CSR Intern Reflections: Importance of Employee Volunteerism

Keysight's CSR summer intern has been experiencing firsthand the role of volunteerism in corporate citizenship, culture, and employee engagement. Read what she has to say about her learnings this summer in helping support community engagement and employee volunteerism.

My love of volunteering began in high school. Spending my time helping other people and working towards a mission was the first time I believed I was making a positive impact in the world. I was finally working towards something that was much larger than myself.

This love of volunteering eventually grew into an interest in non-profit work. I wanted to know how things functioned and unpack the inner workings of what makes programming possible. Through that process, I became fascinated by the intersection of business, impact, and society, so it came as no surprise that I found myself in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) this summer. I first learned about CSR in one of my college classes, and I knew immediately that it was a space I wanted to explore.

Corporate Support of Employee Volunteerism

CSR is an integrated business framework that manages and tracks a company’s impact on society across environmental sustainability, positive social impact, and ethical business governance, with accountability to stakeholders. For Keysight, CSR is embedded into the Keysight Leadership Model, which defines how the company operates. Keysight’s CSR program is structured across six foundational pillars: ethical governance, the environment, responsible sourcing, people, communities, and solutions.

My role this summer primarily focused on the “communities” pillar, which touches on supporting charitable and educational organizations and participation in local and global volunteer efforts. One of my projects for the summer was to put on a community engagement event to encourage volunteerism and test some of Keysight’s resources that make volunteering possible.

Supporting employee volunteerism is good for companies, communities, and employees. According to Jessica Rodell of Harvard Business Review, “many studies have shown that volunteer programs boost productivity, increase employee engagement, and improve hiring and retention.”¹ Keysight recognizes that companies play a role in the prosperity of local and global communities, so it is important for the company to play an active role in supporting, uplifting, and investing in the communities in which Keysight does business. Such engagements not only help accomplish these goals but also brings great benefit to the employees themselves.

Win: Win: Win

Before exploring different community engagement ideas, I wanted to identify a group of employee volunteers that may be interested. I quickly landed on the other Keysight interns at the site. I believed that having the interns participate in a community engagement event would not only foster teamwork and camaraderie, but also give an opportunity for the interns to impact the community they called home for the summer.

After circulating through different options and getting feedback from the interns, it was clear a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education volunteer event aligned with the needs of the community and the interests of the volunteers. To put together this event, I turned to the Keysight’s After School program.

Keysight After School has several hands-on experiments that teach students about certain STEM subjects from electronics to physical and earth-sciences. Keysight fully funds the program’s experiment kits and its delivery by employee volunteers, at no cost to the host organizations or participating students.

After a month of planning, I finally had everything set-up for the event. I decided to go with one of the most popular STEM kits, the Solar Racer Kits, for students to build. The volunteers were set to go, and sooner than later, a local summer school made their way over to the Keysight Colorado Springs office to learn more about solar energy. In total, we had 13 students ranging from 6-12 years old and 15 intern volunteers. The volunteers assisted in building the solar racer cars with the students while teaching them about solar energy. After building the cars, the kids had some time to decorate and personalize their own special racers. After a day of learning and building, we finished our day by racing the cars outside. The students were able to take their cars home and continue their learnings of solar energy.

The impact of this event was clear. One volunteer shared that she loved watching the kids get excited about science and could see her younger self in them. Another volunteer noted, “The Keysight Volunteer event was a meaningful journey back to my roots as a former STEM camp volunteer. Teaching STEM to kids and engaging in hands-on experiences with them was both unique and unforgettable.”

It was a win all around. The students were able to engage and learn about STEM in a fun and interactive way; the interns were able to share their love of STEM and give back to the local community; and Keysight contributed to their key impact goal of engaging the future generation through STEM education.

A Full-Circle Moment

Putting together this volunteer experience was a very full-circle and fulfilling moment for me. For the first time, I was on the side of planning and heading up a volunteer event. I learned so much about certain internal processes in putting on an event like this. I also saw the power of volunteering in action. The volunteers were able to share their love of STEM with the future generation, and the kids had a fun day learning and engaging with STEM subjects. The best part was seeing the impact that this event made on both the kids and the volunteers.

My experience at Keysight taught me so much about the role of CSR and the intersection of business and society. The volunteer event affirmed for me my passion for impact-oriented work. I’m excited to apply everything that I have learned to my future endeavors and my commitment to making resources both accessible and approachable.

Sources:

¹“Volunteer Programs That Employees Can Get Excited About,” Harvard Business Review, January 2021.