CSR: A Sunny Future in South America - Part 1

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) does not belong only to North America and Western Europe. As Realized Worth's exposure to CSR across the globe increases, we'd like to share our learnings with you - beginning with South America. Join RW's Sabrina Dinelli Viva as she investigates the state of CSR in Argentina.  

My recent visit to Buenos Aires, Argentina was filled with family, friends and lots of maté and asado (BBQ), but I made some time to find out how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), specifically, employee volunteering, was working on this side of the hemisphere. 



 The Growth of CSR in Argentina

In late 2001, the Argentine peso was significantly devalued and a devastating economic crisis ensued. During the following four-year long recession, unemployment and poverty sky rocketed. The active role of NGOs became more visible as the government had a difficult time promoting health and education. One of the positives that came from the crisis, was the birth of several social programs that directly supported the under privileged and subsidized prices for energy and transportation, as well as efforts to develop jobs in the agricultural sector in the export industry.

Today, traditional private charitable donations hold great importance as social inequality is still present. In the realm of environmental awareness and sustainability, Argentina is still learning and growing quickly. To date, over 330 businesses are a part of the UN GlobalCompact. With the support of UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), CEPAL (Comisión Económica para América Latina known as ECLA in English, EconomicCommission for Latin America) and WTO (World Trade Organization), several organizations from various sectors, comprise an Argentine network which was formed in 2004. The network acts as a platform for increasing cooperation between corporations, the UN, the government and NGOs. It also serves to educate and advocate for CSR through publications, seminars and advice on the subject. CEADS (Consejo Empresario Argentino para el Desarollo Sustentable, an organization of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development) is also active in Argentina. 


Learning From the Locals

I wanted to learn more from the front line players in the field, so I made some friends, actually, quite a few friends…which was not hard considering how friendly and outgoing Argentines are. Maria Rigou, Francisco Michref and Julio Roque Sotelo shed some light on the subject and helped me gain insight.

In part 2, I'll share with you Maria's insights on saving the country with CSR, Francisco's commitment to skill-building through employee volunteering, and Julio's contributions to integrating for a bright future in South America. 


In the meantime, contact Realized Worth to discuss corporate citizenship at your company - or in your country! 317.371.4435


About Sabrina:

Sabrina and her husband David, who is a professional musician and private music teacher, live in Toronto, Canada. Just over a year ago, they welcomed their little girl Sol to the world. Sabrina is fluent in Spanish and some Italian, as her background is from Argentina. She studied Psychology at York University and has spent the past decade working as a Senior Volunteer Coordinator with the William Osler Health System, while also consulting for various non-profits. Sabrina has also volunteered locally and internationally for the past 15 years for many causes near to her heart. On her free time she enjoys the outdoors with her family, playing guitar, good music and good wine. 

Follow Sabrina on Twitter here or check out her LinkedIn profile here.

CSR: A Sunny Future in South America - Part 1

10 Minutes to Make Your Employee Volunteering Event Great

We understand that CSR managers face day to day logistics that don’t always feel inspiring. Let us provide some practical tips that will bring you one step closer to a wildly successful employee volunteer program.

In my recent article, “The 3 stages of the Volunteer: What They Need From You and How to Recognize Them” I explained that not all employee volunteers are the same – and they should not be treated the same. If you pay attention, identify which stage your participants are in, and respond appropriately, your volunteer events can become transformational experiences. Employees will become better at what they do and who they are, communities will benefit from the efforts of your company, and your company will be filled with better, more capable people. This is the potential of employee volunteering.

Of course, we understand that CSR managers face day to day logistics that don’t always feel inspiring. Let us provide some practical tips that will bring you one step closer to a wildly successful employee volunteer program. It’s likely that there are grassroots volunteer opportunities being organized all over your company. Do you know some of the people organizing those events? Send this article to them – they’ll appreciate the support!

The Brief

Every employee volunteer needs a basic briefing at the start of an event. This is every event, every time, without fail. First-time volunteers in particular need the direction that the brief offers; without it, they are likely to feel uncomfortable and unnecessary.  The brief should take 10-15 minutes, before the event begins. All you have to do is gather everyone in one area (we recommend standing on a chair) and go through the following:

During the brief, do these 4 things:

1. Thank everyone for coming
2. Explain why they’re there, and why that’s important
3. Outline the logistics of the day
4. Remind them that there will be a short debrief at the end of the event.

1. Thank everyone for coming
   
   This may seem like common sense, but expressing genuine gratitude for your volunteers is something that often gets lost in the activity. Let them know that no matter how much they accomplish at the activity, it is simply the act of “showing up” that matters.
   
   
2. Explain why they’re there, and why that’s important
   
   Setting expectations is very important. If people aren’t told what to expect, they will make assumptions and they will become frustrated.
   
   Many volunteers will evaluate the activity based on their own personal productivity. If they got a lot done after the day is over, they will feel like it was a “good” event. If they didn’t accomplish anything, they are likely to feel frustrated.
   
   Your job during the brief is to adjust their expectations. The activity is NOT about how much work is accomplished; rather, it is to communicate value to the community being served. Volunteering happens in places where people don’t have access to the help that they need; your employee volunteers are there to say, “We believe you are valuable and you are worth our time.”
   
   Explain to your volunteers that the most important thing they will do at the event is give their time to the community. That day’s activities are not going to solve any long-term problems, but they will say, “You (or this cause) are worth my time.” Remind your volunteers: “The value of the people being served is not based on what they have or don’t have; what they do or don’t do – and neither is yours.”
   
   
3. Outline the logistics of the day
   
   Another part of helping volunteers feel comfortable is making sure they know the basics of where to go and what to do at an event. Take a moment to point out who’s in charge and welcome volunteers to approach those people with questions.
   
   Point out other important information. For example:
   Where to pick up tools
   Where lunch and/or snacks will be located
   What time the event is scheduled to end
   Where the restrooms are
   
   
4. Remind them that there will be a short debrief after the event
   
   Volunteers will need a reminder at the end of the event to take time to reflect and consider how their volunteering experience affected them. Let them know during the brief that you would like them to gather for 10 minutes after the event is over to do a group debrief. Tell them where you would like them to gather. It is likely that some people will need to leave early to attend to other obligations. Ask those people to check in with you before they go. (More on the debrief later!)

Remember, your role in facilitating employee volunteering at your company is one that has the potential to change the world - one employee at a time. At Realized Worth, we genuinely believe this and we’re privileged to help make it happen.

Call us to discuss how we can make your employee volunteering efforts more successful! 317.371.4435 Or you can send me an email at angela@realizedworth.com

10 Minutes to Make Your Employee Volunteering Event Great

3 Bold Methods for Turning Capacity into Impact

Companies that make an impact fitting of their capacity also dare to be bold.  They dream a dream big enough to capture the hearts of their stakeholders and they make a robust action plan to that realize that dream

Companies at their best and brightest can be stunning when it comes to getting things done. Whether it's bringing a cancer fighting drug to market, coordinating legions of workers to build a skyscraper, or distributing cans of coca-cola a far as the Himalayas, companies are capable of bold initiatives, brilliant ingenuity and breath-taking productivity. 

CSR professionals seek to be catalysts for companies to leverage their powerful resources and capacities for good, but often companies who perform well in their core business functions fail to bring the same mojo to their citizenship endeavors.   Sure, they are giving back in some way and have some programs to show off, but the inventive, audacious vision they are capable of isn’t applied to their efforts to serve their communities and mitigate societal problems.   

And, it makes sense.  Companies have first priorities and each is at a different place in their endorsement of the notion of a triple bottom line.  However, some companies get it!   Some companies understand that the competitiveness of a company and the health of the communities around it are mutually dependent, and a result, they bring the magnitude of their capacity to bear in their citizenship endeavors. 

At RW, we love discovering companies whose citizenship prowess matches their firepower.  As a starting point, such organizations are always strategic, i.e., what they do best as a company is directed toward specific societal problems that require their particular stripe of expertise and resource.  And, this is huge…

But it isn’t enough. Companies that make an impact fitting of their capacity also dare to be bold.  They dream a dream big enough to capture the hearts of their stakeholders and they make a robust action plan to that realize that dream.  

One of our favorites, Microsoft, is a great example of such audacity. Here’s how they do it: 

Choose a bold issue.  

Large companies that possess significant resources and expertise should endeavor to tackle bigger global problems.  Microsoft is invested in many areas of need (e.g., nonprofits, disaster relief, jobs and growth, etc.), but their focus on youth and education is perhaps their boldest initiative yet.  The numbers are mind blowing!  In today’s world, there are more than 1 billion people ages 15 to 24 on the planet, comprising the largest youth cohort in history.  Of that, 75 million were unemployed in 2011, and less than half (44%) of them enroll in the equivalent of high school and even fewer graduate. For of issues of this magnitude, we need all hands on deck, and companies need to join the fight. (Check out the infographic at the top of the page for a visual of this info.)

 Enact a bold strategy.

A key challenge to preparing youth for viable livelihoods is the increasing rate at which new technologies are changing the nature of work in every sector from farming to industry to services. Today’s youth need resources that in the past may have been desirable and even advantageous, but today are simply mandatory. As a technology leader, Microsoft understands this dilemma and how they are uniquely poised to make education and technology more accessible for them. Although Microsoft has numerous programs running that seek to improve access to high quality education, we will highlight three:

1. Partners In Learning – This program aims to help teachers around the world to build their skills, share best practices, and innovate in their classrooms through online communities or at events that connect teachers from the around the world.
2. Shape The Future – Shape the Future helps governments to imagine and attain universal technology access for all their citizens. Microsoft helps build the Public/Private Partnerships that lead to greater employability, economic recovery and a better future.
3. Students to Business – In 2011, Microsoft trained more than 360,000 students worldwide in technology and job skills through Microsoft Students to Business, which connects students with Microsoft partner companies.  Students benefit from unique mentoring, training and certification opportunities.

Be bold in how you collaborate.  

High impact initiatives for global problems at the scale of the ‘youth bulge’ issue can never be effectively addressed by a do-gooder hoping to go it alone.  Collaboration is a must.  If the programs above don’t speak for themselves, Microsoft has taken collaboration to the next level through their commissioning of the “Opportunity for Action” report.   Through this paper, drafted by the International Youth Foundation, Microsoft is seeking to raise awareness regarding the opportunity divide—“an emergent gap among youth between those who have access, skills, and opportunities to be successful, and those who do not.”  The report is also a call to action to address the challenges limiting today’s youth.  By commissioning this paper, Microsoft is seeking to generate a global dialogue about how technology and other investments can help bridge the divide for youth around the world and is committed to working with others businesses, the NGO community, and governments to help youth succeed in the global economy.  

These initiatives and many others are great examples of a company matching their citizenship with their firepower.  Their issue, their plan, and their partnerships are not only strategic…they are audacious!  

You can find more information about Microsoft’s corporate citizenship on the Microsoft Citizenship Blog.   

Realized Worth works with companies to design and implement successful employee volunteer programs. Shoot me an email to discuss what we can do for you: brentcroxton@realizedworth.com

3 Bold Methods for Turning Capacity into Impact