Corporate Citizenship Perspectives

At the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship’s International Corporate Citizenship Conference, CSR leaders from around the world gather to share insights, tools, and tactics. Below, we share a story from last year’s conference, appearing originally in Issue 20 of The Corporate Citizen magazine, which details how State Street—the event’s 2017 convening sponsor—is working with five partners to advance job readiness today while strengthening its future workforce.

This year, our 2018 convening sponsor Travelers will share the benefits of a long-term approach. Other speakers will include award-winning writer and speaker Terri Trespicio, as well as experts from EY, UPS, and more. Now is the best time to register, because for a limited time you SAVE $200 on registration!

View all resources on Engaging Employees > 

Every company aspires to have an engaged workforce in which employees are involved, focused, and committed to their jobs. Engaged employees are beneficial to businesses because they work harder, produce stronger results, and stay with the company longer.^[1],[2],[3]

One of the greatest challenges of employee engagement is to identify each employee’s needs and motivations in order to determine how to best engage them. Complicating this challenge is the fact that some companies may have a disparate workforce that requires different engagement tactics.

For example, research indicates that employees at different stages of their career pursue certain engagements opportunities while rejecting others (see Figure A).^[4] Employees in the early stage of their career are interested primarily in opportunities for recognition and networking in order to establish themselves and advance their career. While they don’t have much money to donate at this point in their lives, they’re likely to show up at volunteer opportunities—especially if senior leaders are present. On the other hand, mid-career employees tend to be more pressed for time, sandwiched by caretaking responsibilities for both children and aging family members. These employees prefer opportunities for recognition, education, and getting their family involved. Finally, late-career employees are motivated by the opportunity to build a legacy or mentor a younger colleague and, because their salaries have peaked, they are more likely to contribute financially to important causes.

The following is excerpted from Issue 16 of The Corporate Citizen magazine. To learn more about how companies are using corporate citizenship to achieve business and social value, check out our issue archive.

As a global commerce leader that connects millions of buyers and sellers around the world, eBay empowers people and creates opportunity. In late 2015, the company decided to make a large investment in the engine that drives this success—its people. In December 2015, the commerce leader announced new paid family and medical leave policies, joining the ranks of tech companies such as Google that have recognized that a healthy and engaged workforce is key to retaining talent and staying competitive.