Volunteering: The New Employee Perk

A look at some companies that are using volunteer-work programs to strengthen their corporate culture.

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Managing People

Done right, companywide volunteer work can strengthen your corporate culture

Lisa Jacobson's tutoring business doesn't exactly cater to the underprivileged. In fact, the wealthy clients of Stanford Coaching Inc., a $2-million academic-test-prep company with headquarters in New York City, often fly tutors all over the world to meet students at their summer homes or boarding schools. So when Jacobson started a scholarship program to provide her services free to needier students, you could almost hear a collective sigh of relief in her Manhattan office. Head tutor Donald Viscardi, who once tutored a well-to-do student aboard a yacht sailing the Greek Isles, says the pro bono work has been "a nice change of pace. It's refreshing to see how hard these other kids work." When Viscardi trains new tutors, he says the subject of community service regularly pops up. "It helps to mollify their conscience," he explains. There's never a lack of volunteers for the scholarship program among Stanford Coaching's 10 full-time staff members and 100 tutors.

Indeed, Jacobson and other company owners have found a way of giving something back and satisfying employees by tapping into a larger phenomenon: many workers want to volunteer at something. Some have already done volunteer stints outside the office and want to continue their social responsibility at work. Providing community-service opportunities makes sense particularly at growing companies that ask people to work long hours. Smart CEOs are realizing that "corporate culture"--that squishy yet incredibly vital part of business life--can be defined by corporate giving.

As part of its credo, beverage maker Nantucket Nectars vows "to promote community participation." In fact, the company can hardly keep up with all its employees' interests--from coaching Special Olympics teams to supporting environmental causes. "It's not the reason people come to work here, but it's part of what makes this a fun place," professes Tom Scott, the 31-year-old cofounder of Nantucket Nectars, which is approaching $50 million in sales after seven years in business. "People live here," he says, gesturing to the company's homey new digs in a former Harvard fraternity house in Cambridge, Mass. "How you contribute to people's lives while they're here is important."

Some companies even position volunteer work as an employee perk. At Wild Oats Markets Inc., a fast-growing chain of health-food stores based in Boulder, Colo., it's right there in the employee handbook under "charity work benefit." Wild Oats pays employees for one hour of "charity time" for every 40 hours of company time. "We think we have a competitive package, and this is part of it," says chief financial officer Mary Beth Lewis. "We design our corporate-giving program to attract and retain employees." Another part of the program: each of the 50 stores provides publicity and 5% of one day's sales to a different local group each month.

OK, so that all sounds great--if you have the resources of a Wild Oats or the youthful energy of a Nantucket Nectars. If you think there's no way your employees will volunteer for anything, you may be right. "I think my employees hate the nonprofit work I ask them to do," admits one company owner who, during slow times, directs employees' professional skills toward pro bono projects. "Nonprofits can be demanding."

However, you don't know what employees will say unless you ask. When David Cline, president of Balboa Instruments Inc., a $30-million manufacturer of parts for hot tubs and saunas in Costa Mesa, Calif., started talking about a mentoring program for local at-risk kids, he was surprised at the reception. "My human-resources director and the vice-president of administration grabbed this and ran with it," Cline says, chuckling. Now in its second year, the program has helped 120 high school students prepare for the working world.

It's natural to begin with something you--or your employees--feel passionate about. Terri Bowersock started a business because as a dyslexic she couldn't fill out a job application. Since the early days of Consign & Design Furnishings, her now-$12-million chain of furniture-consignment shops based in Mesa, Ariz., Bowersock has focused on helping others with reading disabilities. As it turns out, two of her franchisees have dyslexia as well.

Another logical approach is to use your company's work skills to fill a local need. That's what Abby Margalith, owner of the Starving Students of San Diego moving company, has done. Over the past 10 years, Starving Students has helped relocate more than 100 women and children from abusive homes. Margalith started small and got help. A local YWCA handles most of the up-front work, while Margalith's staff, which varies between 25 and 65 employees, helps coordinate the details. Special crews do the moves using an unmarked van. "It tends to be the same crews that volunteer to do them over and over again," explains Margalith. "They don't talk about what they see, but they're always enthusiastic about going back."

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