Posted by Sadie Miller on Fri, May 04, 2012 @ 12:21 PM
Overview
Timberland’s employee volunteerism is a core element of its legendary commitment to corporate social responsibility. The Path of Service program, now celebrating its 20th anniversary, provides all fulltime employees with up to 40 hours of paid time to volunteer on projects that extend across 19 countries, and frequently include Timberland vendors, distributors, suppliers, consumers, and other stakeholders.
As these service activities support Timberland’s “Earthkeepers” commitment by building homes, gardens, and nature trails, and educating kids on how to protect the environment – the company recognizes supporting the business case for service is crucial for the program’s own sustainability.
And it’s worked: VF Corporation, which acquired Timberland last year, has kept the Path of Service program intact.
Promoting Employee Engagement
By traditional measures, Timberland’s volunteer program is highly successful: 79% of Timberland employees volunteered (2011) compared to the average rate of 45% for finalists in that year’s Points of Light Institute Corporate Engagement Awards of Excellence – a 75% performance advantage.
“Reporting the total number of hours we served doesn’t tell much of a story,” explains Atlanta McIlwraith, Timberland’s Senior Manager of Community Engagement. Rather, Timberland reports the percentage of hours employees use out of their 40‐hour allotment (42% in 2011).
Read more about Timberland's metrics and social impact in the Timberland Volunteerism ROI Tracker Case Study (PDF).
Posted by Sadie Miller on Fri, May 04, 2012 @ 09:54 AM
This year’s ROI Tracker participants generated more than $6.7 million dollars in services to nonprofit partners – but some generated more social and business value than others. Below is the range of new skill development, team relationship gains, and existing skill development from 28 participating companies.
Out of respondents from the top ranked company, 42% gained new, job-related skills from volunteering, compared to 0% from the bottom ranked company. Similarly only 23% of volunteers from the bottom ranked company gained new or strengthened existing team relationships, where 78% of volunteers from the top ranked company reported team gains.
Here are three tips to maximize your volunteer program’s benefit for nonprofit partners, employees, and your company:
1. Increase skill gains by matching volunteers with job-relevant activities
Increase skill development rates by designing activities that match volunteers’ professional growth paths. Not only is skilled volunteerism better for nonprofits, it is linked to higher satisfaction rates among volunteers than traditional volunteerism. As one UPS volunteer explained, “I was the coordinator for our 107 volunteers, coordinating movement of almost 35,000 packages. This role gives me the opportunity to demonstrate organizational, management and leadership skills.”
2. Increase the social value of initiatives by investing in projects that utilize professional skills
Professional volunteerism benefits nonprofits by providing higher value activities and increasing organizational capacity at a greater frequency than traditional volunteerism. For example, just one percent of the total time volunteered produced five percent of the total value for nonprofits through general operations support -- a role including board service, policy development and managing operations. Skilled volunteers were more likely to report reducing nonprofit hiring costs and improving organizational efficiency and effectiveness. One volunteer was able to apply her company’s lean manufacturing principles to improve the effectiveness of a Special Olympics competition.
3. Leverage volunteerism to strengthen teams and increase internal networking
In 2011, 46% of respondents gained opportunities for team building and internal networking through volunteerism. Employee volunteer programs are an opportunity to increase social capital among and across teams and develop a more engaged and collaborative institutional culture. As one volunteer explained, “I met HQ staff whose names I recognized only on email. It was terrific to stand shoulder to shoulder with them in an effort to complete the project. I had the opportunity to relate to them in an different way.”
For more on the social, employee, and business impacts of volunteerism, download the 2011 Volunteer Tracker Global Summary:
Posted by Farron Levy on Tue, Apr 03, 2012 @ 08:33 AM
CECP and Pepco Holdings, Inc. invite you to attend a special event for corporate citizenship professionals at utility companies across the country to network and share best practices, learn the latest trends in the field, and gain valuable tools to enhance your strategies. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to connect with this select peer group!
Learn more/Register
DATE: Wednesday, May 2, 2012
TIME: 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
COST: Free, no charge. This event is generously hosted by Pepco Holdings, Inc.
LOCATION:
Pepco Edison Place Art Gallery
702 Eighth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20068
The entrance to the Edison Place Gallery is on Eighth Street between G and H streets, directly behind the Pepco headquarters entrance. The Gallery Place Chinatown Metro station servicing the green, red and yellow lines is within walking distance of the Gallery. Street parking and public parking garages are available nearby.
AGENDA:
11:00 AM Arrival and Welcome
Debbi Jarvis, Vice President, Corporate Citizenship and Social Responsibility, Pepco Holdings, Inc.
11:15 AM Using Social Media to Communicate Your Giving Programs
APCO Worldwide
12:00 PM Light Lunch and Networking
Remarks by Joseph M. Rigby, Chairman, President, and CEO, Pepco Holdings, Inc.
12:45 PM Driving Corporate Value: View from the Executive Suite
Courtney Murphy, Manager, Strategic Engagement, CECP
CECP will share strategies for driving business value through your corporate giving programs, and present key findings from the February 2012 CECP Board of Boards CEO Conference. CECP will also draw upon Corporate Giving Standard (CGS) survey data, putting the latest trends in context for the Utility Industry.
1:30 PM Utility Company Case Studies and Small Group Discussion
Utility companies will share information about how their charitable giving is structured and funded, the level of their CEO involvement, and impact measurement.
3:00 PM Refreshments break
3:15 PM Engaging Your Employees in Community Engagement
Greg Price, EVP & Chief Services Officer, VolunteerMatch
3:45 PM Making an Impact through Skills-Based Volunteerism, including Service on NonProfit Boards
Farron Levy, President, True Impact and Anne Wallestad, Chief Operating Officer, BoardSource
4:45 PM A Billion + Change
Jennifer Lawson, Executive Director, A Billion + Change, will provide an update on this national campaign to mobilize billions in pro bono and skills-based volunteer (SBV) services from corporate America by 2013. To date, nearly 100 companies have pledged more than $1.7 billion in service to help build nonprofit capacity to meet community needs at home and around the world.
5:00 PM Closing Remarks and Networking Reception
Kim Watson, VP, Corporate Philanthropy Investment and Partnerships, Office of Corporate Citizenship and Social Responsibility
6:00 PM Event Concludes
Posted by Sadie Miller on Tue, Feb 28, 2012 @ 04:17 AM
One of the features most appealing for participants of the Volunteerism ROI Tracker is the private benchmarking feature. The tracker ranks companies among their peers on employee volunteer satisfaction, skill development, and social and business impacts. Here are a few of the reasons we’re excited about benchmarking in CSR tools:
1. Accountability. Benchmarking improves the accountability of a company’s employee volunteer program (EVP). Where internal metrics can compare an EVP to past performance or national averages, benchmarking highlights a program’s performance against peers.
2. Simplicity. The Volunteer Tracker’s ranking system makes measuring performance and setting program targets simple.
3. Systematic approach. Systematic benchmarking creates a balanced, coherent reporting across programs and companies.
4. Objective analysis. External benchmarking systems have more credibility among external stakeholders than an internal performance audit.
5. Industry impacts. Benchmarking helps guide what performance indicators companies measure and aggregates the social and business impact of the corporate volunteer sector.
Social Investing and the Future of EVP Metrics
While not in engaged directly in measuring employee volunteerism, the Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS) is on the forefront of measuring and benchmarking social and environmental performance ac
ross organizations and impact funds.
As social investing grows in market share and sophistication, corporate volunteer programs should be next in line for global metrics to prove the ROI of human and financial capital investments. We're publishing aggregate impact metrics from the 2011 Volunteer ROI Tracker next month, and are looking forward to contributing to this new commitment to measurement and stakeholder accountability.
Posted by Sadie Miller on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 @ 06:03 PM
This Monday, February 27th, Farron Levy of True Impact and Lindsay Firestone of Taproot Foundation will co-present “Measuring the Impact of Your Skills Based Volunteer (SBV) Program” as part of A Billion + Change's Campaign Celebration. Billion + Change is a national campaign to mobilize pro bono and skills-based volunteerism. Companies pledge to engage nonprofits and communities by harnessing their employee volunteers' talent and expertise.
Through the Volunteer ROI Tracker, we’ve documented that skills-based volunteering can generate over 400% more value for nonprofits and communities than traditional volunteering. Skilled-based volunteerism aligns professional and professional-level skills to generate the most value out of each volunteer hour donated. Examples include:
- A manager serving on a nonprofit’s board
- A communications team developing a nonprofit's annual report
- An accountant providing tax consultation to low-income families
Below is a review of a few resources on designing, launching, and supporting a successful skills-based volunteer program. For examples of companies who have implemented skilled employee volunteer programs, visit the Points of Light case study series accessible here.
For CSR staff:
Deloitte creates a simple list of recommendations for companies initiating a skills-based volunteer program in their Key Considerations for Launching a Skills-Based Volunteer Program:
- Incorporate skills-based volunteering into existing community involvement programs
- Provide employees multiple initiatives to satisfy unique skills and interests
- Move beyond annual events and invest in year-round projects
- Treat nonprofits like clients to ensure clear expectations, approval processes, and deliverables.
- Successful skills-based volunteer programs take institutional and time commitments
For individual employees:
Catchafire, an online connector of professionals looking for pro bono service opportunities, is an appealing option for professionals. But for those with specialized skills not on the project list, or those looking to do high impact volunteerism with a particular organization may find Deloitte's grassroots approach helpful: 10 Tips on How to Volunteer Your Business Skills to a Nonprofit. Their tip sheet integrates a pro bono partnership into an employee’s professional work:
- Secure management buy-in for project
- Select a set of nonprofit organizations that could benefit from your professional skills
- Outline how you could apply your abilities to satisfy a nonprofit's business need
- Contact the nonprofit organization
- Create a brief project plan and set aside time to complete the project
- Report your accomplishments to the nonprofit
For nonprofits:
Written for a nonprofit audience looking to engage skills-based volunteers, Common Impact's Skilled Volunteering 101 outlines case studies and characteristics of successful projects and what capacity is necessary to utilize skills-based volunteers. Questions from the checklist are designed to prepare nonprofits for skilled volunteers:
- Do we have the bandwidth to manage external resources?
- Have we addressed any roadblocks that have affected our ability to solve this challenge in the past?
- Do we know what kinds of deliverables we are looking for from our skilled volunteers?
- Do we know how we will support the project after it’s delivered?
Posted by Sadie Miller on Fri, Feb 17, 2012 @ 02:28 PM
The Global Reporting Initiative’s sustainability reporting guidelines are a widely applied, but often misunderstood tool, writes AccountAbility. Among their Top Five Top Five Misconceptions About GRI Reporting is a subject near and dear to our hearts – impact measurement. Reporting on indicators does not always equal reporting on impact:
[Misconception] 5. GRI is the best tool for measuring impact
The GRI Guidelines and respective indicators help an organization describe its economic, environmental and social footprint, but the GRI indicators don’t always provide a way to accurately or comprehensively measure the impact of an organization’s unique programs or initiatives (though there are GRI indicators which help to aggregate and enable reporting on these top level impacts).
Companies’ CR strategies should include a process to determine indicators that allow them to quantify the impact of their proactive environmental and social efforts.
CSR measurement like the G3.1 Guidelines promote transparency, but are only powerful if they give businesses and stakeholders enough relevant information to take action. Great performance measurement tools do just that.
Posted by Sadie Miller on Wed, Jan 25, 2012 @ 08:04 AM
For the second year, UPS is participating in the Volunteerism ROI Tracker as part of its leadership with the Points of Light Institute’s Corporate Service Council. The strength of UPS's volunteer program is its alignment with the company's core competencies: coordinating large events and providing team-based services for nonprofits.
Teams of UPS volunteers are able to leverage their skills in shipping and supply chain management in service to humanitarian aid organizations like the Red Cross and UNICEF. And who better to teach safe driving to teens at the Boys and Girls Clubs of America than professional UPS drivers?
The Volunteerism ROI Tracker found that this alignment between UPS community involvement and the company’s expertise generates significant, tangible benefits to all constituencies: the nonprofit partners, UPS, and the community. The UPS case study below summarizes these effects using a single-month snapshot of concrete volunteerism impacts, including social value, satisfaction, skill development, and new-business leads.
We talked with Jerald Barnes, Region and District Grants Manager at The UPS Foundation about community involvement and its impact on UPS employee skills and satisfaction. To read more about how UPS employees volunteer to connect to their values and the company's mission, and the effects of those activities, download the UPS Volunteerism ROI Tracker Case Study. For more information on tools for measuring volunteerism, visit us.
Posted by Sadie Miller on Wed, Jan 11, 2012 @ 02:31 PM
Evidence that corporate social responsibility programs can increase revenue by attracting and retaining customers continues to grow.
In the working paper, Impact of a Corporate Culture of Sustainability on Corporate Behavior and Performance, researchers from Harvard Business School analyzed the adoption of various environmental and social policies among 180 companies and found that High Sustainability companies outperformed their counterparts on the stock market and in accounting performance.
Previous studies have explored the connection between environmental and socially conscious products and consumer behavior. Ailawadi and Luan at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business found that perceived environmental friendliness, employee fairness, community investments, and locally sourced products all improved consumer attitudes toward the grocery store. But people only bought more when the grocery store’s investments were related to employee fairness or local sources and suppliers. These findings suggest that CSR enhances brand loyalty if there is a direct connection between the social investment (e.g., fair wages) and the product.
The HBS findings go beyond consumer decision-making and indicate differences in company decision-making between High and Low Sustainability companies. Companies that instituted sustainable practices in the early 1990s were more likely to disclose nonfinancial information, have organized stakeholder engagement, and be more long-term oriented. Incentives for executives were also more likely to be a function of the company’s sustainability metrics.
In measuring corporate citizenship, this paper offers yet another counterpoint to CSR as a short-term marketing technique. High Sustainability companies make long-term investments that alter governance structures and corporate culture. The DNA of the company, not just the product, is altered by social and environmental commitments. And with a long enough time horizon, those investments seem to have a substantial financial ROI.
Posted by Sadie Miller on Tue, Dec 27, 2011 @ 09:42 AM
Before the release of our Volunteerism ROI Tracker White Paper in collaboration with The Points of Light Institute, we reviewed a few of the existing resources for planning program evaluations. The following three reports provide guidance for measuring employee volunteer programs, each differing in audience, emphasis, and methodology.
Making a Difference
Making a Difference: Corporate Community Investment, a Whole Programme Report to Measuring Results, reports on a six-month project, facilitated by Corporate Citizenship, to develop a consistent way of measuring the outputs and impacts of community investment projects. From their learning came a set of inputs and impact indicator groupings, supplied with an indicator checklist. The insight here is a shift from output indicators, like charitable donations given and people served, to metrics that capture outcomes. Indicators are measured base on a 5-point scale from no change to sustained change. Indicators include:· Participant behavior and attitude· Quality of life· Skills and personal development· Organizational capacity building· Environmental measures Another key take-away from the project was that mapping outcomes is as useful for project planning as it is for evaluating a program’s impact. Embedding metrics for measuring corporate citizenship into the initial stages of project development helped companies make goals explicit for progress monitoring. The weakness of this report is that is almost entirely skips the final steps of program evaluation- defining a method, collecting and analyzing data, and integrating results into reporting. The report explores measuring impact without actually providing impact measurement solutions. However, assessment tools are available for LGB clients on their website.
Measuring the Difference Volunteers Make
The Minnesota Department of Human Services developed the Measuring the Difference Volunteers Make a decade ago, but it remains a readable and comprehensive resource for planning and implementing a volunteer program evaluation. Ideal for a company with the bandwidth to create an evaluation from scratch, the toolkit provides examples of how to define outcomes, compare data, and monetize the impact of volunteer efforts.
The toolkit outlines the following evaluation plan:
· Defining process indicators and outcomes of volunteer programs
· Types of evaluation
· Gathering data
· Survey techniques
· Communicating outcomes of volunteer programs
· Comparing results
Readers looking for examples of corporate employee volunteer program evaluations will be disappointed. While the examples are generally of state funded volunteer programs, they are illustrative of the same objectives, outcome measures, and performance indicators as an employee volunteer program. The toolkit even provides “good,” “better,” and “best” examples for writing program outcome statements. This toolkit offers the clearest content to help you develop tools for measuring CSR- with broad buy-in and a lot of elbow grease.
Measuring Volunteering Toolkit
Measuring Volunteering Toolkit, released by United Nations Volunteers in collaboration with Independent Sector, is designed for an international audience seeking to measure volunteerism across an entire country. It offers multiple methodologies and survey approaches, along with a brief explanation of the principles of sound program evaluation- measurement validity and reliability, and sampling. Even for an initiative hiring an outside evaluator, this is key information for measuring and reporting on volunteer impact with confidence.
The Toolkit walks readers through an evaluation plan:
· Planning the research
· Designing the survey
· Problems of reliability and validity
· Collecting, processing, and disseminating the information
· Sample inventory of volunteering activities
The toolkit is not designed for employee volunteers, so it doesn’t provide examples or survey question suggestions that capture the business impacts of volunteerism, like employee engagement and commitment, the effect of volunteering on employee retention, or the PR and brand effects of volunteer programs. For those looking for an in-depth, step-by-step evaluation plan, the Measuring Volunteering Toolkit is a rich resource. But its scope is too broad for most readers, and its technical guidance may be overwhelming for practitioners without a research background.
Posted by Sadie Miller on Wed, Dec 21, 2011 @ 10:00 AM
High-quality volunteer programs provide an experiential learning opportunity for employees to develop new relationships, solve problems, and take leadership outside of their comfort zone. The practical application of coaching, adapting to new demands, and resolving conflicts makes these skills highly transferable to professional roles. The business case for employee volunteerism lies in shortened learning curves for new employees, increased productivity from new and strengthened skills, and reduced turnover through employee satisfaction. 
Employee skills is a core concept in creating what Harvard business professor Michael Porter calls shared value, an advancement of the idea that sophisticated companies enhance profit when they do good.When properly designed and supported, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities can be structured to help staff learn and practice a variety of skills that can boost productivity in the workplace. Through our work with the Points of Light Institute and our Volunteerism ROI Tracker, we’ve found that volunteerism can develop new professional skills or personal skills.Some industries have institutionalized social service as a way to strategically develop skills in their employees: law firms, consultancies, and medical schools, for example, often have strong pro bono service programs that simultaneously help staff gain experience and develop skills in certain areas. Similar opportunity exists for virtually any company in any industry to design their own CSR programs, to deliver goods and services, and to meet social needs in ways that train inexperienced employees. For example, pro-bono projects provide an excellent opportunity for novices to begin developing some of the elemental organizational skills required to be a successful project manager. Cisco’s Leadership Fellows Program and the UPS Community Internship Program are examples of companies building professional skills through community investment. Even when not providing direct job-retated skill training, volunteerism can contribute to employees’ satisfaction and well being on the job, which has been linked to improved productivity. Evidence suggests that sustained programs with substantial commitment from participants can provide a significant level of fulfillment to an employee. Even if a CSR activity is not directly related to a person’s job, volunteering can boost job satisfaction, general performance, and keep a person from moving to another job that fills unmet needs (preventing turnover). And one of the twelve attributes of a great place to work is a job that gives employees a sense of meaning beyond making a profit. Our Volunteerism ROI Tracker measures how employee volunteer programs impact job satisfaction. We’ve found that by designing activities to match volunteers’ interests, companies can significantly influence employees’ reports of job satisfaction through volunteerism. In the 2010 Volunteer ROI Tracker initiative, employees were 40% more likely to report that they were extremely satisfied with their job if their volunteerism matched a personal cause interest. For more information or to participate in this ongoing initiative, visit us at True Impact.