The world can change quickly, and corporations that can navigate unexpected events with agility have the potential to create a greater social impact. But how can a company become more agile? By using CSR software.
What is agile CSR software?
The definition of agile is “able to move quickly and easily. When it comes to project management, agile is often used to describe a method of developing software. So while agile software is the process in which the system is built, the software itself improves your program’s agility, providing users with a better experience.
Agile software delivers value to users faster and with fewer roadblocks. Specifically, an agile software solution is developed and evaluated incrementally so the software can respond to changing needs more efficiently. This means that when end users encounter a change, they can communicate it to their software developers and get an update for their system quickly.
What types of corporate philanthropy programs can you support with agile CSR software?
Company volunteering and monetary donations are most likely the first types of programs that come to mind when you think of corporate philanthropy, but there are a wide range of programs companies can launch with CSR software. To manage these programs, your software must be easily configurable to adapt to various program requirements and goals. Take a look at the many facets of corporate social responsibility programs:
- Matching Gifts: Amplify employee engagement with matching gifts. These are donations your company will make to the causes your employees give to. Matching gift program show employees you care about the same causes they do. Make sure you actively promote the program once it’s up and running to make sure your employees are aware of and make active use of it.
- Individual and Team Volunteerism: Create a volunteer program and monitor how many employees participate and for how long.
- Disaster Relief: Provide employees with the chance to assist those in need during unexpected catastrophic events that impact their communities.
- Payroll Deduction: Give employees the chance to support the causes that mean the most to them with a payroll deduction. The money automatically subtracted from their pay will be given to causes that have meaning for your employees.
- Event Management: Companies should provide a list of corporate volunteer opportunities for their employees. Use CSR software to make your events searchable by date, location, and interests.
- Political Action Campaigns: Provide your employees with a secure platform to pool resources and help their voices be heard on issues they care about most.
- Employee Assistance: Show your employees that their company and coworkers have their backs. Employees can donate to an Employee Relief Fund. Then, in the event of an emergency, they can apply for financial assistance and get help.
- Tuition Reimbursement: Encourage your employees to continue their education with a tuition reimbursement program. Scholarship programs can also be made available for family members’ education expenses.
- Product/In-Kind Giving: Make an impact by donating needed goods and services to charitable organizations. You can give the products you produce, slightly outdated office computers, or even airline miles to support local nonprofits.
- Medical Education Grants: Advance research, innovation, and medical education to improve healthcare access and patient outcomes.
- CD Service Hours: Fulfill your CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) requirements and support your assigned assessment areas by encouraging your employees to engage in community service programs targeted to support low- and moderate income individuals or families.
With each of these programs, agile CSR software can help you promote activities to employees, monitor their participation, and report on the results to demonstrate the different your corporation is making.
How does agile CSR software encourage employee participation?
When selecting a CSR software solution, companies often forget to account for how their employees will interact with the new system. For example, employees in a healthcare facility like a hospital are often on-the-go and will likely respond better to a software that’s available via mobile app. By contrast, a 9-to-5 organization with an office setting is going to be more attuned to the desktop version.
Employees are able to make a bigger impact when employee participation is easy. They should be able to find volunteer opportunities or nonprofits to donat to in just a few clicks, no matter what device they’re using.
Additionally, consider how your CSR software will affect your overall CSR strategy. For example, your employee volunteering program might still use a bulletin board for employees to sign up for opportunities or use a jar to collect disaster relief donations. Low-tech system like these provide limited data for analysis in comparison to CSR software driven programs.
For instance, with an agile CSR system, you’d be able to answer more complex questions about your program, like:
- Of those that signed up to volunteer, how many employees actually completed the volunteering hours?
- What’s the breakdown of disaster relief dollars from each workforce segment? Which employee pools should we tap into to increase donations?
With agile CSR software, you can see these simple metrics and so much more! Agile CSR software helps you manage data by tracking, monitoring, and reporting information back to your program managers to help them make more strategic decisions.
Next steps: Invest in agile CSR software
Your corporation has the power to make a big impact, and you’ll need reliable, flexible software backing you up. An agile CSR software solution allows you to move quickly to improve your programs, launch new initiatives, and record data to identify opportunities to make an even bigger impact.
