Creating Value by Investing in Community Involvement
Creating value by investing in community involvement
At the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, we have been busy finishing the analysis of our 2015 study of how companies are managing and executing the community involvement activities within their corporate citizenship efforts, and expect the final report to be released this fall. A summary of key findings will be presented during our upcoming webinar.
The Center has been surveying companies and reporting on corporate community involvement practices since 1995. Over the past twenty years, the role of community involvement has evolved to become a strategic component of business. The majority of companies’ today report that community involvement contributes to key business goals, including improved reputation and the attraction and retention of employees.
As employers know, it’s not enough to recruit and retain employees. To see positive results employees need to be engaged in their work. Research by Gallup shows that companies with higher levels of employee engagement (defined as employees who are involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work and workplace) realize higher earnings per share, higher profitability, higher productivity, and higher customer engagement. They also achieve lower turnover, lower absenteeism, and fewer employee safety incidents. The good news is that the 2014 U.S. engagement levels are at their highest ever. The bad news is that engaged workers are still less than one-third (31.5 percent) of all U.S. workers.
