As discussed in the first post of this series, companies face the prospect of major costs when they have disengaged employees and uninspired customers.
Employee turnover and abandoned shopping carts are but a few consequences. So what can companies do to help prevent these situations (or mitigate them if it’s too late)? Plenty, of course! Charitable programs have proven to be effective (and many times very low-cost) ways to keep people engaged, channel employees’ energy in positive endeavors and bring passion out of its workforce.
While not every corporation can afford to endow a foundation or operate a large-scale charitable program, there are other things that any company can do to be a good corporate citizen, not only for the sake of employee morale or customer loyalty, but to do good for good’s sake. Even in a bad economy, companies still find a way to cover the costs of doing business; this is just one more of those costs. Keep reading for some specific strategies you can easily implement at your own organization.
Companies that have a record of good corporate citizenship are often well-insulated when things go horribly wrong. A powerful example is that during the 1992 riots in South Central Los Angeles, amid the rampant destruction of property in the area, one company emerged unscathed: McDonald’s. In fact, people participating in the riot went out of their way to ensure no harm came to any McDonald’s restaurant because a) the Ronald McDonald House was a well-known charitable organization and b) the company had very strong ties to the community in terms of hiring practices and support for after-school programs.
Remember that online employee turnover calculator from the first post of this series? Imagine what your company could accomplish by taking just 10 or 20% of that turnover cost and investing it into a corporate citizenship program. The benefits would far outweigh the costs, not to mention the prospect of having to pay that entire turnover cost.
Getting started is easier than you might think. Here are some strategies to help your company take the first steps in developing such an initiative:
1. Survey employees to learn what they are passionate about.
Ask your employees to share some examples of charities they support and places they volunteer on weekends. Make the survey anonymous and optional, but let employees know that their responses will be used to launch some sort of corporate citizenship initiative and explain that the company would prefer to invest in organizations and causes that matter most to employees.
2. Ask customers to share what causes matter to them.
Put a survey widget on your main corporate website and/or customer portal to let customers identify worthwhile charities or causes, or to vote for their favorite from a list of choices. Also add a tab to your company’s Facebook page if you have one, and invite fans to share their ideas either in the comments or via a poll on the page. You can have them select from causes or organizations. Subaru has a Share the Love effort that lets customers designate a cash donation to their choice of charities, for example.
3. Look at the charitable causes that fit best with your business and your brand.
Now that you know what makes your employees tick and your customers swoon, it’s time to determine which causes work best for the company. Sometimes there’s a perfect fit between a company’s product offerings and a philanthropic initiative, such as a medical device company that donates its products to low-income patients or clinics in impoverished areas, or a publishing company that donates books to schools and libraries, or a high tech company that makes investments in math and science education.
Find organizations that could benefit from the types of contributions your company is best suited to provide. If nothing jumps out at you, then just choose from among what your employees and customers have mutually identified and see which of the options works best for your local community. Are there particular characteristics of your geographic region that would line up well against any of the proposed causes? Failing that, just pick a direction that appeals to you and get started.
4. Once you’ve settled on a cause or charitable organization(s), choose the appropriate financial giving model.
Explore the tax benefits of establishing a foundation or corporate giving program if there are sufficient funds to set aside. If this is not feasible, there are other ways to make more affordable cash donations. Consider creating a small donation program by setting aside a few thousand dollars and enabling an employee-run committee to make contributions from that fund to eligible charities in the community. Also look at creating a matching grant program that matches employee contributions to eligible charities falling within the company’s parameters. Then, maintain the program by injecting more cash into the program each quarter, or each year, as business conditions permit.
5. Consider cause-related marketing activities.
Yoplait’s “Save Lids to Save Lives” campaign in support of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure is a textbook example of cause-related marketing. Yoplait makes donations to the nonprofit for each pink lid that customers mail in. Another example is the Product Red campaign that helps fight AIDS in Africa. There are some potential pitfalls to be aware of, but many companies have run very successful campaigns.
6. Make donations as part of a social media campaign.
Social media is playing an increasing role in charitable activities. Numerous companies are donating money for every Like they receive on Facebook, such as this initiative from Heinz. Other companies make donations tied to tweets or new Twitter followers.
7. Enjoy yourself and remember to thank employees and customers.
Get a team of executives and managers to participate in community events held by the charities your company has chosen to support. Show up with a big check and present it to the charity personally. Post photos of these activities and the check presentation on your site and Facebook page. Finally, consider updating employee performance reviews or evaluations to include philanthropy or community involvement to show that the company recognizes and benefits from the time and effort invested in these activities, and to demonstrate that corporate citizenship is a core value.
The third post in this series explores how companies can be good corporate citizens without breaking the bank. In the meantime, please share how your company has been involved with charitable or community projects in the comments.
Image credit: James Jordan
