Companies call for Employee Community Engagement
Responding to increased calls by major companies to support employee community work, the international business organisation - International Business Leaders Forum - is sending management briefing to major global companies
London, (PRWEB) December 18, 2003
sees the launch of the International Business Leaders ForumÂ’s latest management primer on responsible business practices. The Learning Curve explores and promotes good practice in corporate community engagement and demonstrates the value that each has on individual and organisational learning.
The book aims to support business people that are actively involved in corporate community engagement. It draws on the many years experience of two organisations – The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) and Business in the Community (BITC) – that have both pioneered methodologies in over 40 countries for developing and managing corporate community engagement in systematic and imaginative ways. It is a handbook for practitioners and is designed to enable them to develop their own programmes in ways that will bring tangible results and benefits to all those involved.
Robert Davies, IBLF Chief Executive: “Our work with some of the most successful international companies around the world has made us aware that nurturing talent and leadership has become a critical issue in competitiveness and reputation building. The Learning Curve provides the tools that human resources and community affairs professionals need to develop initiatives to face these issues and create effective programmes – for the business, for employees and for the communities in which they operate.”
Julia Cleverdon, Chief Executive, Business in the Community: "The rise in community investment, as shown in the 2003 PerCent Standard, demonstrates that UK business is recognising that it is as much about investing in the workforce as it is in the community. Furthermore, our research shows that a dynamic, creative and innovative approach to both can be achieved when responsible business practice is fully integrated across the business. Business in the Community sees that the Learning Curve will be a valuable tool for Human Resources and Community Affairs managers involved in community projects."
The book works on the premise that companies can use corporate community engagement as a form of ‘action learning’. Different types of corporate community engagement provide alternative forms of action learning and have the potential to support people in distinct ways:
1. Study visits focusing on ideas and preconceptions: Learning by Seeing
2. Employee engagement looking at the transformation of the physical surroundings and working relationships: Learning by Doing
3. Formalising cross-sector collaboration that supports institution building and professional practice as well as influencing strategic planning: Learning by Partnering.
Learning by Seeing was inspired by The Prince of WalesÂ’s Seeing is Believing Programme which for 20 years has engaged more than 3,000 business leaders with community issues and led to many innovative solutions to community problems. This together with IBLFÂ’s Insight programme demonstrates the effectiveness of study visits of this type.
“I believe Seeing is Believing visits are one of the best ways to engage the most senior business leaders in community involvement and, increasingly, in the wider agenda of corporate responsibility”.
HRH The Prince of Wales (from BITC publication 2002)
“I cannot stress enough how important my International Business Leaders Forum INSIGHT programme is to get people to see at first hand what is needed and what they can achieve”.
HRH The Prince of Wales speaking to American business leaders
Learning by Doing uses employee engagement in the community as its central premise. The chapter is packed with examples from around the world and provides hints and tips on how to leverage community engagement programmes with the skills and talents of employees to provide more value for the community, to the employee and to the business.
Learning by Partnering explains the different types of partnership and the tools and learning impacts that can be achieved through involvement. An exploration of the challenges, risks and benefits of partnering, together with some Golden Rules for participation make this a practical guide to partnerships.
The book is edited by Ros Tennyson and Amanda Bowman of the IBLF with contributions from Kenn Allen, Civil Society Consulting Group, Ken Caplan, BPD: Water and Sanitation, Kate Cavelle, Deutsche Bank, Sasha Hurrell, IBLF, Louise Kjaer, The Copenhagen Centre, Katherine Madden, WBCSD, Charlotte Turner, Business in the Community.
Copies are available from MMC, 67 Holder Road, Aldershot, GU12 4GN, United Kingdom, Email: iblf@mmcltd. co. uk
PDF copies are available at www. engage-online. org
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Notes for Editors
The Learning Curve has been published as part of the ENGAGE Campaign. ENGAGE is an international business-led campaign that aims to increase the quality and extent of employee engagement in the development of healthy and sustainable communities. Driven by the International Business Leaders Forum, in partnership with the UKÂ’s Business in the Community, ENGAGE is helping to build business competitiveness and to meet community needs through the time, talents, energies and resources of employees. For more information, see www. engage-online. org
Ros Tennyson has led the partnership capacity-building work of the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) since 1992 working in more than 20 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the Developing World as well as with the World Bank and a number of United Nations agencies. She was responsible for leading the development of the IBLFÂ’s innovative INSIGHT programme launched in the USA in 1994 and is the IBLFÂ’s Director of Learning Programmes. On behalf of the IBLF she is currently a co-director of the University of Cambridge-based Post-graduate Certificate in Cross-sector Partnerships and is co-director of the Partnership Brokers Accreditation Scheme (run in collaboration with the UKÂ’s Overseas Development Institute).
Amanda Bowman spent 13 years in advertising and marketing in the UK at McCann-Erickson, SainsburyÂ’s and Young & Rubicam before moving to the non-profit sector with Business in the Community (BITC), the UKÂ’s leading corporate social responsibility charity. As a campaign director at BITC, Amanda led campaigns on employee community involvement, education and corporate community investment before moving to Diageo as Head of Community Involvement, UK and Europe. In this role, she was responsible for helping Diageo businesses across Europe develop community involvement strategies and partnerships with NGOs and the public sector to help meet both business and community need. Amanda is currently IBLF Project Director for ENGAGE, the IBLFÂ’s programme promoting employee engagement in the development of healthy and sustainable communities.
For more information, please contact Amanda Bowman T: 44 (0) 20 7467 3653; E: amanda. bowman@iblf. org
Table Of Contents
Introduction
1. Learning By Seeing
The Starting Point
Developing The Programme: Guidelines For Organisers
Providing The In-Puts: Guidelines For Host Organisations
Managing The Process: Guidelines For Facilitators
Guidelines For Participants
Potential Risks
Some Actual Outcomes
2. Learning By Doing
The Rationale For Employee Engagement
Potential Benefits
Models Of Employee Engagement
Building An Effective Programme
Opportunities For Employees At All Levels
Employee Engagement: Helping To Build A ‘Learning Company’
Maximising The Opportunity
3. Learning By Partnering
What Is Partnership?
Types Of Partnership
Tools For Collaborative Learning
Potential Learning Impacts
Challenges
Risks And Benefits
Golden Rules For Successful Partnering
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References
Acknowledgements
