GivX - Benefacto€¦ · So why is it important to get involved in a benchmarking exercise like GivX? First, if we can’t measure it, we can’t manage it. As a community, there

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Measuring Community ValueThe GivX Community Value Award Report 2017

GivX

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Businesses need a framework that makes measuring, communicating & benchmarking their community investment work easier.

Between March 2016 and April 2017, the team behind Benefacto had over 100 conversations with members of the CR community about a new approach to impact reporting.

We were told that that the profession needed a framework that would be accessible to large and small businesses alike, and one that would invite companies to be transparent about the good they’re doing for the community.

Off the back of these conversations (and in close collaboration with a steering group from the CR community), we developed GivX as a framework that would meet these criteria.

After a year of consultation on the methodology behind GivX, we set out to collect data from across the CR community.

Who submitted their data and why?

The most interesting insight we gained has less to do with the data we received, and more to do with what we learnt by observing who submitted their data and why.

The companies that entered the inaugural GivX awards are the pioneers of a new data-driven approach to giving.

They are measuring their data effectively and understand why being open and willing to share it is important.

By embracing openness and the use of a common language, they strengthen the case for responsible business and, ultimately, increase the value the community receives.

IntroductionGivX

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Despite impact reporting being a watchword in CR, many companies are uncertain about what to measure, overinvest in complex impact reporting or do not record their activities at all. Few think about what their data could or should be used for.

Frankly put, openness and innovation are not at the centre of every company’s CR strategy.

So why is it important to get involved in a benchmarking exercise like GivX?

First, if we can’t measure it, we can’t manage it.

As a community, there is a collaborative benefit in being able to benchmark the value we create. The right data helps us improve and make our shared corporate contribution to the community more effective.

Second, CR needs people to take the lead.

Development requires people to pioneer innovative high-impact projects and inspire their peers, colleagues and the broader community that CR has a genuinely transformative social function.

The bold and the brave are doing the best work.

What the data tells us:

The most interesting insight from the data the GivX 25 companies have provided is straightforward: do what you’re good at.

The businesses with the highest scores have found an effective way to create community value in-line with the things they’re best at.

While for a law firm professional volunteering is likely to have the most impact, a media firm will be more effective by donating air time while a construction company’s greatest strength might be in-kind donations.

The challenge is that few companies are thinking innovatively about reporting.

We pitched GivX to

585 Companies

80 Companiesseriously

considered entry

28 Companies

submitted data

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This year we have learnt that companies best serve their community by playing to their strengths.

For example, we originally decided to exclude customer giving from inclusion in GivX fundraising donations. In light of our findings, however, we’re now able to see stimulating donations from customers is exactly where a retailer’s strengths lie.

This is an important insight and one that will be reflected in the guidelines for next year’s applications.

Programmes should be optimised for maximum benefit to the community.

GivX is the most disruptive thing to happen in CR in a decade.

As you will see from the numbers below, and the company listings on pages 8-14, British companies are giving a huge amount both individually and as a collective.

This quantative insight is transformative.

Every new contributor shines more light on our achievements and on the best approaches companies can take to have a positive impact on their communities.

If you haven’t been involved this year, join the data revolution and make sure that you are part of next year’s GivX Awards!

£104,534,090in combined

donations

The total Community Value

of the GivX 25 in 2017

286,798 Combined

volunteering hours

£115,729,554 in combined community

value

IntroductionGivX

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Why GivX?

The contribution of time and money that firms make to the community are increasingly considered in the decision-making processes of employees, consumers and investors.

However, despite the fact companies are developing more sophisticated ways to give more, it is still difficult for these stakeholders to compare and contrast the value of these corporate contributions.

What is GivX?

GivX is an accessible, free-to-use framework for companies to value the contribution they make to the community and to communicate it to stakeholders. By introducing a common language, GivX enables CR practitioners to benchmark the different elements of their community investment schemes against others.

It becomes possible for the first time to understand the strategies and programmes that most effectively support the community.

GivX values companies’ contributions at what they’re worth to the community and offers a standardised measure to compare the amount of ‘Community Value’ different companies create.

Methodology

GivX uses a transparent framework to aggregate contributions in the form of donations, employee fundraising, and volunteering into a GivX score that reflects how much Community Value a company has created through its community investment scheme.

This GivX score portrays the replacement cost (in GBP) for all services and donations provided by the company in terms of the equivalent that a charity would have to pay in Sterling for the same support.

‘Community Value’ positions GivX between impact reporting and input reporting.

Methodology

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By valuing contributions in terms of what they are worth to the community, GivX goes further than conventional input reporting which values contributions at cost to the company (and which fails to capture the effectiveness of a company’s spending).

However, it is designed to be simpler, less time-intensive, and a more common sense alternative to impact reporting, which whilst laudably aiming to extend its analysis to the influence a charity has on its service users, is always time-consuming and inexact.

Companies enter six data-points (specified left) into the GivX Calculator, based on guidelines that clarify how to determine the value of their services and donations.

For example, one of the innovative aspects of the GivX calculator is its division of volunteering hours into manual volunteering, skilled volunteering and professional volunteering.

GivX provides an estimate of the hourly cost of manual, skilled and pro-bono work across industries, which allows companies to translate the hours contributed into GivX points.

From the GivX score, we then calculate the GivX score per employee, creating a measure which can be used to compare firms of different sizes.

The GivX score per employee shows the GBP Community Value a company creates annually for each employee.

To calculate your GivX score you need just six data points

Professional Volunteering

Skilled Volunteering

Unskilled Volunteering

In-kind donations

Cash & Matched Giving

Staff Fundraising

MethodologyGivX

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What’s next?

We aim for GivX to become the go-to framework for companies to easily benchmark their community investment programme against their peers.

As the number of submissions grows, GivX will provide an unparalelled insight tool for CR practitioners, employees or indeed anyone with an interest in responsible business.

GivX will make it possible to compare companies’ achievements by sector or staff count, or to compare the impact of offices in different locations in the UK or worldwide.

A very exciting prospect is that, once we have a critical mass of submissions, the annual combined score of the GivX 25 will allow us to index each year the magnitude of community investment across British business.

As the number of submissions grows,GivX will provide unparallelled insightfor CR practitioners

The annual insights gained from GivX will allow us to learn from the best.

The framework can be used to observe effective new trends or to help incentivise companies with a score lower than their peers to give more or more effectively.

GivX is off to a good start. Heart of the City has chosen to adopt GivX as the official benchmarking tool it recommends to its member organisations who’d like to compare their community scheme with that of others and likewise, many companies who’ve witnessed the pioneering spirit of this year’s GivX 25 are beginning to think about GivX in 2018.

Make sure you’re one of them.

What’s Next?

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41,663,359

Everyday, our programmes give us the chance to raise awareness of social topics and champion causes to millions of people. Through a combination of on-air appeals and campaigns, and local community engagement, we’re committed to inspiring, engaging and empowering our viewers and workforce to make a difference.

Headcount: 4,099 | Industry: Media

10,164Total GivX PointsGivX per Employee

1,492,216

As a placemaker, we want to make a positive contribution locally and be part of our communities. Our award-winning community programme benefits 1000s of people every year, including jobseekers, apprentices and schoolchildren. In 2016, we were awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for our economic, social and environmental achievements over five years.

Headcount: 264 | Industry: Construction & Real Estate


1,434,103

Our Corporate Responsibility & Inclusion strategy is structured around Pro Bono, Inclusion, Community & Wellness. The increased societal awareness our employees have developed by engaging with people from different backgrounds through our Pro Bono & Community programmes has been a major influence in developing our approach to Inclusion & Wellness.

Headcount: 320 | Industry: Law


3,773,233

Our approach to community investment is focused on creating jobs and opportunities. Alongside partners from our communities and our supply chain, we are working hard to give disadvantaged groups the training they need to get back into work. We also work with schools to encourage students into construction and customer service roles.



The GivX 25GivX

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5,089,867

Freshfields’ Responsible Business programme is committed to making a difference to the communities we touch, focusing on providing access to justice and opportunity. Through our pro bono practise we advise a wide range of clients, from asylum seekers to the world’s largest charities. We also focus on social mobility, helping those with barriers to employment get back into work.

Headcount: 2,578 | Industry: Law


Having a positive impact on the communities in which we live and work is one of Dentons’ core goals. We all have a shared responsibility for the overall wellbeing of our local communities, and we value the relationships we have established through our work with local charities.

1,233,285



794,750

Employee involvement is an integral part of Capital Group’s bottom-up philanthropic approach so we let our employees lead the way by deciding who to support with their time and donations. In return Capital Group supports those charities of choice through a variety of charitable giving & volunteer programmes.

Headcount: 371 | Industry: Financial Services


365,710

Softwire is committed to giving back to the local and global community through supporting causes our staff care about. This has led to improving conditions for the poorest people, making coding as accessible a career as possible, and contributing our skills to non-profit organisations (for instance, all our interns help charities develop their software for free).

Headcount: 120 | Industry: Tech


SMEspecial mention

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6,152,356

National Grid’s purpose is to bring energy to life. One important way we do this is by supporting the economic growth and sustainability of the communities where we live and work. Through working with civil society, employee volunteering and providing community grants that bring social, economic and environmental benefits, we support wider society.

Headcount: 6,291 | Industry: Construction & Real Estate

978Total GivX PointsGivX per Employee

730,185

Baker McKenzie’s CSR programme aims to allow staff the opportunity to give back time, professional skills and practical and financial resources to the community. GivX has allowed us to start recording our volunteering, giving and practical help, and to start reporting more effectively and specifically on how we are making a difference.


763Total GivX PointsGivX per Employee Total GivX PointsGivX per Employee

1,137,000

London Stock Exchange state that integrity and trust are at the core of what they do. They recognise the role they play in international markets and that this role encapsulates not only commercial and performance objectives but also environmental, social and governance responsibilities.

London Stock Exchange Group

Headcount: 1,408 | Industry: Financial Services


29,411,523

HSBC explain that sustainability for them means building their business for the long term by balancing social, environmental and economic considerations in the decisions they make. This enables them to help businesses thrive and contribute to the health and growth of communities.

HSBCHeadcount: 45,000 | Industry: Banking

654

The GivX 25GivX

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1,006,096

At Cisco we deploy our resources, utilise technology and develop partnerships to help build thriving, prosperous communities that improve people’s lives and support our people. In the UK, our programmes focus specifically on digital skills and helping young people build the skills they will need in the workplace.

Headcount: 3,100 | Industry: Tech


105,505

We want our CSR programme to make a real difference: in 2017 we are spending 1% of our turnover on charitable projects chosen by our staff globally. Additionally our staff have the opportunity to support the communities local to our offices around the world using our volunteering and fundraising initiatives.

Headcount: 330 | Industry: Professional Services


235,005

Hymans Robertson focuses on enhancing financial literacy amongst disadvantaged young people through volunteer run programmes with nationwide charity partners. It also provides volunteering opportunities within local communities, and is committed to supporting teams and individuals in their own fundraising. Last year more than a third of staff volunteered for these initiatives.



2,525,541

Our support for our customers and the wider communities, through our range of initiatives, help bring our social purpose to life for our colleagues and form part of our corporate responsibilities. Our community initiatives, together with our community partnerships, collectively support the communities where we live and work.

Headcount: 7,673 | Industry: Banking


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751,679

The focus of Nomura’s community affairs programme is to support future generations. Alongside a two year fundraising charity partnership, grant-making and volunteering are key aspects to the programme, with employees volunteering for initiatives including school mentoring, work skills support and other schemes designed to raise the aspirations of future generations.

Headcount: 2,355 | Industry: Financial Services


1,078,649

The Bank has a long history of community involvement, and supporting the voluntary sector is an important part of our culture. The Bank encourages colleagues to become involved in a range of community initiatives, and works in partnership with a number of charitable organisations including its two charities of the year.

Headcount: 4,261 | Industry: Banking


36,619

Atrium believe that our success as a business (SME) is based on the need to make a positive investment in our staff and our community. Our CSR strategy, while unable to leverage size, is designed to have a meaningful and sustainable impact both on the local community and on ourselves.



132,812

Tideway’s task is to build a ‘super sewer’ to clean up the sewage that regularly flows into the River Thames. Our vision is ‘to reconnect Londoners to the Thames’ and to give back to local communities, bringing them closer together. Our community investment programme is key to delivering this legacy.



SMEspecial mention

The GivX 25GivX

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1,500,248

Carillion is committed to making a long-term difference to the communities in which we operate. We have a unique opportunity to create more inclusive communities by engaging with our neighbours and charity partners, working with local suppliers and empowering social mobility and inspiring the next generation of skilled workers.

Headcount: 18,018 | Industry: Construction


101,842

Corporate Responsibility at Time Inc. UK uses the input and involvement of our employees to make the largest social impact we can, using our brand leverage and media expertise to support our local communities and charity partnerships. We are also committed to minimising our environmental footprint around magazine and digital production.

Headcount: 1,300 | Industry: Construction


Total GivX PointsGivX per Employee1,079,735

We believe that companies have a responsibility to support the communities that they work in. Each year we give 1% of our pre-tax profits to our communities. The Mace Foundation has been driving forward our ambition to make a real and sustainable difference to the lives of people – generating opportunities for us to support disadvantaged individuals and enhance communities.

Headcount: 5,067 | Industry: Construction & Real Estate

213Total GivX Points

Our achievements rely on the success of the communities in which we operate. We tackle issues which our Partners and customers tell us they care about and use the strength of our brands as a force for good. We are active in hundreds of communities where our shops and suppliers are located.

GivX per Employee12,662,932

Headcount: 63,300 | Industry: Retail

200GivX per Employee Total GivX Points

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Could you better measure, communicate or benchmark your

work?

Download the framework at

givx.org

20,559

Vacherin’s community investment programme is shaped around collaboration and shared value for both our community and our own staff. We value strong relationships with the charities we work with and seek valuable volunteering opportunities for our staff; making use of their existing skills, while providing opportunities to learn and grow.

Headcount: 355 | Industry: Catering


38,906

FTI Consulting prides itself on a diverse Corporate Citizenship programme centred on it’s branding “Experts with Impact”. This encompasses our Gold award winning volunteer programme “Boom, Bust & Crunch” which educates school children about real-life economics, fundraising for our charity partner Place2Be, pro bono work and environmental sustainability.

Headcount: 800 | Industry: Professional Services


1,578,171

Dixons describe their approach to CSR as being committed to building a business that is sustainable, responsible and ethical. They believe that business practices that are sustainable not only benefit the environment, stakeholders and and communities, but also help achieve business goals and serve their customers over the long term.

Headcount: 28,000 | Industry: Retail


The GivX 25GivX

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Top five scores in each area based on total GivX Score

Employee Fundraising VolunteeringITV

Landsec

British Land

Capital Group

National Grid

Donations:(Cash & In-Kind)

Employee Fundraising

Volunteering

Weil

Landsec

British Land

Cisco

Nomura

Weil

Freshfields

Dentons

Baker & McKenzie

Landsec

ITV

HSBC

John Lewis

National Grid

Landsec

Donations:(Cash & In-Kind)

Employee Fundraising

Volunteering

Dixons

CYBG

Carillion

Cisco

National Grid

Freshfields

Weil

John Lewis

Dentons

CYBG

Top five companies in each area based on GivX Score per employee

Top Scorers by GivX Area

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Many companies value their contribution to the community in terms of what it has cost them. GivX offers an important departure from this.

GivX’s approach – Community Value – values what is given at the replacement cost to the charity, community group or beneficiary.

This standardised approach is what makes benchmarking possible, but critically, it also incentivises companies to look at how they can align their giving with what is most valuable to the community: to be effective in their altruism.

ITV

A standout example of this is ITV, who use air-time to generate public support for charitable causes. The CR team hone the impact of their giving by working closely with their editorial teams to decide what content can be most relevantly aligned to which causes, appeals or campaigns. They also include ‘common threads’ to tie causes to themes that appear in storylines or in-show topics.

Professional Volunteering

GivX’s leading law firms are another good example. While ‘professional volunteering’ does not work for all firms (outside of professional services it is often complex to organise and hard to engage employees in) having a lawyer draw up a legal contract is much more valuable than having them paint a fence.

GivX can help you to consider how your firm can give support most effectively. Could you encourage staff to volunteer at a CV clinic, rather than a park? Are you able to use down-time to deliver services for free? Which charity would put the most unsold stock to good use?

Customer Donations

Next year GivX will also include customer donations to recognise where companies have worked to foster enough goodwill in their customer base to leverage their support.

Do what you do best

Commentary: Effective AltruismGivX

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Innovate

What is the most innovative company in the world? Apple? Google? Amazon? Whoever it is, it’s guaranteed that they’re not afraid to try new ideas in pursuit of a breakthrough.

One of the biggest lessons from GivX is that as a CR community we need to be more willing to support new ideas that inspire us with what they want to achieve – even if they’re not perfectly formed!

Through GivX’s development we’ve spoken to tens of companies who thought a simple and consistent measurement framework would be a big step forward. Many promised to submit data in Year Two – so long as we got a range of submissions in the first year. The irony is clear.

This year we only invited submissions from companies with over 250 employees. Despite this, two SMEs – Softwire and Atrium – were so keen they submitted their data anyway.

They deserve the accolade of the bold and the brave.

When speaking to Softwire and Atrium, it is clear that their decision to get involved – their boldness – is a reflection of the way they approach CR.

Softwire recognise that having fewer policies and precedents in place has allowed more freedom for individual employees to shape their CR programme. They have found honing their impact comes from trying different things out to see what fits the company.

Atrium are a company who only formalised a CR programme in recent years. But rather than hiding from the limelight, they believe regular benchmarking and sharing their performance helps to show that small businesses can make a positive impact even if they are unable to leverage size.

To the bold and the brave: we salute you!

Commentary: The Bold and the Brave

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At a CR event back in April, a panellists asked the audience to stick their hands in the air if they had a volunteering programme. Many went up.

He then asked people to keep their hands in the air if they knew how many people were volunteering – some hands stayed up but many drooped to a non-committal half-mast.

One of the biggest reasons companies didn’t submit data to GivX is that they are either not yet measuring the six data points, or they aren’t confident that their underlying data is correct.

But why is this a problem?

The management maxim ‘If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it’ should not be applied to everything, but it has real value when applied to measuring these key outputs of your CR activities.

Landsec

Landsec have created a bespoke ‘Community Investment Activities Tool’ to track all their annual volunteering, in-kind and financial contributions.

This has allowed them to both benchmark themselves against their peers and to set internal targets, ensuring they are continually developing and expanding their community investment

programmes. Judging by their GivX score this year, it’s working well.

Ask yourself:

If you don’t know how many staff are volunteering, how do you know which of your efforts to encourage and inspire staff to volunteer is most effective?

If you can’t compare your company’s performance against your peers, how do you know where your strengths are and where you need to put more effort?

If you can’t demonstrate improvements (or indeed decline) how can you make the case for more funding or support for your programme?

If you can’t communicate the value of your work how can you help to inspire your employees, customers and other stakeholders in the business?

There are of course many data points you could be measuring, but the GivX six are the basic foundation of your CR programme.

These are the things you need to show the return on investment, share progress and inspire colleagues, and demonstrate the outcome of your own efforts and performance.

Commentary: Measuring to ManageGivX

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£104,543,090in combined

donations

The total Community Value

of the GivX 25 in 2017

286,798 Combined

volunteering hours

£115,729,554 in combined community

value

Thank you to the Bold and the Brave

So many people have been involved in helping to bring GivX to life that to thank them here would need another booklet!

Our greatest thanks go to all those companies who reported their data this year. You are the pioneers. The credibility and effectiveness of responsible business demands a new approach to reporting community value. Your commitment to openess, self-reflection and collaboration is inspiring. And it’s the future.

“GivX is such a welcome initiative – starting off in CR last year, I was baffled that there are no benchmarks or measures for best practice in the area of CR. I am delighted to be able to share best practice and GivX allows me to connect to, share and help build CR goals collabora-tively”.

Kirsty Cristie, CSR Project Manager, FTI Consulting Ltd

“Reporting through GivX gives us an opportunity to reflect on the breadth of our community investment programme in a way that we’d not taken the time to do before. It’s helped us to consolidate our performance to date, and to build better ways of measuring and reporting community investment for the future.”

Zoe Stennett-Cox , Lead, Sustainability & CSR, Vacherin

“We welcome GivX’s aim to establish a benchmarking tool for corporate community investment. Developing a standardised measure of corporate giving will be a massive support to the expanding corporate commitment to sustainability and responsibility. A dynamic alternative to impact reporting will hopefully encourage more firms to participate in, record and communicate on community investment.”

Clare Gardner, Partner & Head of CSR , Hymans Robertson

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GivX

[email protected] | © Benefacto 2017 | 0203 286 4676

Documents

GivX - Benefacto€¦ · So why is it important to get involved in a benchmarking exercise like GivX? First, if we can’t measure it, we can’t manage it. As a community, there