HR managers are now allowing employees to contribute to the society even during office hours by allowing leaves and sabbaticals to the staff.
Passion for a social cause is no longer restricted to the weekends or during vacations.
HR managers are now allowing employees to contribute to the society even during office hours by allowing leaves and sabbaticals to the staff.
Global software major SAP has the SAP Social Sabbatical programme. This is a short period of work for promising talents at SAP, where they spend four weeks on-site at non-profit organizations (NPOs) in the education and social sector.
Here, they are involved in the development of business plans and organizational structures. At the same time, this intercultural exchange and the work in international and interdisciplinary teams, hones their leadership skills, expertise, and cultural sensitivity.
Last year, 36 SAP employees from throughout the world traveled to the emerging economies of Myanmar, Botswana, and the Philippines to help NPOs tackle acute challenges.
The aim, as HR experts say, is to not only give back to the community, but also to keep the employees engaged. By encouraging them to indulge in activities that is not strictly part of their professional responsibilities, companies help employees get a rear view of the community.
Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO, CIEL HR Services said that our research shows that millennials are looking for socially conscious brands. “Even globally as also in India, companies have been motivating employees to get involved in social programmes and would offer them paid leave for this,” he said. He added that this is slowly become a hygiene factor for companies in order to attract and retain talent. According to him, younger people participate and make use of these initiatives much better and overall, it also helps employee stay engaged and be more productive.
As per the Companies Act of 2013, every company having net worth of Rs 500 crore or more, turnover of Rs 1000 crore or more, net profit of Rs 5 crore or more during any financial year will have to spend 2 percent of the average net profits during the last three years on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.
However while companies have their own foundations where employees actively participate in CSR activities to contribute to the mandatory 2 percent stipulated by law, employees have also been encouraged to take part in areas where they have personal interests.
For instance, IT-major Infosys supports the volunteering efforts of employees through employee-led CSR groups and eco-groups across our campuses, and has formulated the Community Empathy Policy to further endorse this spirit of service. The Community Empathy Policy supports employees who wish to pursue their interest in community service by providing them with leave of absence, as well as a fellowship through a sabbatical.
Recent studies have shown that salary is no longer the main factor for employees switching jobs. Better learning and development opportunities are one of the crucial reasons why an individual quits a job. In this scenario, Mishra said that this could help employees stay connected with the roots and stay more loyal to his company. Compared to earlier times when social responsibility was often a checkbox item with India Inc allocating a certain proportion of funds towards CSR activities, the focus has now turned to more grass-root level initiatives and letting the employees take a call on how they wish to contribute.
This article was taken from here.