By Dan Steif, FCF Chief Business Development Officer

Today’s workplace is changing and not just due to pandemic-related remote work from home. Shifting demographics, including a younger more socially engaged workforce, as well as companies prioritizing purpose-driven values, are increasingly influencing how companies attract new team members and retain current ones. The evolving role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs includes finding new ways to engage employees in meaningful ways.

Millennials (born between 1981-1996) and GenZ (born between 1997-2015) think that companies should play a role in addressing social issues according to a 2020 Deloitte Global Millennial Survey. Younger workers want to work for companies with the same values and beliefs on environmental sustainability, diversity and inclusion, and income equality.

While traditional company service days like helping a local food bank or planting trees can help employees and companies act on their shared values, employees are looking for more in-depth engagement in the communities where they work and live.

Engaged employees can reduce turnover by an average of 57% among employees most deeply connected to their companies’ giving and volunteering efforts, according to a 2018 Benevity Engagement Study. In addition, companies with a strong corporate responsibility commitment can see increases in employees' productivity by as much as 13%, according to a 2018 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability study by Babson College. 

At Full Circle Fund, we know that engagement with nonprofits can change how individuals give back to their communities, according to our recent Insights Report: Member Experience. When coordinated with a company's CSR initiatives, employees can be more invested in their communities--and their workplaces. In our most recent accelerator with Okta, 87% reported that when considering their long-term career plans, the opportunity to engage in social impact activities as part of their professional role is important or very important. 

Our employee engagement model creates opportunities for individual workers to apply their skills and experience to help nonprofit organizations. We work closely with CSR professionals to advance their company’s key issue areas by matching them with vetted nonprofit organizations, carefully scoping projects to complement the strengths of their team, and helping to recruit the right employees for volunteer project teams. Once employee teams are assembled, we provide training to help them be effective volunteers, project management to meet key deadlines, and report on the impact the engagement has on nonprofit partners and employees.

Companies can partner with Full Circle Fund to create unique leadership development opportunities to get highly-skilled employees involved in meaningful impact and equity work, while at the same time, increasing retention and productivity for their top employees.

To learn more about our Corporate Partner and employee engagement programs, please visit https://www.fullcirclefund.org/tech-accelerator-fund or contact dan [@] fullcirclefund.org.