All over the world, company officials gather in meeting rooms to discuss how they can surpass their competitors in sustainability goals. One by one, each company has the extraordinary idea not commonly brought up: They decide to send their employees abroad to volunteer.
The idea of requiring employees to do humanitarian work is not new; in fact, companies first had this idea in the 90s, but the world is seeing a widespread growth of putting the thought into action and implementing a plan for workers to journey abroad to volunteer. Examples of such programs include Microsoft’s “MySkills4Afrika” and IBM’s “Corporate Service Corps”.
These programs are called CISL programs, or Corporate International Service Learning programs. Employees accomplish two main goals in taking part in CISLs: They help address a drastic need of a community and they pick up valuable skills that assists them in their workplace. When employees return, they return as innovators, managers, and leaders with real-life experience.
Photo Courtesy of The Huffington Post
Consumers today are much more enthusiastic about companies with strong moral backgrounds, so they demand that companies take part in such activities in which those companies can directly influence society in a positive way. Volunteering also gives employees several key strengths in their skills, so companies are willing to send their workers abroad to volunteer because they know the benefits go both ways. In fact, companies taking part in CISL programs will usually pay for everything from flights to accommodations.
Photo Courtesy of The Huffington Post
Coincidentally, there has also been a rise in the number of Millennials volunteering during the last decade. In 2013, 20 percent of young adults under the age of 30 volunteered, setting a record for the most active generation in volunteering in American history.
Could it be that the Millennials are leading us into a new age of philanthropy? Will they be the leading figures in CISL programs in the future?
No one can say for certain. However, one thing can be stated with confidence: The Millennial generation will make a change.
HC with care,
Megan
Photo Sources:
http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2015-10-23-1445576755-6721771-ImpactofExperteeringleadership.PNG
Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-horoszowski/when-companies-send-their_b_8365830.html