While a few years ago, businesses were doing all they could to keep their best employees from departing for greener pastures, today’s businesses face a different challenge. In a tight job market, workers are holding onto the jobs they have, afraid that if they quit, they’ll never find a new one. That has led to employee disengagement, with workers doing just enough to hold onto jobs they aren’t satisfied with. The challenge for businesses today is to motivate and engage employees. One way to do that is to make their work more meaningful by connecting it to philanthropic causes that are important to them.
Corporate Social Responsibility
CSR, also known as corporate citizenship, aligns business practices with socially beneficial activities, such as philanthropy and volunteering. It differs from Environmental, Social, and Governance in that ESG is externally focused on investors and public perception, while CSR focuses inward, on employees. ESG initiatives are typically concretely measurable, while CSR is mainly cultural. Charitable giving isn’t the only component of CSR, but when it comes to building a culture and increasing employee engagement and satisfaction, it is one of the most important.
Top-Down vs. Employee-Led Initiatives
When you think of corporate philanthropy, the first thing that might come to mind is top-down philanthropy, where executives decide on which charities to give to and which causes to support. But philanthropy is much more effective at building morale when it is employee-led. When employees decide for themselves how a business should give back to the community, they identify more closely with the business, which in turn creates higher levels of engagement and job satisfaction. An engaged workforce doesn’t just work more productively; employees are more motivated to improve the business and innovate because they identify the business’s success with their own.
Examples of Employee-Led CSR Initiatives
Matching Gifts: In this type of initiative, an employee chooses from a list of nonprofits they want to support and decide how much they want to donate. The company matches that donation, whether at 1:1 or at a higher ratio.
Paid Volunteering Hours: 70% of Americans want to volunteer but don’t, mainly because they feel like they don’t have the time, according to Inc. Help those employees fulfill their need to give back while increasing morale and job satisfaction by offering paid volunteering hours in addition to the normal paid days off.
Recognition for Giving Employees: Officially recognizing employees who participate in these programs helps strengthen the relationship between employer and employee. It also serves to encourage other employees to participate and remind them that these programs exist. Recognition might take the form of anything from a gift card to a callout during a meeting, in the company newsletter, or in a group chat.
Getting the Word Out
The main challenge with all of these programs is making sure employees know about them. Ideally, employees will have heard of your philanthropic programs even before they apply to the job. Since a socially engaged employer is something so many employees want, list your CSR initiatives in the job listing. Once they’re hired, introduce them to the details during onboarding. Periodically remind current employees about your programs in emails and office signage, and recognize employees who make donations through these programs to encourage participation.
Doing the Right Thing While Benefiting Your Business Goals
If you want employees to give their all at work, you’ve got to be willing to give something to them. CSR programs show that we’re all in this together, that you’re willing to help them fulfill their desire to make the world a better place. When employees and businesses work together to make positive change, employees take a more active role in their business’s success. They can see that when their business succeeds, society as a whole succeeds.
