Raise awareness, train and involve
Description of the action
Advanzia Bank has introduced the “Advanzia Plus Day” (A+ Day), giving each employee one day of paid leave in order to volunteer for a cause they care about. The employees can choose when and who they support – a local or international charity, a non governmental organisation, or any other non-profit organisation. The aim is to bring in diversity in our volunteering efforts, not to "force” a project upon our staff, but to let them choose, based on the needs of their communities, and based on their moral framework and what they find important to support. Through this approach we aim to build an inclusive process in which colleagues from different backgrounds and with differentskills can participate in projects that are close to their hearts.
Context
One key principle that guides all of Advanzia'sCorporate social responsibility (CSR) activities is our grassroots approach: it's our employees that choose and initiate the projects that we support. We have an “Advanzia Plus" committee that is run by employees from across the company who come together to propose action and to choose where support should be directed. The Advanzia Plus Day is an initiative that fits very well within our philosophy of staff-driven social engagement where Advanzia facilitates support for causes that are close to our employees’ hearts. We also want this volunteering initiative to build bridges between employees, to raise awareness for different communities that may need help, and to be a tool that can help bring equality and justice to the wider community
Objectives
Volunteer for a cause you care about!
Approach
The Advanzia Plus Day launch and communication is handled by the Advanzia Plus Committee, with members of Human Resources and Corporate Communications taking the lead in elements related to practical implementation, and internal communication and marketing. The A+ Day is advertised on the bank’s intranet, and regularly mentioned to our staff during all-hands meetings. Employees who take part are asked to share their experience and photos so that we can write great success stories for our intranet and for our social media channels. These stories are aimed at inspiring other employees to take up volunteering, or to form groups of volunteers to get together. By getting to know colleagues from different backgrounds who may join forces for the volunteering projects, we hope to create a greater sense of empathy and understanding, and ultimately contribute to a more inclusive and open-minded employee community and team spirit.
Impact
The A+ Day was launched in 2022 and is evaluated on a yearly basis.
« To do »
For the Advanzia Plus Day, the chosen cause or charity must be in line with the official CSR pillars of the bank, and must support one of the following: Animal welfare, Arts & Culture, Education, Environment, Health or Sports. We have provided our staff with examples that are within scope and outside of scope to make it easier for employees to understand how the concept works. Examples of volunteering included within the scope: working at a food bank, raising money for energy efficiency projects, cleaning up a park or nature trail, coaching disadvantaged youth, volunteering at a special needs school or at a local animal shelter, etc. The information available to staff also clearly outlines the A+ day registration process: checking with the supervisor if you can be absent that day, how to log the A+ day into the HR system, any next steps that are required. An important factor is the recommendation for employees to share their story with the Corporate Comms team to write success stories. This is voluntary, but is aimed at inspiring other employees to take advantage of the Advanzia Plus Day, and to generate more ideas about how this great employee benefit can be used to help charities.
« Not to do »
It is important to define what type of activity is not included, in order to manage expectations properly, and also to streamline the internal registration process. In the case of the A+ days, we clearly state that they are not to be used to support organisations that discriminate based on race, skin colour, age, gender, religious creed, marital status, sexual orientation, national origins, physical or mental disability or political affiliation. We also provide examples of activities that are out of scope, such as serving as your child’s scout leader, attending personal interest conferences, helping out at your child’s school summer fair, or coaching a sports team in your spare time. If there is a doubt, the staff is advised to reach out to HR for advice.
Keywords : Communication
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Published on 20 September 2022
