Guardian for Good: A progressive new chapter in CSR
Guardian, a mutual insurance company, helps 29 million consumers across the U.S. plan for a bright future for themselves and their families.
Guardian believes in driving value beyond dividends and are committed to inspiring well-being for those they serve — their colleagues, customers and communities.
The challenge
Guardian was on a transformation journey — from being an insurer to becoming a champion of well-being. This meant building a greater sense of community and belonging, and they knew their CSR program could be a critical driver. So, they aimed to modernize their program to align with their evolving identity and create the impact they wanted to see.
The solution
More ways and reasons to do good
The Guardian for Good program evolved to offer a variety of new initiatives with plenty of incentives to participate, including a brand-new volunteer rewards program, quarterly themes that gave focus to company-wide volunteer events, activities sponsored by employee resource groups (ERGs), and a weeklong donation seeding campaign for GivingTuesday.
Dedicated employee goodness roles
Community Involvement Committees (CICs) were strengthened, empowering hundreds of employees across the country to lead local volunteer and giving initiatives. Acting as champions of Guardian’s charitable culture, CIC leaders also enhanced their leadership and project management skills while serving Guardian’s purpose of inspiring well-being.
The right technology
Benevity enabled Guardian’s modernized CSR approach, making it easy for employees to do good and track their contributions. The intuitive platform allowed Guardian to wow internal colleagues. New features enabled volunteer committee leads to help spread the word at town halls and team meetings. All of this helped Guardian more than double participation in just a few months!
The result
The impact of these initiatives was immense:
- Overall employee participation in the Guardian for Good program increased by 100% just five months from its launch.
- In 2023, two-thirds of all U.S. employees actively engaged in the program, contributing over 16,000 volunteer hours across the company.
- Melanie Haen, a CIC leader, shared, “Being a CIC leader is unquestionably my favorite responsibility at Guardian. The level of engagement and enthusiasm among colleagues is heartwarming.”
- Rollout of the platform to Guardian colleagues in India, with 30% engagement and more than 2,600 service hours recorded by year-end.
The Guardian for Good program not only achieved its objectives for engagement and impact but also ignited a sense of purpose and community within the company. There’s no doubt a modernized CSR strategy is helping Guardian step into its new identity as a champion of well-being.
GUARDIAN® is a registered trademark of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® and is used with express permission.
