In this post we are going to break down the key metrics that Corporate Social Responsibility software need to be tracking.
These are metrics our data team here at WeSpire is combing through everyday to grow corporate giving, DEI initiatives, social responsibility programs. They are also the same metrics that some of the most forward-thinking CSR organizations in the world are measuring themselves against.
Whether you are just getting started or you are making a change in your CSR Software you need to be asking about these metrics before you make any decisions.
Corporate Social Responsibility Software Checklist:
- Dollars Raised, Matched, & Granted
- Program Employee Participation Rate
- Platform & Campaign Registration
- ERG Participation Rate
- Employee Engagement Rate
What are the 5 metrics Corporate Social Responsibility software needs to be tracking?
1. Dollars Raised, Matched, and Granted
Let’s start with the most obvious and most tracked metric with Employee Giving Software: the money.
Corporate Giving in 2020 accounted for $16.8 Billion.
However, the raw monetary value of your giving is just scratching the surface.
As an organization you need to use this data to drive employer branding through an in-depth communication strategy and future giving by showing how each person’s efforts contribute to the greater goal
To do this start by breaking down your raw monetary contribution into three categories for easy distribution and action:
- Giving per participant
- Matching by groups (ERGs, departments, seniority)
- Grant dollars claimed & unclaimed
These metrics can be easily communicated within the giving platform or outward on social media or PR with actionable steps to grow impact.
2. Program Employee Participation Rate
A key metric to measure the growth of your CSR and Corporate Giving initiatives is the participation rate of your employees.
Many CSR programs fall short of their goals because they are not meeting employees where their passions are to provide them the purpose and tools to take action. As people become more aligned with the purpose of CSR & ESG programs they will be more likely to participate in future initiatives.
Check out our blog on the difference between purpose & passion and why it is important to growing participation rates.
If you are missing out on participation rates across the organization and among groups then it will be difficult to determine if your business goals and employee passions are aligning to create action.
3. Platform & Campaign Registration
While you are likely already tracking these numbers in some way now, you may not be getting into some of the insights that registration data can provide you.
CSR Platform data can be incredibly valuable when organized by cohorts like management level, department, ERGs, and other groups important to your business.
Some of WeSpire’s clients use metrics like this to set ambitious ESG goals and tailor them to the passions of each group within the CSR platform. For these organizations, crafting more custom and unique experiences is a vital strategy in growing engagement.
Registration rate by groups, ERGs, and cohorts can also help shed light on where future leadership talent can be identified. That leads us to #4:
4. ERG Participation Rate
High performance organizations are 2.5x more likely to describe their employee resource groups as experiential career advancement and leadership development vehicles.
If your current ERG infrastructure is living outside of a dedicated CSR platform or Employee Resource Group Management Tool then accessing this data may not be possible.
To truly unlock the potential of your ERGs you need to be able to dig into the data and understand why some ERGs are gaining a higher rate of participation and why others are falling short of the mark.
5. Holistic Employee Engagement Rate
Small and mid-size organizations can have dozens or even hundreds of campaigns and programs across corporate giving, social impact, DEI, wellbeing, and more.
Understanding the holistic impact of these initiatives can be nearly impossible without a CSR platform that can house all of your engagement data across the company.
This data is critical to tracking and maximizing program growth and communicating impact both internally and externally.
Can you answer this question: “What is the rate of employee engagement in your CSR activities across the organization?” If not then you need to reevaluate your tracking methods so you can capitalize on strengths and fix weaknesses.
Check out last week’s post on 10 Proven Ideas to Rev Up CSR Employee Engagement.
What CSR Metrics are you tracking?
If you have access to this data, dig into it and see what trends you are able to see!
If you don’t have access to this crucial corporate social responsibility data, ask your CSR, Giving, DEI, and Wellbeing platform support team if they can provide it to you.