How companies count time on the community clock
Laura Caligan
September 29, 2006

Tracking the time that employees spend volunteering is nothing new to Atlanta-area businesses. But corporate volunteer managers say improved systems that make collecting and analyzing volunteerism data easier than ever can help companies do more than quantify and illustrate their community service efforts.

Using internally developed software, Wachovia Bank N.A. tracked about 16,000 volunteer hours in 2005, said Ben Boswell, Wachovia's Georgia community affairs manager. With the dollar value of volunteer time estimated at $18.04 per hour, according to a new report by Independent Sector, the national leadership forum for charities, foundations and corporate-giving programs, the monetary worth of Wachovia's volunteerism is a little more than $287,000. Having these figures is just one benefit of good tracking, Boswell said.

Wachovia contributes $100 in an employee's name to a nonprofit when that employee volunteers more than 24 hours for the organization. "Employees benefit because they can earn more for their favorite cause, and the tracking makes it easier for them to get the recognition they deserve for their great efforts," Boswell said. "The company benefits because it can measure the impact we're having, and it helps us instill an even greater sense of community commitment in our work force."

Such employee-driven programs are good for morale, Boswell said.

"When you have a good way to track what people are doing, it helps them see you're serious about it," he said. "By encouraging employees to volunteer in support of their own passions and interests, and by rewarding the agencies they support most, we show them what matters to them matters to the company."

Being able to recognize and reward committed volunteers is a key benefit of careful tracking -- as well as another means of boosting morale, said David Thompson, public relations manager for Deloitte Services L.P. Using AngelPoints, a Web-based tool designed expressly to track corporate volunteerism, Deloitte records the volunteer activity of more than 25,000 employees nationally. An internal team uses the data to select award- winning volunteers.

Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, which also uses AngelPoints, has developed an "employee incentive compensation program" that rewards employees for their community involvement, said Whitney Munn, manager of community relations.

At KPMG LLP, employees are encouraged to use up to 12 hours of work time annually for volunteer service and are required to log their volunteer time. "As a professional services organization, we track our hours in an online system, and a code has been dedicated to 'volunteer time release,' " said Tim Bentsen, managing partner of KPMG's Atlanta office. "The total time each year that KPMG professionals contribute to charitable organizations could exceed 9,000 in Atlanta, based on 750 employees," he said.

Linda Parrish, director of community affairs at King & Spalding LLP, said tracking makes it possible for her to tailor community programs to employees' interests and expectations. "Having a report that shows us who's participating, when, why and with whom, helps us plan the right activities at the right times," she said.

This type of research-based community programming works for Accenture Ltd., too, said Tiffany Brott, senior manager of marketing and corporate citizenship. "Based on employee feedback, we build volunteer activities and programs to appeal to different groups, such as Junior Achievement for people who want to volunteer during the week, and Saturday service projects for those who travel extensively," she said.

Corporations also look to their nonprofit partners to help them better understand their own volunteerism. Organizations such as Atlanta's TechBridge Inc., which relies heavily on professional volunteers to help deliver its technology programs to nonprofits, are expected to track corporate volunteer hours, said Jennifer Higgins, director of outreach. "It's no longer a 'nice-to have'," she said. "It's a requirement."