New Benevity Report Unveils the Five Most Powerful Drivers of Employee Engagement

New Benevity Report Unveils the Five Most Powerful Drivers of Employee Engagement  

Data reveals how the world’s most iconic brands engage employees in purpose, environmental action and social justice  

CALGARY, Alberta – November 17, 2021 – Benevity, Inc., the leading provider of global corporate purpose software, released its latest Benevity Impact Labs report, The Best of the Best in Employee Engagement, revealing how the world’s most iconic brands are meeting the expectations of employees who are seeking purpose, meaning and impact at work. 

“Amid the ‘Great Resignation,’ it’s become clear that employees aren’t just leaving jobs due to low wages or poor working conditions,” said Sona Khosla, Chief Impact Officer at Benevity. “The echo of the events of 2020 have led workers to search for a greater sense of meaning and impact in their day-to-day lives, and at work. Employers who empower their people to live their passions and purpose through work in a personalized way will gain the competitive edge in the fight for talent.” 

 Employers who empower their people to live their passions and purpose through work in a personalized way will gain the competitive edge in the fight for talent.

— Sona Khosla, Benevity's Chief Impact Officer

Despite the mounting pressure on companies to demonstrate commitment to corporate purpose, many businesses don’t know where to begin. The decisions made when designing, implementing and communicating a company’s purpose program are key to employee engagement.  

The latest Benevity Impact Labs report analyzed data from 400 iconic brands, representing 9.7 million employees, to identify the most powerful strategies to engage employees in purpose. Takeaways from the data show five main high-level drivers:  

• Choice: The data shows the more variety there is in the types of causes a company supports in its programs, the more participation it inspires.  With increasingly diverse demographics across companies and the necessity to create an inclusive environment, the simple concept of providing choice has become a critical success factor. 
• Convenience: Providing employees the ability to easily engage in social impact initiatives, and using technology to make it frictionless to participate, drives greater results – and is especially impactful when there is a need to respond to an urgent call for social action. 
• Incentives: Providing a rewards program, in which an employee’s support of a cause is amplified by their company, fosters a sense of connection between companies and their people, and a critical way for employees to amplify their individual impact. 
• Leadership and Communication: Company-promoted opportunities to get involved in social and environmental initiatives demonstrate leadership commitment to important issues, and provide employees with inspiration to participate, and the trust that they are supporting vetted, trustworthy causes.  
• Matching: The degree to which companies match employee donations is significantly correlated to program participation. Matching programs can include more than just company matching. Peer Matching enables employees to match their co-workers’ donations, create social movements among colleagues, amplify their impact and deepen connection among teams.  

The study shows that no matter the size, any company can design and implement a program that enables its people to have a positive impact on the world. In return, authentic programs contribute to strong corporate culture and retention. A previous Benevity Labs report shows that employees who engage in giving and volunteering through their companies are up to 57 per cent less likely to leave. 

The data clearly suggest that companies that take the time to transform their approaches to engaging employees in doing good and create a culture of inclusion – by offering choice, convenience, personalization and incentives – will be the ones who better engage and retain today’s purpose-driven talent.

— Sona Khosla, Benevity's Chief Impact Officer

Perhaps this is not a ‘Great Resignation’, but instead a ‘Great Transformation,’” said Khosla. “The data clearly suggest that companies that take the time to transform their approaches to engaging employees in doing good and create a culture of inclusion – by offering choice, convenience, personalization and incentives – will be the ones who better engage and retain today’s purpose-driven talent.”

About the Study
The study was conducted by Benevity, which analyzed data from more than 400 North American–based companies representing a total of 9.7 million users during a five-month period from January to May 2021.

About Benevity
Benevity, a certified B Corporation, is a leader in global corporate purpose software, providing the only integrated suite of community investment and employee, customer and nonprofit engagement solutions. Recognized as one of Fortune’s Impact 20, Benevity’s cloud solutions power purpose for many iconic brands in ways that better attract, retain and engage today’s diverse workforce, embed social action into their customer experiences and positively impact their communities. With software that is available in 22 languages, Benevity has processed nearly $8 billion in donations and 43 million hours of volunteering time to support 326,000 nonprofits worldwide. The company’s solutions also facilitated 530,000 positive actions and awarded 1.2 million grants worth $12 billion. For more information, visit www.benevity.com. 

Media Contact: Lauren Stewart | Manager, Media and Communications | 403.560.6968 |press@benevity.com