In an era of historically low unemployment, competition for top talent is fierce. Increasingly, jobs are going unfilled and high-skill jobs are experiencing the greatest skill shortage. Employers are looking for new avenues to attract and retain employees. This study shows that Canadian employees, particularly those with the most education, the most income, and those in senior and specialized positions, put great emphasis on the community contributions of their employers.
CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES HELP COMPANIES RECRUIT AND RETAIN TALENT
Canadian employees who worked at a company that they believed was highly committed to their community were 1.5x as likely to report intending to stay at their employer for the next two years, 1.9x as likely to be extremely or very satisfied with their job, and 2.6x as likely to recommend their employer to a friend or family member.
THE MORE EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATE IN EMPLOYERS' CHARITABLE PROGRAMS, THE MORE BENEFITS FOR THE EMPLOYER
The impact of employee participation in an employer’s charitable programs is substantial. Employees who participated in a workplace giving program and employer-supported volunteering were 2.3x as likely to say it was extremely likely they would still be with their employer in 2 years (52% versus 23%). Further, the more the employee thought that employees played a significant role in the community and charitable activities of the employer, the more likely they were to believe their employer was truly committed to the community. Employees who worked for an employer that donated to charitable and nonprofit organizations were more likely to think they would still be at their organizations for at least two years than those that did not (29% versus 23%). However, employees who also participated in workplace giving programs and employer-supported volunteering programs were far more likely to intend to stay with their employer (52%).
ALMOST THREE IN TEN CANADIAN EMPLOYEES WOULD TAKE A PAY DECREASE TO WORK AT A COMPANY WHERE THEIR EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTES MORE TO THE COMMUNITY In our study, 28% of Canadian employees indicated they would take a pay decrease to work at a company more committed to supporting the community, with the average person willing to forgo 12% of their salary. Upper and middle management, those with the highest incomes, and those with the most education were willing to give up even more to work for a company with a charitable reputation. Overall, 16% of employees reported that the charitable reputation of their employer was a significant part of the reason why they joined their company, and an additional 34% reported it was a factor. People who joined their company for these reasons were more satisfied, more likely to recommend their employer, and more likely to intend to stay with their employer.
In the 20-year period between 1997 and 2017, the percentage of Canadians who reported a donation on their tax return decreased from 26% to 20%, with much of the decline occurring in the last decade. This is contributing to a looming social deficit in Canada, where revenue growth is slowing while the demand for services is growing. After inflation, Canadian donors are donating less today than they were donating 10 years ago and are giving far less of their income than they used to. Due to declining donations and slowing GDP growth leading to slowing tax revenue, Imagine Canada forecasts that by 2026 the social sector will face a $25 billion social deficit, leading to ever growing wait lists and inability to access critical services across the country.
COMPANIES CAN STRUCTURE THEIR COMMUNITY INVESTMENT PROGRAMS TO LEVERAGE AND INCREASE EMPLOYEE DONATIONS
Employees who reported their companies as having a payroll giving program, a workplace giving campaign, and matching gifts were 67% more likely to donate to charity than at a workplace with none of those. Of those who reported their employers regularly share information about charities they may be interested in donating to, 76% reported donating to at least one of these charities regularly. Encouraging donations to charity is therefore good for both the company and society.
EVEN AS INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS ARE DECLINING, LEADING COMPANIES’ CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS KEEP INCREASING While individual donations have not reliably increased recently, far more companies indicated they were planning to increase their community investment budget than to decrease it. 43% of companies reported plans to increase their budget compared to only 10% who planned to decrease. Of companies that reported significant business benefits, more than 63% planned to increase their budgets.
THE MOST EFFECTIVE COMPANIES ARE STRUCTURING THEIR COMMUNITY INVESTMENT DIFFERENTLY THAN OTHERS
In our study of leading Canadian companies, we examined the practices of companies that are the most effective in the community investment field: those that believe their work is having both strong business benefits and high social impact. Companies that were highly effective at community investment were 3.1x as likely to believe their community investment teams were setup to innovate, 2.5x as likely to incorporate social objectives explicitly as part of the company’s mission or purpose statement, and 2.4x as likely to incorporate their community investment as part of the broader company strategy. They also were far more likely to focus on optimizing the benefits of their community investment both for the business and for the community while setting up underlying infrastructure like technology and processes to support community investment. The companies that felt they were most effective were more likely to believe that community investment was contributing to their bottom lines. We also see the outcomes among their employees: the most effective companies have had twice the participation of employees in their charitable programs.
This is an excerpt of research by Imagine Canada "PROFIT, PURPOSE, AND TALENT: TRENDS AND MOTIVATIONS IN CORPORATE GIVING & VOLUNTEERING. To read the full report, click here
Imagine Canada is a national charitable organization whose cause is social good in Canada. We work to bolster the charities, nonprofits, and social entrepreneurs that build, enrich, and define our nation and the communities they support around the globe. Corporate community investment is an integral part of Imagine Canada’s vision for a strong and vibrant charitable sector. Imagine Canada’s Caring Company designation encourages companies to adopt a leadership role as investors of at least 1% of pre-tax profit into stronger communities and celebrates that leadership.
