VMCS14 REwards: The In's & Out's of VTO

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Lessons from the Field

REwards: The In’s & Outs of VTO

Speakers:Jennifer Reed HolickCommunity Investment ManagerTime Warner Cable

Hannah NanceSenior Specialist, Social PurposeBrooks Brothers

REWARDS: THE IN’S & OUT’S OF VTO

Hannah NanceSocial Purpose Senior Specialist

Brooks Brothers@BrooksBrothers

Jennifer HolickCommunity Investment Manager

Time Warner Cable#TWCvolunteers

BUSINESS CASE FOR VTO

VOLUNTEERMATCH CLIENT SUMMIT 2014 #VMCS14

Business Case For VTOWhat is VTO?• VTO, or Volunteer Time Off, is a program supported by an employer that allows employees to be

paid to volunteer, typically during regular work hours.

• Programs vary from supporting company sponsored days of service only – perhaps once a year – to flexible programs that allow for 8-12 hours of time per year to volunteer for a non-profit of the employees choice.

• Today we will talk about how two very different companies approached the idea of VTO, tackled the pre-launch challenges, and today deliver robust VTO programs that deliver strong business results.

• While both Brooks Brothers and Time Warner Cable have different approaches, both agree that VTO ensures greater participation in team-building volunteer opportunities.


BROOKS BROTHERS


Brooks Brothers

1. Suited For Service, the Brooks Brothers

Associate volunteer program

2. Volunteer Time Off, a “special & unique benefit”

3. Establishing a culture of volunteerism


Brooks Brothers


Brooks Brothers


Brooks Brothers

Volunteer Time Off ONLY39%

Suited For Service & Volun-teer Time Off

31%

Suited For Service ONLY29%

Volunteer Hours Entered• 8% of Brooks Brothers Associates are

active on VolunteerMatch website

• 1,392 hours logged on VolunteerMatch

website since Oct ’13

• 228 hours of VTO paid since Oct ‘13

launch

• VTO hours are approximately 16% of

volunteer hours


Brooks Brothers


TIME WARNER CABLE


Time Warner Cable Time Warner Cable has a long history of supporting the

communities we serve. Our journey to VTO began with the launch of Connect A Million Minds almost five years ago.

With a strong philanthropic focus for the company in place, the next stop was to rally our 50k+ employees around STEM.

Hands-on CAMM Days were scheduled across the country – and we needed volunteers to support them during regularly scheduled work hours – quickly.

To encourage employee involvement, our CEO offered VTO (2010):

12 hours VTO per year

(8 CAMM related; 4 Employee Choice)


Connect A Million Minds has been incredibly successful…

CAMM Days didn’t provide enough volunteer opportunities for all employees to use STEM related 8 hours

Employees didn’t know how to find non-CAMM volunteer hours to use their personal 4 hours of VTO

TWC’s funding focus areas grew to include diversity, environment and disaster relief; VTO didn’t fully support all of these areas

Time Warner Cable

We initially thought it was time to REVAMP our VTO Policy, but

we realized…

*** VTO alone was not enough to change the culture! ***

It was only the cherry on top.


Time Warner CableEveryone here knows that a strong volunteer program delivers positive metrics to the business. Workplace volunteer programs have been shown to:

• Attract job applicants – especially millennials

• Improve employee engagement and net promoter scores

• Reduce turnover

• Provide a morale boosts that drives energy, initiative & loyalty

But, is VTO mission critical to those goals?

NO

But it is the “secret sauce” that can take a strong employee volunteer program to new heights!

TWC’s VolunteerMatch site - TWC Connects – launched

earlier this year with the goal of strengthening our Employee

Volunteer Program.

During our planning phase, we revisited VTO and adjusted it to

support our new program.


Getting from ZERO to VTO in 5 easy steps:

Set up Senior Management Cross Functional Task Force – Get Ready to Sell! Introduce data supporting employee volunteerism impact on the business – secure buy in on that data Survey employees to uncover their desire and resistance to volunteering more Build a case study for how VTO will help remove those obstacles and ultimately increase volunteerism (basis for ROI)

Engage Legal & HR in More Detail Understand all OT, Union and HR concerns plus how “volunteerism” is defined (this shaped one VTO change) Find ways to tie VTO to timekeeping (KRONOS) – allows supervisors to own hours and employees can see balance

Review Cost Implications and ROI with Task Force Make believable impact assumptions Task Force agrees to; proves payback (based on Engagement and Turnover)

Shape VTO Policy to maximize results – our task force realized that VTO + Team Building = “Secret Sauce” Updated policy to allow for TWC sponsored “outside of work” volunteering & revised it to be simply 12 hours/year

Use VM to promote the behavior you are hoping VTO will encourage and manage data Customize tool to support VTO challenges (reporting, approvals, TWC has custom questions regarding approvals, etc.)

Time Warner Cable


Doing the math is easy – once you have your data! Be conservative AND aggressive to tell your VTO story!

1. Establish baseline value for your company of a retained employee / $$ cost to replace an employee For example, look at front-line, hourly employees to build the most “believable” case Take the low/conservative approach (hiring, recruiting, training and indirect costs) = e.g., $10k = value of retained EE Many studies show the total cost of losing an employee ranges from tens of thousands of dollars to 1.5-2X annual salary.

Find a study (or use internal metrics) to provide most believable data point – one that is hard for leaders to dispute.

2. Determine “cost” of VTO For VTO during work hours, make case for no cost to bottom line (loss of productivity/benefit = net zero or better) For VTO outside of work hours, for example:

Total volunteer hours anticipated annually = 20k x 25% expected hours to be outside of work time = 5k hours 5k hours @ $50/hour x 1.5 (worst case it’s OT) x 5k hours = $375k (this is a high/aggressive assumption)

3. Calculate VTO Payback $375k ÷ $10k = 37.5 EEs who would need to be “retained” because of Paid Volunteer Time to make this example work Once you get to this number – it is easy to sell fact that a robust VTO element would positively impact more than 38 EEs That’s less than .1% !!!

Marry the above with SAME data you used to support core Volunteer Program – VOILA! VTO


Time Warner Cable

By encouraging leaders to create team projects during work hours, we encourage use of VTO in a way that has the GREATEST impact our business.

builds teamwork (improves overall productivity) provides leadership opportunities (improves productivity)

improves communication and…it’s FUN!

Plus, this enhanced impact helps justify the benefits of VTO overall


Time Warner Cable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nSAuKSWY-Q

THE WALKAWAY


The Walkaway

Tips for Success:

• Do your homework – be able to overcome objections before they are raised

• Be organized and analytical

• Know if Volunteer Time Off has a financial impact

• Ensure leadership supports existing volunteer program

• Craft an elevator speech that reinforces the ROI – be an ambassador

• “A recent HR study found that 20% of organizations in the study offered paid

volunteerism as a perk - and it's continually growing!” (Washington Post)

• Make sure your Volunteer Time Off proposal supports your volunteer program’s core goals


QUESTIONS & ANSWERS


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For more information about the VolunteerMatch Client

Summit:

solutions.volunteermatch.org/summit

[email protected]

VMCS14 REwards: The In's & Out's of VTO

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