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Volunteer Programs within a wider CSR/ESG Strategy

Posted on May 17, 2017 by jeffhoffmanassociate

It is interesting to note that as companies move to more closely align their employee volunteer programs with their corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy, employees are seeking more fulfillment and purpose in their lives, which sometimes take them in a different direction from their employer. CSR and employee volunteering are not mutually exclusive and both are gaining traction for different reasons.

In an effort to recruit and retain the best and the brightest, companies are paying more attention to the needs and interests of their current and prospective employees. We hear much about purpose, purpose in life and purpose in work. Companies and society gain benefit when they engage their employees strategically. And in some cases, strategically is letting them follow their own path.

Environment, social and governance (ESG) issues, or as I like to say, how a company cooperates with integrity, is becoming more integrated into business strategy. Human capital is key to this and employee volunteering can be a bridge: a bridge between company interests and employee interests; a bridge between the company and the community; and often a bridge between different functional areas within a company. Employee volunteering creates deeper engagement for all involved.

Issues that matter can take different forms. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have provided a framework for many companies to view their social strategy. Seventeen goals covering, among others, education, gender equality, poverty alleviation, and water can help companies, and their employees, apply core competencies towards the goals’ achievement by the year 2030. We are already seeing results of volunteerism through organizations such as Points of Light, IAVE, Impact 2030 and Pyxera Global, which work closely with employers.

Much attention has been focused on skills-based and pro bono volunteering over the last ten years. I am a big proponent of skills-based volunteering and its ability to help a nonprofit better meet its mission. But I don’t think this means that helping hands volunteer projects don’t have value.

Of late, we hear a lot about transactional volunteering versus transformational volunteering. I have been thinking about how both work together with skills based and helping hands volunteering. Some examples include:

Developing a strategy for an NGO is both skills based and transformational
Regular bookkeeping for an organization is skills based and transactional
Building a house for a poor family is helping hands and transformational
Picking up trash on a beach is helping hands and transactional

All four combinations play an important role. In a company with a large and diverse workforce, providing opportunities in all four categories will meet the needs of employees and the right projects and programs can ensure the programs align solidly within the CSR strategy.

Measurement – What really counts?

This is the big question. When I first developed Disney’s global volunteer program, Disney VoluntEARS, hours were what mattered and it is a metric that many continue to use, but it is only one way of gauging participation.

Beyond hours, I now ask “so what?” What did the volunteers do? Did those hours make an actual impact? Hours are what we call inputs, what has been given, but the impacts and outcomes, as a result of the inputs, are what matter. These can be difficult to measure and it seems that those who are trying to measure impacts and outcomes have different metrics they are seeking. This makes it challenging for the collective results to be measured. Organizations such as True Impact and Mission Measurement have worked hard to better help companies and nonprofits measure what counts.

Corporate philanthropy, community investment and employee volunteering continue to become more strategic within companies’ CSR work and are more aligned with overall company mission and strategy. For now, much of the value is anecdotal, but collectively as a profession and working together, we can do a better job of demonstrating material value. Employees are companies’ most important assets, and employee volunteering is an important part of the employee experience.

This blog is based on a presentation that Jeff Hoffman gave at the IAVE European Corporate Volunteer Conference in Madrid, Spain in May, 2017.

Seeing Opportunity in Reputation Risk

Posted on April 15, 2017 by jeffhoffmanassociate

Whatever the cause of a reputational hit, boards are liable to be held accountable and can mitigate their own reputation risk by diligently asking the right questions about the company’s ESG and CR strategies, practices, risk management, crisis preparedness, and the potential reputation-enhancement opportunities embedded in successfully managing such risks.

My new article appeared in the April edition of the National Association of Corporate Director’s Directorship Magazine. It was co-written with friend and colleague Dr. Andrea Bonime-Blanc. Andrea is CEO of GEC Risk Advisory, a global strategic governance, resilience, and risk advisory firm, and former chief risk, ethics, and legal officer for several global companies.

To read the full article, click here.

http://www.jeffhoffmanassociates.com/Images/NACD_Drctrshp_MarApr17_InPrctc_ReputationRiskHoffmanBonime_Blanc.pdf

Posted in Corporate Citizenship, Corporate Governance, Philanthropy | Tagged Corporate Governance, CSR, ESG | Leave a comment

Report: Points of Light Corporate Service Council Meeting

Posted on April 6, 2017 by jeffhoffmanassociate

When a group of CSR and Employee Engagement leaders from many of the world’s most admired companies come together for one purpose, that of engaging employees to make a positive impact on the world, magic happens. This is what happened last week at the Points of Light Corporate Service Council (CSC) meeting. This annual convening was hosted at the Deloitte University (DU) outside of Dallas, Texas.

This year’s theme was Aligning with Values: Strategies and Investments in Values-Based Leadership. Some of the take-a-ways: 1. Create an ERG (employee resource group) for volunteering/service. A grass roots approach to exponentially expanding employee volunteering. Two companies there are doing it with great success. First I have heard of this. 2. Company contributes $100 to employee’s healthcare reimbursement account based on their volunteering.

This is a long article and if time challenged, and who isn’t, you can pull what is relevant from the topics: Trust in Crisis, Thoughts from the C-Suite, Leading with Values in a Changing World, Asia, and Redefining Models for success.

The meeting kicked off with greetings from Points of Light Board Chair Neil Bush talking the importance of the public-private partnerships that come out of the Corporation for National and Community Service and with it AmeriCorps. As CNCS is on the cut list of the U.S. Federal Budget, Neil said, “AmeriCorps plays a special role, especially in this moment, and the critical importance it plays with our corporate work.” A discussion was held later in the day on how companies can help to lead their voice to the #SaveAmeriCorps campaign.

We were officially welcomed to Deloitte by the POL CSC Chair, and Principal, Policy, Government Relations and Corporate Citizenship for Deloitte, David Williams. He said enthusiastically, “Points of Light is the most important organization to create changemakers in the world.” He talked about DU being a place to make better leaders through courage, service and learning. He called the place “Our House.” It’s a place where Deloitte employees can come together, collaborate and meet people they might not normally meet.

Jenny Lawson, President of Networks at Points of Light, and longtime leader of the CSC, acted as the host of the day and half meeting. In a succinct and poignant way she kicked off the meeting with “I’d rather not talk about it, let’s try it. This is a place to think about our work together and go forward to make it happen.”

Trust in Crisis

Many of you have read, and seen presentations of the annual Edelman Trust Barometer (this is the report’s 17^th year). For those of you who have already seen the 2017 report, you were probably as horrified as I was to read how quickly sentiment has shifted. Steve Behm, President of Edelman South, brought the report to life with an infusion of Edelman’s Earned Brand work in a way that I have not seen before. “Trust in institutions is in crisis. Trust in Governments, NGOs and Business have all gone down. The trust gap is widening. There has been a fundamental shift from the old model of doing things ‘for people’ to the new model of ‘with people.’ License to operate is at risk.”

Steve discussed their methodology of looking at the Informed Population and the Mass Population. The informed population is made up of four criteria: Ages 25 to 64, college educated, in top 25% of household income in each country, and report significant media consumption and engagement in business news. They make up 13% of the total global population. The Mass Population is all others making up 87%. The mass population is feeling left behind and is rejecting established authority. This is what was behind Brexit, the November U.S. Election and what we are seeing in various countries of Europe and to a certain extend even in China.

Business still have an opportunity to restore trust. Where the system is failing, companies are expected to do more. Treat employees better, listen to customers, pay their fair share of taxes, have ethical business practices. Businesses are expected to lead. To do things differently. There is work to do. This latest survey shows that only 37% view CEOs as credible, but this is better than the 29% credibility of government officials. The brand research shows 62% will not buy if a brand fails to meet societal obligations. 60% of doing good should be part of a brand’s DNA. 55% think brands can do more to solve social ills than government. Hard to believe but many view brands as more powerful than government and that brand obligations extend to society at large. Millennials are more likely to take action on behalf of a brand. Purpose drives consumers. Demonstrate a belief system. Invite customers to create shared action.

The informed population is more forgiving and has a better understanding of long term integrity when one off hiccups occur. The Mass Population is more reactive based on limited information. Regardless of the accuracy of the situation, social media can make a small issue a huge story. It is important that companies react quickly and publicly. “This is not how we act, This is how we act. And when there is a problem, own it, state that it will be fixed and solved.”

One slide titled “Do Things Differently” offered this suggestion on how to think about what companies can do when systems are failing, or the perception that they are: “Identify the business need; Assess need relative to economic and societal fears; Learn without bias; Provide context; Engage openly; act and advocate.”

Steve ended on a positive approach with a people centric model. He then offered this provocative quote from Winston Churchill: “If you are going through hell, keep going!” How else are you going to get through it?

Thought from the C-Suite on the Future of Corporate Social Leadership

Two company executives shared a bit about their company’s CSR work, but really focused on the employee and society. Southwest Airlines formed a social topics council made up of representatives from Legal, Diversity & Inclusion, Communications, HR, Marketing on how to tackle looking at various stakeholders to drive decisions that are more thoughtful. Tata Consultancy Services Chanel filled the need for their employees to stand up and express themselves through volunteering and being engaged in the community. They also, provided a mashup of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn to express emotions that was moderated and curated.

Leading with Values in a Changing Wo

“The promise and possibilities of investment in social challenges scaled through corporate-led collaborations is a movement whose momentum is growing.” This was a two hour session that began with Points of Light Chief Programs Officer Malikah Berry talking about Resilient Communities. She said, “neighborhoods exist amid complex challenges. Clicktivism, Activism and Volunteerism… There are greater avenues for neighbors to lead neighborhood change.” Resilient Communities is a POL program that will create healthy, vibrant, thriving places of opportunity for everyone. Social Determinants of Health and Rockefeller Resilient Cities methodology determined four domains of resiliency: Neighborhood/Built Environment, Economic Stability, Education and Health. Points of Light’s program is based on this framework.

The Rockefellor and Monitor Institute, a part of Deloitte Consulting LLP, have created “PARTICIPATE: The power of involving business in social impact networks”—a handbook for social change leaders aspiring to effectively engage the private sector as authentic participants in the pursuit of social impact.

Social Impact and Business Value. “Wicked problems are growing in complexity and size. Problems which cannot effectively be tackled in isolation,” said Anna Muoio, Specialist Leader at the Monitor Institute. “Wicked problems themselves are hard to identify. Networks enable large groups to drive systematic impact. Set broader ambitions, diversify risk, spur smart, coordinated plans. It’s important to align solutions within individual communities and they are all different.”

ServiceWorks

Dinner was shared with a group of amazing AmeriCorps VISTAs and the young people they work with from Education is Freedom. Our VISTA, Clara McDade was inspirational and at 75 an avid volunteer. Our student was Solomon Mitchell, a high school senior bound for a career in fashion merchandise. ServiceWorks is a points of Light program supported by Citi and powered by AmeriCorps..

What’s Working: Effective Employee Volunteering in Asia

A Framework for Corporate Leaders: “Across Asia, the public increasingly believes that doing good should be part of a brand’s DNA. Regional leaders are also aware that employees are more motivated to perform when they see their company engaged in societal issues, according to the 2016 Edelman Trust Barometer. Addressing these trends, this report equips corporate volunteer leaders with a framework to build effective employee volunteer programs in Asia, and features examples of what’s working for more than 25 global and regional brands.

RiseUp: Re-Defining Models for Success

Michael Shaun Conaway, CEO of Storyworks talked about his new movie: “We Are Creating A Movement Together: In this movie, with some of the most brilliant, accomplished and high-impact leaders of our day, we will re-define a new model of success to uplift and empower people to live radically fulfilled, purpose driven lives. It’s time for us all to RiseUP.”

Michael also talked about the work that Storyworks does for companies around The Moral Development of Corporate Culture. He outlined five stages, or levels: #5 Lie, Cheat, Steal. #4 Whatever it takes. #3 Do no harm. #2 Net positive. #1 Problem solvers. He said most of the companies in the room are either #2 or #1s. Actions are aligned with the company’s purpose and values. “Do good and do well. Tell your story!”

24 Hours of Inspiration and Engagement

The time spent together at this year’s Points of Light Corporate Service Council was thought provoking, inspirational and an opportunity for peers to share thoughts and insights on who we can help our companies, and our employees make a more impactful difference on society.

http://www.edelman.com/global-results/

https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/report/participate-the-power-of-involving-business-in-social-impact-networks/

http://www.pointsoflight.org/corporate-institute/resources

http://riseupthemovie.com/

Posted in Civic Engagement, Corporate Citizenship, Education, Philanthropy, Volunteering and Service, Youth | Tagged Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Volunteering, Points of Light | Leave a comment

Employees Send Hope in Times of Disaster and Tragedy

Posted on December 22, 2016 by jeffhoffmanassociate

When disaster strikes—particularly close to home—often the first people we hear from are our employees wanting to know what they can do to help as they seek the shared experience of grieving. Often, it is a challenge to provide the right tools and resources in the workplace. “Stars of HOPE” is one solution. The program provides an outlet for people—including employees—to provide support through the painting of inspirational words, messages, and designs on one-foot wooden stars for the victims. This helps to heal the deep emotional wounds of survivors while strengthening communities around the world recovering from tragedy through art, compassion, and connectivity.

Stars of HOPE was started by New York Says Thank You, an organization that was founded in response to 9/11 that uses the pay-it-forward concept to send volunteers from the city across the country to help those in need after a disaster, as a thank you for what those across the country did for New York. Thirteen years ago, executive director Jeff Parness founded New York Says Thank You at the urging of his five-year-old son. I recently had an opportunity to sit down with Jeff. He talked about how the group’s work, and that of hope, accelerates the healing process for disaster survivors.

New research from New York Says Thank You shows that giving a star in the “numbness phase” of an adapted Kubler Ross Change Curve, which tracks the stages of grief, takes people to the “New Relationships Phase” and then to the “Helping Others Phase,” bypassing many other stages. Also, Scott Allison, Professor of Psychology at the University of Richmond, said: “The Stars of HOPE program utilizes the latest scientific findings in positive psychology and heroism science to bring healing, growth, and resiliency to a world thirsty for loving kindness.” We have long known anecdotally that a hug, offering a hand, and other forms of comfort and support are helpful during troubling times, but it is nice to be able to substantiate this.

Stars in the face of terrorism

Although most stars are given to victims of natural disasters, recent terrorist attacks and other human-caused tragedies have resulted in an outpouring of support. A year ago this month, the deadliest home-grown terror attack to hit the U.S. since 9/11 happened in San Bernardino, California. Six months ago there was the senseless killing of 49 people at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. We have seen senseless acts of violence all over the world.

Employees at the Loews Hotels at Universal Orlando responded to their community with more than 1,000 employees painting stars after the Pulse Nightclub shooting. Then, they chartered a bus and went through the community, hanging the stars and giving them to people who were directly impacted, including families and friends of victims, and survivors.

We often forget the impact disasters have on the lives of first responders and care givers. Through Stars of HOPE, Loews employees also gave stars to trauma surgeons and nurses, 911 call operators, firefighters and police officers, and the staff at the Orlando lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) center. Explaining the importance of this effort, Loews’ PR director said these powerful words: “Goodness will always triumph over evil and we will forever be #OrlandoStrong.”

People who have received stars are paying it forward by sending them to others in the spirit of solidarity. In this clip, a victim from San Bernardino paints a star for Orlando.

Providing an outlet for employees and families

Employees of companies around the world and their families have sent a Star of HOPE to support others. Examples include:

Children at KPMG’s “Take your Children to Work Day” painted stars for Syrian and Iraqi children. The stars were then distributed to refugee camps by volunteers from global law firm Dentons and the Saudi Red Crescent, a humanitarian society.
Following the Brussels terror attack, JetBlue employees painted stars during Respectful Workplace Week to lift the spirits of the people of Belgium.

In addition, some companies are now buying Boxes of Hope kits that include 15 Stars, paint, and paint brushes to keep on hand for when needed. Parness told me: “The Stars of HOPE Box of HOPE program offers corporate volunteers a unique in-office, hands-on disaster relief volunteer opportunity that can make a direct impact on the emotional recovery and resiliency of disaster survivors in both the immediate and long-term aftermath of both natural and man-made disasters.” To date, more than 50,000 volunteers from 112 communities in 20 countries have participated in the program.

Stars are an important symbol. During this holiday season, we often see a star at the top of a festively decorated tree. Hope gives people the drive to move forward. The stars can be one way to facilitate employees’ compassion and channel it directly to those who need hope.

Posted in Civic Engagement, Corporate Citizenship, Disaster Response, Harmony, Philanthropy, Social Enterprise, Volunteering and Service, Youth | Tagged CSR, Disasters, Stars of HOPE | Leave a comment

Two Companies Collaborate around Shared Desired Outcome to Build the Workforce of Tomorrow

Posted on December 5, 2016 by jeffhoffmanassociate

First published on The Conference Board Giving Thoughts Blog on November 30, 2016

We often talk cross-sector collaboration, but we don’t often hear about companies working together to solve a social problem. CH2M and Dow are doing just that. Interestingly, they count each other as both customers and suppliers—strategic business partners. Together they partnered with the Smithsonian Science Education Center to create the Dow-CH2M Smithsonian Teacher Scholar Program.

As part of the program, Dow and CH2M identified teachers from strategic locations in which the companies have a strong presence—for example, California, Louisiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Texas. These teachers attended Smithsonian Science Education Academies for Teachers (SSEATs), week-long academies designed to heighten STEM teachers’ ability to inspire and enlighten their students. The teachers then took their experiences back to their classrooms. They continued their professional growth through peer networking, mentoring and interaction with Dow and CH2M employee volunteers.

“I loved participating in the class because it gave me an opportunity to see and hear real research and find ways to emulate that in my classroom,” says Gordon Culver, high school teacher, Frankenmuth High School, Michigan. “It was also exciting to have a direct connection between real-world research and the things that can happen with my students.”

Both companies support efforts around building the workforce of tomorrow and environmental sustainability. The teachers were divided into three cohorts with each focusing on one of the following elements: Biodiversity, Energy’s Innovations and Implications, or Earth’s History and Global Change. This program is an example of the companies utilizing their core competencies along with philanthropic dollars and intellectual capital through their employee volunteer programs.

“At a time in corporate giving when so many social issues are pressing around the world, it is even more critical to collaborate with other funders with whom you share similar values and interests,” said Ellen Sandberg, executive director, CH2M Foundation. “The multiplier effect comes into full force, thus leading to even greater impact. Partnering with Dow has meant greater engagement between the two companies than ever before, benefiting both the community and the business relationship.”

“We realize that in order to tackle the challenge of building the STEM workforce of tomorrow, one company cannot do it alone,” said Meredith Morris, global STEM leader, the Dow Chemical Company. “We were extremely proud to expand our collaboration with the Smithsonian Science Education Center to include our key business partner, CH2M. It is exciting that we are able to combine our aligned global citizenship and sustainability strategies and engage the passion and skills of our employees to collaborate on a program that will empower educators in communities that are important to us.”

Initial feedback from the program is positive and shows that it has sparked enthusiasm in the teachers and subsequently benefited their students. “I think it has made an immense impact on my teaching strategies,” said April Languirand, fifth grade teacher, Lakewood Elementary, Louisiana. “I have a degree in history and am a huge history nerd. Science has never been my passion, until now! The program piqued my interest in science like never before. It also made me think about why I didn’t like science as a student. I have put a lot more effort into making lessons fun for my students—being excited about the lesson and then passing that excitement on to my students.”

Rhonda Wendel, fifth grade science and social studies teacher, Danbury Elementary, Texas, said: “I have shared with my students that there are so many choices of careers in science that I didn’t even know existed. The careers that the experts discussed opened up a whole new world for me to share with my students.”

The desired outcome if the Dow-CH2M Smithsonian Teacher Scholar Program is to build the workforce of tomorrow and the anecdotal feedback received so far certainly points to long-term success!

Posted in Corporate Citizenship, Education, Philanthropy | Tagged Collaboration, Education, STEM | Leave a comment

“Abundance & Disruption during an Exponential Era”

Posted on November 22, 2016 by jeffhoffmanassociate

Peter Diamandis is one smart, forward thinking and amazing guy. He is an international pioneer in the fields of innovation, incentive competitions and commercial space. In 2014 he was named one of “The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” – by Fortune Magazine. He is best known as the founder of the X Prize.

I had the honor of meeting him and hearing him speak last week at “Governing in a time of Seismic Change,” the 2016 Corporate Director Symposium jointly convened by the USC Marshall School and the National Association of Corporate Directors. The topic of his keynote was “Abundance & Disruption during an Exponential Era.” This could not be more appropriate with the quantum change we see happening all around us. Diamandis is the New York Times Bestselling author of Abundance – The Future Is Better Than You Think and BOLD – How to go Big, Create Wealth & Impact the World.

“A culture of innovation comes from people who are never satisfied. What’s next?.” “Does your organization celebrate failure to go 10x bigger?” “Exponential growth opportunities are driving massive risk taking.” His talk focused on making big bets, taking huge risks, pointing to the stars and don’t look back. He talked the barriers that companies have to success. So many are risk adverse and their people are not celebrated when they fail, their often fired. To get that ‘moonshot” you must try over and over, harder and harder, until you figure it out. Too many take the path of least resistance. These companies will fail. “The only constant is change, and the rate of change is increasing. 40% of today’s Fortune 500 companies are predicted to disappear in the next 10 years. Competition is no longer the multinational overseas; instead, it’s the exponential entrepreneur creating companies like Uber, Airbnb, DropBox, Oculus, Whatsapp, SpaceX and Tesla. Disruption is also coming from data-driven tech giants who are entering into adjacent fields: Google into the automotive industry, Apple into the music industry, Facebook into the global telecom industry, and IBM Watson into healthcare.” “Today a company’s success depends on mindset, its use of exponential technologies and the power of crowdsourcing. Where should a company be looking to grow 10x bigger, rather than 10-percent bigger? What does it take for a company to become an Exponential Organization? How do you become Uber rather than Kodak?

Hearing Peter challenge this group was energizing. There is so much opportunity if we will let it happen. Are we on an exponential trajectory or are we blinded in the success measures of the past?

http://www.diamandis.com/

Posted in Corporate Governance, Economic Development | Tagged Abundance, Disruption, Exponential Change | Leave a comment

Corporate Citizenship Evolves: Human Capital + Purpose = Value Creation

Posted on November 3, 2016 by jeffhoffmanassociate

First published on the Corporate Responsibility Magazine Blog on November 1, 2016

Corporate Citizenship as a Business Imperative

Organizations that create value for themselves by creating value for society are the ones that succeed. They represent purpose, shared value, collective impact, circular economy, job purposing, and mindfulness. These are important terms and concepts, but how do they relate to reputation management, risk mitigation, stakeholder engagement, brand building, and value creation?

We have also seen how employee volunteering has increasingly become a stronger element within a company’s overall philanthropy program. And philanthropy is playing a more important role within Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG (Environment and Social Governance). The employee is central to all of this. Harnessing, and then letting loose, the 21st century workforce will create profound change. Corporate Citizenship, when aligned with company values and products, will achieve positive bottom line results and is a key tool in the success of the company in today’s turbulent society.

Human capital is being viewed in a way that is different from the past, and forward-thinking companies value it with the same attention and rigor as financial capital. People run companies. Employees, customers, shareholders, and activists are all human. It’s about relationships. We see this with social media. When people are disconnected from the actions of the company, the company suffers. When companies act more human, they are complimentary assets to society, and are less of something that can be detrimental.

Purpose is the buzzword of the day. Central to a purpose-led company is to recognize why it exists. It was created to provide a product or service to fulfill a need. A company needs to stand for something it really believes in that goes beyond profit. A values-based approach will be helpful with recruitment and retention of quality employees and a strong customer base. The old saying of “doing well by doing good,” with purpose—it’s about “being” good. Purpose needs to be integrated in business practices and the culture across lines of business, not just the CSR department.

The ‘human’ and ‘purpose’ concepts resonate with younger workers and the emerging workforce. The 2105 Millennium Impact Report focuses on the relationship between the employee and the manager, understanding the relationships that drive participation. Employees want to feel valued, and value working at a company that acts responsibly and allows them to get engaged in the community. Here are some helpful tips:

Build a corporate culture that fully leverages cause work and responsibility;
Utilize peer’s interactions with co-workers to influence participation;
Identify causes that your employees care about; and
Story telling of how participation made a difference resonates with young workers.

Here are some of the stats: 84 percent of millennial employees made a charitable donation in 2014. 48 percent have donated to a company sponsored giving campaign. 70 percent of millennials spent at least an hour volunteering. 45 percent volunteered with a program promoted by the company. Whether we call it volunteering, or an expression of the employee and company doing social good, it will become the norm in the workplace.

What is your brands purpose? Does the essence of the brand reflect being a responsible company? Trust is an important component. Brand is a relationship—it’s engaging with your key audiences, and is continually evolving. Does the company’s corporate citizenship program assist in building the brand? Strong brands can take years to build and missteps can damage it in a few moments with today’s connected society. This is why every employee should live the brand purpose and carry out their duties responsibly. The public will be more forgiving of a company that has had a hiccup but has a history built on responsibility.

Community relations is about being a good neighbor. It’s an important program and the main component of a company’s philanthropy. While there will probably always be a place for charity dinners, direct grants to nonprofits, and employee volunteers participating in a walk-a-thon, corporate philanthropy is becoming more sophisticated in approach and aligned with company strategy. Community engagement is a symbiotic relationship that is mutually beneficial. Healthy communities mean healthy customers. Employees live, raise families, have friends, and are engaged in the same communities where the companies have operations. Schools educate the future workforce. Residents and businesses alike pay taxes. When one element of the community is sick, it is felt by the rest, and it can have long term negative implications. As a result, it is in a company’s best interest to impactfully invest in the success of communities.

Utilizing a company’s core assets to help find solutions to some of the world’s most challenging problems is becoming more prevalent. With some, the work is part of the product portfolio, is a profit center, and, as a result, leads to long-term sustainability. These companies could be social enterprises. Often, it is companies utilizing their assets strategically for the betterment of society. Employees are dispatched to nonprofits to help them better achieve their mission through pro-bono service or skills-based volunteering. Products and services contributed could be cost offsetting, allowing resources to more directly support beneficiaries. And, in many cases, the support from business allows them to scale to be more effective. This is evident by what some companies have already committed to do in support of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Institutional investors have become more active in their desire that their companies act responsibly. We see this with various indexes and the rise of socially responsible investors. Customers today are more likely to purchase products from responsible companies. Potential employees often “choose” their employer based on if they are a good corporate citizen. Entitlement processes can move quicker when regulators and lawmakers view the applicant as responsible and a good neighbor.

Many proactive programs, both in society and in companies, work to prevent problems as an alternative to intervention later. And the more progressive are looking beyond value protection in their ESG efforts to value creation. With the environment to do business ever more challenging, competition stronger and stakeholder expectations higher, can you afford not to differentiate your company as a responsible business with purpose?

Posted in Civic Engagement, Corporate Citizenship, Economic Development, Volunteering and Service | Tagged CSR, ESG, Purpose | Leave a comment

Lessons from a Top Gun pilot: Risk and Opportunity

Posted on September 15, 2016 by jeffhoffmanassociate

Green Hasson and Janks hosted their third nonprofit conference in Los Angeles. The theme this year focused on their recent report on Nonprofit Risk: Opportunities and Challenges in a High-Risk World. The keynote speaker was Art de la Cruz, COO of Team Rubicon. “Team Rubicon unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams.” They are one of my favorite veteran’s organizations.

Art spoke primarily about Risk and Opportunity. “Risk tolerance is beyond managing risk but looking for opportunity.” Through his career he has used a Risk and Opportunity Matrix as it helps people think about what is and isn’t in their control. It’s about how you maneuver around the grid. This is how he looked at managing risk while in the military. “The other option is to do nothing. If you don’t plan on seizing opportunity, you will be in a challenging situation in the future. It’s like car maintenance, its driving fine now, but if you never change the oil, you will eventually stall.”

He was a lieutenant when he retired after 22 years in the military and was a “Top Gun” pilot. On September 11, 2001, he was on the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. When the first tower was hit, email was shut down, when the second tower was hit, they stopped dead in the water. They then waited for instructions from the President. He used this as an example of an organization, you are cruising along just fine, but then an external force, or in today’s language a disruption, occurs, you change course. Even if you are changing the direction of something as massive as an aircraft carrier.

He talked of the importance of cognitive diversity. “Bring in different types of experience, and the collective experiences, to the table when making decisions. You can’t manage risk to zero. Determine risk tolerance. Jump through methodical hoops to better achieve mission. And when ideas arise, listen for value, don’t listen for barriers. Find the five words that are really, really good, versus looking for the five words that make the idea a challenge. When looking five years out, are we just going to focus on mitigating risk or are we going to seize opportunity?”

Taking risks is hard. Often it is going against people’s comfort level. Sometimes following popular belief is the easiest route, but does it really lead to new ideas and moving society forward? Art gave a lot of good examples and the new report from Green Hasson and Janks is worth the read even for those outside the nonprofit audience for which it was written. When it comes to taking risks, and being bold, here is one of my favorites quotes, from Henry Ford: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

www.teamrubiconusa.org/

www.greenhassonjanks.com

Posted in Corporate Governance, Disaster Response, Volunteering and Service | Leave a comment

How CSR Magic Helped Make Shanghai Disney Resort Possible

Posted on June 16, 2016 by jeffhoffmanassociate

Today Shanghai Disney Resort opens to the world. From afar, the $5.5 billion project looks spectacular and I congratulate all of my friends and colleagues who have worked to make this a reality. It’s been a 15 plus year journey, and while I have been gone from Disney for a while, I was involved with setting the stage. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) was part of the mix from the beginning. I was fortunate to be part of the team looking at what The Walt Disney Company was going to be in China. Moving from years of a licensing model to one where Disney actually had a presence and operated within the country.

My role was to establish the corporate citizenship strategy and function within China. Being a Communist country, unlike in other parts of the world I’ve worked, government interest is central to the strategy. Melding their interests with Disney’s outreach focus of helping children in need, was a delicate dance. Helping children with severe medical conditions is fine, helping poor children can be problematic as it could be viewed as spotlighting a deficiency on the part of the government.

China was exciting. Disney opened an office in Shanghai adjacent to the French Concession. On my visits, the walks between my hotel and the office were filled with sights and smells very different from what we are accustomed to, even for a large cosmopolitan city. I would eat Chinese food three meals a day and loved it. Primarily, I worked with the government relations team as we met with government officials and nonprofits/NGO representatives. NGO stands for Non-Governmental Organization, in China, many are run by the government so we call them GONGOs… Government Operated Non-Governmental Organizations (oxymoron?). One of these GONGOs was the Children’s Palace. Very similar to a Boys & Girls Club in the United States.

One of the early initiatives in China was to bring a traveling company of “The Lion King” to Shanghai. We organized a Children’s Palace trip to see the show followed by a special educational presentation by the cast. Disney VoluntEARS escorted the children. It was the first Disney VoluntEARS project for the new office. We also established a relationship with Shanghai Children’s Medical Center. Disney designed and installed a playroom in the hospital complete with play area, reading area and fun character murals on the walls. Disney VoluntEARS regularly read to patients in the playroom along with visits from Mickey, Minnie and friends.

Building on this, last week The Walt Disney Company announced an RMB 20 Million ($3.1 million) to create more than 50 of these rooms in hospitals across China. When the Sichuan Province Earthquake occurred, Disney donated $1 million to help rebuild destroyed schools. The company also donated books and toys. Disney VoluntEARS took the train to the region and actually helped with the rebuilding. Plus, through the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, a donation was made to help with the damage at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Actively demonstrating that Disney is a good corporate citizen and showing examples of what the Chinese people could expect as the company’s presence grows, was a strong consideration with the early strategy.

Back to the potential Shanghai theme park, I spent a good portion of a day touring what is now the 1,000-acre project in Pudong. While the government was responsible for the land acquisition and re-settling the farmers and other residents, it was important for the company to ensure that it was done in a fair and equitable manner; looking at near and long term effects on jobs, families, education and overall wellbeing, as well as addressing any environmental issues related to the site. In addition to being the right thing to do, reputational risk was a major consideration. Earlier I had a similar role with Hong Kong and then specifically advising Hong Kong Disneyland, but with Hong Kong I was involved when the current site was still under water, before the land fill, all the way through construction, opening and on-going operations.

Once the Shanghai Resort project was announced, in Burbank, both the International Business Development group and Walt Disney Imagineering started a Chinese cultural awareness and understanding program. After criticism of the early days of Disneyland Resort Paris, the company spent much time, money and effort to make the park more culturally relevant to not only the French but to residents from the other countries in greater Europe. Advancements were made with the Hong Kong project, but for Shanghai, the cultural relevance extends deeply into the design and storytelling. I learned a lot from that cultural program and would have benefited from them when I first started working on China. The new resort is “Authentically Disney and Distinctly Chinese.”

From all of the conversations with those involved, the posts and articles I have read, the photos and videos I have seen, this is one amazing Park. It is unique. While all of the Magic Kingdoms have their own personality, this one has significant differences, and for good reason. From a “license to operate” perspective, the government was actively involved, in fact the joint venture partner, the Shanghai Shendai Group is a consortium of four state-run companies. Interestingly, the many compromises that Disney made I think challenged the company to be more creative in the design, resulting in many new attractions that would have never been created.

It has been heartwarming to see the photos of new Shanghai Disney Resort Cast Members (employees) wearing their Disney VoluntEARS shirts in local neighborhoods. The sense of community and responsibility has already taken root and is growing. While my involvement was before the design was finished and construction began, I feel proud and honored to have played a small part in paving the way for the magnificent Enchanted Storybook Castle and its realm. It is amazing to see how CSR magic helped make Shanghai Disney Resort possible.

Posted in Corporate Citizenship, Philanthropy, Youth | Tagged CSR, ESG, Shanghai Disney Resort | 6 Comments

The Third Wave. A book by Steve Case

Posted on June 9, 2016 by jeffhoffmanassociate

A fascinating and must read book. It clearly lays out the technology revolution by illustrating where we have been, where we are now and where we will be going in the future. But this is more than a book on technology, it’s a book about how the world works and will work as technology plays an ever increasing role in our lives and within business, government and nonprofits. It’s about shifts and disruptions. He lays out a future that can be exciting, or a warning call to those who are ignoring the signs of change. The third wave will have a major impact on the economy and the way we live our lives. I had an opportunity to see Steve and hear a lecture based on his book last month at the Reagan Presidential Library. I finished the book this week on a flight. There were several nuggets that I think are important to consider.

“The first wave of the Internet, which was building on-ramps to the Internet and convincing people to get connected, required partnerships. We had hundreds of them with software companies, hardware companies and media companies. The second wave, the real successful companies didn’t need partnerships. You can go through the list — Facebook, Snapchat — to get going. In the third wave, the sectors that are going to get disrupted are where partnerships with incumbent organizations like hospitals and universities are important to get significant market adoption. It’s not just about the app on your phone, third wave partnerships will be similar to the first wave. It wasn’t just about what you were doing on your own; it was how well you played with others.”

“The superstars of the Third Wave will pursue bold visions, but their true gift will be mastery of execution… I tell them that it all comes down to the three P’s: partnerships, policy, and perseverance.” “A great product will only get you so far. You typically won’t be able to build an audience by dropping your app in the App Store and waiting for users to sign up.” This is where partners come into play. The story won’t be the technology in its self, it’s the technology enabling those with expertise in a subject area, or an organization, helping them better deliver on their mission. Policy is an interesting one as policy tends to lag behind the forward movement of society and this is particularly the case with both new and innovative business structures as well as technology applications. And there are conflicts, we see it on one side with privacy rights and on the other the push towards transparency. As the internet knows no boundaries, what in some countries would be viewed as freedom of information and the right of free speech, in others it could be viewed as subversive and treason. This is a discussion we see every day whether it be Facebook being blocked in China or the Edward Snowden leaking classified information. There is a middle ground as I think China should unlock Facebook and I don’t think Snowden should get away with leaking classified information. There are policies protecting archaic systems that at one time made sense but now have caused unintentional consequences. As for perseverance, “The winners of the Third Wave will be those who chase big-impact ideas with a sense of urgency – but also methodically and diplomatically… You’ll have to keep adjusting, tweaking, pivoting.”

He provides a candid look at his career, the successes and the failures. I particularly appreciated his recounting of the AOL merger with Time Warner. It proves something that I learned a long time ago of the importance of culture when bringing groups together. While it looked like the perfect marriage when they got engaged, by the time they got divorced it really made you wonder what they were thinking.

Both in the book and his lecture he talked about the importance of responsibility and purpose. And that Third Wave companies will succeed when they have a focus on profit and purpose, understanding both their positive and negative impacts on society and the environment. Steve told of the work of The Case Foundation, run by his wife Jean, and of his company Revolution. Impact investing whether for profit or nonprofit is central to their strategy. Jean and I discussed this extensively during our USC Conversation last year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4JsDziHEhQ

My favorite comment he made was “Internet enabled’ will start to sound as ludicrous as ‘electricity enabled’ as if either were notable differentiators.” And probably most notable “The Third Wave of the internet will not be defined as the ‘internet of things,’ but it will be defined by the ‘internet of everything’.”

The world is changing so fast that many businesses and organizations will fail unless they take steps to evolve and be disrupted. The Third Wave is an eye opening journey and a wakeup call. In a relatively short book, Steve has raised many provocative issues that for future success should be put into action.

http://www.thridwavebook.com

Posted in Impact Investing, Social Enterprise | Leave a comment

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