12.09.2002 ET

(CSRwire) SEATTLE, WA Beginning this December, SAFECO is launching “Building Skills through Volunteerism,” an employee development tool that recognizes the career advancing value of volunteering. The program matches volunteer examples with SAFECO’s core competencies, allowing employees to choose an activity with an organization they believe in as part of their personal development plan. Under the plan, supervisors can consider volunteer efforts in employee reviews and for potential career advancement.

“We see this as a win for everybody,” said Rose Lincoln, SAFECO’s assistant vice president of Community Relations. “Both SAFECO and our employees see volunteer activities as crucial to the company’s growth and success. With ‘Building Business Skills through Volunteerism,’ we have found a way to encourage employees to participate in their communities and at the same time recognize them for the skills involved in what they choose to do.”

A company community involvement survey asked employees whether they felt volunteering was beneficial to building leadership and business skills. Ninety-five percent responded positively and nearly 50 percent said they would like to build skills in that way.

The program has been in development for over a year, coinciding with the development of a new employee goal-setting and measurement system.
“The employee survey confirmed our assumptions and led us to the development of the program,” Lincoln said. “Now we formally tie SAFECO’s focus on employee performance with its community relations mission.”

Danielle Garman, a project analyst in SAFECO’s Marketing Services Business, is one of the first to capitalize on the program. She is gaining valuable managerial experience through her work on the United Way campaign. Though Danielle has yet to manage a staff in her SAFECO job, she currently finds herself the manager of the fund drive at SAFECO. She relishes the new exposure to organizing and overseeing a work force of her fellow employees.

“One of the reasons I came to SAFECO was a sense that the company valued work in the community,” says Danielle. “I feel that it is important in this day and age to give back a little of the success you enjoy. Now SAFECO has stood up and backed that sentiment. They are saying that work you do by volunteering can be as important to your personal growth as the work you do at the company. It’s a wonderful way to support employees.”

To use the program, a SAFECO employee identifies a skill or skills they would like to work on. They can then log on to the “Volunteer @ SAFECO” intranet site where they will find a guide on the types of volunteer activities that can help build competency in job performance and resources to help them find a specific activity. They then have a discussion with their supervisor about adding the volunteer opportunity to their personal development plan.

In this way, the employee self-identifies skills and self-selects how they want to build them. It is an innovative way to provide access to high-level skills, like budgeting and managing people or projects. A SAFECO employee can choose volunteer work, such as budgeting for a food drive, managing a volunteer workforce or building a marketing plan for a non-profit organization and their supervisor can include that work in performance reviews.

“Our employees continually tell us that community service is important to them,” Lincoln said. “This tool enhances the company’s overall volunteer program and helps employees and supervisors recognize that their work outside the company can directly relate to their performance inside the company. We see this as an important part of increasing employee satisfaction and retention. By building a better workforce and by building stronger community ties, SAFECO is in the best possible position to achieve all its business objectives.”

About SAFECO
SAFECO strengthens America's Neighborhoods through strategic grant making, employee volunteerism and developing consumer education around loss prevention and financial education. Founded in 1923 as the General Insurance Company of America, SAFECO has grown to become the premier company selling insurance and financial products through independent insurance agents and financial advisors nationwide. SAFECO offers a comprehensive mix of products that help individuals, organizations, and companies protect the things they value and profit from financial opportunities. For more information, please visit www.safeco.com

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