How Service Year Programs Can Help With Corporate Recruitment

Service comes in many forms. It’s not just the type that corporate citizenship leaders are actively developing in order to mobilize employees to solve community issues. Citizens of the world also commit their time, energy and talent to

public, national or military service

. While providing opportunities to work with the communities where employees live and work is part of an

impactful retention strategy and a way to attract purpose-driven talent

, how can other types of service play a role in corporate recruitment? Here’s where your knowledge and connections as a leader in corporate citizenship can play a larger role in support of an increasing battle for talent. If they’re not already plugged in, make sure your partners in HR are scouting from the perfect pipeline – alumni of service year programs.

Benefits of Service Year Programs for Corporate Recruitment

Offered by organizations like AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, City Year, Atlas Corps, Teach for America, YouthBuild and so many more, service year programs offer a participant a paid opportunity to develop real-world skills through hands-on service in communities around the globe. These real-world skills, especially soft skills that are not easily taught or learned, are incredibly important for businesses to remain competitive in today’s economy. Alumni from these programs are equipped to lead and manage and are ready to help any organization achieve results. What are some of the skills learned and honed while participating in a service year? More than likely it’s the same competencies your company is looking for in new recruits.

Leadership: Alumni demonstrate strong ethics, empower others to self-organize, foster a sense of connection and belonging, show openness to new ideas and nurture growth.
Critical thinking: Alumni are able to sort through useful and arbitrary details in order to evaluate a problem or situation, form an objective judgement that leads to a critical solution or decision.
Getting things done with limited resources: Alumni focus on proactively achieving results through effective planning and optimizing the resources they have access to.
Accountability: Alumni understand the responsibility that comes with being accountable for their own actions and decisions, the actions of team members and their individual and collective results[i]. They hold themselves and others to common expectations that align with an organization’s values and mission.
Adaptability: Alumni have a proven ability to learn new concepts and skills quickly[i] even without explicit instruction. They are creative and can respond effectively to changing working conditions. They also have experience dealing with ambiguity and demonstrate that they are able to act or shift gears without having all the details, making confident decisions even without the whole picture.
Initiative: Alumni are immediate contributors who lead by example as well as through direction, delegation, motivation and inspiration.
Interpersonal and intercultural communication: Alumni excel in partnering and communicating with diverse racial, religious, ethnic, cultural and geographic groups[i]. Their broad experience has given them a deeper understanding of the world around them.
Collaboration: Participation in a national service program has fostered an alumni’s ability to work individually and as part of a team, instilling a strong work ethic and responsibility to and appreciation of one’s colleagues.

Your company’s hiring managers would also be well advised to think through the hard skills that service year alumni also possess that align with the roles they’re trying to fill on Learning and Development or Communications teams, such as the ability to speak several languages or the aptitude to teach others. Don’t forget how this can positively impact you as well – these newly hired service year alums will make passionate and dedicated champions of your company’s social good efforts. That’s a win-win-win for the business, its employees and the communities in which your company operates.

Resources for Service Year Programs

The Voices for National Service Business Council works to highlight the vital role the private sector plays in supporting and investing in national service programs, unleashing citizens to tackle the pressing problems facing their communities. Through the Business Council, companies and private sector leaders work to promote and strengthen bipartisan support for AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors and are recognized for their leadership and commitment to expanding service opportunities for all Americans.
Employers of National Service is an initiative that connects service year alums with over 600 employers from the private, public and nonprofit sectors. Through this initiative, employers have increased access to a dedicated, highly qualified and mission-oriented pool of potential employees, and service year alums have additional opportunities to connect with employers that value their skills. To become an Employer of National Service, employers pledge to recognize service year experience in their hiring practices.
Service Year Alliance is working to make a year of paid, full-time service — a service year — a common expectation and opportunity for all young Americans. Their vision: Every year, one million young Americans engaged in a service year, solving important problems while transforming their own lives.

4 Company Benefits of CSR Programs

A well-built

corporate social responsibility program

includes developing a strategy that reaches your entire organization, engaging employees in volunteerism, tracking hours, developing a volunteer time off policy, reporting on outcomes and impact, and creating connections to employees and community. And the benefits of CSR that stem from these efforts are good for your company, your employees and your community.

Companies are constantly striving for ways to set themselves apart and employees are consistently looking for ways to

become civically engaged

through their work. Did you know that

55% of employees

choose socially-conscious companies over profit-focused brands? When these two ideas come together, along with finding innovative ways recruit new talent and retain employees, you have the perfect rationale for launching a CSR at your company.

When making the case for the importance of starting a formal CSR program, here are a few ways it can add value. Share this reasoning and data points in your presentation to senior leadership about the positive outcomes of doing well by doing good.

1. CSR Programs Save Money and Grow Employee Engagement

Creating a thoughtful and structured CSR program can actually offer cost savings. Companies can improve revenue by more than $2 million and reduce costs by almost $400,000 for every 1,000 employees because happy staffers are more productive staffers.

Plus, when companies drive social impact, they see an increase in the number of

employees who go above and beyond at work

. Sixty percent of employees reported improved engagement among peers after companies implemented an enterprise-wide social impact strategy. And employees who participate in employer-sponsored volunteering are

five times more engaged

at work.

2. CSR Programs Boost Retention

Companies with

highly engaged workforces

have 24% less staff turnover, 17% higher productivity rates and 21% higher profitability. Obviously, companies have a fiscal responsibility to operate in the black, but there’s more to that practice than meets the eye. Employees want to see that companies are having a

positive social impact

. Building a team solely focused on social impact through a formalized CSR program creates an environment that supports employee engagement, which is good for the bottom line. Plus, companies that take a stand on social issues retain employees when they drive social impact.

“Know your company’s philanthropic priorities, the causes around which you hope to make the biggest impact, and the types of resources — human, financial, product, expertise, networks, visibility — you can bring to the table.” — Katie Stearns, Chief Global Corporate Solutions Officer

3. CSR Programs Drive Recruitment

Having a clear and demonstrated impact sets you up to attract top talent. A company’s social impact track record can not only influence a candidate’s decision to choose to work there, it can also influence future candidates’ perception of that company.

Research

shows that Gen Z employees overwhelmingly want to work for a company that takes a stand on social impact. Mentioning CSR activities in job postings

increases the number of applicants

by 25 percent. And

64% won’t take a job

if a company doesn’t have strong corporate social responsibility values.

“Gen Z and millennial workers are looking for more than just a paycheck – they want to work for an employer that provides ways for them to use their voice and strengthen communities.” — Katy Elder, Vice President, Business Innovation

4. CSR Programs Create Favorable Brand Awareness

It’s common to see a company doing positive things in their community on social media. These posts typically highlight the work done through a CSR program. Setting your company apart with a well-organized CSR program can offer positive brand awareness your company will benefit from. Take

Lowe’s 100 Hometowns

, for example, a major initiative to complete 100 community impact projects across the United States each year, or

Raytheon Technologies

and their work to inspire and prepare high school students for careers in tech and engineering. Seeing employees volunteering within their community demonstrates a more organic way of promoting your company versus paying for ad space on social.

Consider using these points as you think about how best to reach your senior leadership audience and speak to what’s important to them. If you are approaching the Human Resource Vice President, for example, do your research on specific ways the CSR program can influence and even reduce costs for recruitment and retention. If you are speaking to the Chief of External Affairs, consider explaining all the built-in story opportunities their team will have with the addition of employees giving back—anywhere from organic campaigns, to the increase use of employee-generated content, to plentiful heartfelt stories to use for the annual report. If you’re speaking to the Chief Financial Officer, it’s great to connect the performance metrics of engaged employees to the bottom line. It’s a wise investment. No matter your audience, the benefits of CSR are clear: they save money, grow employee engagement, boost retention, drive recruitment and reflect well on your brand.