good fit. You can watch this video for our description of the 5 Stages of Corporate Citizenship. Basically, if the company is Stage 3 or higher, it might be a great fit. Otherwise, we recommend looking for a consultant with competencies specific to planning corporate volunteering events that will provide a strong foundation while yielding good PR elements.

If you are looking for some help designing and implementing a quality employee volunteer program, here is a short list of consultants that we can vouch for as more than competent:

USA: Bea Boccalandro is a Boston College Center instructor and is president of VeraWorks, a global consulting firm that helps companies with their community involvement. She has helped Aetna, Bank of America, Levi Strauss & Company, The Walt Disney Company and others develop and enhance their community involvement through research, strategy design, program development and evaluation.

Canada: Peggie Pelosi, Founder and CEO of Orenda. Peggie has spent her career inspiring international business leaders through her speaking, coaching and writing—all based on 20 years of personal sales success. Her greatest inspiration, however, has come from corporate philanthropy—a means for companies to move forward by giving back.

Brazil: Mónica Galiano, Senior Researcher at Global Corporate Volunteer Council (GCVC) and the President of Iniciativa Brazil. Monica recently helped produced the report “Global Companies Volunteering Globally” by the GCVC of the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE).

USA: The good folks at the Entrepreneurs Foundation. EF is able to provide help to companies that may be lacking resources to build employee volunteer programs. They offer comprehensive approach for building corporate philanthropy and community involvement programs.

Drop us a line

Our own work at Realized Worth is focused on designing and implementing ongoing employee volunteer programs. We work with clients toward a sustainable approach that uses the leadership and influence of the employees instead of relying on staff alone. If you’re interested, you can read more here or give us a call. We’re happy to discuss your consulting needs and help direct you to the help that’s appropriate for you.

You can reach us here: 317.371.4435 or chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com or angela@realizedworth.com