Vanessa Chan
CSAA Insurance Group
Originally published on LinkedIn
In 2012, we started a journey to engage more employees with volunteerism. We set a goal to go from 35 percent employee volunteer participation to 80 percent in three years. At the end of that third year, we exceeded our goal with 98 percent participation and last year, we are proud to announce that we achieved 100 percent volunteerism rate, yes that’s right 100 percent!
As a company, we never set a goal of achieving 100 percent volunteer participation, but when our company values include being caring and doing the right thing, it make sense that our employees’ commitment and passion to volunteerism would propel us to this milestone. Because of this commitment and passion, for the fourth straight year, CSAA Insurance Group achieved the highest employee participation rate in the U.S. by a company with 3,000 or more employees.
In an effort to further study the impact and key benefits of its corporate volunteerism program, we partnered with VeraWorks, a global consulting firm that helps companies incorporate societal good into their business strategies. We are the only known company in the United States, and one of four known companies globally, to conduct experimental-design research (randomized controlled trial) that addresses whether volunteering appears to drive employee engagement or if earlier findings simply suggest that engaged employees are more likely to volunteer.
Key findings of the study include:
- Study results suggests an increase in employee engagement that appears to be driven by the volunteer program. Survey respondents who participated in volunteer activities over a six-month period experienced an uptick in engagement and those who didn’t participate in volunteer activities (randomly selected control group) experienced a decrease.
- Employees participate in the volunteer program because they find it intrinsically rewarding and not because they feel obligated or because they expect extrinsic rewards (e.g., supervisor approval or career connections).
- Participants are overwhelmingly satisfied with the volunteer program experience with 97 percent saying they are “satisfied” or better and 83 percent being “very satisfied.” They also report that, after family, volunteering is the most meaningful experience in their lives.
- The program appears to create new volunteers as one out of six participants volunteered for the first time through CSAA Insurance Group.
We always believed that our employee volunteer program added value to the company, but it was refreshing to have the study validate the benefits and impact on both employees and the organization.
Thank you to our employees for reaching this incredible milestone! With their enthusiasm, we will reach new heights and continue to innovate our program to better serve our community.
