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Staff volunteerism has become an integral part of the John Keells Group’s community engagement strategy. This not only connects the John Keells family more closely with one another and the community, but also enables employees to develop skills such as confidence, communication, leadership, teamwork, whilst giving them pride in the organization and a sense of personal fulfilment.
The Group encourages its employees to volunteer their services in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities initiated both at Centre level (by John Keells Foundation) and Business Unit level. In fact, the Foundation has only two dedicated employees. The Management Committee and the project teams of the Foundation involve Group employees who volunteer their time in the respective capacity. Project activities are supported by a wider team of volunteers drawn from across the Group.
A presentation on CSR is made to each group of executive inductees under the Centre Induction Programme with a request to consider volunteering for a project of their choice. This is also made an opportunity to make the inductees aware of the Group’s commitment to the principles of the UN Global Compact (UNGC) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and what they entail. The UNGC principles and the MDG are also posted on the Group’s intranet for the benefit of staff. Employees whose involvement is required in CSR activities are released with minimum restraint and the senior management exercises a flexible policy toward the time devoted by staff to such projects. The John Keells Group does not account or charge for time spent by employees on CSR voluntarism. Similarly, the Foundation does not account or charge for human resources, planning and administration and overhead costs attributable to any of its projects.
In November 2008, the Foundation was able to build a database of 344 volunteers for future mobilisation. Thereafter, the Foundation team (including Project Champions) was able to engage with some of these volunteers on a more interactive basis via “town-hall” meetings. The objectives of these meetings were to build rapport with staff who have volunteered for CSR projects, brief them on project achievements, future plans and how they can get actively involved in the project and provide them a platform to share their views, suggestions, etc. These informal meetings have generated positive outcomes, with some volunteers coming up with novel ways in which to enhance the various projects of the Foundation.
Volunteers who have already participated in various CSR initiatives have often shared their tremendous sense of fulfilment at being part of a community based activity.
In 2009/10, the Foundation accounted for a minimum of 211 volunteer engagements in various projects implemented or overseen by the Foundation during the year. In 2010/11, the Foundation plans to develop a comprehensive plan to recognize and reward its volunteers. |
