Kailyn BaumCorporate social responsibility is a term that is frequently used in the modern working world. Often, however, instead of discussing companies’ various philanthropic programs, the argument focuses on whether or not such programs are beneficial to a company’s bottom line. Instead of thinking in terms of the profit that can be won or lost by investing in corporate giving programs, perhaps it’s beneficial to think in terms of what employees could be gained by those programs. Can corporate social giving improve recruiting and sourcing? How could a robust corporate philanthropy program pay the company back in employees? Here are 3 reasons why corporate social responsibility can benefit recruiting:
#3. It opens up an HR pro or other employee to a new and changing network that can be used for recruiting and sourcing.
Kelly Dingee from Fistfuloftalent.com wrote recently about the many years she has spent volunteering at a community theatre. While the efforts were mostly to help with her daughter’s theatrical endeavors, as a sourcer she found that she fell into a diverse group of other working parents that became another referral network. “Interestingly enough,” she notes, “the bulk of them don’t have profiles on LinkedIn,” meaning this wealth of knowledge that she stumbled into may not have been found any other way.
#2. It brands the company as one that is committed to the community, environment, and philanthropy in general.
This in turn attracts employees. In a post on CauseCast.com, Ryan Scott discusses Timberland’s volunteer program called Path of Service. Through the program, employees are granted up to 40 hours of paid time off to volunteer in the community. At Timberland, a manufacturer of heavy-duty foot wear, every two years the company surveys their employees concerning their philanthropic involvement. The most recent survey revealed that 67% of employees agreed that the company’s community commitment “played a strong role in their decision to work at Timberland.”
#1. Philanthropic commitments draw a certain kind of employee.
In the same article, Scott cites a survey by Deloitte Volunteer Impact which in 2011 showed that 61% of Millennials would consider a company’s commitment to the community when making a job decision. If you’re searching for a way to draw in younger employees, and encourage them to stay with your company, improving your corporate giving programs could benefit you greatly.
Certainly, all companies and organizations should decide for themselves what sort of corporate philanthropy works best for them based on their location, their industry, and the people they supply with their product or service. However, when assessing their corporate giving, companies could benefit from reviewing how they might use corporate social responsibility to source for new employees and how that, in turn, could also affect their bottom line.
Does corporate philanthropy benefit your recruiting? Tell us how in the comments.
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