Almost 700 people who attended workforce development or entrepreneurship programs provided feedback to the survey. Participants were predominantly disadvantaged or disabled youth who averaged 28 years old and were evenly split between genders. What they all shared was the desire for a better life, whether they struck out on their own or worked for an organization in pretty much any industry.

鈥淚t鈥檚 impossible to measure the impact of volunteerism unless you actually talk with the beneficiaries. Unlike traditional post-project research that can take years to get results, our remote data collection and analysis approach surfaces project impact in weeks, making it actionable faster for corporate sponsors like 麻豆原创 and their social enterprise partners and the communities they serve,鈥� said Sasha Dichter, cofounder and CEO at 60 Decibels. 鈥淲ith near real-time information from beneficiaries, organizations can hold themselves accountable, quickly comparing results from different geographies and using the data to improve offerings based on participant feedback.鈥�

Having participated in the 麻豆原创 Social Sabbatical program, I can attest to the deeply satisfying and motivational experience of providing hands-on support to my in-country partners at . To date, the global, pro-bono consulting program run in partnership with has helped over 450 nonprofits and social enterprises address business challenges using the skills and knowledge of 麻豆原创 employees like me. But what really matters is how these social enterprise programs make a difference in the lives of the people in the communities they serve, reducing inequalities and supporting underserved populations. Accurate metrics on program results prove the efficacy of these programs and become the foundation of future deep impact plans.

Metrics Reveal Long-Lasting Improvements

Seventy-seven percent of respondents to the 60 Decibels survey said that their quality of life had improved. People in the entrepreneurship programs cited gains in skills and knowledge, along with positive changes in their perspectives, business expansion, and, tellingly, higher customer satisfaction. Professional, financial, and personal growth were the top three positive outcomes for beneficiaries who participated in workforce development programs. When asked to rate skills gained through their participation in one social enterprise program, beneficiaries ranked computer skills highest (70%), followed by communication (45%), better time management (40%), ability to navigate teamwork (32%), and enhanced professional skills (32%).

Notably, almost 60% of beneficiaries in both programs reported an upswing in their business revenue or income. Results ran the gamut from the ability to save money to strengthened leadership, networking, and other business strategies.

Measurable results went beyond business fundamentals. Almost 70% of beneficiaries reported a significant uptick in their self-confidence, having increased their skills so they could become more independent and 鈥渁ct on a vision鈥� for the future. Forty-five percent said they garnered greater respect from household members after attending the program. Breaking free of parental support was a benefit for many people, allowing them to make a more valuable contribution to their home. Numerous people credited their newfound professional maturity to their experience in workforce development programs.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to measure the 360-degree view of program impact,鈥� said Dichter. 鈥淕etting a job and increasing your income is immediate, but there鈥檚 also the lasting experiential results that someone carries into their family life and throughout their career.鈥�

Triple Impact of Social Enterprise Programs

This year marks the 10^th anniversary of the 麻豆原创 Social Sabbatical program, and I talked with Hemang Desai, global program director of 麻豆原创 Social Sabbatical, who saw the results of the study as validation of its success.

鈥淲e鈥檙e committed to delivering triple impact for long-term, sustainable benefits to social sector organizations and the people and communities they serve, as well as the personal and professional growth of 麻豆原创 employees,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur program is continuously evolving to address global challenges aligned with 麻豆原创鈥檚 corporate social responsibility strategy, Most recently, that includes increased collaboration with nonprofits and social enterprises to meet sustainability objectives such as climate action and circular economy. We鈥檙e focused on scaling our efforts, using what we鈥檝e learned to expand pro-bono services to social enterprises supporting economic equity and social justice.鈥�

As global calls for sustainability grow louder, social enterprises that educate and train disadvantaged people for fulfilling careers that address these challenges are a potent force for positive change. In fact, I鈥檓 actively involved in 麻豆原创鈥檚 newly-launched virtual social entrepreneurship support program, Acceleration Collective. I鈥檓 providing communications coaching and consulting to , a Nigerian-based social enterprise that educates women in rural communities to become self-sufficient, turning local waste into a sustainable livelihood. Climate change negatively impacts the most disadvantaged populations, offering social enterprise programs another opportunity for meaningful community impact.

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鈥淗ealth equity for all鈥� is the mission of the Iowa PCA, which provides care and services to underserved populations through a statewide network of 14 community health centers.

This spring, thanks to valuable insights from the cross-corporate teams that volunteered their skills for the , administrators at the Iowa PCA will be heading into their statewide strategic growth planning sessions with an innovative, comprehensive vision for integrating telehealth services into its plans for an electronic health records system. By optimizing telehealth services, the Iowa PCA aims to improve access and clinical outcomes for patients and connect them to an evolving model of care that maintains quality, enhances health equity, and lowers costs.

鈥淲e benefited a ton from having plans, ideas, innovation, and things we could try from a perspective that is much broader than the pandemic,鈥� says Sarah Dixon, senior director of Partnerships and Development at Iowa PCA. 鈥淭he teams did in one month something that would take us a year to do. In terms of the rapidness of the response, thoroughness, and comprehensiveness, it was really an amazing experience for advancing our work.鈥�

Cross-Corporate Teams Innovate for Social Impact

As a cross-corporate volunteer competition, the Reimagining Community Health Systems Challenge brought together diversified teams of skilled professionals to apply their expertise to formulating bold solutions to complex challenges on behalf of public sector organizations that have potential to make an impact on social, economic, or environmental problems. Organized by , an organization that brings together the public, private, and social sector to address global challenges, the challenge ran from May through September 2020 as part of a larger of social impact challenges designed to find innovative solutions to longstanding societal concerns that have been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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麻豆原创 took an active role as a lead corporate sponsor, along with , a charitable organization funded solely by global medical technology company Medtronic. Medical device maker and , the chemicals and specialty materials company, also joined the challenge to advance health equity through telehealth. Altogether, these industry partners selected 40 employee volunteers distributed across three continents to participate in the challenge, which was held virtually. The volunteers were organized into eight cross-corporate teams in a collaborative competition to see which team could develop the most innovative solution to the challenges proposed by two public sector organizations, called Anchor Partners.

The key advantage of cross-corporate teams is the outside-in approach that they bring to problem solving. This diversity of thought leads to creative, comprehensive, and cost-effective solutions for growth-oriented, not-for-profit organizations, which often lack internal resources for strategic business planning.

鈥淢ulti-company teams add a unique dimension of diversity to a global pro bono program, as participants bring their personal experiences, tools, methodologies, and corporate culture to the table,鈥� says Hemang Desai, global program director for Corporate Social Responsibility at 麻豆原创. 鈥淭hese elements result in innovative and impactful solutions to the business challenge presented to the teams, while creating a rich, multi-faceted learning experience for the participants as they build strong people connections in the business world.鈥�

The two Anchor Partners in the challenge were the Iowa PCA and the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). In its challenge statement, the Iowa PCA sought input for a framework to roll-out and integrate telehealth across its network of community health centers. The challenge from NACHC differed in that it sought broader guidance on how to create a clear role and business plan to position itself in the telehealth landscape as a leader for community health centers on a national level. With the pandemic accelerating, both organizations were motivated by the pressing need to realistically assess the potential for telehealth to expand access to care.

Jason Patnosh, associate vice president of NACHC, recalled the urgency NACHC faced during the lockdowns in early March. 鈥淔or the first time, outside of natural disasters, health centers had to close their doors to patients for the safety of their staff. This meant they had to find alternatives to reaching out to some of their most vulnerable patients,鈥� Patnosh said during .

Addressing Long Journey Times and Broadband Access

The eight teams prepared for the challenge by talking to stakeholders and studying policy information. In August, they got down to business tackling the four project phases: Discover, Ideate, Create, and Deliver.

Fouad Sadik, an 麻豆原创 development architect, worked on the challenge for the Iowa PCA as the lead for the Tele-Transformers team. Sadik is an 麻豆原创 volunteer ambassador who has worked on cross-corporate teams in the past and sees many advantages to this problem-solving approach. 鈥淭he community health centers benefit from tapping into the diversity of the skill sets coming from multi-company knowledge,鈥� Sadik says. 鈥淏eing a member of a team of five allowed us to divide and conquer the deliverables according to each member鈥檚 skill set to get the best outcome.鈥�

Sadik鈥檚 team analyzed stakeholders鈥� perspectives from healthcare professions and view-of-the-customer interviews to gain a comprehensive understanding of the issues surrounding telehealth adoption for the Iowa PCA. They also spoke with insurers and the presidents of Iowa鈥檚 two Medicaid Managed Care Organizations to ensure alignment on the reimbursement models for telehealth services. To better understand issues affecting different patient populations, the team developed detailed personas and undertook geo-mapping to analyze patient journey times to care centers. Strikingly, they discovered that some patients were traveling more than three-and-a-half hours to access care. This led the team to make recommendations for co-hosted telehealth sites with other organizations, like libraries or schools, that could serve as access points for telehealth services.

Dixon says it is a recommendation that the Iowa PCA will investigate further. 鈥淭elehealth may allow us to go into some communities where a full clinic site isn鈥檛 viable, but telehealth in partnership with another community provider could be a really viable way to increase services. We鈥檒l be looking at that as part of our statewide strategic growth planning this spring.鈥�

Digital broadband connectivity remains a hurdle across much of the state of Iowa. To address this imperative need, the Iowa PCA is part of a coalition of schools, libraries, and rural economic development agencies that are working on securing broadband infrastructure across the state. The teams developed innovative ideas for extending phone signals, expanding digital footprints to include parking lots for mobile telehealth vehicles, telehealth ATM machines in hotspot locations, and broadband sharing with other community and civic centers.

Empowering Patient Access and Satisfaction

At the end of the challenge, judges chose two winning proposals based on six criteria: innovation, social impact, sustainability, desirability, feasibility, and viability. The Tele-Transformers team, led by Sadik, won the challenge for the Iowa PCA, presenting a comprehensive telehealth program based on three pillars: strategy and process improvement, marketing and training for both patients and care providers, and technology systems and software. The team provided a detailed software comparison list of 14 telehealth software providers and six learning management systems, allowing them to make a recommendation for a strategy and unified approach that uses a common platform. Sustainability, social impact, and empathy for end users played a large role in the team鈥檚 proposal, which also included recommendations for expanding telehealth services for mental health, behavioral, and chronic care.

As a participant, Sadik says he benefited professionally from exposure to the healthcare domain, design thinking sessions, and project management methodology, while attaining personal development by helping the Iowa PCA expand care access for patients. 鈥淭his challenge made an impact toward the refinement of existing processes, building a road map for telehealth business programs and providing a digital footprint for telehealth on a grassroots level close to affected communities,鈥� Sadik says, adding, 鈥渢hat鈥檚 actually the challenge by itself that allowed us to improve telehealth systems and empower patients鈥� access and satisfaction.鈥�

The winning team for the NACHC Challenge was R/Evolution, which emphasized establishing best practices and using strategic partnerships and data analytics to elevate NACHC鈥檚 leadership on telehealth.

For Suzie Moskal, senior IT manager at Medtronic, participating in the challenge on behalf of NACHC was a rewarding experience that she would recommend for future participants considering the estimated four hours per-week time commitment. 鈥淚 would say definitely do it, make the time to make it happen. When I looked at the pitch session and saw all the amazing ideas and concepts that NACHC was going to receive, I was excited for them. Whether my team won or not, they got a very amazing set of products out of this experience.鈥�

To see all of the concepts that were presented, view the .

Care Access Enhanced by Technology

NACHC is moving ahead with due diligence to operationalize not only the winning concept but also integrate positive aspects of the other solutions. Its staff is engaging in further ideation sessions with PYXERA Global to refine the solutions and create a version to put into action.

Patnosh sees clear value in having participated in the Reimagine Series: 鈥淭o get the amount of input that we had from the teams and to have that level of engagement, and then also the quality of the presentations that come in, we estimate that those would have probably been 50 to 75 thousand-dollar engagements just with each team, if we were to contract that out.鈥�

Following the challenge, the Iowa PCA has shifted its plans away from implementing a standalone e-health platform. Feedback from the teams and voice-of-the-customer interviews convinced the Iowa PCA of the need for a simplified, integrated e-health solution that is easy for everyone to use. The organization is currently evaluating new electronic health records systems with a strategic focus on integrated telehealth functions.

Dixon says, 鈥淭he insight from the challenge was so important because it brought in a different voice 鈥� a voice that wants the same things we do: simple tools, the ability to access information at our fingertips, and have a workflow that is enhanced by technology, not negatively impacted by technology.鈥�

Leading companies like 麻豆原创 have an obligation as responsible businesses to empower and build capacity for these establishments by offering different market strategic approaches to help them grow and best meet business objectives.

The 2020-2021 global engagement cohort for the program comprises a group of experts with dynamic skills and expertise who are ready to support nonprofits and social enterprises run at their best. Selected 麻豆原创 employees will be placed in highly diverse teams and will dedicate their skills to solving concrete business challenges for the nonprofits selected for the assignment.

麻豆原创 Social Sabbatical is an award-winning pro bono volunteering program designed to utilize and develop 麻豆原创 talent while helping nonprofit organizations and social enterprises that focus on digital inclusion run at their best.聽Since its inception, 麻豆原创 has made an in-kind contribution of 鈧�18.8M toward the program, upskilling operational capacity of more than 414 nonprofit organizations and social enterprises globally.

Jordan-based Tech Tribes, a nonprofit supporting youth-led organizations in shaping the digital economy, is one of the beneficiaries of the program. Through design thinking sessions with 麻豆原创 experts, the organization managed to successfully launch an Information and Communications Technology for Development (ICT4D) program aimed at bridging the digital divide to enhance livelihoods, create jobs, and support digital social innovations 鈥� a mission that seemed impossible prior the pro bono engagement launch.

In addition to helping organizations run better, 麻豆原创 employees who have previously participated in the program acknowledge the importance of leadership development within social and nonprofit sectors and how it stays pivotal in advancing the state of the world today, especially for young people. Mike Cieri, vice president of North America Sales Learning at 麻豆原创, shared his experience while working with nonprofit , which provides academic support, mentoring, and scholarships to disadvantaged youth. 鈥溌槎乖� Social Sabbatical鈥痑llowed me to reflect and think about how there are so many things we can do if we take a step back, go back to the basics, and utilize everything we have in front of us to the fullest,鈥� Cieri said.

Pro Bono Volunteering and Economic Equity

In recent months, the world has witnessed an incredibly fluid and challenging global crisis unfold with COVID-19, a situation that has been further complicated by social and systemic racial injustices in the U.S. As a result, 麻豆原创 has expanded pro bono volunteer programing, leveraging its talent and technology expertise to foster .

Through an economic equity program, 麻豆原创 and aim to support Black-owned businesses and social enterprises by leveraging corporate talent to help them to build capacity and address systemic and business challenges.

鈥淲e are investing in new programming to ensure greater opportunities for the Black community [in the United States],鈥� said Hemang Desai, global program director for 麻豆原创 Social Sabbatical. 鈥淭he goal of this program is to leverage our employees鈥� skills and business expertise to solve critical challenges for under-represented businesses. Based on 10 years of experience in pro bono consulting, we are confident that this approach will accelerate growth for these businesses and deliver on our promise of economic equity.鈥�

While the program accelerates nonprofits and social enterprises as part of its strategy, experiences like this reiterate how 麻豆原创 employees are benefiting from the program as much as the organizations do.

To learn more about how the 麻豆原创 continues to create sustainable impact and build resilient communities alongside PYXERA Global, .

Busang Maruping is a fellow with Global CSR Communications and Marketing at 麻豆原创.

In this spirit, 麻豆原创 is joining forces once again with longtime partner , as well as the , Becton, Dickinson, and Company (BD), and Celanese to 鈥淩eimagine Community Health Systems.鈥�

The challenge brings together employees from four Fortune 500 companies who will compete in multi-company teams to identify ways to integrate telehealth into services provided by community health centers (CHCs). CHCs provide healthcare access to approximately 30 million Americans across the U.S., many of whom lack health insurance, are underinsured, or are otherwise medically underserved.

COVID-19 has exposed several vulnerabilities for these underserved communities. One such example that is exacerbated by the pandemic is continued access to preventive care, critical health screenings, and ongoing medical care for chronic conditions due to fears of coronavirus transmission. Furthermore, the digital divide and limited digital literacy make virtual doctor visits that are available elsewhere聽more challenging.

The (NACHC) is playing its role to direct the 鈥淩eimagining Community Health Systems鈥� challenge as a co-anchor partner along with the . Through this challenge, NACHC will be better equipped to respond to the unique needs of the clinics that reach these communities in a quickly changing landscape.

The scope of NACHC鈥檚 challenge will involve developing a telehealth business plan for CHCs across the country, with an emphasis on including community stakeholders who can help determine the role the umbrella organization can play in making telehealth more widely available. The scope of the Iowa Primary Care Association challenge will be to develop a step-by-step framework to roll out telehealth to the organization鈥檚 network of 13 CHCs and one migrant health program.

Diversity of background, cultures, and experiences is a key driving force for innovation. That is why experienced employees from these innovative companies are coming together to find practical, scalable, and sustainable solutions for the communities that rely on CHCs for their healthcare.

麻豆原创 is proud to have 12 employees from who countries bringing their expertise and diverse skillsets to address the challenges that lie ahead. 麻豆原创 employees will partner with employees from , among the world鈥檚 largest medical technology, services, and solutions companies, alleviating pain, restoring health, and extending life for millions of people around the world; , another leading global medical technology company; and聽, a global chemical and specialty materials company.

The聽challenge kicked off in July, with teams collaborating virtually throughout August. As anchor partners, NACHC and the Iowa Primary Care Association will oversee different portions of the competition. Judging will be based on innovation, social impact, sustainability, desirability, feasibility, and viability.聽The winning solution will be announced in early September, followed by the pilot phase for implementing the selected recommendations for the anchor partners.

We look forward to delivering new ideas to the market supporting the communities that need it most. Reimaging healthcare is just the beginning. Join us to contribute to scalable solutions and develop a framework for the future.

To learn more, read the press release from PYXERA Global:

Hemang Desai is global program director for 麻豆原创 Corporate Social Responsibility.

In September, Repp began a new chapter in his career as he waved goodbye to his colleagues in Bellevue, Washington, and headed to Bogot谩, Colombia. There, he joined a newly integrated team of volunteers as part of , a multi-company pro bono program led by 麻豆原创 and to support digital inclusion.

Repp鈥檚 new team was diverse in multiple ways, comprising members from Germany, India, and the U.S, and from various corporate cultures and professional backgrounds. It was, however, united in its mission to create a strategic plan for (CPE), one that would enable the educational not-for-profit organization to expand its services to Colombian schools and children in order to equip them with the skills to participate in the digital economy.

鈥淚 love being able to take my skill set and help another organization, especially when you have a mission like this,鈥� Repp said, speaking from the CPE offices. 鈥� For CPE, the mission is to put computers in the hands of kids in classrooms. What could be better than that?鈥�

Repp鈥檚 experience with Corporate Champions for Education is featured in this video:

https://youtu.be/PdmTWzIHhTU

Growing Interest in Corporate Social Impact

Launched by (麻豆原创 CSR), Corporate Champions for Education opens the pro bono experience to private-sector companies of all sizes and industries, with the aim of enabling them to foster systemic change in education through shared resources and experiences.

The program was announced in September 2018 at the United Nations headquarters in New York, where 麻豆原创 received the inaugural IMPACT2030 Innovation Award for .

Accepting the award on behalf of 麻豆原创, Alexandra van der Ploeg, head of 麻豆原创 CSR, made a pledge to open the award-winning 麻豆原创 Social Sabbatical program to other corporate participants. 鈥淲e are more committed than ever to cross-company collaboration and multi-stakeholder partnerships,鈥� van der Ploeg said at the event. 鈥淲e invite you to join us in multi-company cohorts that will look at innovation and systemic change in education in a few select markets over the next two years.鈥�

Corporate Champions for Education is part of a growing trend in corporate-sponsored volunteer initiatives that aim to align social impact with the broader strategic objectives of the business organization. Interest in these programs is increasing as companies face growing scrutiny of their commitment to sustainability 鈥� from consumers, employees, investors, and strategic partners alike. According to a , companies that prioritize purpose demonstrated greater profitability over a three-year period than those that do not.

Wanted: Flexible, Curious, Self-Starter with High EQ

It was only one year from the time van der Ploeg made her Impact2030 pledge until Repp made his journey as part of the first Corporate Champions multi-company cohort with eight team members from 麻豆原创, WE Communications, and . To launch the program, 麻豆原创 worked closely with PYXERA Global, a leader in the global pro bono practice.

PYXERA Global oversees the program design, partnership management, and operations in the field. 鈥淭hey handle the intricate, complex work on the ground, allowing us to invest our time in working with our employees to prepare for the trip,鈥� Rhian Rotz, director of Corporate Citizenship and Employee Engagement for WE Communications, explained. 鈥淚f we didn鈥檛 have a third party to assist us, we wouldn鈥檛 be able to deliver programs like this. The people who are benefitting 鈥� namely, our employees and the NGOs 鈥� would be the ones that really miss out.鈥�

Three Colombian not-for-profits emerged as suitable matches for Corporate Champions based on their organizational structure, ecosystem, and educational mission: Computadores para Educar; , dedicated to children鈥檚 education in the arts, music, and culture and , dedicated to children鈥檚 well-being through healthy social and emotional development.

Employee participants are carefully selected to help ensure the program鈥檚 success. Gavin Cepelak, senior vice president for Global Pro Bono at PYXERA Global, says the ideal candidate is flexible, curious, takes initiative, has strong emotional intelligence and a sense of humor, and can take things in stride.

Triple Win for Education

As for Jon Repp, his four-week tenure with Corporate Champions expanded his professional development in terms of his leadership skills, intercultural communication, and collaboration with professionals from different sectors. In turn, CPE benefitted from Repp鈥檚 contribution toward helping the organization achieve its long-term goals by extending its social impact and sustainable development.

Although WE Communications had to arrange for Repp鈥檚 temporary absence at work, the organization gained long-term benefits by providing a unique opportunity to its employees that delivered social impact aligned with the organization鈥檚 commitment to quality education.

鈥淲e see this as a trifecta impact opportunity: the professional leadership growth experience, the unique social and cultural immersion opportunity for employees, and social impact for the NGOs and local communities,鈥� 聽Rotz said. 鈥淭he fact that you can bring these three components together and provide employees this opportunity is key to our employee engagement strategy.鈥�

The benefits of participating in a multi-company pro bono program like Corporate Champions can be multifold for small to midsize companies that do not have the resources to establish their own program or that want to try out the pro bono experience before making a bigger investment. For these companies, Corporate Champions offers the possibility to send just one employee in a cohort if they wish 鈥� one of the program鈥檚 many advantages over similar single-company programs.

The diversity that the multi-company cohort brings to the host client is also significant. 鈥淔or CPE, the main benefit was having an outside perspective that was not biased by the day-to-day life in CPE and could objectively propose measures thinking outside of the box. The expertise of each one of the consultants enriched the final consultancy proposal,鈥� Catalina Reyes from Public Affairs for CPE explained. 鈥淭his broad view on how big companies tackle issues like ours was really insightful.鈥�

Join Corporate Champions for Education

For more information visit the .