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Corporate Volunteering from a Company’s
Perspective
An approach to social impact, employee
satisfaction and innovation
Notes from the Field
Issue # 2
01/06/2015
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What do 27 of the 30 biggest companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange have in
common?1 They all make use of corporate volunteering to engage with social issues relevant
to their businesses, motivate their employees and strategically position themselves as
attractive employers. This issue of Beyond Philanthropy’s Notes from the Field shines a light
on the trends and success factors in corporate volunteering, based on nine expert interviews
with companies from the DAX, the EURO-STOXX 50 and other organisations conducted as part
of a Master’s thesis.2
Successful corporate volunteering is a triple win situation. When companies invest their
employees’ time and knowledge in the pursuit of social and/ or environmental objective, the
company, employees and society can benefit. In the most recent Deloitte Volunteer Impact
Study, 88% of HR managers surveyed believed that corporate volunteering has a positive
impact on their company’s reputation. Furthermore, 62% said that employees have a more
positive view of their company as a result.3
This conclusion was supported by the seven companies surveyed, which all acknowledged
that the influence on their perception among current and future employees and in the local
area was important. One software company, for example, uses corporate volunteering to
boost its reputation in the local area by sending its employees to local charitable
organisations. The improvement in its perception in the region was soon confirmed by surveys
conducted by a third party. The chance to encourage innovation also played a role with the
companies surveyed. Deploying employees in the local area allowed them to better identify
customer needs and market opportunities. One international telecommunications company
expects, among other benefits, to discover new and emerging market trends.
Corporate Volunteering (CV) as seen by HR managers3
Positively impacts the company’s
reputation
Employees benefit from
improved skills
Employees value the opportunity
to develop through CV
Employees view company
more positively
Very important part of
company culture
In addition, 65% of HR managers surveyed for the Deloitte study believe that their employees
improve skills such as teamwork and communication through corporate volunteering.
Corporate volunteering also improves how employees engage and interact with clients,
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according to one surveyed audit and consulting firm.
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The companies surveyed further agreed that their employees benefit most from the change of
perspective, in that they have a chance to put their professional skills to work in other
challenging areas. This leads to an improved motivation and can make employees feel more
connected to their company.
As the results from our interviews and background research show, committed management,
communication, a needs assessment, collaboration with intermediaries and a clear structure
within the company are some of the most important factors for success.
To establish a successful corporate volunteering programme it is vital that both executives and
management recognise the value of corporate volunteering and actively participate in its
implementation. All of the companies surveyed agreed that without the support of the
executive level there could be no corporate volunteering programme at all, or that at best
participation rates would be very low.
Impact of Corporate Volunteering
Company
Increased productivity and
stronger connection
encourages involvement
Employees
Improved skills and
increased motivation
More positive perception
Volunteer with
Partner Organisations
Society
Disadvantaged people
Local area
Suppliers
Customers
…
Improved services
Communication is another vital factor in corporate volunteering, emphasised by all of the
surveyed companies. It is important to make the distinction between external and internal
communication. With regard to the latter, all of the companies reported maintaining regular
communication about employees’ ongoing corporate volunteering projects. External
communication, however, is only pursued to a limited extent, since companies are keen to
avoid the perception of engaging in “whitewashing” among both employees and the public.
Possible criticism of “whitewashing” can be further avoided when companies and partner
organisations first analyse where the need for corporate volunteering lies, in order to make a
meaningful contribution. Corporate volunteering adds real value when it addresses an existing
social need that would not otherwise be met. Furthermore, corporate volunteering provides
many people with their first exposure to social engagement, which is a very important yet
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greatly underemphasized consideration of corporate volunteering.
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“We know from our work with charitable organisations that resources are often scarce.
Additional support in the form of people’s time and business know-how is always welcome in
the non-profit sector if it solves an existing problem and helps the organisation to fulfil its
social mission,” says Claudia Leissner, Managing Director of Proboneo, a marketplace which
connects people with charitable organisations looking for pro-bono support in legal matters,
communication, strategy, IT or finance.
Which types of corporate volunteering have you used to date?2
(multiple answers possible)
(e.g. construction and
renovation)
(e.g. pro bono and
know-how transfer)
Also, the majority of companies surveyed recognise the benefits of working with
intermediaries and have already made use of their expertise. Intermediaries can provide
support to companies throughout the process, from developing an appropriate corporate
volunteering programme and finding local partner organisations to implementation and
evaluation. This can significantly increase the likelihood of a successful outcome.
“For an ever-increasing number of German companies, corporate volunteering is a key
component of a comprehensive CSR strategy that they couldn‘t imagine going without,”
confirms Dr. Reinhard Lang, Managing Director of UPJ, a Germany-wide CSR network of
responsible companies and regional intermediaries which helps businesses develop and
implement corporate volunteering programmes and find suitable local partners. “Now it‘s a
matter of taking that potential – both internally for the company, and for non-profits and their
beneficiaries – and leveraging it.”
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If you would like to take advantage of the benefits of corporate volunteering for your company
in order to launch effective community engagement, improve motivation among your
workforce, encourage innovation among your employees and position yourself as an
attractive employer, UPJ, Proboneo and Beyond Philanthropy are looking forward to hearing
from you.
Authors and contacts for this issue of Notes from the Field are:
Beyond Philanthropy - invest impact GmbH
Michael Alberg-Seberich
Managing Director
[email protected]
Tel.: +49 (0) 30-2408824-20
Fabian Suwanprateep
Project Manager
[email protected]
Tel.: +49 (0) 30-2408824-24
Proboneo gGmbH
Claudia Leißner
Managing Director
[email protected]
Tel: +49 (0) 30 5557-55728
www.proboneo.de
UPJ - Netzwerk für Corporate Citizenship und CSR
Dr. Reinhard Lang
Managing Director
[email protected]
Tel: +49 (0) 30 2787 4060
www.upj.de
Anja Quandt
Master Student
Leuphana University of Lüneburg
[email protected]
***
Beyond Philanthropy is a specialized consultancy which helps businesses, foundations and individuals to maximise the
impact of their philanthropic activities. We support our clients with tailored services spanning strategy consulting, project
management and research. Using our team and expert network, to date Beyond Philanthropy has successfully cooperated
with more than 50 clients on projects in over 30 countries, addressing themes such as children and young people,
sustainable development and democracy and human rights. Beyond Philanthropy is a “social business”, since any
generated profits are donated to the charitable organisation Forum for Active Philanthropy.
Footnotes:
1. Correction: A previous version mentioned 25 companies. However, there are 27 companies which have corporate volunteering programms in
place.
2. Expert interviews were conducted by Anja Quandt (Leuphana University of Lüneburg) from January to February 2015 over the course of her
Master‘s thesis, Evaluating the Success Factors for Corporate Volunteering from a Corporate Perspective
3. Deloitte, 2013, Volunteer IMPACT Survey
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