Thursday, March 20, 2014

Corporate Charity & Generosity Inspires Millenials

By Sebastian Troup


Today's Millennials, also known as Generation Y, are often stereotyped as entitled with a sense of narcissism. But those tech-savvy young adults between the ages of 20 and 35 are also thought to be more civic-minded than generations past, with a strong sense of community, both local and global. It's important for companies to attract and engage this generation of future business leaders. One way to do this is through fostering a culture of philanthropy in the workplace.

Working for a company with a corporate mission to help the people in the community rather than just receiving their paychecks can be their goal, and research shows this. Research studies show that 53 percent of young workers prefer work where they can make an impact and where they can get happiness, and 72 percent of the graduates who are about to go into work agree to this, and this is from a poll of 1,726 college students and new graduates conducted by a nonprofit organization Net Impact. In this study, 58 percent of the young Millennials will accept to a pay cut of 15 percent, just to achieve the goal.

Another study by 2012 Millennial Impact Report indicates that 63% of Millennials volunteered for a nonprofit in 2011 and 90% of survey respondents said they expected to volunteer as much or even more in the following year. Since volunteering is very much a part of the Millennial lifestyle, companies would be wise to include corporate philanthropy when developing a strategy for employee engagement.

The spirit of generosity and volunteering can help employees in their work ethics. They are not just the ordinary employees but people who can help their companies achieve a good image in the eyes of people.

Four key areas in the spirit of philanthropy and charity can help employees:

Productivity: Engagement and commitment can increase productivity. Ethics: Employees actively involved in selfless activities can make good decisions. Gratitude: Employees get grateful when they are given opportunities to give back to the people and society. Pride: Employees who are proud of what they are doing can get proud with their company.

One way companies have found success in attracting Millennials is by offering Volunteer Paid Time Off (VPTO) as an incentive. Employees are given time off to volunteer during work hours. U.S. Bank employees can draw up to 16 hours of pay per year for activities like serving breakfast to the homeless or reading to kids. Business leaders are finding that it costs less to let employees volunteer on the clock than it would to replace them if they quit.

One step further to this type of program was utilized by IBM. Volunteer assignments to some developing countries, up to a month, were given to some select employees. This is IBM's Corporate Service Corps, a group of 500 select employees selected from thousands, and this is often called the modern corporate version of the Peace Corps. This project produced employees that are more skilled, loyal, and collaborative, while also the more civic oriented IBM employees, where the project cost $250,000 each and producing good value to the countries the aid is given. More global business leaders doing different market research also were identified by IBM through the project and also emerging markets identified.

Companies who want to recruit Millennials need to offer perks like attractive employee engagement programs in order to stay relevant and competitive. By developing a culture of philanthropy in the workplace, you'll attract socially conscious Millennials, who could help your business become even better as they become your company's next generation of leaders.




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