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Q&A with a CSR Pro: How to Re-engage Employees in CSR
Corporate social responsibility initiatives take many forms, from group volunteer days to employee giving programs. Depending on their implementation, their impact can range from “that was nice” to deeply transformative—for employees, organizations, and the communities they serve. Designing a CSR program that yields remarkable impact requires thoughtful consideration of several strategic components, such as connecting with the right partners, communicating well, and providing employee structures that encourage participation.
Anne Tremblay, Consulting Director of Strategic Philanthropy at Bonterra, has spent her career in mission-driven roles, including working on advocacy and public education campaigns in Washington, D.C., CSR advising for Fortune 500 companies through Cone Communications (now Porter Novelli), and CSR leadership at Dunkin’. Today, in her role at social good software company Bonterra, Tremblay works with Strategic Philanthropy customers on programmatic strategies to help them make the most of their software investment—from employee engagement and grant program strategy to content development, internal communications, employee engagement, and more.
In this Q&A, Tremblay shares her guidance for taking CSR programs from meh to wow and ensuring organizational investments in CSR have transformative impacts on their employees and the world.
What key trends are you seeing in corporate social responsibility today?
Anne Tremblay: I believe in the power of companies to be agents of social good and partner with nonprofits, other companies, and the public sector to create meaningful change. Today more and more of our customers—and companies in general—are moving toward trust-based philanthropy. That means simplifying applications and impact reports; engaging in long-term, meaningful dialogue with nonprofits; and providing multi-year, unrestricted grants to empower nonprofits to do their best work.
We’re also seeing a greater emphasis on measuring outcomes vs. outputs. Measuring and reporting outputs—e.g., number of hours volunteered, meals served, pounds of trash picked up, etc.—is and will remain important. But today companies are going deeper and trying to understand the long-term impact and outcomes of their CSR programs—how their work, dollars, and volunteer hours are creating lasting change for society and impacting people’s lives. If you’re curious about measuring outcomes vs. outputs, check out our webinar about this topic here.
Finally, we’re seeing a “rapprochement” of CSR and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, which means CSR and DEI departments are working more closely than ever— and in some cases, DEI is coming under the umbrella of CSR. This represents a huge opportunity for CSR teams. DEI initiatives attract passionate, engaged employees who can be tremendous assets to CSR initiatives.
How do you anticipate the political climate affecting CSR in the coming year?
Anne: Signals indicate that CEOs will continue to support social responsibility efforts regardless of political administration. As we saw in 2020, there may be an uptick in employees who demand and engage in corporate giving and volunteerism programs. As a reminder, corporations are consistently seen as the most trusted institutions in the world and may fill critical funding gaps, especially as it relates to environmental organizations. We also anticipate that there will be a greater focus on supporting organizations operating at the very local level, and we are committed to making it easier for funders and their employees to better identify and support organizations making a positive impact in their community.
Employee engagement is a critical goal for most CSR campaigns. What are some common challenges you’ve seen companies face in fostering employee participation?
Anne: As an employee myself, I have seen first-hand how transformative CSR initiatives can be in energizing an employee base, helping create a sense of purpose for employees, increasing affinity for a company, and helping attract and retain talent. In my experience, when employees don’t participate in CSR initiatives it’s because they: 1) don’t know they’re happening; 2) don’t understand how they can participate; 3) don’t feel like they have permission to partake (in volunteering events, for example); or 4) don’t feel compelled by the cause(s) or ways to participate.
Research shows consumers need to hear things seven times to effectively remember them—employees are no different. A strong CSR program is only possible if you have strong employee communications to match. This means maximizing the use of internal communications channels, engaging senior leadership to lend their voices to your efforts, empowering managers to talk to their teams about how to get involved, and having a compelling call to action for participation.
What specific tactics have you seen increase engagement in CSR programs?
Anne: For matching gift programs, the focus should be on making it easy and compelling for employees to participate. Charity spending accounts and employee-nominated grants are great ways to incentivize the use of your matching gifts program by putting employees in charge of how company funds are disbursed. If you’re asking employees to fundraise for a specific cause or nonprofit, issue a strong call to action that includes a fundraising goal and consider a more “attractive” match (e.g. a 2:1 match if your regular match is 1:1).
For volunteer programs, it’s all about offering a variety of ways for people to participate. Understanding and addressing barriers to participation is the first step in increasing engagement. For example, depending on your workforce, it may be easier for some employees to participate in virtual volunteering events or skills-based volunteering initiatives than in-person events. Also, consider implementing specific programs to support participation. For example, a Volunteer Time Off (VTO) policy helps employees take time out of their schedule to attend volunteer events; a “Dollars For Doers” program helps reward volunteers with a grant to a nonprofit of their choice.
And, of course, engaging and re-engaging employees in any CSR initiative is simpler, more effective, and easier to measure if you have the right CSR software in your arsenal.
Looking ahead, what shifts or innovations do you believe will shape the future of CSR and strategic philanthropy?
Anne: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is going to influence the future of many verticals and industries—and CSR and strategic philanthropy are no different. At Bonterra, we’re looking at ways AI can simplify our customers’ workflows and spark connections between companies and the right nonprofits and between nonprofits and the right funding opportunities.
As a social good SaaS company, Bonterra works every day to strengthen our cyber defense and security posture, especially on critical infrastructure that might be targets of cyberattacks, so we can support our customers in powering social good.
