Causecast Harnesses Do Good Activism for Better Employee Engagement

(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) Los Angeles, CA - January 25, 2012 - Causecast, a technology start-up that helps organizations become more effective corporate citizens through increased employee engagement, today announced the availability of its Employee Impact Platform. This cloud-based solution enables corporations to achieve “cause integration” through engaging interactive volunteer and fundraising systems that align an organization’s workforce with its social mission.

Causecast developed the Employee Impact Platform to help leaders in human resource, public relation and marketing departments integrate high-value corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives into their business functions. This turnkey solution engages employees in uniquely collaborative cause-related work that can deepen the relationship with their employers while helping organizations with employee recruitment and retention. The Employee Impact Platform also distinguishes itself by allowing nonprofits to receive donations for free, unlike competing solutions that charge nonprofits as much as 15% for every penny raised.

“A company’s best brand ambassadors are its employees. Engaged employees are the most likely to speak highly of their organizations," said Ryan Scott, CEO and Founder of Causecast. "Employee volunteer programs are one of the most powerful ways to create an engaged workforce and until now its been difficult to run an effective employee volunteer program because of a lack of sophisticated tools. Through our work in developing public service campaigns for leading brands and publishers, we’ve been able to learn what works and are bringing our experience to bear in effectively engaging employees in volunteering and giving campaigns.” 

“The reason why so many great causes are under-supported by companies is that employee advocates don’t know what they need to do to drive them and IT doesn’t have the resources to address each cause and manage it,” explains Rob Enderle, principal analyst for the Enderle Group. “Causecast goes right to the heart of this problem by providing a solution that employee advocates can understand and use that doesn’t require IT support to execute. The result is the empowerment of employee advocates, more great causes receiving the resources they need to accomplish their goals, and a more cooperative and powerful relationship between employees and companies pointed at the philanthropic efforts important to both groups.”

As a driving force in the cause technology space since its founding in 2007, Causecast is uniquely positioned to bring its interactive experience to bear on a space that has been overdue for innovation. The company spearheaded the award-winning Impact and Education sections for the Huffington Post and has built and continues to power AARP’s Create the Good platform.

Causecast is also a member of two nationally recognized White House initiatives; Change the Equation, for which Causecast chairs the Employee Engagement committee, and Startup America.

WHY EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT MATTERS

A 2004 study from the Corporate Leadership Council found that highly engaged organizations can decrease employee turnover by 87% and enhance productivity by 20%. But according to a 2011 Gallup survey, 71% of American workers are not engaged in their positions, including 19% who describe themselves as “actively disengaged” in their work. The survey finds highly educated and middle-aged employees, both at 28%, rank among the least likely to be engaged. Gallup reports that actively engaged employees are more likely than those who are not to say their company is hiring and that such businesses experience higher productivity.

Moreover, according to the 2003 study “Good Companies, Better Employees,” employee volunteer programs have been known to increase job satisfaction levels (64% fairly or very satisfied), good word of mouth (54% speaking highly of company to others) and retention rates.

Employee volunteerism affects the bottom line. 2012 is predicted to be the year that ‘employee engagement emerges’ according to “The Top 10 Trends in CSR for 2012” by Tim Mohin of AMD.

PRODUCT FEATURES AND BENEFITS

For Employees

Volunteer: Highlights volunteer opportunities and community events. ‘Dollars for Doers’

Donate: Free donation processing for nonprofits. Other donation processors charge nonprofits up to 15% for each donation. Donation matching is built in.

Connect & Share: Announce and share fundraising and donations efforts on favorite social media sites, stay up-to-date with news and announcements, and connect with colleagues, nonprofits and causes to streamline collaborations.

Competitions and Rewards: Social fundraising competitions and social status prizes reward employees for their efforts.

For Businesses Announce: Allows users to post the latest information from their company, helping organizations

keep their employees up-to-date on employee engagement activity.

Connect & Share: Connect with nonprofits and causes important to companies and its employees, make announcements and keep employees up to speed on all corporate social responsibility progress.

Create & Reward: Promote volunteer events and calls to action for employees. Reward the good work of employees by creating benefits and rewards.

Patent Pending Volunteer Tracking: No employee logging data required. Administrator’s monitor the progress of employee engagement with comprehensive metrics that keep tabs on employee fundraising, volunteer participation and hours.

Download: Download reports with complete itemization of employee involvement.

Mobile Experience: Check in to volunteer events via an integrated mobile experience.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

The Causecast Employee Impact Platform is available now, at sliding scale pricing based on organization size. No fee is charged to non-profits. For more information, please contact Causecast at (310) 558-7080.

Causecast is the leading provider of cause integration technology solutions, helping organizations become more effective corporate citizens through increased employee engagement. Through its Employee Impact Platform, Causecast automates and enhances systems for employee volunteering, giving, matching, rewarding and disaster relief. Causecast’s vision is to enable a cutting-edge social ecosystem that elevates corporate social responsibility to a new level, where sustainable and measurable accomplishments move the needle on an organization’s social mission, employee culture and bottom line. For more information on Causecast and its offerings, visit causecast.com.