CSR 2.0
Times have changed. No longer do you see only posters in the break rooms or fliers in the restroom promoting your volunteer efforts. As you may have noticed, getting employees to sign up for your company's volunteer events was painful. Not to mention getting feedback and getting the inspirational stories that happened during the volunteer event was near impossible. Along came this little number (2.0) that has dramatically impacted they way we all do things. Web 2.0, that is, is a trend in the use of World Wide Web technology that aims to facilitate creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users (wikipedia).
Many companies are taking advantage of this trend and investing in web 2.0 technologies such as wikis, blogs, podcasts, RSS, and social networking tools to propel their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs. A recent study by the McKinsey Quarterly (March 2007) shows more than three-fourths of companies surveyed say that they have already investing in web 2.0 trends. Two-thirds of these companies revealed that they are investing in this technology to maintain the company's market position, provide a competitive edge or to match the competition and address customer demand. Read the full report.
We're also seeing this trend (coined CSR 2.0) within our own client base. Many of our early adopting clients are investing in web 2.0 technologies to drive traffic to their AngelPoints volunteer website and to engage their employees. Blogs, wikis, and RSS feeds etc. are giving employees the voice they never had before. They can write about their experiences in a non-restrictive creative venue of a blog, comment or edit a wiki entry based on a volunteer event, and can even decide what information they want to see by using tools such as RSS/Atom feeds, and API's that connect to things they care about most, such as their favorite bookmarks through del.icio.us or their most recent volunteer photos through Flickr, and can even tap into social networking tools they identify with, like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
Anticipating these trends, AngelPoints has already built some web 2.0 tools into our newest platform, Enterprise Volunteer Solutions (EVS) '07, to increase collaboration and engage your employees even more. Volunteer profiles, public rosters, event discussions and even integration with Yahoo!Local for driving directions and Flickr for photos are just some of the ways we have introduced web 2.0 to our corporate clients' volunteer activities.
- Volunteer Profiles - Every employee has the ability to create their own volunteer profile. They can upload a picture of themselves, indicate what causes they're most passionate about, indicate what skills they posses and even have a writing space to tell others what they want.
- Public Rosters - always wanted to know who's attending what volunteer opportunity beforehand? In every event, volunteers can click the "Who's Signed Up" tab to see who's attending. What's more is that you can click on any volunteer attending and be taken to their full public profile. And for you shy users, don't worry... we also created an "anonymous" setting that allows volunteers to have a private profile.
- Event Discussions - simply click on the "Event Discussion" tab within any event and volunteers can directly post any questions or comments they have. This web 2.0 feature enables other volunteers to answer the questions and collaborate among themselves. Plus, the whole discussion is posted, so say goodbye to sending the same email about carpooling or lunch options!
- Integration - we've provided you with ways to get driving directions through Yahoo!Local and a way to share and comment on volunteer photos through Flickr.
Companies are just beginning to realize the benefits of investing in web 2.0 technologies to enhance their CSR programs. Just as the field of CSR has evolved (and is continually evolving) to become a "must-have" to differentiate and compete, more and more businesses are also now realizing that employees are the key to a successful CSR program and this little number (2.0) can truly pack a big punch by engaging your employees even more.
The role of collaboration within the enterprise is growing at an amazing rate these days. We want to support each of our clients in leveraging the "wisdom of crowds", especially when it comes to volunteering in your local communities. Since all of our clients together represent over 3 million employees across the planet, we are positioned really well to help all of you make big changes.
Imagine posting a volunteer opportunity for your own employees and then making that opportunity open to all of our other clients in your area. Let's say you're organizing a blood drive in your town's central business district. You're able to recruit 10 of your own employees to give blood, but another 30 people from 5 other companies in your area register to attend. And! they organize carpools among themselves to get there... discussion ensue and before you know it there's a new business deal in the works because your VP of Business Development happened to ride over with the Director of Sales from another company. That may be a little farfetched but you'd be surprised at the amazing things serendipity can bring to your doorstep.
We're working hard at AngelPoints to make the world a better place by making the business of changing the world an easier thing to do. Better living through social software! Check out our list of product updates we've made recently.
AngelPoints along with a couple of our clients will be speaking at The Corporate Community Involvement Conference in our home town of San Francisco at the end of July. We may have room for one more of our clients to speak on this panel. If you're a tech savvy company with a knowledge of web 2.0 tools (in EVS or out), feel free to reach out to me.