How a leading financial services company leverages employee engagement data to capture impact

Overview

Challenge

Capturing impact was the central objective for the firm as they sought to better understand and communicate the value of their corporate social responsibility efforts. This proved particularly difficult for the team during large-scale volunteer events that took place during town halls and “Let’s Connect” networking conferences, which could potentially draw participation from hundreds of employees at a time. 

In these settings, it was unrealistic to expect every colleague to manually sign up through the employee giving portal or remember to log their volunteer hours afterward. Inconsistent data entry became a key roadblock in the company’s ability to fully capture and reflect the scope and impact of their CSR projects. 

Compounding this issue was a broader challenge: extracting valuable insights from the data the team was able to collect. 

“Being able to just capture impact is something that you have to be really intentional about,” said the VP, Corporate Giving Operations Manager at the leading financial services company.

Knowing which metrics were going to best illustrate program effectiveness was only part of the equation. Figuring out how to accurately pull and utilize that data was equally critical.

Solutions

Using data to tell a complete story

A cornerstone of this transformation was the creation of a bulk hours log, which was specifically designed to address the logging issues associated with the organization’s large-scale volunteer events. Rather than requiring each individual to sign up in advance or log hours after the fact, employees could now sign in on-site using their employee ID number. 

That information was recorded in a spreadsheet and uploaded directly into the CyberGrants system, allowing for full, verifiable tracking of volunteer hours — even for participants who did not interact with the portal themselves. 

Empowered by rich data quality, the firm effectively shifted from scattered, inconsistent reporting to a structured approach that made transforming volunteer activity into a compelling picture of community impact with ease. 

Impact

Outcomes

This process improvement led to cleaner, more complete datasets, enabling the team to track meaningful participation metrics, including the number of colleagues involved, hours volunteered, and event-level outcomes such as meals prepared during soup kitchens and similar initiatives. With these data points readily available, the team can now better demonstrate the tangible impact of employee engagement across different programs.

The team leaned into CyberGrants’ capabilities to provide its employees with opportunities for virtual volunteerism, expanding participation options beyond in-person events. This was especially important for enabling broader reach across employee groups with varied schedules and responsibilities.

By working with business resource groups and nonprofit partners to offer both in-person and virtual opportunities, the firm ensured that more employees could participate, regardless of location or role, leading to increased accessibility and stronger overall program engagement. This combined emphasis on customization and accessibility was instrumental in helping employees connect more meaningfully with causes aligned to their values.