The Best of the Best: Our Upcoming Events

The CSR calendar this spring and summer is full of events you don't want to miss. The best of the best upcoming? Well, let's start with the 6 taking place in the next 2 weeks. Hope to see you at one or more of these exciting events:

The HandsOn Network presents a webinar:

Social Media: How Online Engagement Can Drive Real World Action
March 30, 2011 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EDT

Both business and community organizations are struggling with how to take advantage of social media. On the one hand it appears that access to the public with key messages of community investment has never been greater. On the other hand, the world of social media can appear enigmatic and time consuming.

Whether your business is looking to engage stakeholders in discussions regarding your employee volunteer program or your local CVC wants to add real value to its membership, almost anyone can glean some real value from this session. We will explore how to use social media to engage and cultivate relationships with prospective members, stakeholders, nonprofit organizations and the broader community.

You can still sign up for this webinar for just $25 (free for CVC Network and Business Members). Promise, it'll be worth it. You can find more info and how to register here. 

The Entrepreneur Foundation of Central Texas presents:
Let's Play: A Conference On Corporate Citizenship 
March 31, 2011 
hosted at National Instruments - Austin, Texas

After the Webinar, we’ll be in Austin, Texas to meet and engage with some of the best in class companies on the topic of corporate citizenship. Experts and practitioners will be gathering to share great ideas, best practices, and broaden connections.

I’m looking forward to presenting some thoughts on “Employee Volunteers and Social Media: best practices in storytelling for companies.” I’ll be joined by representatives from DELL who will share their challenged and successes in the field. Together, we’ll do some Q&A with the group.

If you’re around Austin this week and have the space on Thursday, click here to get signed up or find more info. Also, I hope it goes without saying, you can also always call or email me for more information.

The Charities @Work Annual Conference:

Best Practices in Employee Giving and Engagement

April 5-7, 2011
hosted at The Conrad Chicago - Chicago, Illinois

This event focuses on the trends, best practices and innovations in a variety of employee engagement programs including volunteerism, social media strategies and latest industry trends. Participants have the opportunity to share ideas and network with other professionals while staying current on the hot topics and best models of employee engagement initiatives.

I’ll be keynoting at the conference which is exciting because the group attending is likely to be knowledgable and hopefully even interactive. Here are some of the topics I and other speakers will be covering: high-impact volunteering, globalizing employee engagement programs, measuring and managing for results, and the future of employee engagement. Angela will join Michael Carren and Mark Shamley on a panel specifically on workplace giving and employee engagement - should be good!

Click here for further info about the Charities @Work conference.

The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship:
International Corporate Citizenship Conference
April 10-12, 2011
hosted at the Minneapolis Marriott City Center - Minneapolis, Minnesota

The BCCCC Conference draws hundreds of professionals from around the world and honestly, this is a very exciting event to attend. Conference attendees exchange ideas, experiences and challenges with a knowledgeable and committed network of corporate citizenship experts. Each year the conference features leading speakers who frame the big picture themes facing business and interactive sessions that provide real and relevant best practices and solutions.

I have the opportunity this year to to present an updated version of our session on Employee Volunteers & Social Media - Best Practices in Storytelling for Your Company. I’ll be talking about how to use social media as part of your company’s employee volunteer program. If you’re attending, please stop by - I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to keep your attention. Also, join the conversation on Twitter here: #bccccConf11

Click here for more info on the Boston College conference.

Meeting Professionals International presents:
Volunteer Leadership: Realizing Your Worth
April 14, 2011
hosted at Vancouver Convention Center, West - Vancouver, British Colombia

The goal of National Meetings Industry Day is to elevate and build communities by leveraging important issues to raise awareness of the power of meetings in evolving and shaping that community; economically, environmentally, socially and intellectually. Each year MPI explores themes that help people learn and grow towards this goal. This years’ national goal explores the concept of leadership.

I have the opportunity to share here about some of my favorite topics. For example, how is an organization’s journey toward corporate social responsibility propelled (or paralyzed) by employees? How can we motivate our volunteers? And what's going well out there? What really works in real life?

I can't wait to for this event! Click here to learn more.

Realized Worth and The Acacia Group:
Corporate Social Responsibility and your Employees: 
Building Engagement from Within 
April 15, 2011 - Vancouver, British Colombia

In Vancouver, we have the privilege of joining together with The Acacia Group to host a workshop on an organization’s journey toward corporate social responsibility. What does it take to get an entire employee team on board? Are there best practices or practical steps that can garner employee engagement as your business works for real and long-term social impacts?

We plan to offer some practical insight on how to motivate your employees to not only embrace, but champion your organization’s CSR efforts - and - how leaders can leverage the enthusiasm and energy of their employee volunteers.

I would love to see you at this workshop and there’s still time to sign up. You can find more info and register here.

It’s going to be a busy two weeks! Angela and I are looking forward to meeting you, our virtual colleagues, in person. Comment below or shoot us an email if you plan to be at any of the above events. Follow us on Twitter for regular updates throughout the upcoming weeks.

chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com
angela@realizedworth.com
317.371.4435
Twitter: @realizedworth and @angelajeane

The Best of the Best: Our Upcoming Events

How to Find Your Influentials and Let Them Lead

Managing a company’s employee volunteering program is almost always a daunting task. This is partly because most employers approach the task as an add-on – surely finding a place to volunteer will just take a few minutes? Turns out, scheduling events, negotiating with nonprofits, communicating events to employees, and looking after unending details - is a full time job.

Here’s a little-known truth that could potentially change your life (and I’m not exaggerating): When it comes to working with volunteers, the less you do, the more you accomplish. 

Instead of trying to manage everything yourself, find and focus on your volunteer “influentials.” The influentials at your company are those who have moved along their volunteer journey to a stage where they sort of “get it.” We would call them a high-level Stage 2 (traveler) or Stage 3 (guide). Read descriptions of the 3 Stages here. 

Take a second to think about your influentials. Here are the characteristics you’re looking for:

• They already volunteer somewhere – or have in the past for significant periods of time.
• They think everyone who gets into volunteering will love it. Volunteering is a way of life.
• They have strong personal reasons for wanting to volunteer. Its not about doing something for others as much as its about doing something for themselves.
• They regularly invite other people to join – “just try it.”
• They understand the issues they volunteer for and are eager – put not pushy – to share their knowledge with others.
• They have strong opinions about the issue they volunteer for – particularly regarding the use of resources and the types of activities

Finding your influentials is important enough – and helpful enough – that we recommend putting a little extra work in up front in order to properly identify them. This usually looks like a simple interview and evaluation process. (We can help you with the right questions or even provide a tool.)

Once you find your influentials, begin to consider what needs to happen for you to let go of some of the leadership – and some of the control. Your influentials have been waiting (whether they know it or not) for someone to ask them to take more responsibility in this area. Remember, you’re helping them live out an important part of their identity. 

Here are some practical first steps when inviting influentials to take a leadership role:

Step 1: LISTEN

• Where are your influentials already volunteering?
• What causes are important to your influentials?
• Why are they volunteering with the company (or more likely, “why not”)?
• Are they aware that the company has an employee volunteering program?
• Have they heard about or used any incentives associated with the corporate volunteering program? (Such as: workplace giving, dollars for doers, or paid time-off.)

Step 2: PITCH (but don’t stop listening)

• Make a strong case for why the company’s employee volunteering program is worth their time. (Make sure you believe it before you try and prove it.)
• Clearly explain your expectations for them in this role and your own commitments to their success. Pay attention to their reaction.
• Offer to provide the training, administrative support and clear communication channels. (Make sure you can deliver before you make this offer.)

Step 3: SUPPORT

• Work with your influentials to come up with realistic goals and objectives for them and the program. (This is usually fun in workshop style.)
• Schedule annual performance reviews and be sure to include ‘terminal’ points so you both have the option to renew commitments and adjust expectations. (It’s not a life-long appointment.)
• Design and facilitate a measurement strategy in order to collect good data and be able to clearly demonstrate the value of your influentials’ leadership. (We all need a sense of accomplishment – “it’s the right thing to do” is never good enough.)
• Facilitate any relational issues that may arise in the process of peer to peer leadership - especially since many of your influentials will be junior level employees leading upper levels of management.
• Provide training and other events that will facilitate the leadership role. (Such as conferences, workshops, seminars, webinars provided by training organizations such as Boston College’s Center for Corporate Citizenship.)
• Provide Resources and tools that relate to the specific social issue the influential is addressing. (Workshops provided by the partnering nonprofit or community organizations, periodicals, books, online materials, etc.)

If you feel ready to take on these 3 steps, start by asking yourself, “Am I ready to switch my focus from handling all this work to facilitating the contributions of others?” If you can say yes, your potential is virtually unlimited.

If you can’t say yes yet, consider how you perceive yourself. What do you understand your long-term role to be? Your approach may be to utilize volunteers to maximize the efforts of a handful of staff (or just yourself). Jim Collins refers to this approach as “a genius with a thousand helpers." Unfortunately, the result of this approach is almost always one where the leader (you) becomes the bottleneck in the growth and impact of the employee volunteering program. It also squashes any ingenuity or energy outside the parameters of the genius’ own comfort. So…I don’t really recommend it. 

At Realized Worth, our favorite thing to talk about is employee volunteering. If you still feel confused about the benefits of finding your influentials, leave a comment below or email us here: chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com or angela@realizedworth.com. Cheers!

How to Find Your Influentials and Let Them Lead

The Key to an Engaging Employee Volunteer Program

If you want an engaging employee volunteer program, you'll need to make it 3 dimensional. Here's how.

If you're even vaguely familiar with Realized Worth, chances are you've heard us mention the "Journey of the Volunteer." Whether in blogs, presentations, or client work we talk about this journey as much as we can. Why? It is the most essential key to success for employee volunteer programs. The Journey of the Volunteer is not a theory we made up over here in our offices, in front of our computer screens - it is a reality we've observed for many years on the streets, as and with volunteers. 

As you design your employee volunteering program, things will quickly begin to make sense as you incorporate the reality of the 3 stages that take place in the journey of the volunteer. It's not a difficult task - but it does take some time. Either way, it’s worth it. Here are a couple thoughts to get you on your way to designing a program that results in meaningful impacts for your company, your community and your employees.

Stage 1: Experience before Commitment

First, many people, both in North America and the UK, are not in the regular habit of volunteering. The opportunity to volunteer in your company’s program will be many people's first time engaging in this type of civic activity - ever. For these uninitiated volunteers, remember this: the activity must be about experience first - not commitment. 

The 1st Stage in a volunteer’s journey is one of investigation and curiosity. As we often note in our blogs,  people who choose to participate in your EVP will be compelled by extrinsic motivations. It is important to provide free space for employees to discover their intrinsic (internal and personal) reasons to continue to participate in further corporate volunteering opportunities. In the 1st Stage, allowing employees to self-identify as "willing to take the next step" is a key component. By allowing employees to internalize their motivation and move forward at their own pace, you will eventually see the right people step into the right leadership roles at the right time. 

Stage 2: Guidance toward Leadership

The 2nd Stage in the journey of a volunteer is one of meaningful discovery. An identity begins to form within the volunteer that includes the place/cause for which they are volunteering. Often it is a time filled with frustration and confusion. Many people in Stage 2 tend to ask questions which can be framed rather negatively - this is because they are trying to break away from an 'us and them' mentality, to one of inclusion where they 'belong' to the people/cause with which they volunteer.

As counter-intuitive as it sounds, employees that have moved into stage 2 are likely candidates for leadership development and basic leadership roles. Program leaders and supporting staff should be trained to identify and recruit employees at this stage to more intense levels of involvement. Usually, this kind of training takes place in the form of a workshop, but there are also online tools, printed materials or even coaching calls. (One major element that needs to be taught? Reflection.)

Stage 3: Empowering Leaders

Finally, the 3rd Stage in the journey of a volunteer is one of alignment and internalization. At this point, the individual’s identity has fused with the specific cause or activities associated with the EVP. The employee-volunteer is now a champion for the cause with regard to the objectives of the community, fellow volunteers/staff, and the organization. In fact, loyalty to the overall success of the community/cause/project, becomes aligned with personal benefit.

Your company probably has a handful of 3rd Stage people (there are only ever a handful, if any at all). So how do you find them?

Our recommendation is to profile existing employees with targeted surveys, phone interviews, or though consultation with other employees active in the community (believe me, they’ll know who the 3rd Stage people are once you describe them). 

It's important to identify your employees who are already operating at this 3rd stage of involvement. These volunteers will multiply your efforts, offer insightful (and accurate) feedback - ultimately, they'll ensure your program is successful. Concerned about participation rates? Focus on your 3rd stage leadership and they’ll go to work on enlisting colleagues into the community involvement efforts.

These people are influential. Not because of their personality or communication skills, but because they have an authentic and compelling story to share - even if the delivery is shakey. When you meet a ‘true-believer’ you know it. Prioritize your time around employees at this stage. Facilitate their leadership and let them do the "heavy lifting." I guarantee - this is they’ve been waiting for all along.

Getting Started

If there's one step you can take right away toward a successful EVP, it's this: open a "1st stage space" for your volunteers - or, at the very least, start thinking about what it would take to do so. Here's what a 1st stage space looks like:

1. It's a low-commitment volunteer activity, usually reflected in a 1-3 hour event
2. The same activity takes place on a regular basis. (i.e. serving food at a men's mission)
3. There is no obligation to come back – ever. (At the same time, there are clear invitations to come back, if interested.)
4. The activity if open to groups of friends or families as well individuals
5. There is always a briefing at the beginning of the activity in which participants are told: a) exactly what will be happening; b) who is in charge; c) what the boundaries (rules) are; d) what to do if there is a problem, and (most importantly); e) why the activity matters.
6. There is always space for critical reflection afterwards - without which perspectives and behavior remain unchanged.

Once you set up this space, you'll begin to see the journey of the volunteer happen naturally. After that, we'll worry about the more complicated steps.

At Realized Worth, our favorite topic of discussion is corporate volunteering. You can join in by contacting us here:

Chris Jarvis: chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com

Angela Parker: angela@realizedworth.com

317.371.4435

 

The Key to an Engaging Employee Volunteer Program

How to Be Heard (For Causes that Matter)

No matter how important your volunteering opportunity, your fundraising cause, your difference-making event - people will not hear what you have to say about it, if you don't use your voice well. 

How can a person with worthwhile information to share communicate in a way that will be heard? What does it take to move a message through the noise into that place where it becomes important to the receiver?

Here's what works on me - and when it comes to the challenge of grabbing someone’s attention, I think I’m a pretty good test case. (Right now, I’m vaguely distracted by both TV and Twitter.)

What Works on Me

Chances are, if you sent me a form email in the last week or two, I probably deleted it without a second thought. I didn’t mean any disrespect, but it’s likely that I noticed a few indicators that told me your email isn’t worth my time - or yours, for that matter. 

However, if I did receive and read your form email, it probably started with one, magical word: my name. People do not care about you if you do not care about them. The quickest way to get someone to delete your email is to begin it with the line, “Dear friend.” In the rapid mental processes that determine between trash and treasure, this greeting is quickly tossed in a bin labeled: not even addressed to me.

Be Human

As technical and intellectual as your work might be, try and act human. If the tone of an email gifts me with the feeling of having unexpectedly run into a good friend, well done. At the very least, talk to me as if you like me. Don’t apologize for a form email; make me forget that it’s a form email. 

Teach me something

People associate value with being taught something new. As you chat with me, offer me a few (but not too many) optional links where I can go and teach myself more about your cause. If I have to go and find it myself, I never will. 

Make me look smart

Again, this isn’t about whether or not people respect what you’re doing - It’s all about time management. Multiply your voice and make me look smart by writing a few, cleverly-crafted sentences that I can send out over the following days or weeks on Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin. These pre-written 140 characters will be a quick copy/paste for me and increased promotion for you.

Appeal to my emotions

Yes, even highly distracted people will prioritize something that moves them. Provide me a way to get involved with your cause that includes something that really matters to me. This element almost always utilizes storytelling. Click on the example at the end of this article to see how it’s done in real life. 

Don’t waste my time

You may grab my attention initially, but please, please don’t waste my time with too much of anything. From start to finish, your form email should be sharp, clear and concise. Don’t overwhelm me with color, don’t underwhelm me by droning on, don’t lose me by over-explaining. Assuming you’ve provided links, I can always choose to go and find out more.

Offer a reciprocal favor

Maybe its just to be polite (because you know I’ll never take you up on it), but once you’ve finished telling me what you need from me in order to promote your cause, kindly offer a reciprocal favor. Its as simple as “If there’s ever anything I can do for you, please let me know.” It just makes me feel good. 

Use The Magic Word

Remember, be human. Organizations are not human, so when you sign off, use that magic word: your name. Not only that, but make sure the “reply to” email is also personal. The human factor makes all the difference - at least for me.

How its Done:

This article was, in fact, inspired by a form email that I received this week from Jessica Kirkwood at the HandsOn Network. Click here to see how its done.


Contact Realized Worth for help creating outstanding employee volunteering programs. Not sure if you're ready for an EVP? How about a one-day workshop? Be sure to click here for more info.

How to Be Heard (For Causes that Matter)