Here are a few tips to consider as you plan a strategic philanthropic initiative:
1. Central to success is having buy-in from your senior leaders. Tone from the top motivates staff and helps build excitement for a cause.
2. Select a cause in which all employees can contribute. Consider timing and physical constraints that may limit full participation. Also, be sure to choose a cause to which employees can feel connected.
3. Develop a communications strategy up-front that builds excitement among employees. Incorporate a variety of communications methods such as direct mail, video, intranet, flyers and posters. Click here to view video sample.
4. Clearly articulate your goals to employees at the onset of the competition. It is important for participants to understand why your firm is putting resources and energy into an initiative that is not necessarily directly connected to your revenue generation strategy.
5. Celebrate your results. Share results in a way that builds excitement and helps employees understand the significance of their work together.
Case Study: Count the Cans Food Drive
Here’s a recent Mercury award entry on how Dixon Hughes Goodman rallied together to boost employee morale and make a significant impact in their eleven-state footprint.
Upon the heels of a significant merger, Dixon Hughes Goodman (DHG), an accounting firm, desired to unite their 1,700-plus people behind a cause and create a platform for teamwork. By focusing DHG’s resources and efforts, a firm-wide food drive, titled Count the Cans, was the perfect way to unify and engage employees while making a significant impact in the communities where they live.
Research
Through primary research, it was clear that employee morale and engagement was low. Research included employee interviews, informal conversations and the negative sentiment of comments and suggestions received via an intranet forum.
Additionally, a philanthropy survey indicated that employees had significant interest in giving back to their communities and specifically relieving hunger.
Planning
Budget: The budget for the program was $11,000. Actual expenses equaled $11,000.
Scope: The project included research, branding, video, direct mail, email, posters, live meetings and intranet promotion.
Challenge: Unite 1700+ people who reside in 30 cities/11 states behind a common cause in order to build engagement and pride across the firm.
Objective: To reach 100,000 points within a two week period of time. One point equals $1 or one food item.
Execution
Logistics:
Hunger relief was a natural fit for Dixon Hughes Goodman’s philanthropic efforts and it was paramount to identify a cause in which all employees could participate. All of the firm’s communities have food banks in need of corporate support and all employees could easily participate in supporting this cause by purchasing a few extra food items during their weekly grocery store visit. The initiative was titled Count the Cans and the branded materials featured two young children dressed as professionals who appear to be counting on an abacus. They are standing in front of a chalk board where a tally of numbers illustrates that they are counting. The image was a complement to the firm’s overall brand strategy.
The food drive was held over a two-week period of time. To build engagement, a competition was created between offices and regions. Feeding into accountants’ competitiveness, this competition element zapped the campaign with an enormous amount of energy and enthusiasm. In addition to the overall competition, two mini-competitions, Tuna Tuesday and Peanut Butter Friday, were held to bring even greater engagement and creativity to the initiative. Tuna and peanut butter were selected because food banks have a great need for these protein sources.
To announce the competition, an oversized postcard personalized with a call-out using the employee’s name was mailed to employees’ homes. Because DHG does not normally send information to employees’ homes, this tactic garnered the attention of the employee and their family. The postcard featured the branded image of the two children previously described and included information about the food drive competition.
An emotionally moving video was created to help bring a connection to hunger relief. The four minute video themed “The faces of hunger...The faces of change” featured the CEO of a food bank, DHG leaders and DHG employees. The CEO of a local food bank shared her insight into the increased need that food banks have faced in recent years and she specifically highlighted the need they face in the summer when children are out of school. Real photos of the food bank clients are featured to convey the true “faces of hunger” which truly personalized the initiative. Additionally, a DHG senior leader addressed the firm with an enthusiastic challenge to reach the goal of 100,000 points. The video concluded with a series of DHG employees enthusiastically stating “I am change” and a final message from the CEO stating, “We are change.” The powerful video set the stage for two weeks of friendly competition to help relieve hunger in the DHG communities.
Each DHG office appointed an office champion who coordinated the drive locally. Their duties included selecting the food bank, media relations, collecting and counting donated items/monetary donations and building excitement in their office. Each employee was given a reusable grocery bag with DHG’s special philanthropy logo so they could easily bring in their food items, and office champions had access to a variety of branded prizes to incentivize employees to give to the cause.
During the food drive, a leader board with office and region totals was displayed on the intranet, and the office champions updated the leader boards periodically during the competition so that each office knew where they stood in the competition. Additionally, firm-wide email messages were sent during the competition with leader information and winner announcements for Tuna Tuesday and Peanut Butter Friday.
Employee Engagement
Employees worked together to devise plans for gathering food, which included reaching out to clients, contacting retired partners and setting up collection areas in their communities. The more food that was collected, the more creative ideas employees implemented to collect even more food. Offices collected money to purchase pallets of tuna, and in one market, they purchased all of the peanut butter that a grocery store chain had in all stores and the regional distribution center. Employees built structures in the office lobbies to showcase the collections and held mini-competitions to gather more food. As the numbers grew on the leader board, so did the excitement and engagement.
Upon the final announcement of the total collections at the firm’s annual partner retreat, the power of the firm’s combined strength was clearly visible. There was an audible rumble of surprise and excitement in the room when the final numbers were announced. The announcement was followed by an emotionally moving presentation from a client food bank representative who shared with the partners the current level of need that food banks are facing, highlighting the fact that across America one in four children are hungry. For many of our communities, the DHG food drive constituted the largest donation they had received in several years. Upon conclusion, there were tears of pride and cheers of joy for the amazing contribution that Dixon Hughes Goodman made by uniting 1,700-plus people behind a cause. The results were announced to the firm via an email which included a video showcasing photos of activities that had taken place over the two week food drive.
Results
The success of this food drive, as measured by not only the amount of food and dollars collected but also by employee engagement, exceeded expectations. Working together, Dixon Hughes Goodman collected over 1.6 million pounds of food, which included 62,494 cans of tuna and 14,716 jars of peanut butter. We more than quadrupled our goal of 100,000 points; generating a total of 466,298 points.
Office champions were surveyed after the initiative and 100% responded that overall morale in their office had improved as a direct result of the food drive. Upon conclusion of the competition, employees were already working on plans for the 2013 competition. From partners to young associates, employees felt a true connection to each other and to a greater cause as a result of the two week Count the Cans food drive.
Author:
Alice Grey Harrison, APR is the immediate past-president for SCPRSA. She oversees communications for Dixon Hughes Goodman, a U.S. top 15 accounting firm.
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1 comment:
Lots of good advice. Thanks for sharing.
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