Abstract

Corporate social responsibility in the form of employee volunteer programs creates a win-win situation for businesses, employees and the communities in which they serve. These ten tips excerpted from the USA Freedom Corps website are practical steps for getting a program off the ground and ensuring its success.

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Issue

After establishing a culture of service within a business organization, follow-up that creates continued interest and support is essential.

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Action

According to the USA Freedom Corps website, taking the following ten steps will help get an employee volunteer program off the ground and ensure its success.

1. Develop a value or mission statement. The mission statement outlines why a company values civic engagement and defines the degree to which a company plans on encouraging, promoting and supporting employee volunteerism, public service and giving.
2. Set goals and objectives. These provide direction by explicitly stating what the company hopes to achieve, as well as how, or by what means, it plans on doing so.
3. Generate management buy-in and support. Educate managers as to the benefits of supporting civic engagement, as well as actively involving them in the various programs and campaigns.
4. Establish formal policies and guidelines. These are necessary for establishing the scope and parameters within which employee volunteer, public service and charitable programs will operate.
5. Establish a formal program structure.Companies need to choose a structure which best fits the organization and business culture, and assign/establish the duties and responsibilities of the employees, management and various departments. These can be councils or committees, coordinators or champions, or human resources departments.
6. Dedicate resources. Specify adequate personnel and allocate sufficient funds so that programs may successfully achieve stated goals and objectives.
7. Develop a communications plan. Know what to say, how to say it, and to whom. Communication helps generate and sustain a strong level of participation. Highly developed communications plans and marketing strategies help to continually recruit and retain participants.
8. Plan, organize and conduct activities.Choosing activities that simultaneously address community needs, employee interests and business goals and objectives, will generate the greatest benefits for all parties involved.
9. Reward and recognize participants. Acknowledging what employees do in their communities, whether through volunteerism, public service, and/or giving, will not only maintain current levels of civic engagement, but also help to increase those levels by inspiring others. A company can never say "thank you" enough - both informally and formally.
10. Measure and evaluate your success. Incorporate both informal and formal tools and techniques. Measurement and evaluation are the only way that the "true" success of any corporate-sponsored program can be determined. Then use this data to generate buy-in and support from senior management.

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Context

The concept and practice of corporate social responsibility — the belief that companies have an obligation to help actively maintain the health and well being of the communities in which they do business — has existed in the United States since the early 1950s. With the Business Strengthening America Initiative (2002) corporate leaders have answered President Bush's call to service in record numbers and have pledged to recruit hundreds of corporations by the fall of 2003.

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Outcome

• Creates healthier communities by improving the overall quality of life
• Helps address/solve vital social problems
• Generates a renewed spirit of citizenship and civic pride
• Provides new talent and ideas to meet community needs
• Contributions increase the level and quality of community services
• Opens lines of communication among various segments of the community
• Strengthens the local economy

• Strengthens employees' organizational, leadership, communications, financial management and decision-making skills
• Encourages teamwork
• Enables employees to develop new skills
• Creates a better quality of life where employees live and work
• Reduces stress and increases morale
• Expands networking within the company
• Increases employee awareness and interest in community issues
• Generates an increased sense of patriotism, citizenship and civic pride

• Bolsters image as a "Good Corporate Citizen" and builds goodwill towards the company
• Increases employee morale, loyalty and productivity
• Creates teambuilding opportunities
• Improves communications and relations between management and workforce
• Generates recognition as a good place to work / "Employer of Choice"
• Enhances/increases employee recruitment and retention
• Creates ways to implement/address strategic business goals and objectives
• Positively impacts profitability

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Related Practices

• Assessing corporate climate for employee volunteer programs

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Topic Areas

• Community building
• Corporate partnerships
• Partnerships
• Start-up
• Community-Based Organizations
• Staff
• Community-based
• Program management

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