5 steps to building employee engagement through your corporate responsibility program

Shared valuesShared passion

In a customer-focused business culture,

employee engagement

is usually not a high priority.

of U.S. workers say they are engaged in their work.

ONLY

of people are always willing to go the extra mile in order to do their jobs well.

ONLY

39%

of people say they get excited thinking about new ways to do their jobs more effectively.

ONLY

17%

But when people are engaged,

great things can happen.

Companies that successfully engage their employees and customers experience a

in performance-related business outcomes compared with organizations that do neither.

Sounds too good to be true, right? But with the right strategy and a slight shift in

thinking, you’ll be on your way in no time.

Find the intersection between your company interests and your employee passions.

You can start by looking at your corporate responsibility (CR) program.

Here’s the secret.

CR has become the next frontier for employee engagement because it gives employees a reason to share (and live!) the values of your organization.

Make your CR program more than just composting and recycling at the office.

Integrate it with the values and lifestyles of your employees.

So if you have people who are big sports fans, hikers or gardeners, find a way to support youth athletics,

forest preservation or urban farming.

Ready to get started?

[INSERT DRUM ROLL]

Here are the 5 steps to building employee engagement through your CR program.

Step #1: Listen to your employeesWant to know what truly motivates your employees? Give them outlets to express themselves and share their stories via social media, blogs and forums. Listen, absorb and keep the conversation going.

Step #2: Get organizedPerform the same kind of research on your employees that you do on your customers. Segment them by interest, and create personas. Once you understand what makes them tick, you can tailor your CR program to them.

Step #3: Roll them outCreate and launch new initiatives that support both your company’s CR goals and your employees’ interests.

Step #4: Share the loveLet employees participate in the conversation by giving them ways to shape and share your company story. Report on progress so employees can see that their actions make a difference.

Step #5: Measure and adjustOnce a program has been established, solicit feedback from your employees and customers and keep that loop going.

If you need more convincing that CR can be an employee engagement game changer,

here are 5 success stories that prove it.

In 2014, HP gave every employee in the company $25 to loan to an aspiring business owner in a poor or underserved community. Nearly 100,000 employees have loaned more than $2.8 million since the program’s launch. But the real news is the kind of notes employees have left on the program’s message board: “I am so proud to be part of something great! And thank you, HP, for allowing me the opportunity to do so.”

As part of its Water<Less™ campaign, Levi’s challenged employees to wear the same pair of unwashed jeans for a week. Employees were encouraged to upload new photos to Instagram and Flickr. Each image triggered a donation to water.org from Levi’s. By day five, more than 5,000 images had been shared. The campaign eventually provided clean drinking water for life for some 4,100 people.

In the summer of 2013, 3M held a “sustainability power pitch” contest across the company. Employees were challenged to pitch an idea for a sustainable product to a panel of judges and employees. Winners received more than a pat on the back: They received a research grant to bring the product to life.

In 1993, Patagonia had an inspired idea—give every employee up to two months of paid leave to volunteer for the environmental nonprofit of their choice. This gives employees a chance to share their expertise with the community and then return to work with a greater sense of shared values and commitment.

As part of an ambitious plan to double the company size while halving their environmental footprint, Unilever Australia appointed all its employees “Head of Sustainability”—complete with business cards. This campaign gives the employees a feeling of ownership, but also a sense of accountability to carry out the company CR mission.

As you can see, CR programs have potential to do more than just build goodwill with consumers.

They can spur employee engagement, boost brand equity and fuel innovation.

Doing good is good for business.

If you can get people to believe in your organization and know that you have their personal interests at heart, they’ll be fired up about coming to work every day.

And this is good for everyone.

The takeaway?

Get fired up!See AHA! CEO, Betsy Henning, share her perspective on employee engagement.

Watch the video now