Wondering how you can boost employee involvement in social impact? In a recent episode of Changemakers From Within, Bryan Breckenridge, a social impact trailblazer who has spent the last 20+ years building out social impact programs at several top companies, shared with us some of the ways he personally helped grow participation rates in giving and volunteering at Box.org to 70%. Today, we’re highlighting some of these helpful and practical tips to help businesses everywhere grow their social impact programs.
1. Form Friendships and Connections Throughout 👯♀️
Establish friendships between CSR professionals and the employee work base in order to further integrate into the fabric of the company. Work to get embedded into the employee life cycle and the learning journey of employees by holding Social Impact 101 classes.
2. Showcase Success at Every Turn 🏅
It’s never too early to create recognition. Whether that’s the mission meter of the month or the social impact heroes of the quarter, recognition mechanisms are highly important. They make employees’ contributions feel heard, elevating their impact and encouraging co-workers to participate even more.
3. Establish a Global Volunteer Day Event 🌎
Large, day-long volunteer events are a great door-opener or “gateway drug” to get a lot more people to participate in social impact programs and volunteer. From there, you can encourage employees to dig deeper into specific initiatives that have an even bigger impact on the nonprofits you partner with.
4. Utilize Countdown Campaigns 💯
Establish messaging to build momentum before large events that involve the entire employee base. For example, use a T-10 day countdown that involves the whole office. Then, during each of the ten days, have a senior, well-respected individual in the company speak about a cause they are passionate about and are excited to work towards.This will drive home the point that giving and volunteering is a company-wide endeavor that all employees should be a part of.
5. Slogans, Slogans, Slogans 🖊
Add in slogans that align with your company’s values and feel authentic to the brand. Then, use these to encourage and remind employees why the work they do matters. For the Box.org this was “Make Mom Proud,” which was plastered on every poster and t-shirt in sight.
6. Approachable, Actionable, and Inspiring Communications 🗣
Here, the employees are the customers. Track who your employees are internally and find what they are passionate about. Ask questions such as:
- “What are they looking for?”
- “What are they passionate about?”
- “How can we recognize their success?
Use the responses to apply an authentic marketing structure to social impact programs. Essentially, make these volunteer and giving opportunities appealing to the entire work base.
These 6 tips are sure to get you well on your way to increasing volunteering and giving at your business. For more tips and advice on building out social impact programs, check out any of our episodes of Changemakers From Within below:
Changemakers from Within
