For me, the question is never, “How much did you do?”

The question is, “Why does what you do matter?”

At Realized Worth, we talk to companies every week about employee volunteer programs. It doesn’t seem to matter if the company is a local business or a multi-national Fortune 500 corporation - invariably, the conversation begins with this question: "How can I get more employees to participate as volunteers?" After that, the conversations goes to how the volunteering program fits within the company and what the outcomes have been so far. Finally, we talk about metrics. What is the data saying? Usually, this brings us right back to the beginning of the conversation: participation rates and how to increase the numbers.

It makes sense that a successful corporate volunteer program is well attended by employees, but that’s not necessarily an indication of strength or sustainability. So in these conversations I try to share at least two alternative measures to get at the health of a volunteering program.

1. Motivation. Why are people volunteering?

Understanding the reasons why people participate is essential to discovering the program’s long term potential.  When people volunteer for the first time, they are usually motivated extrinsically. This is completely normal. We all want to help; give back; make a difference. But if we’ve not volunteered before, we usually don’t “own” these motivations. Instead, they are extrinsic to our personal lives and they exist outside of us. They are not intimate. While extrinsic motivations are important, they are not deeply rooted in our personalities.

We’re big fans of Beth Kanter and her work helping non-profits utilize social media to “power change.” Recently on Twitter, Beth announced her intention to switch from the iPhone to a phone that usesGoogle’s Android operating system. This is a big announcement given the growing competition between Android and iPhone - not to mention the fact that Beth has more than 370,000 Twitter followers. Beth’s reasons for the switch were initially unclear and speculation grew. 

Before long, the online chatter became so loud that the New York Times decided to cover the story. “(Beth) has started an online petition invoking the Grinch and is seeking to draw the issue to the attention of Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive.” The NYT further indicated that there was increasing “speculation that the real issue was money. Apple takes a 30 percent slice of purchases made from the App Store, an amount that would be frowned upon if it were to be taken out of a charitable donation.”

Recently, I spoke with the manager of a large telecommunications company in the US. The company publicly boasts a healthy and active employee volunteering program, claiming a 200% growth in participation over the past 4 years. Needless to say, I wanted to learn more about it.

During the call, I discovered several things:

1. The company offers NO paid time for volunteering.

2. Employees who volunteer have to rack up over 50 hours of service to qualify for the Dollars for Doers program (the per hour dollar was about $15 - that’s not a lot if you’re wondering.)

3. The company plans no strategic volunteering events with the community. (However, employees do plan small, local activities.) 

4. The company is not comfortable with spending money to promote volunteering (apparently, the logic behind this is "volunteering is free, so why should we invest money in it?"). They are currently using fliers in lunch rooms to raise awareness.

5. The main goal of the program for the upcoming year is to get more employees to log their volunteer hours with the company.

Now, I can deal with almost all of these poor corporate volunteering practices. I get that employee volunteering is a recent trend and it takes months, even years, to develop a well-functioning and robust program. I get that corporations cannot address every lacking area at once. I even get that it takes time to understand why employee volunteering is worth significant financial investment.

At the conferences I attend or present at each year (incidentally, you can see my upcoming gigs here:speaking schedule), its fascinating to see the efforts to integrate social media into nearly every aspect of the event. Some do it very well - and others.....well, others don't even offer complimentary wifi.

Every once in awhile, the social media savvy of an event is impressive. In New York City this past June, The National Conference on Volunteering and Service (NCVS) gave the conference world a great example of how to do it right. Here's what I mean: NCVS wanted to see representatives from the non-profit sector in attendance. Typically, people who work at non-profit organizations don't have a ton of cash to put toward travel and conference fees. Understanding this, NCVS they’ve made it a priority to maximize the opportunities for virtual participation through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and much, much more (see the list below).  Those not able to make it to NCVS were able to see almost everything and dialogue with almost everyone throughout the conference. (Admittedly, there were a few attendees who hadn’t heard of social media yet - they kind of missed out.)

Connecting companies to communities through social media and corporate volunteering.

Yeah, I’m not sure this is such a great idea....

IKEA announced the launch of their latest marketing campaign - The Life Improvement Project. As part of the campaign, IKEA will award someone $100,000 to walk away from work for a year and just ‘improve the life of others’.

“Whether you’d like to volunteer at a homeless shelter to start a non-profit organization, this contest gives one winner the opportunity to pursue their passions, and share their experience with the world.”

Don’t get me wrong, I think it is a great idea for companies to engage their employees in long term placement programs with non-profit partners. One of my friends, Quinn Bingham, now works as the Campaign Director at the United Way of Toronto as a direct result of such a program. Similarly, while the IBM Corporate Service Corps program is not a sabbatical year away from IBM it is another exemplary approach to the same idea. If you're interested in these types of programs be sure to check out the Taproot Foundation or Catchafire for great ideas and programs.

While public opinion surrounding the virtues (or lack thereof according to the Wall Street Journal) of corporate social responsibility are wide and varied, the power of business in society is indisputable. Its a power that has at times carried a bad reputation - especially lately, when we've seen it used shamelessly to rake bags of cash into the arms of a few executives.

Some companies and their executives stand apart. They are ready to wield their power for good - and they're looking for the best ways to do just that.

On October 21, 2010, many of these companies will join together for a day of collaboration and inspiration. CBSR (Canadian Business for Social Responsibility) hosts their 8th annual Summit: Collaborating for Social Change - New Approaches to Accelerate Innovation. I am honored to join an afternoon panel entitled, "Sustainability Game Changers: How Social Innovators Are Breaking Boundaries, Shaking Up Traditional Business Models and Achieving Results." Also on the panel will be:

1. Toby Heaps, Editor and Co-Founder, Corporate Knights (Toby will be moderating)

Listen to the interview here.

With a poke in the chest, Chris Jarvis was asked a question on a street corner that stripped away what he knew and put him on a path to give people the opportunity to realize their full worth. Chris is responsible for helping companies attract and retain the best people. But he’s not a recruiter. He creates and implements employee volunteer programs (EVPs) for companies and nonprofits.

When Olivia Khalili asked Chris what a company gains the most from having a corporate volunteer program he said, “Better people. Hands down. Better people.”  In addition to top employees, an EVP will improve your business’ community relations; increase morale and productivity; help your employees develop new skills and abilities; save you an average of $500 in employee training per employee every year as well as recruitment and turnover costs; and change the attitude of your company by giving your employees the opportunity to give more of what they have to offer.

In this interview, Chris lays out the four steps to building a corporate volunteering program that will give your company these benefits. We talk about aligning the nonprofit partner and program with your brand, the controversial subject of paid-time off to volunteer, white-collar vs. blue-collar volunteering and tools you can use to track and measure the impact of your program.

You’ll also hear what Chris was asked on the street corner and why he’s trying to recreate that same experience for you.

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE OR LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW HERE

I talk to companies every week about employee volunteer programs. It doesn’t seem to matter if the company is local business or a multi-national Fortune 500 corporation. Invariably the conversation begins with the question of how to get more employees to participate as volunteers. Next, we explore how the volunteering program fits within the company and what the outcomes have been so far. Finally, we talk about metrics. What is the data telling you? Usually, this brings us right back to the beginning of the conversation: participation rates and how to increase that number.

It makes sense that a successful corporate volunteer program is well attended by employees, but that’s not necessarily an indication of strength or sustainability. So in these conversations I try to share at least two alternative measures to use that get at the health of a volunteering program.

1. Motivation. Why are people volunteering?

Understanding the reasons why people participate is essential to discovering the program’s long term potential.  When people volunteer for the first time, they are usually motivated extrinsically. This is completely normal. We all want to help; give back; make a difference. But if we’ve not volunteered before, we usually don’t “own” these motivations. Instead, they are extrinsic to our personal lives and they exist outside of us. They are not intimate. While extrinsic motivations are important, they are not deeply rooted in our personalities.

CSR? Don't quit you're day job!
 
I was flabbergasted. I had to read the article three times just to be sure I wasn’t missing some essential qualifier. Here was the Washington Post equating Corporate Social Responsibility with charity and philanthropy.

“But the gulf oil spill and the financial crisis have taught us, rather brutally, that the heart of the relationship between business and society doesn't lie with the charitable deeds that companies do in their off-hours but whether they are doing their day jobs in ways that help -- or hurt -- the rest of us.”

Chrystia Freeland, global editor at large for Thomson Reuters, wrote the article “What’s BP’s social responsibility?” (Sunday, July 18, 2010). Google reader brought it to my attention and halfway through the first paragraph I was hooked - particularly at the point where Chrystia suggests, “I would like to suggest a third, inanimate culprit: the cult of corporate social responsibility.”