One by One

Take note. Volunteerism is evolving, both in the United States and around the world.

In the US, what was once just a thing you did for your neighbor, your school or your congregation, has become much more formalized.

Some high schools require it for graduation and most colleges consider it a major factor on an application. You can now count volunteer time as experience on your resume. Many of those out of work volunteer to exercise their skills or build up networks. And those building their careers often volunteer to gain experience in a different environment. The New York Times called it a “Gateway to a Career.” It can certainly be a consideration when we hire employees at Amway headquarters, and most of our college interns are seasoned volunteers.

There is even a standardized value placed on volunteer time by the Independent Sector: $21.79. Now nonprofits can even quantify it as the value of a donation. It means more resources are devoted to critical issues, and people can sometimes provide more impact than money alone. In 2010, Amway volunteers logged 1 million volunteer hours. If taken in US value (although many of our hours are global), this equates to more than $20,000,000 in donation value.

We’ve begun to segment the types of volunteerism. There is individual volunteering, like school mentors. Group volunteering takes on projects like building playgrounds and cleaning up beaches. Skill-based brings expertise to improve the effectiveness of a charitable organization. Nonprofit board service means dedicated, strategic support at the leadership level. We exercise every one of these types of volunteering with Amway employees and distributors, and see significant benefits to our employees and to the community.

Globally, volunteerism is picking up the pace. For countries that have traditionally relied on governments to be the sole provider of social services, it is a relatively new concept. Yet it is gaining traction as a way to improve communities and help the disadvantaged, particularly when the economic downturn means cutbacks in government services. In Russia, we’ve had to introduce the concept to Amway distributors, but it’s taken off in a big way from there. In China, where the United Nations says perceptions of volunteerism are advancing rapidly, Amway has built a network of more than 68,000 volunteers – the largest volunteer group in the country, involved in everything from education to disaster relief.

The business community sees only growth in engaging employee volunteers. According to a recent Forbes survey of 311 global executives, most from multibillion-dollar companies, more than two-thirds say that they believe their focus on volunteerism will increase over the next three years and that volunteerism is an essential part of their company’s leadership development strategy. Harvard Business Review also recently acknowledged the important role that volunteerism plays in making corporate social responsibility a focal point for business.

So is volunteering becoming institutionalized? Perhaps. And this many not be a bad thing.

While we find valuable and innovative ways to use our time to help improve the world – and improve ourselves – the hours that won’t get logged are the ones where we help the elderly neighbor next door, or the co-worker who is battling an illness, or the friend who lost their job.

As long as we follow our hearts as much as our strategies, then the changing role of volunteerism will be a very good thing.

The Amway One by One Campaign for Children is perhaps our most visible corporate social responsibility initiative. After all, it even has its own blog.

But our role in local and global communities extends beyond Amway One by One. Here is a video that was released with our 2011 Global Citizenship Report last month. It highlights the broader efforts of our company, our employees, our distributors and our many partners around the world.

The Amway 2011 Global Citizenship Report has just been posted to Amway.com.

The report focuses on the work we are doing in our communities, for our people, and for the environment. It also includes foundational information on our company and our ethics.

This year, you can find 11 profiles of Amway One by One programs from around the world, some of which have been featured on this blog. We also have stories of some of our employees, and profiles of a few environmental programs from different countries or products.

This year’s performance metrics showed significant growth in the number of children we have impacted through Amway One by One – more than 1.5 million last year alone. For the first time, Amway also published metrics for our global supply chain environmental footprint.

Amway had a big year of financial growth in 2011, and our corporate citizenship efforts have kept pace, always reaching for greater improvement for our communities, our employees and our world.

Thanks to all of you who made it a great year!

You can click here to go directly to the PDF document.

Today, Amway announced impressive sales results from 2011. We have our own results to announce, and believe they are equally impressive.

• 1.5 million is the number of children helped through the efforts of our company, our distributors and our employees last year.
• 200,000 is the number of volunteer hours invested in children’s programs.
• $25 million is the value of contributions given to causes that help children in 2011.

And that’s in only one year. The Amway One by One Campaign for Children historical totals (since 2003) have gained significant momentum:

• 9.5 million children helped
• 2.3 million volunteer hours
• $166 million contributions

Thanks to Amway distributors, employees and partners for making  meaningful change for children around the world. It’s been a great year!

I recently came across this editorial by S.J. Park, President of Amway Korea, which was published in The Korea Times. It is worth posting in its entirety, as it discusses trends in CSR using great examples of worldwide companies, including our own. -JH

Social responsibility: Making a difference

By Park Se-joon

Earlier this month, Amway Korea hosted a friendly soccer match where children from multicultural families were invited to participate. The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program with 10 years’ history first began with the 2002 World Cup soccer games, with an aim to give children from low-income families hopes and dreams.

As an amateur photographer, I had the pleasure of taking a bunch of pictures of the children’s innocent smile and their excited faces. When I was browsing through the photos back at home, I found myself staring at one of them. It was the picture of Kang Su-il, a professional soccer player who himself has a multicultural family background, playing cheerfully with the children. Kang taught them to play soccer, sharing his stories and talking of hopes and dreams. He told the children to laugh hard, have fun, and be confident in pursuing life goals and future dreams.

Corporate social responsibility means companies fulfilling their responsibility as corporate citizens. It is to help our neighbours in need through continuous and sincere programs. To this end, CSR activities must look at least ten years ahead and put in continuous and consistent efforts. Amway Korea’s Nutrilite Soccer Class, for example, was launched in 2002 with the World Cup games, but it was not until this year ― 10 years later ― that it really started to shine.

Recently, CSR activities are becoming more visible among businesses, especially large corporations, as part of their effort to ensure sustainable growth. It is because of the emphasis put on CSR as a way to gain consumer trust and promote corporate reputation and awareness. It is doubted, however, whether those activities are making real changes in creating a more compassionate society, since most of them focus on year-end donations, and lacking consistency, can hardly benefit those in need in a stable way.

The current situation is also reflected in the survey result of the Sustainable Social Responsibility Forum released on the 19th. The survey asked male and female adults, corporate executives, and CSR specialists both home and abroad to rate CSR activities of businesses, and the score was 2.75 out of 5, which was lower than average. Respondents cited lack of consistency ― 39.6 percent ― and volunteerism ― 24.2 percent ― as factors behind weak CSR activities. The interpretation can be that the CSR activities, albeit growing, are mostly seen as short-term events that still lack ‘sincerity’ to fulfil social responsibility.

To ensure continuity and consistency, CSR programs must go beyond mere donations, and deliberations on win-win strategies for business and society are necessary. In other words, companies need to develop flagship CSR activities that allow them to utilize internal resources, drawing upon their unique characteristics.

This is evidenced by examples of domestic and foreign companies including Kellogg, a United States-based cereal manufacturer. Up until the Great Depression in 1929, the No. 1 player in the U.S. cereal market was Post. The situation started turning around immediately after the crisis as Kellogg engaged in CSR activities including free giveaway of cereals to people who had lost their jobs during the Depression and to the destitute, while Post downsized their business.

Furthermore, Kellogg rearranged working hours at their factory in Battle Creek, Michigan, from three shifts of every eight hours to four shifts of six hours, creating more jobs for those seeking employment. It was a sensational success. Kellogg eventually caught up with Post and became No. 1 on the American breakfast table. Kellogg’s position as the market leader remains solid.

The IT Supporters Coming to You Campaign which has been conducted for four years since 2007 by KT, a domestic telecom company, is another good example. Their staff technicians visit rural communities, elderly people, low-income families and multicultural families with limited access to IT services, and teach them to use computers and other IT gadgets. This program is strategically relevant in all aspects including KT’s corporate identity, efficiency of utilizing internal resources as well as social needs, and it is making substantial contribution to enhancing their reputation.

This trend is growing gradually throughout the world. To respond to the changes in CSR culture, Amway Korea, commemorating its 20th anniversary, has launched the Health Guardian Campaign designed to help address the increasingly serious issues of child obesity and nutritional imbalance, in partnership with schools, kindergartens, and welfare organizations. Furthermore, Amway Korea, in collaboration with the Korean Nutrition Society, is in the process of developing Nutrition Quotient to improve social infrastructure for children’s nutritional health.

According to a report entitled ‘The Nature of Corporate Social Responsibility’ published by Samsung Economic Research Institute, there has been a paradigm shift where CSR activities are no longer an option but an indispensible part of corporate management. More and more companies view CSR as a core, value-adding activity, select key programs from a strategic point of view, and implement them consistently.

The report suggested six conditions for successful CSR programs, namely SPIRIT ― Social Investment, Positioning, Integration, Review, Involvement and Transparency. It claims that in order to move consumers and gain their trust, CSR programs need to have a ‘soul’. In other words, it is the consistency and sincerity that is key to successful CSR activities that change lives. I hope these good intentions of companies around the world become a powerful source of change in Korean society in the near future.

Yesterday was Universal Children’s Day, a designation given by the United Nations back in 1954, encouraging countries to designate November 20 as a “day of activity devoted to promoting the ideals and objectives of the Charter and the welfare of the children of the world.”

When you begin looking at the numbers of children in need, it seems that one day is not nearly enough. According to UNICEF, 6 out of 10 children do not live to see their fifth birthday. That’s 8 million children – a significant part of our future that won’t even get a chance to start.

Children’s Day should be every day, wherever you are, in big and small ways. And there are lots of ways to plug in.

Whether it is lifesaving nutrition in Mexico, education for migrant families in China, prevention of abuse in Japan,or access to safe play spaces in the US, it won’t take much to turn the numbers, if we all lend a hand.

Not just one day, but every day, one by one.

Last night, we celebrated the Corporate Citizenship Awards at the Newseum in Washington, DC.

We were honored to be named a finalist for our Nutrilite Little Bits program in the category of Best International Ambassador.

It was great to be recognized for the work already done, because it energized us for the work ahead to really bring this program to scale!

How does corporate citizenship add value to the Amway business and to the communities Amway operates in? What are the major initiatives underway? How does this work meet today’s global challenges?

At the US Chamber Business Civic Leadership Center global conference in September, our own Jeff Terry from the Amway Corporate Citizenship team was interviewed on Rainmakers TV, a documentary series on leadership, innovation and social responsibility.

Jeff answers these questions and shares his personal experiences in an effort to dive into how corporate citizenship works at Amway.

Click here to watch the interview.

Most of us have a stack of reading materials on our desk that we plan to get to someday. It usually consists of industry reports, news articles, academic studies or the latest self help book.

In skimming through my stack, I started leafing through the recent Corporate Responsibility Opportunity Study by Cone/Echo. The first chart shows what consumers think business SHOULD be doing:

• 19% believe a company should just make money or play a limited role in society.
• 50% said business should support larger issues with donations and time, or with donations, time and advocacy.
• 31% claim that business should change the way they operate to align with greater social and environmental needs.

It seems – not surprisingly – that people expect more from business. So how is Amway meeting those expectations?

• Amway does have a unique operating model that inspires business ownership, builds relationships and offers incredible products.
• Amway does support larger issues with investments of donations, time and advocacy at the global and local level.
• And for those who advocate a role focused on profits, Amway has proven strong performance even in difficult economic times.

Yes, there is much more to do, and we are excited to be pushing the expertise and energy of Amway to higher levels with initiatives  like Nutrilite Little Bits in Mexico, Positive Sprouts in the United States and the Amway Charity Foundation in China.

For those who think the business community needs to do more, Amway is up to the challenge.

Have you ever served on a nonprofit board of directors?

It can be an intimidating experience if you are coming from the business world, or if you’ve simply worked your way up as a volunteer. The economics are different, the client needs are often overwhelming, and your role isn’t always clear.

Yet board service can be among the most rewarding volunteer experiences. You can have a profound impact in an area you are passion about. And your skills are honed by being stretched in a new environment.

For the last five years, we have been playing matchmaker for Amway executives who want to serve on nonprofit boards. Approximately half now serve on boards and committees, with involvement in more than 100 organizations.

Working with the Johnson Center, a university-based nonprofit leadership organization in West Michigan, Amway has offered annual nonprofit board training for those who want to use their leadership skills in the community.

Other companies are beginning to realize the significant impact their leaders can have on nonprofit organizations in their community, while offering leadership development opportunities for their top management.

Last week, we joined colleagues from Greater DC Cares and Time-Warner to talk about our program in a webinar hosted by the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship.

So how do you join a board? Here are a few tips:

Follow your passions. Find a cause you feel strongly about. Otherwise, it’s just another calendar entry in a busy world.

Get connected. Ask to meet with the executive director or another board member to express your interest if you already have a relationship established. Consider doing some general volunteering first to get a feel for the organization and show your commitment before seeking a board position. There is often a nominating committee that chooses board members, and they frequently look at devoted volunteers first.

Set expectations. What do you want out of the experience? What does the board think you will bring to it? Have these frank conversations up front to minimize uncomfortable conversations down the road.

Be committed. This applies not only to meetings, but to being actively engaged. Read materials thoroughly before a meeting and keep connected with other board members. Find a way to bring your skills to the organization – experience in accounting, communications, strategy or just community relationships can be extremely valuable.

Give. While more nonprofits are seeking sustainable income streams, most survive on grants and donations. You should be prepared to give according to your means (some boards require a minimum donation) and don’t be afraid to ask others to contribute.