Employee Engagement: Widening the Scope, Deepening the Reach

December 2007

Most every company today is doing something to engage their employees. The "war for talent" has employers pitching starting bonuses, challenging projects, flexible hours, the latest mobile technology, and amenities ranging from a concierge service to health club memberships in hopes of attracting young talent and retaining thirty-somethings who might otherwise look elsewhere.

This is certainly a step up from two decades of downsizing, outsourcing, and treating employees like expendable parts that could be replaced without a second thought. And it works, up to the point that another employer offers the same or better, or until a firm's fortunes decline or the whole thing goes sour because of a bad boss, a work/life imbalance, or some other reason.

But let's be honest: this utilitarian arrangement has companies calculating the cost/benefits of their initiatives and employees asking continually "what's in it for me?"

So what do working people actually want from their jobs and organizations? Increasing numbers of young people in the U.S. (and worldwide) aspire for "something more" from a job. Cone Inc. finds that three-of-four want to work for a company that "cares about how it impacts and contributes to society."

In The Center's new book, Beyond Good Company: Next Generation Corporate Citizenship, we characterize employees as the "missing link" in corporate citizenship. Why do leading companies engage their employees as citizens, and how do they broaden the scope and deepen the reach of their employee engagement efforts?

Engaging Employees as Citizens

Certainly there are good reasons why companies should treat employees fairly and well, ranging from simple decency to advantages in recruiting and retention to effective human resource management. Connecting this to corporate citizenship, however, puts a public spotlight on employee relations and highlights its linkage to brand equity, consumer preferences, and even investor relations - as Wal-Mart has learned. One study phrased the message succinctly: CSR minus HR = PR.

As companies move into next generation citizenship, we see them rethinking how they engage with their people, not simply treating them as employees, but rather in their "full selves." This means recognizing and validating people as organization members, for sure, but also as parents and community members, and as consumers, investors, and fellow citizens.

One reason is that when employees find that their company welcomes the full range of their interests and aspirations, including, for instance, a desire to serve society and/or protect the planet, they bring their whole being into the workplace. This yields commitment to one's work, a deeper connection to a company, and a broader sense of meaning in life.

A second is that when employees deploy their multiple identities at work, they operate as a microcosm of the markets, cultures, and societies in which their firm operates, as specialists in employee diversity point out. Recognizing this, companies like IBM in its InnovationJams  and Nokia in its World Map exercise regularly consult with employees on social trends and factor their ideas not only into employment policies, but also into corporate social investments and business innovations.

Third, employees take their identities, whether enhanced or diminished by their companies, into society and the market. Studies find that the prime source of information about the citizenship of companies comes via word of mouth. Employees whose aspirations to live and work responsibly are fulfilled through their companies can serve as effective brand ambassadors for their firms through their word-of-mouth commentary.

Finally, employees who feel empowered as citizens produce social value through their volunteer service, their jobs, products, and services, and the enriched understandings of corporate citizenship that they share with their friends, debate with colleagues and critics, and ultimately pass on to their children.

Next Generation Employee Engagement

Next generation companies are putting these ideas into practice. Timberland, for example, began to broaden its vision of employee engagement a decade ago when, with its nonprofit partner City Year, the bootmaker established a "Path of Service" that allows employees to take up to 16 hours of paid leave to engage in volunteer service of their choice. Today it activates retailers and consumers to serve alongside its employees in annual community service in the spring on Earth Day and in the fall through its "Serv-a-palooza." The aim: Develop young people's leadership skills and promote civic activism. Last year, Timberland enlisted 10,000 people in 25 countries in service to society. Its CSR report card details rates and annual increases in employee volunteerism and in consumers' involvement in service.

IBM has embraced an employee-as-citizen philosophy in the development of its On Demand Community of volunteers. In early 2000, as the company shifted its primary focus on reinventing education to serving society on many fronts, it also revamped its model of employee volunteerism. This unleashed employees to reach out to society more broadly and in personally relevant and meaningful ways. It also called on them to bring their whole selves to service. As one executive described the impact: "Now when people volunteer for a soup kitchen, they're not just ladling soup, they're developing a strategic plan for the kitchen. When they work for a Lighthouse for the Blind, they are bringing them a software tool that can convert their web site from text to voice." This year it also deepened its commitment by pledging that over 2,000 employees would be offered paid, one-month assignments to non-profits and communities around the world to affect social change.

Unilever, the home-and-personal care and food-and-beverage company, has sought to raise the consciousness of its next generation leaders in Asia. Some 35 young leaders from 13 countries have joined with senior leaders in mind-expanding and heart-stirring journeys to Borneo, China, India, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam, where they learn about and reflect on social, environmental, and economic conditions in their region and engage in community service. This deep engagement with society not only touches Unilever's leaders personally, but has also been a source of inspiration for community-based environmental initiatives and a testing ground for new product and market development under the company's bottom-of-the-pyramid business strategy. Reflecting on the impact of the journeys, one young leader came to this notable conclusion, "This has convinced me that big corporations can have a 'soul.'"

That's what engaging employees as citizens can mean.

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