Employee Volunteerism – An Interview with AMD’s Allyson Peerman

by Kitty Taylor

AMD's Catherine Greenlaw recently interviewed Allyson Peerman, Corporate Vice President of Public Affairs at AMD, to get her thoughts on the global volunteerism program at AMD.   AMD has a rich history of employee volunteerism steeped in a corporate culture that places “People First.” In 2010, AMD took volunteerism to a new level by branding the program as AMD Community Corps.  This change is helping to ensure that employees can leverage volunteer opportunities to foster their professional development and leadership skills. Much of AMD's Fall 2010 corporate responsibility update is devoted to volunteerism and there you can read about some of AMD’s employees around the world who have directly engaged in their communities through company-sponsored volunteer activities.    Q: Most companies the size of AMD have some sort of employee volunteer program. What makes AMD’s employee volunteer program and AMD’s employee volunteers unique? Peerman: We’ve been encouraging volunteerism at AMD for more than 20 years. I think what makes AMD a little different is that volunteerism is somewhat baked into our DNA and our value set. The idea of empowering our employees to make a difference has been around for a long time, and many of our executives have been very supportive. A former CEO once told me, “If all things are equal and I have one manager who volunteers in the community and one who does not, I will value the one who volunteers more. When they go out in the community, they not only learn very valuable skills and contribute to the greater good, but they also bring those skills and relationships back into the company.”

A former CEO once told me, “If all things are equal and I have one manager who volunteers in the community and one who does not, I will value the one who volunteers more.   Keep reading and comment here....  

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