Networking and cooperation between the business community and the voluntary sector are needed in order to mobilise energy, talent and employability resources to contribute to society. This was the key point covered at the conference, held last month at the Hotel Excelsior, entitled “Employee Supported Volunteering” organised by the Malta Council for the voluntary sector. The aim of the conference was to bring both the business and third sector to discuss ways for mutual collaboration to grow the function of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Malta. This concept must not be set up as a traditional charity, but as a business case. Research shows that CSR enhances employees’ engagement with their company as well as build a good reputation in the market place. However, the point was made of the need to create a culture of volunteering as part of the strategic direction of the organisation where the value of volunteering programmes become part and parcel of the identity of the company. To succeed in merging the two, managers need to understand society’s needs and have the skill to match the need with the support the company can provide.
Dr Elena Korf from International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) delivered the keynote speech of the conference. Dr Korf has designed and managed a number of large-scale partnership projects to promote and incorporate corporate social responsibility into business practice and bring together business, government and civil society to address the issues of employability, youth, social and economic inclusion, corporate volunteering and civil society development.
As an expert practitioner in this field, Dr Korf did not miss the opportunity of emphasizing the importance of the business sector putting effort into community development by considering company’s goals and aligning this objective with the incentives that such a CSR programme can provide to society. Dr Korf argued that through ongoing assessment and reviewing of voluntary activity, volunteering can stop being an expression of charity and start being an expression of “successful corporate volunteering” as an activity that makes business sense.
Dr Korf referred to recent surveys made on business leaders that were carried out by IBM and Boston Consulting Group/MIT, which reported that executives believe that a proactive approach to CSR helps companies be more competitive − nearly 70 per cent saying that focusing on CSR helped them make money, and 54 per cent saying it helped them retain their competitive edge − by being sensitive to issues that mattered to the community.
Establishing a two-way communication between the voluntary and private sectors is imperative in order to share experiences and diagnose community needs and how these needs could be addressed. Monique Falzon, project manager at SOS Malta, highlighted the importance of networking between NGOs and the private sector. Corporate volunteering required something more than good intentions; it is about discussing, implementing and evaluating common actions between business people and voluntary workers. To do so, Ms Falzon pointed out the need for NGOs to stop asking for economic support and start considering the benefits that organisation can bring them.
If the aim is to develop healthier communities in which to work, HR professionals must also assume this challenge as a part of developing employees’ full potential, since from SOS Malta’s perspective, training is vital to enhance awareness among employers on the benefits that accrue from implementing corporate volunteering. The research conducted by SOS MALTA suggest that only five companies out of the 100 interviewed had a corporate volunteering programme in place, while only nine NGOs were participating in such programmes. However, it appears that there are good opportunities for NGOs to benefit from services that the private sector can and are willing to offer. Manual work, participation in fund-raising activities, public relations, marketing and administration and office work were some examples cited in the report.
Ms Falzon recognized that the problem is creating the clearing house where companies and NGOs can be matched for specific projects and, in this respect, an entity such as the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector, was critical. The speaker proposed the creation of a database where voluntary and business sector would be able to update their corresponding needs and commitments.
Joe Gerada, CEO of the Foundation for Human Resources Development said that it is absolutely vital that the Malta Council for Volunteering takes up the role of matching employers and NGOs for civil society projects. He said that the concept of charity has been taken over by the concept of human and social rights, which also included the economic and environmental rights of people and the communities they live in. In this respect businesses are an integral part of this order and the proper functioning of the business and its contribution to community development has a direct effect on the well being of the people. Hence the importance of a culture of volunteering and CSR programmes.
The conference was also addressed by two private companies − Playmobil and Tektraco − that are heavily involved in corporate social responsibility programmes. Inspire, which is on the receiving end of CSR programmes, gave an account of good practices in this field and how this organization has forged good partnerships with the private sector for their mutual benefit.
Ms Garcia Reche is a Spanish journalist at the Foundation for Human Resources Development