Building an organisational culture through workplace giving

A great Workplace Giving program equals a great workplace culture. Studies show that 85 per cent of employees think it’s important to ‘give back’ through work. So, in addition to making a positive contribution to society, a strong Workplace Giving program can help employers recruit the best and brightest in the field, improve staff retention, and lead to higher productivity and motivation.

It’s a win for your employees

Workplace Giving is a simple and tax effective way for employees to give to the causes they care about. Studies show staff who feel they are contributing to the community feel more engaged in their workplace, and feel like they are making a collective impact on the causes that matter to them. Employees feel a sense of pride and purpose when they know their organisation is making a difference in the community.  As opposed to waiting until the end of financial year, employees receive the immediate tax benefit.

It’s a win for the causes employees care about

The benefits to charities are clear. Donations are deducted from employees’ payroll ensuring more money directly reaches the cause. In addition, often Workplace Giving funds are ‘untied’ which allows the charity to direct the funds to the area, which needs them most. Often contributions from staff are matched by employers…making it doubly effective for the chosen charity.

SEEK: The Giving Revolution

SEEK, Australia’s number one online employment marketplace, has taken the Workplace Giving concept and made it its own. Reflecting its brand’s ‘disruptive’ mindset, SEEK re-launched its program in 2014 with a creative campaign that shows ‘doing good’ can be fun as well as rewarding. The program known as “Small Change” now has over 57 percent of its staff giving.

SEEK co-founder and CEO Andrew Bassat believes organisations big and small can do their bit for charities, stating “for smaller companies, aligning with smaller local charities offers a great opportunity to engage their employees and makes a real difference in the communities in which they operate.”

However, he points out that strong leadership is key. “Workplace giving is a simple way for all employees to support charities they care about and to collectively have a greater impact in the community than any individual could alone. CEOs will see the benefits of contributing to the community through enhanced staff engagement and a workforce that is proud of their employer.”

Seek was able to dramatically grow the staff participation in ‘Small Change’ and a large part of the campaign centered around a clear objective to raise participation in workplace giving to over 50 per cent.

The successful launch campaign centred on great communication including:

• A teaser campaign – great Helping Hands images were placed in SEEK’s reception, tea rooms, bathrooms and lifts to encourage staff to start recognising and asking about the program.
• A strong call to action – on the day of the program’s launch, a busker played music in SEEK’s foyer from morning to afternoon. In his open guitar case a large Small Change logo was placed. This activity prompted staff to think about the best use of their small change. Later in the day, staff were issued with a communication inviting them to sign onto the program.
• Finally, towards the end of the day chocolate coins were delivered to employee’s desks with a personal reminder to sign up to Small Change.

It has been noted by SEEK that younger working Australians are redefining employment in Australia and will comprise the majority of the workforce by 2030. It’s imperative that employers understand how to attract and retain this group.

At SEEK, giving is part of its culture and it understands that its own giving program adds to the morale of the organisation by ensuring employees have purpose and meaning in their work.

The SEEK team’s success with workplace giving has reinforced that this is something that staff expect, it adds to their purpose and importantly, it’s OK to have fun with the program!

Jenny Geddes, CEO, The Australian Charities Fund. 

Jenny Geddes

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