Congrats on the promotion! Or perhaps you’re reading this as a seasoned manager on your way to that next title change. No matter your experience, being an effective manager means bringing your team together and keeping your employees engaged in the work they do.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is increasingly becoming a way to achieve this sense of belonging within your team. An estimated 90 percent of companies on the S&P 500 index published a CSR report in 2019, compared to just 20 percent in 2011. CSR is becoming an inseparable part of doing business, which as well as fostering employee engagement, also contributes to goals like increased brand awareness and changing consumer habits. Incorporating CSR from as early as onboarding can not only unite your team around a philanthropic company culture, but provide its members with more meaningful opportunities to engage with their work and their colleagues, while being in service of others.
With Kiva’s tools, you can start integrating CSR into your team's everyday experience, uniting them around the causes they care about and giving them a sense of shared purpose at your organization.
Boosting employee engagement
1. Accelerated integration through onboarding
According to a study by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for three years if they experienced great onboarding. Engaging employees in charitable activities during onboarding not only helps them understand the company's values but also provides a platform for meaningful interactions with colleagues.
For multinational electronics company Hitachi, incorporating Kiva into their onboarding process is a simple way to introduce new employees to their commitment to ‘Powering Good’, a campaign with the goal of enabling each new employee to add to their over $3 million in collective impact. In doing so, they immediately introduce new hires to the organization's culture of giving back and produce a sense of togetherness within their team.
Providing these opportunities as early as onboarding will encourage employees to not only seek out more ways to connect, but provide a new type of welcoming experience in which they can feel as if they’re making an impact from their very first day.
2. Enhanced job satisfaction
“A lot of people get part of their identity from their work”. They want to say, ‘My company’s not only making money. It’s doing good in the world, too."
Providing a sense of collective purpose and good is not only vital for your team’s wellbeing as individuals, it contributes to the productive health of the entire workplace. 27% more likely to report excellent performance.
To introduce a shared mission beyond daily tasks, technology company HP launched a five-year partnership with Kiva, lending $21.4 million to 288,025 borrowers in 60 countries. Dave Persohn, an HP Project Manager who helped launch the company’s first Kiva campaign, highlighted the trickle down effect of rallying your team around CSR.
“A lot of people get part of their identity from their work”, he said.” They want to say, ‘My company’s not only making money. It’s doing good in the world, too. When HP employees are engaged with colleagues around the purpose of doing good in the world, it motivates them to show up every day and do the best work they can do.”
3. Boosted employee morale
CSR initiatives, including philanthropy programs, contribute significantly to employee morale. found that companies with strong CSR programs experienced a 55% increase in employee engagement.
To incentivize Visa’s ongoing CSR efforts, an internal competition between teams to use their Kiva credits resulted in executive leadership agreeing to a pie to the face for each level of engagement achieved! It’s not every day a Chief People Officer, Vice Chair Corporate Affairs, SVP of HR take a pie to the face for their staff for the sake of making lasting impact.
When employees feel proud of their employer's commitment to social causes, it fosters a positive workplace culture and boosts morale, leading to increased productivity. With this boost in morale, their team took their campaign from a 68% participation rate to an astounding 82% in just one year.
CSR and reputation
4. Positive brand affinity
87% of consumers said they would purchase a product because a company advocated for an issue they cared about. Continued CSR efforts not only align the company with societal values but also help enhance its reputation. This improved brand affinity is not only effective for attracting and retaining customers, but can impact your employees sense of pride in working for your company.
Consumer goods company Pure Leaf extended their shared passion to help entrepreneurs achieve their goals by creating a customer engagement campaign, in which they offered $25 Kiva credits to customers. Through co-branded ads there was a 13% increase in brand favorability following the campaign — their largest increase to date.
With Kiva’s impact offerings and matching campaigns, your team can vote internally for the causes they would like to support from and develop their reputation as leaders in advocacy. A positive public image not only attracts top talent, it strengthens relationships with customers, partners, and investors.
Impact on company culture
5. Strengthened team dynamics
CSR programs provide opportunities for employees to collaborate outside of their usual work settings. Engaging in charitable activities as a team builds camaraderie and strengthens interpersonal relationships.
Zuora utilized existing communication tools like Slack during their employee engagement campaign to create their own #kivastories channel, allowing their team a space to not only share which borrowers they supported, but the inspiration behind their choices. Members of the team were able to open up about more personal aspects of their lives and identities, ranging from the same countries of origin to similar family dynamics to interest in a particular industry, resulting in new and meaningful connections between each other.
Introducing this type of teamwork benefits your team beyond philanthropic initiatives, positively influencing day-to-day communication and collaboration within your company.
Foster a culture of giving back together
70% of millennials believe that businesses should focus on societal or environmental issues. Integrating a corporate social responsibility (CSR) program into the day-to-day of your team contributes to the development of a culture that prioritizes giving back. This, in turn, helps attract socially conscious and competitive talent.
Implementing CSR is not just about charitable giving; it's an investment in the company's most valuable asset—its people. By integrating CSR into onboarding processes, company milestones, or using it as a strategy to boost morale, organizations can create a workplace that attracts, engages, and retains top talent. Partnering with Kiva to demonstrate your commitment to philanthropy is not just good for the global community; it's good for business.
