how NBCUniversal turns a goal into a work advantage –

As Corporate America continues to return to the office after two incredible years of onsite service, many companies are now very focused on how to keep employees engaged. Corporate citizenship has long been an important area of ​​business, but we are at a crucial time when people will re-evaluate their life and career path. Employees want to make a stronger personal impact in the community and are increasingly turning to employers for support in this mission.

Many of us have been fortunate enough to work for companies that offer significant opportunities for good corporate citizenship. But it’s time to take charity and volunteerism to a new level that puts employees at the heart of a corporate social responsibility strategy. By doing so, we can keep employees engaged and support long-term careers at our companies.

That’s what NBCUniversal recognized a few years ago when we focused on how to further increase our charitable dollars, both for our nonprofit partners and for our employees who want to be more deeply involved. The result is a reimagined volunteer program and strategy that gives new meaning to the phrase “corporate benefits.”

Here are some of our lessons:

First, give employees the power to deliver. Spending a day at work is an important experience for community members to mentor or stock up on, employees are happy to take the time, but what some of these efforts lack is context. Workers need a more intimate understanding of the problems they are helping. This background helps build empathy among volunteers and further enhances community service.

In recent years, NBCU has created an educational component for public services, providing training that shares a deep understanding of our nonprofit partners, who they serve, and the needs of these communities. It’s also important to go deeper into volunteering, allowing employees to spend several days of the work week on in-depth projects each year instead of an hour of training in the office conference room.

For example, in partnership with buildOn, a non-profit organization that helps break the cycle of poverty and empowers low-income students through employment, a team of NBCUniversal staff was paired with low-resource high school students to share influential leadership. And multi-day service learning opportunities. Then there are plans for staff to spend more time in communities like the South Bronx, providing services in their neighborhoods to low-income students.

We also offer skills-based opportunities through organizations such as Taproot and Pyxera Global, where employees serve as consultants in areas such as legal, human resources, finance, marketing and public relations to help meet the specific needs of nonprofit organizations. These assignments allow employees to use their experience and skills to make a valuable and strategic impact on short-term and long-term projects. This pro bono work is done in conjunction with the NBCU Training and Development Program, in which employees participate in workshops on inclusive leadership, compassion and teamwork, preparing them to work in cross-functional teams and responding to needs. of nonprofits in our communities

Second, employees must also feel that their charity and personal affairs matter. They want to work for a company that recognizes what They They are the most obsessed and not just for the reasons and organizations involved in top management. Matching giving programs continue to be a great way to continue employee personal contributions; However, today’s workforce wants to take its place at the corporate philanthropy strategy table. Employers need to create ways for their employees to play a greater role in deciding where to spend their charity dollars. For example, some companies run contests for employees to organize donations from their favorite nonprofits.

NBCUniversal created the Community Impact Fund, which awarded each of the company’s diversity councils and employee resource groups donations to two 501(c)(3) charities, and the response to this program was overwhelming as these groups were able to do so. Raise awareness of your favorite charities among your peers and financially support the non-profits you are engaged with.

Through this fund, NBCUniversal has awarded 172 non-profit grants to 19 locations around the world. Eighty-one percent of the grants awarded went to organizations that had not previously received company funding, allowing us to expand our charitable presence in the communities where we live and work and recognize the reasons and organizations that matter to our employees.

Third, employees also want to develop leadership skills, which is an important component of their career progression, and one of the most important ways to support this objective is to provide employees with opportunities to serve on nonprofit boards. NBCUniversal has secured seats aboard each of our nonprofit corporate partners, as well as other nonprofits, through Boardlead (an outside organization that connects people on nonprofit boards).

Rather than simply including interested staff in these forums, we offer a long-term course on non-profit forum services that provides essential information about each of our partner organizations, what to look for and unnecessary forum services and a lesson on how to interpret profit organizations. Balance and what it takes for an influential board member. At the end of the training, we help merge employees with the nonprofit boards that serve their interests.

It’s a financial investment in our employees as well as future leaders and our communities, which has been an incredibly successful program.

Finally, we must make social purpose a corporate priority. Our recent cultural changes and the new ways people want to work have given us a different perspective. Complete motivating work isn’t just about playing the perfect role, it’s about working for a company whose values ​​match yours; A company that empowers you to make positive changes and be an active agent of change. There has never been a more important time to reimagine the employee experience and become an integral part of social impact.

Hillary Smith is executive vice president of corporate social responsibility (CSR) at NBCUniversal. He is responsible for NBCUniversal’s global social impact strategy, philanthropic investments and employee volunteer programs. In this role, he also works closely with business leaders across the company on key CSR initiatives across all departments. Additionally, Smith oversees NBCUniversal’s award-winning public service announcement campaign; the more you know.

A version of this story first appeared in the June 22 issue of The Gossipify. Click here to subscribe.