Why Volunteer?

Employees are increasingly volunteering to be part of their company’s community programmes – and organisations are only too glad to oblige, says Nikhil Menon 

Inspending recent times a lot , companies of time, effort in India and have money been to prove that they are socially responsible citizens.

With the benefit of their deep pockets and wide

reach, many of these companies have been able to touch the lives of the underprivileged, the dispossessed and the battered, and give them a new lease of life. However, now it is the employees’ turn. Gone are the days when stepping into the trenches and rolling up one’s sleeves to work among the masses was the sole prerogative of NGOs. There is a new army of volunteers who are emerging from offices, cabins and boardrooms and spilling out onto the streets. We’re talking about employee volunteers. Organisations are helping employees by providing organised platforms to them to serve others in a multitude of ways, even giving them time off work to do this. It is a cheerful sacrifice most are prepared to make.

CORPORATE VOLUNTEERISM

ON THE RISE

A 2004 report by the UNV (United Nations Volunteers) programme, says that volunteerism is an important component of general corporate citizenship, but there weren’t too many visible

formal corporate volunteering programmes in developing countries such as India. However, it added, awareness is increasing.

IBM, for example, encourages volunteerism amongst its employees through its ‘On Demand Community Programme’ that formalises the spirit of volunteerism within the organisation by supporting and encouraging employees to volunteer in their local communities. Fifteen per cent of IBM employees volunteer with various NGOs and IBM projects, including CRY, Association of People with Disabilities and Parikrma, for which employees provide skill building activities, mentoring, administration support and technology training. Jatin Ahluwalia , Country Manager – Marketing, IBM says, “An employee can register on the On Demand Community Site, access a whole range of tools to support volunteering efforts and access opportunities to volunteer with (in both IBM and non-IBM initiatives), or choose his/her own opportunity to volunteer.”

The American Express Philanthropic Program runs the Global Volunteer Action Fund (GVAF), a programme that grants money to nonprofits based on individual employees’ or employee teams’ volunteer efforts. In India, Amex employee volunteers have worked along with several NGOs and put together events for hundreds of underprivileged children. “American Express encourages its employees to volunteer their time to

community projects and be a good corporate citizen in the community,” says Shrikant Rege, Senior Country Executive, American Express.

At each Adobe site with more than 150 employees, ‘Adobe in Action’ committees are formed to identify the community service opportunities in the neighbourhood. These committees are typically groups of employees who voluntarily register themselves for executing community projects. So far, the company’s most successful volunteering projects have been in the areas of education, environment, food collection, slum cleanliness and post-disaster rehabilitation, informs Dr. Naresh Gupta, Managing Director, Adobe Systems, India and Senior Vice President Print and Classic Publishing Business Unit, Adobe Inc.

WHY VOLUNTEER?

In some cases, the employee’s entire family is roped in since it becomes very difficult for an employee to achieve everything on its own.

A Mahendran, Managing Director – Godrej Sara Lee Limited and Director – Godrej Beverages and Foods Limited says, “We believe that CSR is not about funding…that is secondary. We insist on employees and even employee spouses spending time working for causes such as the Children’s Toy Foundation and working with senior citizens in various old-age homes across Chennai.”As a corporate citizen, it is important to invest in the trust of society, your customers and even more importantly, your employees. Mahendran says, “Developing an employee’s Emotional Quotient is very important. We believe that volunteering helps increase an employee’s emotional bonding to the organisation.”

KPIT-Cummins has a club called ‘Let Us Give’, membership to which is voluntary. Anil G Kulkarni, Senior Vice President, KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd. believes that volunteering is important because ‘while the organisation contributes in terms of money and support, the employees contribute in terms of resources and more importantly, time.’ The company works in among others, the fields of IT education and health, especially in rural areas and members of the volunteer club spend their free time, including weekends, in villages, red-light areas and other places traditionally considered NGO territory.

Aditya Joshi, head of Kanbay’s WeKare initiative, says,“WeKare members spend annually about 100 to 200 hours per head, volunteering for various social causes and initiatives.” The company currently has twenty active volunteering programmes across three cities.

There’s nothing new or radical about volunteering for a cause; people have been doing it for ages. But when corporate volunteers, who are not bound by the limitations that NGOs are, follow a structured and goal-oriented approach to enrich society and contribute to its well-being, they can achieve a lot more.

Adopt-a-village At Whirlpool’s Pondicherry factory, the Community Development Team is entirely managed by the employees who work with inhabitants of the nearby Thirubhuvanai village, rendering education, medical, safety and environment services. – Sanjay Singh, V.P- HR, Whirlpool India.

TVS Electronics partnered with the Department for Rural Development and the Sahishnata Trust and launched a 100 per cent sanitation campaign in Tiruvidentha village in Tamil Nadu.-T.A Prasannaa, Head- Corporate Relations, TVS Electronics.

CSC India has a Social Services Committee (SSC). We have adopted three villages near Indore. – Vikas Gupta, Senior Project Manager and SSC Mentor, CSC India.

Accenture’s Service Endeavour by Volunteers of Accenture (SEVA) community had adopted a village called Boganhalli. – Kantan and Gowri Sankar, Accenture SEVA Team. (with inputs from Jhinuk Chowdhury )