Hi all! I was asked to write the article below on ethics and corporate culture by my manager and thought I would share it here in case anyone finds it interesting. We're also holding a free panel discussion on the same topic in London at the end of the month if anyone is interested, details here - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/breakfast-panel-discussion-incorporating-your-personal-values-at-work-tickets-55286549558 (not sure if posting the details of outside events is allowed here - mods, please let me know if it isn't, and I'll take it down!)
Personal ethics, corporate culture: how millennials’ desire to make a difference can help them to thrive at work
The managers and executives of the future are increasingly unwilling to work for businesses that fail to make ethics a core part of their corporate culture. Here we discuss the Emerging Executives programme, a talent management scheme that brokers relationships between rising corporate stars and small charities.
The way we think about corporate culture and learning and development is changing, and so therefore must our approach to CSR. Individuals are becoming ever more concerned with incorporating their own personal ethics into their professional lives, and it’s a trend that businesses would do well to engage with. Studies have repeatedly shown that the firms that are attracting and retaining the best and brightest of the next generation are focusing not only on their company’s charitable giving, but also on creating opportunities for their employees to ‘do good’. Empowering a workforce in this way helps to achieve productivity, personal fulfilment and retention.
“53% of under-35s want to volunteer more than they do, and nearly half of under-35s agree that employees are looking for companies which aim for social and environmental value as well as business success and profit.”[1]
The managers, business experts and executives of the future are no longer satisfied working for corporations that simply give to charity; they want to work in an environment where their ethics are a core part of the corporate culture. In addition, the majority of young professionals believe that engaging with charities through their work allows them to develop important work-related skills.[2]
So how can businesses fulfil this need?
There are a raft of established volunteering programmes run by companies and charities alike, with varying levels of success. However, the recent trend towards a skills-based approach is a mutually beneficial way for corporations and charities to work together, and a potentially transformational experience for employees.
Small charity membership organisation the Foundation for Social Improvement has been working with businesses to develop their rising talent and enable them to engage with charities in a more meaningful way through its Emerging Executives programme since 2014. The programme provides employees with bespoke training in governance and leadership and matches them with a board position on a small charity, an opportunity to be involved in major decision-making and strategic planning, and support a cause they feel passionate about.
Rachel Rose, former Head of Talent at Fujitsu, has been putting emerging talent from her team through the Emerging Executives programme since 2014. She recognises that working with charities in this way is an effective way for rising stars to gain invaluable board-level experience and development, while supporting their desire to make genuine impact.
“[Emerging Executives] has been invaluable for things like motivation, relationship building, creativity, building confidence in individuals and we’ve seen success with these people, we’ve seen them go on to do bigger, more important jobs. We are finding that they are really developing as leaders as a result. People cite it as one the key development points in their career.”
With millennials making up 50% of the workforce by 2020, it’s never been more important for businesses to refresh their approach to CSR and professional development with a programme like Emerging Executives.
[1]Prof. Cathy Pharoah and Dr. Catherine Walker, www.cityphilanthropy.org.uk/.../final_m2g_report.pdf
[2] Ibid.