Measuring employee volunteering and assessing its impact
Reana RossouwNext Generation Consultants
The challenge:
HOW DO WE MEASURE AND PROVE THE VALUE (IMPACT
AND RETURN) OF EPV?
Current practice:
• Quantitative data mostly:• Number of employees• Number of beneficiaries• Value of activity & contribution • Value of time/hours or products and services
• Challenge is how to measure past quantitative inputs, activities, outputs and outcomes to consider qualitative impact and return
Solution: Impact Investment Index• Developed over four years• Assessed the impact and return of R1 billion investment, 400
programs over 15 dimensions of impact and 20 dimensions of return, and in the process built a library of more than 500 indicators for more than 10 focus areas
• The secret?• Identify all stakeholders – impacted / benefitted by the program• Identify all impact – per stakeholder group – qualitative and quantitative• Count the impact (on the stakeholders and return for the donor)• Record data and analyse the data
• The result and outcome?• Able to Define - quantify and qualify the difference a donor
and its partners (volunteers) has made
The process:
Shared Value Impact and Return
Community Impact
Business Return
Stakeholders
Learners
Teachers
Parents
Intermediaries
Partners - other donors
Government - local, national, provincial
Impact and ReturnQualitative Impact
• Increased health and productivity
• Decline in infant mortality
• Increased access to health care
• Increased access to government services
Quantitative Impact
• Number of learners, teachers
• Passrates• Jobs - full time,
learnerships• Bursaries• University Access
Return
• Increased profit, customers, brand awareness
• Mitigate operational risk and protect licence to operate
• Increased stakeholder relations and access to government tenders
Dimensions
• Economic, environmental, social
• Short, medium, long term
• Direct, indirect, postive, negative, intended, unintended
Qualitative: Impact on communities•Increased of awareness of organisation and Increased opportunity for marketing and public relations
•Increased opportunity to recruit volunteers and Increased access to funds and resources•Leverage of existing funds and resources and Assess to new partnerships and donors•Increasing efficiency: helping a non-profit to use fewer resources – such as man hours or materials – in performing its operations or delivering its services
•Increasing effectiveness: helping a non-profit increase the success rate of the services it provides (e.g., for a non-profit fighting homelessness, the percentage of homeless people served that ended up sustainably housed)
•Increasing reach: helping a non-profit to serve more beneficiaries
Intermediaries
•Access to products and services•Increased quality of life•Increased sense of community•Increased opportunity for skills and jobs•Decreased dependence on government
Direct Beneficiaries
•Contribution to social cohesion, nation building, empowerment•Promotes civil engagement and communication•Contributes to safer communities, stronger communities, and neighbourhoods•Increases knowledge and awareness of social issues•Create a community of volunteers – increased awareness of social issues •Increases number of volunteers•Strengthening of social fabric of society•Support, extent and leverage government services and resources•Encourages citizens to become more active and proactive•Delivering public goods and services
Indirect Beneficiaries
Civil Society, Government, other donors, partners,
volunteers
Qualitative: Return for Business
Business Return - Collective - Qualitative
Changed perceptions, enhanced reputation and awareness
Increased sale of products / services
Increased goodwill and customer loyalty
Builds relationship capital and enhance stakeholder relations
Opportunity to gain access to markets and aid market / company
performance
Business Return - Specific - Qualitative
Human Resources• Improved morale & recruitment & retention
•Skills development• Increased productivity
Sales & Marketing•Opportunity to enter new markets•Opportunity to sell products / services & branding
CSI•Leverage existing resources & create opportunity for internal support, buy-in, awareness
• Increased capacity
Operations•Opportunity for enhanced stakeholder relations
•Opportunity to manage licence to operate conditions & opportunity to manage operational risk
Business Return Individuals - Qualitative
Skills gained – personal skills, leadership skills, project skills,
interpersonal skills
Changed behaviour – including Undertake more volunteering, Talk
positively of company, do job better, understanding of and
empathy with colleagues, awareness of wider social issues
Impact on job – including: Job satisfaction, pride in company,
commitment to company, understanding of issues, empathy
with customers/communities – other people
Quantitative – Community impact and Business Return
•Number of beneficiaries - by type - by geographic location•Value of savings•Value of services•Value of products• Income generated•Employment value generated•Value of skills acquired
Community
•Value of contribution•Number of volunteers•Number of hours•Value / cost of hours•Value of services i.e. training - Value of skills•Rand Rate of Social Return on Investment (SROI)•Value of cost savings•Value of publicity generated
Business
•Value of services provided by volunteers•Number of EVP Partner Organisations - by type of organisation•Number of volunteers - by Demographic categories•Number of volunteer activities by type (i.e. education, health and human services, civics, arts and culture, and environment)
•Number of Volunteer Hours - by volunteer type, by volunteer activity type, volunteer frequency, average by volunteer type
•EVP Participation Rates - proportion of total number of employees, proportion of all types of volunteers
•Company-Paid Service utilization Rates
CSI
Thank You• Reana Rossouw• Next Generation Consultants - Specialists in Development• E-mail: [email protected]• Web: www.nextgeneration.co.za