The Business Case Against Employee Volunteering?

Our recent blog series, The Business Case for Employee Volunteering, has proven to be popular with our readers. We wrote the series because we knew that CSR managers wanted good information and research to demonstrate the value to the company generated by these programs.

But what happens when you're not quite convinced that these types of programs should have a business case at all? Maybe corporate responsibility has its place, but the idea of doing good and making a profit shouldn’t get all mixed up together.

If you’ve been looking for some hard-nosed critical debate on the actual value of corporate citizenship strategies and sustainability programs, I suggest checking out next week's COMMIT!Forum in NYC on September 26^th.

Corporate Responsibility Magazine and the New York Stock Exchange are hosting an Oxford-style debate on "whether shareholder value is eroded or enhanced when companies integrate sustainability strategies and pursue corporate responsibility initiatives.” Two teams will take their best shot at presenting compelling arguments and offering their strongest rebuttals.

Here’s a bit more information to help you decide whether to buy that plane ticket and join the debate:

Is sustainability sustainable for the bottom line? If corporate responsibility programs erode or reduce returns, why do companies pursue them? On the other hand, if they are profitable, why do executives and CFOs steer away from these valuable strategies?

The team arguing that “shareholder value is eroded by sustainability and corporate responsibility” is Gerry Sullivan, Portfolio Manager of the VICE Fund (ticker: VICEX – www.usamutuals.com) and Dr. Aneel Karnani, PhD, from the University of Michigan and author of "The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility,” published in The Wall Street Journal. 

“In general, the capital markets reward companies that exceed expectations and shareholders benefit from that success.   I have only seen anecdotal evidence that sustainability enhances shareholder value. Of 11 selected ‘Green Funds’ only 2 have one-year performance better than the S&P 500. It will be difficult to show that sustainability has sufficient evidence compared to the everyday markets that are hyper-efficient and serve the best interest of investors,” said Sullivan,  developer of the NASDAQ OMX Industry Leaders Index.  A former Salomon Bros. corporate finance analyst and O'Connor & Associates options trader, Sullivan holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and an undergraduate degree from Columbia University.

“As society faces many large challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation, pervasive poverty, and disease epidemics, a critical issue is determining the appropriate roles for business and government in addressing these problems. This debate will explore the arguments about the role of business in society,” said Karnani, associate professor of strategy at the University of Michigan; and the author of Fighting Poverty Together. Karnani holds a doctorate from Harvard Business School as well as an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management and a B.A. from the Indian Institute of Technology.

The team advocating that “shareholder value is enhanced by sustainability and corporate responsibility” includes R. Paul Herman, Chief Executive and Chief Investment Officer of HIP Investor Inc. (www.HIPinvestor.com), and Dr. Vinay Nair, chief investment officer of Ada Investments (www.adainvestments.com) and Associate Professor at the Columbia Business School.

“We will show that investors have the potential to enhance their upside and limit their downside when investing for positive change,” said Nair, CEO and CIO of the New York based Ada Investment Management LP and adjunct associate professor at the Columbia Business School. The co-author of Investing for Change and a Senior Fellow at The Wharton School, Nair holds a doctorate from NYU’s Stern School and a B.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras.

“This spirited, but civil, debate will put front-and-center the real value of business to society and the potential for more profitable and lower-risk investor portfolios from the implementation of sustainability,” said Herman. The author of The HIP Investor: Make Bigger Profits by Building a Better World and a lecturer at The Presidio Graduate School (MBA) and Thammasat Business School (Thailand), he holds a B.Sci in Economics from Wharton.

The event will be held Sept. 26-27 at the Javits Center in Manhattan, a global investment hub. You can find out more information here - http://www.commitforum.com/

If you do plan on attending, you can get a 20% discount. Just use this code JARVIS20 when registering.

Since I can't make it this year - you have to promise to keep me up to date on twitter! I'll be looking for you.


At Realized Worth, we work with major corporations to design and implement strategic volunteer programs. Give us a call to chat about how we can help you: 317.371.4435 or contact Chris or Angela at chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com or angela@realizedworth.com

The Business Case Against Employee Volunteering?

Direct Action: The East African Drought

 Realized Worth would like to thank Faith Bachlow for the following guest post. For all the talk we do about the value of volunteering, we thought it was time to provide our readers with a direct route to take action. Here's a significant way to address the desperation that is rampant right now in East Africa due to the multi-year drought.

What do long weekends, long-term development strategies, bobby pins and drought have in common?

Normally nothing, but this Labour Day weekend they had a lot more in common than I would have ever thought.

Fridays at Free The Children's head office, I must admit, are my favourite time to be there. By 5pm it’s quiet, I’m at my most creative (not to mention productive), and I can still feel the energy in the rooms. I just love it. I even get to play the very best of the 50's and 60's on internet radio and sing my heart out!

This Friday was different.

After my final e-mail was sent, computer shut down and all of my things ready to go, I was just about to head home for the long weekend. Then I made one last stop before the trek home: the bathroom.

I entered the bathroom, closed the door behind me and went to lock the door when something terrible happened—the doorknob fell loose into my hand. I'm not sure if anyone else has had this moment, you know the one, where your life flashes before your eyes. Well, right there, in the bathroom, I had that moment.

It’s Friday at 6pm, it’s Labour Day weekend, and there I was, locked in a bathroom with no one to rescue me until Tuesday morning. I was in quite the pickle.

There I sat; no clock to watch the time pass and no food to eat.  Nothing to do but think. Then, a positive thought came to mind: at least I have water! 


Free The Children

Working at Free The Children I get to read stories about individuals with so much strength and tenacity, individuals that inspire me to do more. It has made me realize how important it is to be grateful for the little things like having enough food to eat, clothes to wear, a roof over my head, family, joy, hope—and running water.

I remember the story of Achan Ngwaigigoch, a young woman living in the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya. Recently interviewed by Justus Mwendwa, one of our Program Mangers in Kenya, she tells her story:

I came to Kenya in January 2004, but let me take you back a bit. In December 2003, there was a genocide targeting our community. We had to leave in order to save our lives. The militia came to our home, killed my husband and hit me with a machete. When I fell down, they wounded me all over my body [showing Justus several scars on her legs and face].

When the war broke out, what was important at that point was where we could find peace. Since we had heard about Kenya, we started running towards the Ethiopia- Kenya border. I called my sister who lives abroad. I used some money she sent to pay bus fare from Addis Ababa to Moyale after walking for 5 days. At the Moyale border, we couldn’t cross from the main border since we didn’t have the right travel documents so we paid people to take us through the bush routes. I was in a lot of pain because of the wounds I had suffered back home and my back was aching a lot. With the people we had run together, we boarded a truck to Nairobi. Immediately we went to the UNHCR offices there. On February 18, 2004, the UNHCR sent us here.

Life at this camp is not easy at all.  A few weeks ago, my brother was attacked and stabbed nine times. Nobody knows the cause for that. He was badly beaten and he is just lying in bed, yet he has a family. [Achan got so emotional they had to pause the interview.]

I have also been attacked in the past by people who came to my home and started throwing stones at my house in the middle of the night. As our girls go to the market, they have to cover their hair, yet that isn’t our culture. Many have been attacked here. Another problem is that when you go to the shops there are differences in prices for the majority and the minority tribes here. We have also had cases where we can’t go to look for firewood because we fear for our security. Security is bad here.

By now you must all be wondering, how does this story end? And, in light of stories like Achan’s, who am I to complain about my measly bathroom situation?

The Drought Relief Efforts

Free The Children helps communities with real problems. The Adopt a Village communities in the Narok District are facing significant stress due to drought, and are amongst the 23 percent of Kenyans living in absolute poverty. They rely on agriculture both for their primary source of income and to feed their families. This year, both crops have failed, leaving them with almost nothing for their tables and little income to buy food in the market. To compound the problem, the prices of maize and beans in the marketplace has quadrupled so that every shilling buys only 25% as much as it would normally.

In response to this situation, Free The Children is administering a feeding program for 6,000 kids attending Free The Children schools, as well as 3,500 pregnant women and new mothers. We are also working in partnership with the UNHCR to arrange for food and medical shipments to Somali refugees in Dadaab. As always, our initiatives will be paired with our continued focus on sustainable and long-term development so that communities are less vulnerable to these challenges in the future.

Free The Children has a 12-year history of working in East Africa and is seeking your support for both short-term emergency food relief and long-term agricultural development programs that will enable communities to cope with this crisis while building towards a more sustainable future.

To learn more about Free the children’s East African drought relief efforts and to make a donation visit http://www.freethechildren.com/donate/kenya/ , call 416-925-5894 ext 148, or e-mail projects@freethechildren.com.

2 Hours and 5 Bobby Pins Later...

But wait!  You’re probably wondering how I got out of the bathroom (assuming I’m not still there now). If I have learned anything from my two years at Free The Children, it’s that us FTCers are tenacious workers who know how to get the job done. My Baba (Russian for grandmother), a woman who lived through WW2, once taught me as a child how to pick a lock with nothing but a bobby pin. Two hours and five bobby pins later, I was free!

If you’ve learned anything through reading my experience, it should be these two things:  ONE: always carry your cell phone to the bathroom.  TWO: we need to do more to help those living in East Africa, where everyone should have access to clean water and everyone should have hope. Be a friend of East Africa!

ABOUT FAITH  

Faith first became involved with Free The Children as a volunteer during We Day in 2009 and was inspired by the organization ever since. With a passion for humanitarian rights, she is also a Level 2 disaster relief worker with the Disaster Management Program at the Red Cross (which means that when there's trouble, she'll know what to do!) Follow her on Twitter @FaithBachlow.

http://www.freethechildren.com/blog/minga_faith.jpg

Direct Action: The East African Drought

Tackling Canada's Image Problem: CBSR's 9th Annual Conference

How is Canada's social and environmental performance measuring up globally? This is the question being asked at the 9th Annual CBSR Summit on October 26, 2011. The answer may surprise everyone.

Signing of  bilateral free trade agreement between Canada and Honduras

As a Canadian, I am dismayed at the erosion of good will around the world toward my nation of birth. Canadian newspapers print self-admonishing captions such as “Canada backs profits, not human rights, in Honduras” revealing unsavory political policies which further threaten some of the world’s most vulnerable populations.


The Canadian Image Problem

In December of last year, Dirk Matten and Andy Crane, business school professors at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, wrote a scathing evaluation of Canada's lack of leadership in ethical business practice around the world.

“For a long time Canada – certainly in the rest of the world – had this image of a very progressive, liberal and forward looking country in terms of social and environmental responsibilities of business.....This all sounds like long ago now.”

Matten and Crane were responding to the recent actions by the Canadian Parliament. Two important Bill’s were voted down. The first, Bill C-300, would have addressed the lagging or non-existent environmental and social responsibility standards required by Canadian mining companies operating around the world.

The second, Bill C-311, would have brought Canada closer to a serious position on climate change. Voting down the bill (using the Senate, which in Canada is appointed - not elected) was widely perceived as an attempt to placate the large oil and gas companies operating within Canada. Most Canadians, on the other hand, are eager to improve Canada’s environmental record. The problem is that Harper doesn’t actually believe in the science behind climate change research. The result is that most Canadians believe their nation is far more progressive than it actually is.

“It’s definitely a scandal,” said Graham Saul, Executive Director of Climate Action Network Canada. He added that the government was “muzzling scientists; they’re putting climate deniers in key oversight positions over research, and they’re reducing funding in key areas [...] It’s almost as though they’re making a conscious attempt to bury the truth.” (read the full article here)

Conflicting Perceptions

This is the political and social setting for the 9th Annual CBSR Summit: Canadian Business as a Global Citizen: Social andEnvironmental Performance on the World Stage

Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR) asks “How is corporate Canada perceived around the world? How do our initiatives influence our bottom line and have an impact outside our borders?”

As CBSR rightly notes, much of corporate Canada’s actions around the world are positive:

“Canadian companies operate abroad, our supply chains extend outside our borders, we contribute when disaster strikes overseas, and we have one of the most culturally diverse workforces in the world. How is our social and environmental performance measuring up globally, and what action is required for a sustainable future?”

But the question is one of perception. And the answer may surprise everyone.

Here's more info about the conference:

Attend the Conference

October 26, 2011, Toronto

Canadian Business as a Global Citizen: Social and Environmental Performance on the World Stage

Plan to attend the 9th CBSR Summit on Corporate Social Responsibility to:

Hear from Canadian and international visionaries including, keynote speaker Stephen Lewis, Distinguished Visiting Professor, Ryerson University, Celebrated Humanitarian and Former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Additional Summit Speakers include:

• Andrew Heintzman, President & CEO of Investeco,
• Dr. Michael Schull, Chair of Dignitas International and Past President of Médècins Sans Frontieres Canada
• Janet Longmore, President and CEO of Digital Opportunity Trust.

Discover and Learn new ideas and best practices through discussions with business leaders concerning expectations and responsibilities, opportunities and risks in the global context.

Network with peers and thought leaders.

Take a deeper look at key global CSR issues by attending a morning workshop.

Be inspired by the lunch keynote presentation and participate in an afternoon of discussions.

If you are a CSR Professional, Senior Executive, Communications Director, Environment, Corporate Affairs or Sustainability Manager - the 2011 Summit is your day to learn, reflect and connect on the global role of Canadian business.

Register by September 15th to take advantage of the early-bird discounts.

We look forward to seeing you at the CBSR 2011 Summit!

Learn more and register at: www.cbsr.ca/summit

Contact Realized Worth for consulting services or speaking engagements on the topics of corporate volunteering, engagement through social media, or CSR: 317.372.4435 or chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com or angela@realizedworth.com

Tackling Canada's Image Problem: CBSR's 9th Annual Conference

The Key to Unlocking the Benefits of Corporate Volunteering

Skills-based volunteering vs. general volunteering: When it comes to long-term impacts, skills-based will win every time. So why am I still an advocate for general volunteering? Read on and join the conversation. You can comment at the bottom of the page or contact me at chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com.

I want to be very clear - I am a fan of Taproot and Aaron Hurst, the President and Founder of the Foundation. Realized Worth lists Taproot as a highly competent option for companies seeking out help with their skill-based or pro-bono volunteering efforts (read more about our thoughts on hiring consulting firms to help with employee volunteering).

If you’re unfamiliar with Taproot, I recommend you learn about them. “Taproot is a nonprofit organization that makes business talent available to organizations working to improve society.”

Recently, Aaron and I exchanged a couple tweets about the value (or lack thereof) of non-skilled volunteering. Aaron strongly believes that skilled volunteering is the way to go for companies looking for genuine impact through their employee volunteering programs. This past June, he wrote an article for the Huffington Post entitled “The Fortune 500 Need to Take Their Own Advice."

“The vast majority of companies still support employee volunteering programs that consist primarily of painting fences and cleaning parks, despite the fact that data clearly shows it has less community impact and provides less employee satisfaction, skills development and networking value compared to pro bono service.

On behalf of the nonprofit sector, I would like to ask companies to act more like businesses. If you truly care about making a sustainable difference in the community, do less hands-on volunteering and focus on where you can make your talent matter.”

Not only am I a fan of Aaron’s, but I think he’s right. When it comes to high impact employee volunteering, pro-bono or skill-based volunteering is the way to go.

But there’s a bit more to consider....

This is Not an Either/Or Conversation

Typically, when people refer to employee volunteering they tend to categorize the activity into one of two types:

• General Volunteering (also known as non-skilled or hands-on volunteering). This type of volunteering involves activities that usually require little to no skill or long term commitment.
  
• Skill-Based Volunteering (also known as pro-bono volunteering). This type of volunteering utilizes a specific skill set possessed by the volunteer. Often the engagements involve a longer commitment but that’s not always the case.

Given these two options, skill-based volunteering will always yield a greater return. For example, let’s say you are an accountant and you have the option to either: a) paint a fence, or; b) help a nonprofit with their financials. Which would provide the greater benefit for the nonprofit?

Admittedly, these two categories offer an easy way to discuss volunteering. However, when it comes to corporate volunteering this simple duality creates some confusion.

The litmus test for effective corporate volunteering is not skilled vs. non-skilled.

This is the litmus test: If you remove your company from the equation, does it matter? 

If your employees are able to volunteer in the same way, achieving the same outcomes on their own time using their own resources (and that of the nonprofit), then your company may be offering nothing more than a day out of the office. This kind of volunteering is still good, it’s just not good enough (here are some examples of what were talking about).

The company’s resources are the key ingredient for creating high-impact volunteering - whether it is skilled or non-skilled volunteering.

This is a Both/And Approach

Companies looking to generate high levels of impact as a result of their corporate volunteering programs need to pay attention to three realities and requirements:

REALITY ONE: Most employees don’t volunteer and are not interested in significant commitments.

On average only one out of three employees volunteer on a regular basis (UK, USA, and Canada). Yet companies have the amazing opportunity to promote volunteerism through corporate volunteering programs. According to the University of Toronto, in 2009, 42% of surveyed employees in Canada volunteered for the first time (in their lives) through the corporate volunteering program.

Business has the opportunity to significantly increase the civic engagement in the communities and nations in which they operate.

REQUIREMENT ONE: Provide employees quality experiences which allow them to explore the idea of volunteering and how it connects to them personally.

Companies need to design employee volunteering programs that allow their employees to fall in love with volunteering. This may involve skill-based activities, but at this stage it’s not about impact - it’s about conversion. It’s about creating a business culture where civic engagement is the norm.

Here’s how to do it:

Understanding The Journey of a Volunteer - Part 1

Understanding The Journey of a Volunteer - Part 2

The Key To An Engaging Volunteer Program

REALITY TWO: One out of three employees does volunteer on a regular basis, but probably not as part of the corporate volunteer program.

Many people view volunteering as a personal activity. Corporate volunteering programs are a nice option for those employees who volunteer regularly, but they’ve already made a connection with a cause or community that fits their interests. A significant number of these employees are volunteering their skills and they are highly committed.

REQUIREMENT TWO: Find and collaborate with these seasoned volunteers.

If you want your program to get off the ground, you need to find the employees who are already volunteering. They are influential because they possess the experience, knowledge and compelling stories to convince their colleagues (who have never volunteered) to try it out.

Here’s how to do it:

How to Find Your Influentials and Let Them Lead

REALITY THREE: If the company’s assets are not essential to the employee volunteering program, it’s not having the impact it could.

There are major pharmaceutical companies that plant trees as the main employee volunteering activity. That’s good because it may turn a number of employees on to volunteering - but it’s not good enough.

Why?

Because anyone can plant trees. The pharmaceutical company is not adding anything to the equation.

Even if the pharmaceutical company was encouraging pro bono work among it’s accounts as part of the project, it’s still not good enough. Accountants don’t need their employer to volunteer in that scenario.

Remember the litmus test: If you were to remove your company from the equation, would it matter? That litmus test applies to both skilled and non-skilled volunteering.

REQUIREMENT THREE: Design corporate volunteering programs that depend on the business’ unique tangible or intangible assets (here’s an explanation of these assets)

Here’s a great example of how to do it:

A Great Example of Employee Volunteering Done Right

The Future of Employee Volunteering

Employee volunteering programs need to offer opportunities to experience volunteering and fall in love with it. This takes time. It also requires enjoyable experiences that ask for low commitment.

Companies also need to enable/allow employees to invest their skills and abilities in ways that increase the impact of the nonprofit or community they serve. (Through Taproot, for example! They are brilliant at this.) If your employees connect with a cause or community, they’ll most likely be looking for this kind of opportunity.

In both cases, companies need to design these volunteering experiences in light of their brand and unique resources. This is the key to unlocking the profound benefits of corporate volunteering.

Contact us to talk more about it! chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com or angela@realizedworth.com or 317.372.2435

The Key to Unlocking the Benefits of Corporate Volunteering