"We need to move beyond the walls of the
corporation . . . with the same
energy and commitment we invested to build the enterprise within
the walls. Moving beyond the
walls is not a matter of altruism; it is enlightened
self-interest, a business necessity."
--Frances
Hesselbein, President and CEO of the Drucker
Foundation
(from the Foundation's journal, LEADER TO
LEADER, No. 8, Spring
1998)
A growing "army" of employee volunteers is working in communities
across the United States.
Wearing t-shirts with company logos, they clean off graffiti,
collect and distribute food to the
hungry, build houses for the poor, coordinate and assist at
athletic competitions for the physically
challenged, or teach children with learning disabilities how to
read.
For years, employee volunteerism was viewed as peripheral
activity. Recent research on the
purpose, value and impact of this corporate employee movement,
however, has demonstrated
that it has strategic value to the communities, to the
corporations and to participants themselves.
A corporate volunteer program is any formal or organized company
effort for employees and
retirees who wish to volunteer their time and skills in service
to the community. Such support
might include:
serving as the information and referral
agency for volunteer
opportunities in communities in which the corporation is situated
and operates.
developing and managing group employee
volunteer projects such as
clean-up days.
conducting recognition programs to show
appreciation to employees
who volunteer.
team-building and human resource
development activities around
volunteer projects.
It is increasingly common for corporations to release workers
during the day or early at the end
of the day to perform these voluntary services. Recent studies
indicate that more than 50 percent
of the top firms in the United States have a release time policy.
The Evolution of Employee Volunteerism
The development of this type of service stemmed from growing
recognition, early in this century,
of the inherent interdependence between business and communities.
Businesses' stability and
success are closely tied to their local economy and social
environment.
Early philanthropic efforts focused more on donated dollars than
on volunteer time. They
stressed giving, or in-kind services, to a variety of causes
rather than on creating a niche interest
in a particular sector such as education or health.
In the 1970s, under the leadership of the Business Roundtable's
"statement of responsibility," the
term "socially responsible corporation" suggested a corporate
community strategy based on a
constituency involving customers, suppliers, communities and
shareholders. (The Business
Roundtable is an association of chief executive officers of
leading U.S. companies who examine
and develop positions which seek to reflect sound economic and
social principles.)
In the decade that followed, the American Express Corporation
coined the phrase "cause-related
marketing," describing the mutually beneficial relationship
between sponsorships and
promotions for nonprofit organizations and social causes.
Because of cynicism regarding this
apparent self-serving activity, the business sector -- in the
1990s -- moved into more issues-
based marketing strategies focusing on a community issue
particularly relevant to the
corporation. (For example, a pharmaceutical company might
contribute corporate funds and
volunteer resources to health-related issues.)
More recently, the focus is on designing philanthropic programs
parallel to the strategic business
goals of the corporation, and focusing on partnerships with
community organizations. By
creating joint venture initiatives with nonprofit organizations,
businesses can now share their
resources in new, creative ways that encourage mutual gains for
themselves, for individual
employees and for the community.
During the 1990s, employee volunteering soared. Percentages of
cash versus noncash
contributions changed from 80/20 in the 1980s to 60/40 in the
1990s (Corporate Philanthropy
Report, 1996). During the administration of President George
Bush, corporate volunteering
received a boost from the Office of National Service, and from
the Points of Light Foundation,
formation of which President Bush spearheaded to promote
volunteerism.
A 1993 report by the Conference Board (a non-profit, non-advocacy
group, one of the world's
leading business membership and research organizations,
connecting senior executives from
more than 2,900 enterprises in more than 60 countries through its
publications and meetings) and
the Points of Light Foundation revealed the following:
92 percent of corporate executives
surveyed encouraged their staffers
to become involved in community service.
77 percent of companies agreed that
volunteer programs benefit
corporate strategic goals.
about four-fifths of volunteer programs
studied were reported to
improve employee retention and enhance training.
half of the respondents made community
service a part of the
company's mission statement.
31 percent claimed to use volunteer
programs as part of the strategy to
address critical business issues.
more than half of the participants
acknowledged the linkage between
such volunteer programs and profitability. Even more agreed that
employee service built morale,
teamwork and productivity.
The latest such study, a 1997 poll by the Boston College Center
for Corporate Community
Relations, noted that the most significant new trend is an
increase in the number of corporations
now allocating resources to global corporate citizenship. More
than four out of ten companies
with multinational operations have an established community
relations program at their
international sites. Another development, on the domestic front,
is the increased support for
community relations by senior management. These days, the most
critical issues for the business
community are education, health care, job training, economic
development, crime, the
environment, literacy, substance abuse and child care.
Some Exemplary Employee Volunteer Programs
Current surveys and research involving the Fortune 500 companies
-- the preeminent firms in the
United States -- reveal an exponentially increasing number of
employee volunteer programs.
The largest arena of corporate involvement, by far, is education.
But employee volunteerism is a
major factor in the areas of health, human services, economic
development, the arts and the
environment. For example:
Allstate Insurance Nationwide focuses specifically on urban
issues. It teams up on neighborhood revitalization projects,
advises low income homeowners on
creative financing plans, and provides help when disaster relief
is needed.
Adolph Coors Company, the
beverage manufacturer, is
providing leadership training for students from predominantly
African-American colleges.
Lucent Technologies' volunteer
wing sponsors an annual
"global day of caring" involving 10,000 employees and retirees in
community projects in 25 U.S.
states and 17 other countries.
Honeywell, Inc., in partnership
with the Atlanta-based Habitat
for Humanity, has brought 4,000 employee and retiree volunteers
together to build affordable
housing around the world.
Target, a merchandise firm, has
"good neighbor" teams that
select local schools worthy of support and then sign a one-year
contract to assist them as needed.
Hewlett-Packard, the electronics
firm, has created an e-mail
mentoring program that matches employees with students in grades
five through 12. All
communication between students and volunteers is conducted via
electronic mail.
Home Depot, the nationwide
supplier of building materials
and a variety of household equipment, works with Habitat for
Humanity in 60 locations around
the United States and Canada to construct homes for low-income
individuals by donating
funds, housing supplies, expertise and the service of skilled
employees.
Transmedia Network, a dining
discount card company,
involves older children in a mentoring program to encourage
younger children to read.
Merck and Eli Lilly, the
pharmaceutical firms, lend executives
to nonprofit organizations for periods of time for volunteer
work.
The Benefits of Employee Volunteering
Corporate volunteering is responding to a society in need of
increasing service, to businesses
seeking increasingly competent and committed employees, and to
individuals in need of
opportunities for growth and interaction. It is not surprising,
therefore, that these activities have
such great potential impact.
The benefits to the community are threefold. First, such
programs have brought new talents,
skill and energy to various locales, especially in management and
technology. Second, they have
provided groups of volunteer workers for "done-in-a-day" types of
vital assistance -- coastal
cleanups and aid on special events, for instance. Third, they
have brought corporations and the
community together as partners in improving the way of life for
all residents.
As for the benefits to the corporations, the picture is much
clearer following considerable
research and study -- particularly in the 1990s. Volunteer
programs can propel the strategic
goals of the company (good corporate citizenship, for example)
forward, and thus are seen as
integral, not peripheral elements. These projects can and do
build public credibility for the
corporation, and increase name recognition. Furthermore, they
are beneficial in attracting new
talent to the firm, motivating staff members, and enhancing
professional development for both
junior and senior managers.
General Mills (food manufacturer) and FedEx (worldwide private
mail delivery system) found
that their community service programs strengthened employee
skills in leadership, teamwork,
organization and decision-making. The Intel Corporation
(computer technology) found their
employee volunteers more skilled in communication, time
management, negotiation, budgeting
and allocation. In addition, Intel studies noted an increased
understanding of, and respect for,
diversity, and affirmation of personal capability for growth.
The employees themselves derive considerable benefits as well.
Through their volunteering,
they have developed new business contacts, gained experience in
strategic planning, become
involved with community leaders, and learned how to interact with
unfamiliar constituencies.
There is a decided link, too, between physical and mental health
and participation in volunteer
activities.
But as the workplace and the workforce evolves, as it invariably
has over the decades, some
challenges remain for corporations and their employees in their
interaction with communities.
Internal management issues -- downsizing and mergers -- are one
category. As it turns out,
employee volunteer programs often have been the glue to hold
companies and people together in
times of management crisis -- becoming a point of pride, renewal
and team development.
Timberland, the shoe and clothing manufacturer, and the IBM
Corporation are examples of firms
whose volunteer projects have been institutional anchors.
The changing nature of the workforce from long-term, secure and
loyal employees to more
mobile ones has challenged and changed the nature and structure
of some volunteer programs. In
most cases, though, these activities have afforded the means for
new workers to get to know their
veteran counterparts, thus creating, rapidly, a desired sense of
community identity within the
corporation.
With national boundaries blurring and increased globalization
taking place in the corporate
world, corporate citizenship programs and other innovative
international social initiatives are
finding a welcome place as new parameters for competition.
Although, in the past, there has been only limited evidence
documenting the strategic value of
corporate citizen programs, the picture is brightening. One
major effort, Measuring the
Value of Corporate Citizenship, was published by the Council
on Foundations in 1994.
Today, the business environment demands that every department and
function measure its
results, and this is happening. The Points of Light Foundation
and Boston College's Center of
Corporate Community Relations have joined in a two-year effort to
develop program assessment
tools and processes that corporate managers can use to determine,
quantitatively and
qualitatively, the return on investment in employee volunteer
programs. Another benchmarking
study by the Boston College Center and the American Productivity
and Quality Center aims at
determining the optimal practices in corporate community
relations programs throughout the
nation.
"For the first time," Craig Smith, president of Corporate Citizen
(a think tank based in Seattle,
Washington), observed recently in the Harvard Business Review, "businesses are backing
philanthropic initiatives with real
corporate muscle." That muscle includes, most significantly,
legions of employee volunteers. In
their activities outside the workplace and the workday, they are
finding new worth, and gaining
new strength and satisfaction.
__________
Betty B. Stallings is a trainer, consultant and author
specializing in volunteerism, nonprofit
fundraising, board development and leadership. She is based in
the San Francisco, California,
area.
