Aligning Corporate Giving with Employee Values

One of the key factors employees consider when deciding which company or organization they want to work for is how well the organization aligns with their values. This is especially true of female talent, as her 2022 McKinsey-Leanin.org Women in the Workplace survey found. “Women are demanding more from their jobs, and an unprecedented number of women are leaving companies to get that value.

With holiday and year-end giving here in full swing, the who, how much, when and how an organization donates goods, services, talent and money reflects the values ​​of the organization and its leadership. increase. It’s also important for employees. Employees can easily search online to find out what the company is doing and not doing, from political contributions to charitable giving.

Employees, especially women, millennials, and Generation Z, rate an organization’s sustainability profile, diversity profile, and how open they perceive it to be. This is where her ESG profile of the organization on environmental, social and governance becomes a valuable tool. ESG assessments and reports are provided to current employees, new hires, and potential clients, including the organization’s philanthropic and community involvement, as reported in the ‘S’ portion of the ESG Profile. You can show that your organization is talking.

In the “E” part, high-quality ESG measures are taken to be sustainable, including the organization’s carbon emissions and the amount of waste it uses, reduces, reuses, or recycles, water and energy use of recycled materials. Report data on other elements of sex profile. The “S” part for “society” describes how the organization treats all stakeholders, including employees, suppliers, customers, shareholders, the communities in which it operates, and society at large. report the data. The “G” or “Governance” section concerns how the organization is managed, including transparency, reporting, accountability, and diversity profiles and behaviors of the board and leadership.

Know what your employees value

According to a 2022 Qualtrics survey, “More than half (54%) of U.S. employees would be willing to take a pay cut to work for a higher value company, and an even higher 56% , wouldn’t even consider working for the company, which, according to a press release about the study, has values ​​they disagree with.

Erin Michelson, CEO and founder of Sumumy.AI, an AI-based tool, says, “Values ​​generally don’t really change… how do behaviors around them change?” . Ladies Podcast, she explained that their technology measures employee values ​​and priorities, from environmental to social causes. She said their technology can help identify areas where large-scale employees are most aligned and help guide corporate giving strategies. , results will show the type of organization you want to donate or volunteer based on your survey results. Organizations can get a report from her Summary that aggregates the results of all employees who participated in the survey to see what types of causes their employee base is most aligned with.

Another software system, Blackbaud, also helps employers target charitable donations. Part of that is evaluating the types of volunteer work and donations that the organization’s employees are currently doing. Blackbaud’s senior vice president, Rachel Hutchisson, said employees are asking for input on how the organization will give back. “This ‘Voice and Choice’ idea is, ‘Hear yourself, then listen to what you say and allow yourself to choose how you can participate.’ Don’t forget to be”…that’s a really big trend. Hutchisson explained in her previous exclusive interview on the Electric Ladies Podcast.

Today’s corporate branding needs to be more authentic than ever, and that includes philanthropy

Organizational brands today are highly visible and scrutinized, as we see daily on social media how companies are accused of contradictions, scandals, and policies that go against the interests of their employees and customers. This also includes corporate donation policies.

Anne Bahr Thompson, author of “Do Good: Brand Citizenship to Fuel Both Purpose and Profit,” said: Delivery of goods and services. Responsibility to our employees, communities, the environment and the world: what people trust, believe in and depend on. “

So, as organizations start writing checks this holiday season, management may want to include employees directly or indirectly in the decision-making process so that the organization aligns donation policies with employee values. I can’t.