Today's Millennials, also known as Generation Y, are often stereotyped as entitled with a sense of narcissism. But those tech-savvy young adults between the ages of 20 and 35 are also thought to be more civic-minded than generations past, with a strong sense of community, both local and global. It's important for companies to attract and engage this generation of future business leaders. One way to do this is through fostering a culture of philanthropy in the workplace.
Studies have shown the importance to these Millennials of working in companies with corporate missions of engaging in charity, and not only thinking of their pay. There is a nonprofit organization Net Impact who polled more than 1,700 college students and graduates last year, where the results was 53 percent of the young workers stated that they prefer work where they can make an impact and where they can find happiness, and 72 percent of the students and graduates polled agreed. Even more important is that with all things equal, 58 percent of these young adult Millennials will accept pay cuts of as much as 15 percent, and still will work for a company that is engaged in charitable endeavors.
A separate study in a 2012 Millennial Impact Report also shows that 63 percent of these young Millennials will volunteer for a nonprofit group, and this was in 2011, and 90 percent of those polled will volunteer even more in the succeeding years. This can be a part of the lifestyle of these young Millennials, the volunteerism, and companies should include this in their corporate missions and strategies.
The spirit of generosity and volunteering can help employees in their work ethics. They are not just the ordinary employees but people who can help their companies achieve a good image in the eyes of people.
There are four key areas that philanthropic activities help build employee engagement:
Productivity: Productivity can increase when employees are inspired and engaged. Ethics: Employees can make good decisions if they are involved in humane and selfless activities. Gratitude: When employees are given the chance to give back to society, they will ever be grateful. Pride: Employees will be proud of their company when they are proud of their work.
One way companies have found success in attracting Millennials is by offering Volunteer Paid Time Off (VPTO) as an incentive. Employees are given time off to volunteer during work hours. U.S. Bank employees can draw up to 16 hours of pay per year for activities like serving breakfast to the homeless or reading to kids. Business leaders are finding that it costs less to let employees volunteer on the clock than it would to replace them if they quit.
IBM has taken these types of programs to a new height. They allow some employees to engage in a full month's volunteer activities in other countries. Some call this the corporate form of the Peace Corps, IBM's Corporate Service Corps, comprising a group of 500 employees chosen from thousands of employees. These are projects costing $250,000 each and producing good value to the countries receiving the aid, but these are also projects producing more skilled, loyal, helpful, but most importantly more civic oriented employees. Aside from this, IBM also looks at new and emerging markets and also the business leaders who can do different market researches globally.
For companies who want to get the young Millennials, they need to offer incentives such as attractive employee engagement programs, for them to be competitive. When they spread the spirit of generosity within the company, they can get the young Millennials who are socially conscious, those who can help in business and those who can be the next generation of business leaders.
Studies have shown the importance to these Millennials of working in companies with corporate missions of engaging in charity, and not only thinking of their pay. There is a nonprofit organization Net Impact who polled more than 1,700 college students and graduates last year, where the results was 53 percent of the young workers stated that they prefer work where they can make an impact and where they can find happiness, and 72 percent of the students and graduates polled agreed. Even more important is that with all things equal, 58 percent of these young adult Millennials will accept pay cuts of as much as 15 percent, and still will work for a company that is engaged in charitable endeavors.
A separate study in a 2012 Millennial Impact Report also shows that 63 percent of these young Millennials will volunteer for a nonprofit group, and this was in 2011, and 90 percent of those polled will volunteer even more in the succeeding years. This can be a part of the lifestyle of these young Millennials, the volunteerism, and companies should include this in their corporate missions and strategies.
The spirit of generosity and volunteering can help employees in their work ethics. They are not just the ordinary employees but people who can help their companies achieve a good image in the eyes of people.
There are four key areas that philanthropic activities help build employee engagement:
Productivity: Productivity can increase when employees are inspired and engaged. Ethics: Employees can make good decisions if they are involved in humane and selfless activities. Gratitude: When employees are given the chance to give back to society, they will ever be grateful. Pride: Employees will be proud of their company when they are proud of their work.
One way companies have found success in attracting Millennials is by offering Volunteer Paid Time Off (VPTO) as an incentive. Employees are given time off to volunteer during work hours. U.S. Bank employees can draw up to 16 hours of pay per year for activities like serving breakfast to the homeless or reading to kids. Business leaders are finding that it costs less to let employees volunteer on the clock than it would to replace them if they quit.
IBM has taken these types of programs to a new height. They allow some employees to engage in a full month's volunteer activities in other countries. Some call this the corporate form of the Peace Corps, IBM's Corporate Service Corps, comprising a group of 500 employees chosen from thousands of employees. These are projects costing $250,000 each and producing good value to the countries receiving the aid, but these are also projects producing more skilled, loyal, helpful, but most importantly more civic oriented employees. Aside from this, IBM also looks at new and emerging markets and also the business leaders who can do different market researches globally.
For companies who want to get the young Millennials, they need to offer incentives such as attractive employee engagement programs, for them to be competitive. When they spread the spirit of generosity within the company, they can get the young Millennials who are socially conscious, those who can help in business and those who can be the next generation of business leaders.
About the Author:
Sebastian Troup loves writing about corporate social responsibility companies. For more information about philanthropic solutions for businesses and non profit organizations, or to find some employee giving campaign ideas, please check out the Truist.com website today.
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