Social impact: from employee engagement to meaningful change

Social impact is a subject close to City AM’s heart, and if the number of nominations we received for this year’s Dragon Awards for Social Impact is anything to go by, it’s something that’s taken seriously by an impressive number of businesses of all sizes.

We’ve come a long way over the last 10 or 15 years. Box-ticking and window-dressing have, for the most part, been replaced by more considered, targeted action. More and more we see a genuine commitment to social impact baked into businesses’ operations. This is hugely welcome, but it does create some challenges.

City AM was pleased to host an event in the heart of the City recently with Blackbaud’s Corporate Impact team, a leading software provider dedicated to powering social impact by supporting businesses and organisations in their journey towards creating meaningful lasting change through employee volunteering and fundraising as well as life skills education for schools.

Blackbaud helps millions of people and thousands of companies across more than 100 countries achieve exactly this. At a high-level breakfast event, chaired by City AM Editor in Chief Christian May, senior figures from a range of high-profile businesses and institutions shared their own candid insights about where they are on this journey.

Some were just starting out, or reassessing their work in this space, while others had inspirational stories to tell about the work they do and the impact it has. This exchange of experiences and ideas was hugely valuable for all in attendance, and the expert team from Blackbaud was on hand to provide their own advice and perspective and how businesses should approach this important part of their operations.

Leaders at the breakfast discussed where responsibility for effective social impact sits within a business; at c-suite or board level or among dedicated committees? There was also a discussion about how impact should be measured and evaluated, and a fascinating exchange on the importance attached to genuine social impact initiatives by employees, in particular younger team members.

Employee engagement is a huge part of this issue, and Blackbaud’s systems and tools are clearly designed to help employers make the most of their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and social impact activity when it comes to building and sustaining a high-performing company culture.

In a new report curated by Blackbaud’s YourCause solution, connecting businesses to the non-profit community titled the UK CSR Industry Spotlight, offers valuable insights and research into corporate philanthropy and employee engagement trends, echoing and complimenting the experiences discussed at our event.

Andrew Troup, Director of Giving and Engagement at Blackbaud, sets the scene in the report’s introduction, noting that despite a backdrop of political and economic uncertainty, “we saw steady volunteering and giving engagement, a strong desire to volunteer as teams in the UK, and many employees leveraging matching gifts and incentive programmes, reinforcing the idea that employees see value in prioritising giving back to their communities and those in need.”

The report highlights some fascinating trends; nearly 95 per cent of all volunteer hours across the 120+ companies analysed were in-person, with virtual hours decreasing. Furthermore, around 60 per cent of total volunteering hours were from teams, highlighting the appeal and benefits of employees working together.

City AM will continue to explore this important space, and we’re grateful to Blackbaud’s expertise in bringing people together and supporting organisations’ ambitions to put their purpose into action.

This article is published in partnership with Blackbaud.