Americans think most favourably of companies that focus their corporate citizenship activity on supporting employee volunteering and donating products, rather than simply donating large cash sums, according to a survey launched on 8 September by the public relations firm, Hill and Knowlton, with the marketing company, Yankelovich. Of the 1,000 people surveyed, more than four out of ten (43%) said they find product and service donations most impressive, while more than one in three (37%) ranks employee volunteering top, compared to just over one in ten (12%) who favours cash donations.
Preferred categories of charitable activity are education (30%), health and welfare (21%) and the environment (9%). More than three quarters (76%) say “corporations have a much greater responsibility now than ever before to play a much greater role in responding to needs in society”. Asked to identify companies perceived to be good corporate citizens, IBM was mentioned most often by respondents, followed by Wal-Mart and AT&T. Contact Judy Hamby, Hill and Knowlton, on 00 1 404 249 8550 (www.hillandknowlton.com)
VALUING EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT
A survey of 89 leading American companies employing 7.3 million people found that staff are becoming a significant driving force behind their companies’ community involvement strategies. Four in ten report making changes in workplace giving campaigns as a result of employee requests. Companies taking part in the survey included IBM, Proctor and Gamble and American Express.
the survey found that employee involvement activities are concentrated in three main areas – volunteer programmes, matching gifts and workplace giving; nine out of ten companies have formal activities in at least two of the three, and more than half run programmes in all three categories. The Consulting Network carried out the survey for Charities@Work, a federation of fundraising charities. Contact John Coy, The Consulting Network, on 00 1 703 641 0533
CASUAL DRESS PARTNER
For its most recent ‘charity casual dress day’ held on August 14, Standard Life linked up with the newly formed Association of Children’s Hospices to raise a target of ?4,000. The choice of a single beneficiary marks a new approach to the company’s casual dress days. While support goes to a national campaign, it can be maintained at a local level by linking each area office with a local hospice. Casual dress days are held twice a year and allow staff to pay ?1 to come to work on a Friday in casual dress. Standard Life staff have raised ?42,000 since the initiative started in 1994. Contact Lynn Reilly, Standard Life, on 0131 245 6165
GLOBAL DAYS OF SERVICE
Chase Manhattan is holding its fourth annual Global Days of Service on October 24-25. Employees, families and friends will be giving their services to hundreds of volunteer projects around the world; last year 9,000 volunteers participated in 3,245 projects. This year’s UK project is Holton Lees, a holiday home for disabled people and their helpers at Poole Harbour, where volunteers will turn a barn into a learning centre, build a boardwalk across a lake, and help with landscaping. Contact Chase Manhattan on 0171 962 5000
WORKS COUNCILS
In August, the Involvement and Participation Association published a study of lessons from companies which have set up European Works Councils. The report is based on interviews with management and staff in 26 companies, most of which set up works councils during the UK opt-out from the European directive.
This follows a survey in July by the Industrial Society of 481 businesses, which revealed that the majority of UK companies with more than 250 employees favour statutory consultative works councils, as does one in three companies with 50 or less employees. The survey includes six case studies of existing structures for consultation, including Sainsbury’s, Hyde Housing Association and The Rover Group. Contact Michelle McDonald, IPA, on 0171 354 8040 and the Industrial Society on 0171 839 4300
Comment
If global recession is coming, greater employee involvement will be the only practical way to achieve real growth in corporate community involvement. But when profits are under pressure, unnecessary costs are eliminated. So, more than ever, the only way to get any `time off’ for the community is to show the benefits to the business.
Up to now, the most frequently cited gains have been in human resource management, such as skills development and team building. Despite this, many community affairs managers still have great difficulty getting their HR colleagues to take a serious interest, still less to devote the research resources needed to turn ECI into a practical tool of HRM.
Now the American research evidence about public attitudes opens up a second front – enhanced external reputation. And the evidence about product donations should also help tap a rich vein of additional resources, which are usually low cost to the company but high in value to the community.
If global recession is coming, greater employee involvement will be the only practical way to achieve real growth in corporate community involvement.
If global recession is coming, greater employee involvement will be the only practical way to achieve real growth in corporate community involvement. But when profits are under pressure, unnecessary costs are eliminated. So, more than ever, the only way to get any `time off’ for the community is to show the benefits to the business.
Up to now, the most frequently cited gains have been in human resource management, such as skills development and team building. Despite this, many community affairs managers still have great difficulty getting their HR colleagues to take a serious interest, still less to devote the research resources needed to turn ECI into a practical tool of HRM.
Now the American research evidence about public attitudes opens up a second front – enhanced external reputation. And the evidence about product donations should also help tap a rich vein of additional resources, which are usually low cost to the company but high in value to the community.
COMMENTS