Unleash the power of employee giving programs

In December 2004, a raging Tsunami gripped the Indian Ocean, claiming the lives of over 150,000 people. Eight months later, Hurricane Katrina struck the southern coast of the United States, resulting in the loss of1,800 lives and $81 billion of damage. However, one of the most uplifting elements to emerge from the devastation of both events was the outpouring of emotion and support from people around the globe that helped to raise millions in relief. People from almost every walk of life donated money, goods, time, or skills to help repair some of the damage. Rooted in this desire to help others, is an opportunity for you to change the way you look at the benefits you provide your employees.

In the wake of the 2004 Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, many organizations introduced a type of benefit that served not only their employees, but helped with the disaster relief - employee giving. After the Tsunami struck, the technology company NVIDIA pledged that for every dollar its employees donated to the Red Cross or Red Crescent for disaster relief, they would donate a matching dollar from the company coffers. Many other organisations made similar efforts after Hurricane Katrina. After pledging significant sums of direct aid, computing giant Intel, major pharmaceutical producer AstraZeneca, and electronic giant Canon all pledged to match any contributions made by their employees. Benefits like this may not seem particularly relevant and practical for your organisation, but you may be surprised at the impact they could have.

"Financial elements are certainly not the exclusive means of rewarding your employees."

More than the Money

Obviously when discussing employee benefits, there are some factors that you cannot overlook. Salary is the clearest example of this. However, financial elements are certainly not the exclusive means of rewarding your employees. A recent survey by Hay Group revealed that salaries in China have risen faster than those in almost any other country over the past two years - in 2006 they rose by 7.94% and last year by 7.70%. With statistics like this, you would imagine that employers across China are doing fantastic a job in keeping hold of employees. Yet, we know this is not the case. Recent reports by Hewitt Associates put turnover in China at a towering 16%, with employers fighting tooth and nail for the best talent available.

Over the last two years, Network HR has seen the war for talent intensify and the Chinese job market turn into a battleground. As a by-product of this, our Benefits and Remunerations section has featured a variety of articles designed to focus less on the monetary aspect of benefits and more on other areas that could help to give your organisation the edge in attracting and retaining key staff. In November, Audraie Lecocq talked about programs that could help create a positive work/life balance for your staff. In May, Mike Grigg discussed ways to ignite your employees' passion. And over the last few months, I considered the relative advantages of flexible benefits, succession planning, and share options. These are all benefits that, whilst they may have some financial elements, primarily employ a different currency; they aim to show how much you value, understand, and appreciate your employees.

Established Giving Programs

The giving programs set up in the aftermath of the Tsunami and Katrina were effective because they tapped into the emotions of employees who wanted to do something to help in extreme circumstances. Companies like Nvidia, Intel, Canon, and AstraZeneca allowed their employees to help make a difference in difficult situations. Without a shadow of doubt, this will have made their staff feel good about themselves and about their employers. However, it should not take epic natural disasters to spark organizations into this type of action. Supporting employees' social awareness and charitable efforts should be an integral part of any benefit program. In fact, several major multinational organizations already have such policies in place and experience great success through them, both in terms of visible philanthropy and retaining talent:

• Microsoft: For its U.S. based employees, the world's most famous software company offers an impressive giving program. Microsoft allocates $12,000 per employee/per year to a matching fund. This means that every single employee who wants to donate to charity can do so, and Microsoft will match that donation up to $12,000. They also run a program based around employees giving their time to charitable causes. If an employee donates one hour of their time, Microsoft matches this with $17. Microsoft employees clearly love this benefit. In 2003 alone, their matching contributions accounted for over $30million.

• IBM: As part of its Corporate Citizenship program, IBM matches employee donations with both money and equipment. If an employee chooses to donate cash to a charity or NGO, IBM will match that donation dollar for dollar. However, if the employee chooses to donate IBM equipment, then IBM becomes even more generous by donating equipment worth two or three times the employee's original contribution. Their K-12 (Kindergarten to 12th grade) program is designed to allow employees to give equipment to schools in this manner. Any employees who choose to donate equipment to a school (regardless of location) need only to provide 20% of the cost and IBM will provide the rest.

• HP: Adopting an integrated approach to charitable giving, Hewlett-Packard also matches employee donations with both cash and products. Charities and NGOs are eligible for cash matching donations, while K-12 schools are eligible for equipment matching. Although HP opens their scheme to all charities, it recommends such charities as Global Giving, Earth Share, and United Way.

 As the organizations detailed above would testify, employee giving programs are a great way to show your staff that you care about important social issues and that you care about them. A benefit that shows an employer really care is likely to be far more meaningful to talented and open-minded employees than a few extra Yuan in their pay packet. By pledging to match charitable donations made by employees, the organizations above did more than just flash a little cash. They showed their employees that they share the same concerns and the same values as them. By offering significant financial backing, they also showed that they trust their employees' judgment. In short, these organizations were shouting at the top of their voice "We care!" With financial benefits no longer guaranteeing that employees will stay with you for the long haul, it is imperative that you engage your employees-that you show you care about them!