Ask a CSR Friend: Building the Case for Volunteer Time Off

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Hear from our experts right here in our Ask a CSR Friend monthly column.

Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned pro, we know it takes a village to create vibrant workplaces where employees are empowered to contribute to the communities and causes they care about. So, when you need a trusted advisor to lean on, rely on Points of Light to be your CSR Friend. Each month, our experts share their wisdom and wit to address a specific but often universal challenge related to your work as a corporate social impact practitioner.

Have questions about employee community engagement? Submit your question and it may be featured in a future blog post.

Dear CSR Friend,

I lead my employer’s community engagement strategy and, each year, when my team contemplates improvements, a large portion of our conversation centers on increasing employee participation. While we have plans to double-down on communication and better understanding employee interests, we know we could improve by simply ensuring that every employee, regardless of their role, has an opportunity to take time off to volunteer during the workday. We say that supporting communities is a core value but, honestly, it feels like it’s only for the chosen few—those who have flexible schedules because they’re not on the sales floor all day. How can I appeal to senior leaders that now is the right time to explore an enterprise-wide VTO policy?

Vexed by VTO in Vancouver

Dear Vexed, If I had a nickel for every question we receive around boosting participation, I would be the richest social impact expert on earth! But what you’ve hit upon is actually bigger than hitting participation goals and touches leaders like yourself no matter the industry or size of company they work for. And that’s the issue of volunteer equity and access. I’ve seen many companies in recent years lift up their corporate values around diversity and inclusion, start new programs and reinforce public commitments but, when you look under the hood, it’s easy to see they’re viewing the employee experience through a myopic lens. Good news: it can be done. Senior leaders have bought into implementing a volunteer time off policy for all even where it feels like an impossibility such as in manufacturing and retail environments. They understand that the benefits of having an employee volunteer program aren’t fully realized if only some of the employee population can take advantage. Here’s my advice on how to make the case for developing and implementing a Volunteer Time Off (VTO) policy:

1. Understand Your Audience: Before presenting your case, understand the business priorities of your senior leaders. They each bring a different perspective to the table depending on what function they lead, so tailor your arguments to align with their goals.
2. Research and Gather Data: Collect data on the positive impacts of volunteerism on business goals like employee engagement, job satisfaction and recruitment. Use statistics to illustrate how a VTO policy can lead to improved employee morale and productivity. You can also use proof points from Edelman that highlight the disconnection that deskless workers feel to bolster your argument.
3. Highlight the Benefits for Employees: Emphasize how VTO can contribute to employees’ well-being along with personal and professional development. It provides them with opportunities to develop new skills, network and engage with the community, which can boost morale and job satisfaction. In fact, some of the unique skills these frontline employees possess are exactly what’s needed by your grantees and community partners.
4. Connect to Company Values: Demonstrate how a VTO policy aligns with the company’s values and commitment to social responsibility and inclusion and belonging. Ensuring all employees – even those in diverse roles and work settings – are eligible to participate sends a values-aligned message.
5. Address Potential Concerns: Anticipate and address any concerns senior leaders might have. Common concerns include potential productivity loss, scheduling conflicts, or abuse of the policy. Come to the table with solutions to mitigate these concerns.
6. Present a Pilot Program: Propose starting with a small-scale pilot program to test the impact of VTO. This tactic allows the organization to measure the benefits and make adjustments based on the initial experience before rolling out the policy company-wide.
7. Provide Details: Clearly outline how the policy could be implemented and maintained, including technology, communication plans and any necessary training for managers.
8. Quantify the Current Impact: Showcase the impact that your existing volunteer efforts and associated policies have on business and community priorities and how they could grow by ensuring every employee has the opportunity to participate. This step could include metrics such as employee engagement scores, positive feedback from consumers and community partners, progress on social issues important to the company, and the correlated cost savings due to decreased turnover. Demonstrate that what you’re doing now is just the tip of the social impact iceberg.

Implementing an enterprise-wide VTO policy that enables equitable access to your company’s social impact initiatives isn’t just good for employees; it’s also a significant way of fostering a sense of inclusion and belonging and deepening the employee experience – all incredibly important priorities to senior leaders as they deal with recruitment and retention challenges. Of course, implementing the policy is just the first step; it must be accompanied by continual education and reinforcement at all levels. But that’s a story for a future column. Until Next Month, Your

CSR Friend

Learn more about how we can help you level up your social impact work and why your company should join top social impact leadership and become a member of the Points of Light Corporate Service Council.

Ask a CSR Friend: Working With ERG Leaders

Looking for CSR advice?

Hear from our experts right here in our Ask a CSR Friend monthly column.

Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned pro, we know it takes a village to create vibrant workplaces where employees are empowered to contribute to the communities and causes they care about. So, when you need a trusted advisor to lean on, rely on Points of Light to be your CSR Friend. Each month, our experts share their wisdom and wit to address a specific but often universal challenge related to your work as a corporate social impact practitioner.

Have questions about employee community engagement? Submit your question and it may be featured in a future blog post.

Dear CSR Friend,

My company’s employee volunteer program has been around for ages but we recently launched employee resource groups to foster inclusivity, shape the employee experience, develop leaders, and influence business practices. I am super grateful that they now exist (truthfully, they are long overdue), and I want to ensure that my corporate social impact teammates and I begin collaborating effectively with our colleagues who lead the ERG strategy and its implementation since some of our community goals and engagement activities overlap. Do you have any tips for starting off on the right foot?

EVP & ERG Enthusiast in Eugene

Dear EVP & ERG Enthusiast, I love to hear that your employer has realized the value that comes from formalizing ERGs as part of its DEIB strategy. You’re not the first to pose this question since it can seem like the work of ERGs and employee community engagement is at odds in certain ways – namely how they approach community partnerships, establish goals and guidelines, and why and when they mobilize their members. I’ve jotted down a top ten list of ideas to help you and your DEIB counterparts set both programs up for success.

1. Create clear communication channels: First, I think the main hurdle to cross is ensuring open and regular communication between the leaders of these two work streams. Determine whether that’s through scheduled recurring meetings, joint working group sessions, or hosting virtual mixers with the goal of getting to know one another both professionally and personally. Heck, make plans to do all of the above AND share ideas and concerns as they surface through a dedicated Slack or Teams channel.
2. Understand each other’s roles and missions: Both ERG leaders and their corporate social impact colleagues should have a clear understanding of each other’s roles, responsibilities, and missions to avoid duplicating efforts and discover synergies. Get to know how the roles and responsibilities differ and capture it in writing. Even though you are both reaching out to the same internal audience, you’ve each got your own expertise and can use it to better each other’s programming.
3. Define common goals: Even though your charter may differ, you are working toward some similar goals, and a few might even feel identical. Identify those common goals—the ones that get everyone involved fired up—and then unite to drive positive change. This alignment can help both parties work together toward a common purpose.
4. Develop a joint strategy or two: Work together to create a comprehensive DEIB and social impact strategy that leverages the strengths and expertise of both parties, which can help set clearer priorities and direction. This step doesn’t have to be all encompassing—just the parts where the outcomes are aligned. For example, if you both have a goal to develop an inclusive talent pipeline, work together to identify potential nonprofit partners that provide individuals from underrepresented groups with pathways and skill development.
5. Share resources: Pooling appropriate resources when it makes sense, whether financial, personnel or expertise, can lead to more effective initiatives and can help maximize impact. Bring your skills and resources to the table. Share the workload, and you’ll cook up something amazing together.
6. Align measurement and reporting: Agree on common key performance indicators (KPIs) and data collection methods to track progress, especially if you have similar goals and outcomes (e.g., employee engagement or sentiment). Consistent measurement and reporting can demonstrate the impact of your collaborative efforts rather than highlighting tensions.
7. Employee engagement: Team up on employee engagement initiatives that promote both DEIB and social impact and are mutually beneficial. This can include volunteer opportunities, diversity and inclusion training and awareness campaigns. For example, a few years ago, AT&T designed a 21-day Racial Equity Learning Challenge that included many different DEIB and social impact-related activities that supported the education and development of employees enterprise-wide.
8. Advocate for senior leader support: Show that you’re a dynamic duo and go to bat for similar causes that can help you both achieve your goals. When you show up to jointly advocate for buy-in from senior leadership for activities you both want to pursue, it demonstrates alignment.
9. Celebrate successes collectively: Acknowledge and celebrate achievements and milestones as a team. This simple act can help foster a positive and collaborative work environment. When you reach your shared goals, throw a virtual victory party! Celebrate your wins as you champion change together.
10. Evaluate and adapt: Regularly assess the effectiveness of your collaboration and be open to adjusting as needed. Continuous improvement is key to achieving long-term success and working well together. You may not get it right the first time or every time but put in the effort so that you can lean on one another when needed.

Collaboration between a company’s ERG leaders and social impact counterparts can be a powerful force in promoting diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging as well as advancing corporate social responsibility. By working together to achieve common goals and by leveraging respective strengths from the outset, you will both develop programs that employees will be proud to be a part of. Until Next Month, Your

CSR Friend

Learn more about how we can help you level up your social impact work and why your company should join top social impact leadership and become a member of the Points of Light Corporate Service Council.

Ask a CSR Friend: Distributing Employee Volunteer T-shirts

Looking for CSR advice?

Hear from our experts right here in our Ask a CSR Friend monthly column.

Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned pro, we know it takes a village to create vibrant workplaces where employees are empowered to contribute to the communities and causes they care about. So, when you need a trusted advisor to lean on, rely on Points of Light to be your CSR Friend. Each month, our experts share their wisdom and wit to address a specific but often universal challenge related to your work as a corporate social impact practitioner.

Have questions about employee community engagement? Submit your question and it may be featured in a future blog post.

Dear CSR Friend,

I have managed my company’s employee volunteer program for years and, at the beginning of each year, we struggle to figure out the best method for distributing volunteer t-shirts before projects take place. Now that many of my colleagues are working remotely a few days a week, it’s posing an even more difficult logistical challenge. What are our best options?

Signed,

T-shirt Turmoil in Tupelo

Dear T-shirt Turmoil, Having been nicknamed “T-Shirt Lady” in my previous social impact role, I feel your question and your quest deeply! For many companies, volunteer t-shirts serve as more than just promotional apparel; they embody a culture of community engagement and an outward display of employee pride. They also foster a sense of belonging and purpose among employees. But how and when do you get them into your eager employee volunteers’ hands?

Here’s a quick rundown of options you might try this year:

• Distribute During Onboarding for All New Hires: One of the best times to introduce employees to your company’s social impact initiatives is during their onboarding process. Providing them with a volunteer t-shirt from day one sets the tone for their journey within the company and demonstrates the company’s commitment to making a positive difference where they operate.
• Use an Annual Milestone to Send to All Employees: To keep the spirit of social impact alive, consider making it a tradition to send a volunteer t-shirt to all employees once a year, perhaps on the anniversary of the company’s founding or the month in which the employee volunteer program launched.
• Add to the Company’s Branded Merch Website: Make it easy for employees to get their hands on volunteer t-shirts 24/7 by adding them to the company’s branded merchandise website. Maybe they’ll even buy one to wear to the gym!
• Encourage Volunteers to Wear Vintage T-Shirts: Instead of creating new designs each year, invite employees to wear a branded company shirt or past volunteer t-shirt. This not only reduces waste but also creates a sense of nostalgia and pride. Those paint stains and rips will now be seen as badges of honor!
• Pick a Convenient Distribution Day: When distributing t-shirts, choose a day when most employees will be in the office, especially in a hybrid work environment. Distributing them in common areas like the lobby or cafeteria can be a great way to build excitement for your upcoming projects. Collaborate with your HR team in case there are other building-wide activities happening (or that COULD happen) on that day. Make sure distribution happens several days in advance of a volunteer project and bring a handful in different sizes to the project just in case a few employees forget or don’t have a chance to claim while in the office.

Three Extra Tips on T-Shirts:

• Fostering a sense of belonging with volunteer t-shirts includes ensuring there is a range of sizes available for all employees. If they can’t obtain a shirt in a size they feel comfortable in, an employee is sure to feel excluded, which might dissuade them from participating and certainly diminishes the company pride and community vibes branded t-shirts can establish.
• When selecting a vendor to work with for design, production and shipping of your volunteer t-shirts no matter when you distribute, consider collaborating with organizations that align with your company’s values. Look for partners that serve a greater purpose, such as veteran-owned, female-owned, or minority-owned businesses like Social Imprints. Some even offer options to offset shipping and production emissions.
• The production and shipping of t-shirts each year can seem wasteful not just to you but also to eco-smart employees. Choose materials that are not only comfortable to wear but also environmentally responsible. Provide instructions for employees on how to repurpose their shirts when they’re no longer wearable, such as donating them to a local charity or turning them into reusable bags or dog toys.

Incorporating volunteer t-shirts into your employer’s social impact strategy (and budget) can be a powerful way to promote a sense of unity and purpose among your employees. These shirts become more than just clothing; they become symbols of your company’s commitment to the community. And they serve as the perfect attire for capturing photos that can be used for internal and external communications, showcasing the positive impact employees are making, both offline and online. Until Next Month, Your CSR Friend

Learn more about how we can help you level up your social impact work and why your company should join top social impact leadership and become a member of the Points of Light Corporate Service Council.