Generation Y, also known as millennials, is made up of interesting social creatures — and not just when they’re online.
Millennials, defined as those born roughly between 1980 and 2000, in particular claim to care deeply about the people, products and companies they invest in. And they expect their employers to do the same.
Nearly 60 percent of millennials actively seek out employers whose corporate responsibility behavior reflects their own values, according to research by professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Similarly, professional services firm Deloitte found that the same percentage of millennials say “a sense of purpose” is part of the reason they chose to work for their current employers.
For companies that want to recruit the best young talent, aligning corporate social responsibility, or CSR, investments with employees’ interests — and communicating those efforts in recruiting campaigns — has become a critical step in the war for talent.
“If you want to attract strong candidates, talent acquisition professionals need to figure out how to capitalize on their companies’ CSR initiatives as part of their recruiting strategy,” said Steven Lindner, executive partner with The Workplace Group, a recruitment process outsourcing company based in Florham Park, New Jersey.
Here’s how five companies use CSR programs to recruit and retain employees.
1. The Workplace Group
While giving money to a cause might be a good start, companies need to create opportunities for employees to get involved in the social work to get the most business value from charitable endeavors.
From choosing charities to doing the actual labor, employees want to be an active part of the social change. And once they are, they will talk about those experiences via their own social networks.
“It turns your employees into brand ambassadors,” Linder said.
The Workplace Group focuses its efforts on helping children, but it also encourages employees to identify specific projects to invest their own sweat equity. The company’s employees, for instance, take time off to drive families to doctor visits at the nearby Shriners Hospital, while others have organized fundraisers and collected supplies for Arrow-Heart Adventure camp, a national nonprofit adventure program for at-risk teens.
The company also recently sponsored a recruiting campaign in Tampa, Florida, called “Use Your Resume to Fight Hunger.” The program invited the public to submit résumés — no application or cover letter required — for job openings with a local company looking to quickly fill a lot of hard-to-fill roles. For every qualified résumé it received, The Workplace Group made a donation to the local Salvation Army.
“We served the community of Tampa, and we ended up with more talented candidates than we needed,” Linder said.
