Don’t Wait to Give Your Employees an Inclusive Environment of Engagement and Recognition. Meet Them Where They Are.
Your giving programs present a unique opportunity to foster a sense of belonging and a connection to company culture regardless of employee location. In the middle of 2020, leaders at some of the largest businesses didn’t identify productivity, or managing workflows, or employee burnout as the top challenge they faced.
The top challenge was “connection to our culture.” Considering the role that giving programs play in supporting a shared company culture, ensuring that your remote workers are engaging with your giving platform offers a powerful channel to keep your employees connected to a shared purpose.
Today’s New Hires are the Foundation For the Corporate Culture of Tomorrow
Business leaders and HR professionals have reported that the pandemic has made the onboarding process more difficult. When new workers aren’t able to be on-site, not only is the documentation and training process more difficult, it’s harder to build appreciation for the company’s culture, mission, and values.
If you can, don’t wait to immerse new employees in what it means to be part of your company's giving community. Harness the enthusiasm and excitement of your new hires to drive awareness and increase employee engagement from day one. Schneider Electric Foundation is working to expand its culture of employee-powered corporate giving programs by implementing a New Hire program. New employees are given $25 to donate to the charity of their choosing and have 20 paid volunteer hours to spend working with organizations they care about.
Being Disconnected Can Take A Toll on your Employees
There is no doubt we have all seen the signs of disengagement and decreased morale in our employee base at one time or another. Remote working is a popular option for some, but not for all. For many, being physically detached leads to a lack of social contact with others that online conferencing can’t replace.
Let employees know that you are grateful and THANKFUL for all their hard work throughout the year. From new hires to tenures, employees just want to be seen, acknowledged, and uplifted.
Here are some quick tips for connecting and recognizing remote givers and doers:
- Recognize all your employees do with some fun, virtual experiences curated to help them connect and engage with their peers while learning something new
- Implement a new-hire program that provides a dollar amount that new employees can donate to the charity of their choosing or a set number of paid volunteer hours, so they can hit the ground running and participating
- Create a culture of participation by identifying specific employees who are living the values of your social impact initiatives and featuring them and their stories in prominent places such as your intranet and giving platform homepage
- Enable social sharing on your giving platform so workers everywhere feel included and part of the conversation
- Assign worker groups or departments to teams that include both on- and off-site workers
- Encourage remote workers to attend in-person volunteer events if they are able
- Augment one-to-many communications with personal, one-to-one communication via chat or your giving platform’s social feeds
- Report regularly on the impact of your sharing efforts to continually foster a sense of mutual achievement