By Laura Steele
Published 03-03-23
Submitted by Submittable
Too often, in an effort to track something, corporate social responsibility and ESG leaders focus on metrics that don’t hold much meaning. When it comes to employee volunteering specifically, there’s a pervasive “check-the-box” mentality that values inputs over outputs and processes over people.
For instance, the number of volunteer hours your team logs (input) doesn’t mean much if most of the time was spent sitting around waiting for instructions instead of doing work that actually improves peoples’ lives (outcome).
In contrast, impact measurement seeks to understand the relationship between your efforts and real, meaningful outcomes. You want to know: are you moving the needle?
Impact measurement requires you to be more intentional about how you define and identify “impact.” This effort will not only help your team understand your program’s ROI today, it will help you evolve your initiatives to be more meaningful for your business, your employees, and the community in the long term.
Track the true impact of corporate volunteering
Impact measurement is a guide, not a grade. You’re not trying to slap a passing or failing grade on your program. Rather, you’re earnestly asking tough questions about how your efforts make change.
Does your employee volunteer program:
These questions are large and unwieldy. There’s rarely a simple answer, and it can be difficult to tie specific inputs to clear and quantifiable outcomes.
To measure the impact of corporate volunteering, you have to embrace the complexity. Here’s how.
Prioritize outcomes over activities
The activities you do matter much less than what effect you make. Think about it this way: if you’re trying to put out a fire, you wouldn’t measure your success by how many gallons of water you pour on the flames. What matters is if you put the fire out.
It’s easy to get distracted by measuring inputs (like the amount of water you use), but be sure to tie the inputs you track to the outcomes you want (flames extinguished). Pumping a lot of water may feel important, but if you don’t aim that water at the fire, you’re not having the impact you want.
Focus on meaningful contribution
As you set goals around specific outcomes, keep in mind that even an incredibly successful volunteer program isn’t going to single-handedly reverse negative trends or solve big issues. Set goals that are not only attainable, but also recognize the role your program plays within the larger context of your company, community, and society as a whole.
For instance, your program might play a role in increasing employee retention at your company, but that’s not the only factor determining whether people stick around. Other internal initiatives and policies matter along with external market forces. Measuring the impact of corporate volunteering is not about taking full credit for progress, it’s about making a meaningful contribution.
Consider how metrics are in conversation with one another
As you choose metrics to track, you’ll likely find some overlap. That’s natural. What’s good for employees is often good for the community, which is good for the brand. Be less concerned about drawing hard borders or categories and make space to think about how outcomes might influence one another.
Now, let’s get into what metrics you might choose to track for your volunteering program.
Which corporate volunteering metrics should I track?
To measure the impact of corporate volunteering, think about your impact across four categories: participants, corporate, the nonprofit, and the community.
Participants
The people who take part in volunteering stand to benefit from the experience of giving back.
What metrics to track:
Corporate
The business itself can benefit from the impact of corporate volunteering.
What metrics to track:
Nonprofit organization
By building partnerships, you can leverage the power of your brand and resources to strengthen community nonprofits.
What metrics to track:
Community
An effective volunteer program not only benefits the institutions and participants, but it makes a meaningful difference in the lives of community members.
What metrics to track:
Build the right framework for your volunteer program
Do not try to track all the metrics listed above. If you’re just starting to measure the impact of corporate volunteering, choose one or two meaningful targets and build from there. You don’t want to get so bogged down with reporting that you lose sight of the mission at hand.
As you build structure around your program, keep in mind that you can rely on systems that are already in place. Rather than starting from scratch, you could use existing:
Identify what levers you think will support change. If employee engagement is one of your goals, you might want to ask yourself what mechanisms are in place to ensure that volunteer events align with employee values. If you can’t point to anything specific, that’s a red flag. You might consider democratizing the process to allow employees a voice in building nonprofit partnerships and planning events.
Don’t view impact measurement (or your program) as static. You’ll need to stay open to iteration as your team and the community evolves. The right technology can help you manage this dynamic process.
Submittable is a growing social impact platform used by thousands of companies, governments, and philanthropic organizations to manage their social impact programs and maximize their impact.
Submittable has helped big and small organizations worldwide run 134,000 programs and collect nearly 22 million applications to date, and is backed by Accel-KKR, Next Coast Ventures, True Ventures, Next Frontier Capital, StepStone Group and a few other amazing investors.
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