International Corporate Volunteering

This is the first blog in a series that takes a close look at the data from the 2021 Emerging World Corporate International Service Learning Resilience Study. This blog takes a look at how Immersive Experiences have impacted participants throughout the pandemic. 

This is a quick read on developing CSR strategies that are good for business while also being good for the world.

Emerging World

Having worked on the 2017 CISL Impact Benchmark Study published in September by Emerging World, I found this article interesting as it discusses the importance that millennials place on employers supporting social causes. On top of that, it looks at how successful organisations use creating social impact as a strategic development opportunity for employees. 

The Emerging World Study, supports a number of the messages in this article. We found that Corporate International Service Learning programmes, not only impacted leadership development, employee engagement and help create more responsible leader. These programmes also increased employee loyalty and pride. 

Read the 2017 CISL Impact Benchmark Study

Good piece bringing together some recent research on links between CSR and employee engagement. 

This is an important piece of reading for anyone designing or implementing corporate volunteering programs. It looks at the broader benefits of offering these opportunities to employees and argues that it is a 'powerful opportunity for businesses around the world to give employees an avenue to fulfill what is an innately human desire for meaning' in their lives.

Emerging World

Governments are no longer in a position to adequately address the social, economic and environmental challenges that are weighing heavily on national agendas. It is falling on the shoulders of global corporations, to fill the void, at least partially, as they are increasingly becoming better connected with the external stakeholders and the communities they serve. Kell and Reeves, as the role of the corporation is changing a leap needs to be made in the mind-set of corporate leaders from Corporate Citizen to Corporate Statemen. Not an easy feat, but one that has to be made for corporate leaders to take an activist position. For leaders not just to be a voice, but also shape the agenda and prioritize the allocation of hard resources to find solutions to the challenges that will ensure a sustainable globalisation track for future generations.

Emerging World

Useful blog from Cybergrants that provides some great statistics if you're looking to build your business case for an international corporate volunteering programme. For example this research reports that 64% of employees who currently volunteer said that volunteering with work colleagues strengthened their relationships. Long term impact study from Emerging World reinforces this with 86% agreeing that an international corporate volunteering assignment supported their ability to work collaboratively Click here for more information

What jumped out at me from this research is that despite corporate volunteering’s rapid growth in popularity as a tool for employee engagement, recruitment and retention, only 50% of companies surveyed offered skills based volunteering and only 25% tied this to an employee’s professional development. What this equates to is a huge opportunity to harness corporate volunteering to support employees’ development. Skills based volunteering can have significant and enduring impact on employees learning and behaviour and if opportunities are international in nature the exposure to different cultures, environments and working practices can result in a transformational experience that supports the development of global leadership skills required to lead in the VUCA era.

Paula Caligiuri, a professor at Northeastern University in US makes the case for ICV (or CISL - Corporate International Service Learning) programs being considered as effective, (and much lower cost) alternatives to rotational assignments. With a background steeped in cross-cultural leadership, she sees the potential such opportunities have for developing the cultural agility of employees. Something we need more and more of.

www.emergingworld.com

Companies can no longer remain on the side lines on important issues affecting our world. With the increase in natural catastrophes and man-made related emergencies, businesses and communities need to respond collaboratively and immediately by building communities that are better prepared to manage these kinds of situations in ways that enable them to bounce back quickly.

Corporate volunteering (also referred to as Pro Bono service) efforts can be helpful in building resilient communities. What’s more, Emerging World’s CISL Study (Corporate International Service Learning) on the long term impact of corporate volunteering has established the benefits to the business: It drives employee engagement, builds responsible leadership, contributes to loyalty and retention and improves a connection to the company’s purpose.

Doreen Mutero

Emerging World

This piece by Angela Parker of Realized Worth shows how companies can support their diversity and inclusion agendas by offering purposeful corporate volunteering programmes. It talks about providing opportunities to practice inclusion and when done well, how this helps employees to connect and empathise better with others as a result of encountering people and issues outside of their usual realms of experience, understanding, and (often) social and economic privilege. It helps them feel more engaged at work, aligning their personal purpose with professional goals and work experience and they become more inclusive, compassionate – and therefore more effective – people leaders.

I can see how Angela's insights are reinforced by the 2019 CISL Impact Benchmark Study which measures the long term impact of international corporate volunteering programmes. The Study will be launched soon in October 2019.

This is worth a quick read not least because it reinforces the need to measure the impact as much as the inputs and outcomes of corporate volunteering. 

However, I think it's fair to say that measuring the impact of volunteering takes time and so the Emerging World CISL Long Term Impact Study is worth considering because it's a proven way to measure those impacts for employees and for the business  

The Emerging World 2017 CISL Impact Benchmark Study looks at the impact of Corporate International Service Learning (CISL), also known as Corporate Volunteering and Global Pro bono. It clearly shows how, not only these types of programs develop global leadership skills, but also impact career mobility. 

On a personal level, this blog discusses how volunteering has great possibilities in terms of developing skills and opportunity, while doing good.

Emerging World

This article looks at employees increasing desire for meaningful work with companies that act ethically and how CSR programmes can provide that while equipping employees with skills and experience mindset shifts to help navigate the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world of today. 

The article is interesting as it discusses how CSR programmes can educate future corporate leaders while addressing needs and challenges of the community and society that they serve or sit within, which aligns with elements of Corporate International Service Learning (CISL) programmes.

Emerging World

We are more used to the idea of sending people to support communities in developing countries as part of International Corporate Volunteering (ICV) or CISL (Corporate International Service Learning) initiatives.  

This program takes a different approach by challenging executives from the Gulf region to use their skills and experiences to support UK charities.  We all have skills and perspectives that can add value and these kinds of experiences also build cultural understanding and empathy at a time when we seem to need it more than ever.

Emerging World

Employee Volunteering programs can provide transformational development opportunities and make a significant and lasting difference to ways of thinking and acting, to team dynamics and to collaboration.

This webinar provides insight on measuring the business impact of corporate volunteering to achieve the greatest benefits. The examples in the webinar are drawn from Emerging World’s CISL Impact Benchmark study, which is the most robust piece of research of its kind, completed in collaboration with leading global organizations BD, Credit Suisse, EY, GSK and Microsoft.

Emerging World

This article is based on research that Ashridge has completed with alumni from Business in the Community's Seeing is Believing programme. It powerfully makes the link between experiential learning and its role in building a responsible leader.  

The opportunity that the business leaders have to share their experience with others in their organizations is enormous; and in so doing, create a responsible corporate culture through a range of approaches, not least through corporate volunteering programmes and international corporate volunteering programmes. If Seeing is Believing, then you can picture the impact that a cross border assignment could offer. We call that corporate international service learning (CISL) and last year we published some research that showed how these experiences strongly developed global leadership competences. 

Read this piece from the Ashridge Journal and look at our research if you need a business case for developing a CISL programme

Emerging World

There are many benefits for all stakeholders from these kinds of Corporate International Service Learning (CISL) initiatives.  The post-2015 global development and environmental agenda places emphasis on the role that corporations need to play in shaping our planet's future.  This provides a strategic imperative for this kind of work but clever companies will find all sorts of value from engaging - from leadership development to creating shared value to identifying new products and services, while providing their employees with renewed sense of purpose in their work.  But it may require a different kind of thinking to get programs properly established.

www.emergingworld.com