CSR Events Have Global Impact at Sales Meetings

Last year, Koleen Roach, director of meetings and conference management for the Securian Financial Group in St. Paul, MN, had one request from her boss, Chairman and CEO Robert L. Senkler—incorporate some kind of corporate social responsibility (CSR) element into its upcoming sales incentive to Africa.

"He was already very involved in mission work around the world with his church and I came across this orphanage in Zambia," she says. Thus, instead of room amenities, Securian used the funds to donate backpacks with school supplies to the orphans as a way to give back to the local community. "We were there, it was great timing, and it gave us an excuse— not that we needed one—to make it part of our formal program."

Roach has also done a number of CSR events stateside, including a "bikes, bears, and buds" program in San Diego that involved building bicycles, making teddy bears, and creating a community garden. While certainly fun and ultimately rewarding, that type of program takes considerable time and energy, something more amenable to incentives than a training-heavy meeting. But even when attendees remain tethered to their seminar rooms options abound, she adds, such as charitable donation cards for pillow gifts and turning amenities like fancy desserts into funds to feed the hungry.

In just a few short years, CSR at meetings has gone from a backburner obligation to one of the industry's hottest buzzwords, a concept central to and often celebrated at a growing number of group events. Stung by a slew of bad press about excessive spending (real and misperceived) on corporate meetings while the economy tanked, many companies scaled down anything that might have been viewed as splashy and pricey—e.g., welcome parties, room amenities, closing night galas—directing their energy and funds, instead, toward promoting life's "greater good." As Securian and other firms have since discovered, the karmic ROI alone has proven more than worth the effort.

"We all like giving—it's part of who we are," says Ira Almeas, president of Impact 4 Good, a corporate teambuilding company dedicated to activities that give back to the community. "There are organizations and industries that in the past might not have thought this was important but now think it's the right thing to do." Recently, Almeas and Impact 4 Good's managing partner, Alan Ranzer, put together a CSR event for a 3,000-attendee annual meeting for the online security giant Symantec. They have also teamed with dozens of other corporations on similar missions over the past five years. "We saw a unique opportunity for the meetings industry, where instead of just buying and taking things, people could leave behind a lasting and meaningful impression," says Ranzer. 

While terrific in theory, the concept posed a practical challenge: how to create a relevant, engaging, and successful CSR program while still fitting into a planner's time and budget constraints. The fledgling firm's first test came in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when Habitat for Humanity seemed like an ideal corporate connection. "Our clients wanted to help out but asked what they realistically could do other than build a house and send it down there," says Ranzer. Impact 4 Good's response: a Habitat for Humanity gift program. "We found real families approved to move into new homes down there," he says. The team then developed an event at which attendee teams received a budget and bought those families real housewarming gifts. The end result was that companies made a real impact for a worthy cause, yet did so within their meetings' parameters. 

As Symantec convened its annual sales conference in Las Vegas last May, a casual observer could be forgiven for thinking the event might well end up as one huge party. After all, this was a gathering of 3,000 attendees from around the globe for a once-a-year meeting in the world's glitz and glamour capital, where they could network, strategize, and celebrate all their accomplishments. And celebrate they did, holding a rousing event at the MGM Grand's Grand Garden Arena.

But rather than partying Sin Citystyle, these attendees poured their time, energy, and enthusiasm into a distinctly un-Vegas type of event: creating 3,000 aid kits in support of education, the homeless, and Haitian earthquake victims. And Symantec even kicked in a $100,000 corporate donation to Habitat for Humanity, capping off a night of goodwill and generosity that left everyone feeling pumped about themselves and the company they worked for.

To make all this happen, Symantec's event marketing manager, Ashely Muntan, went to Impact 4 Good in search of a fun way to mesh her company's specific strategic and philanthropic goals. "We always do a welcome reception, and evening functions offer the best chance for people to build relationships and team camaraderie," she says. "The slogan for this conference was 'Get Connected, Get Recharged, Get Ready.' I said, 'Okay, I've got 6,000 hands, what can we accomplish?'"

In a word, plenty, as Impact 4 Good built Symantec's entire Wednesday night event around a trio of meetingthemed kit-making stations. Attendees were initially "connected" by creating science kits for Research Area for Teaching (RAFT) that included 12,000 Symantec software CDs. They then got "recharged" by making up energy-saving packs (e.g., air filters, handcrank flashlights, low-amp lightbulbs) that went to Habitat for Humanity families. Finally, they got "ready" by putting together first-aid packages for Haitian earthquake survivors, along with a handwritten note of support.

"It was all about telling a story: When we come together as a team look at what we can accomplish," says Muntan. "Thursday, at the closing session, we Skyped in Habitat for Humanity and gave them the donation. It was a way to bring it full circle, close things out, and recognize the Symantec team."

While Symantec's experience proved a win-win for all, its success was due in great part to both Muntan's specific vision and Impact 4 Good's ability to run with it in a customized program. That said, like any other meeting element, CSR works best when it's the right fit and anything but forced.

"This isn't something you can cram down people's throats," says Roach. Her team of four plans between 90 and 140 meetings and incentive events each year and have Securian's blessing and enthusiasm to include a CSR element into each of their programs when it proves a good match for their event and goals. "It's about building trust and it has to start from the top," she says. "When you have a senior management team that's passionate about it in their personal lives, that translates into the corporate culture and work environment."

Given the still sluggish economy and lingering high unemployment, groups needn't look far to find a worthy cause for their philanthropic efforts. In some cases, the best options rest right under a planner's nose.

"In the past 18 months, every group I've talked with has expressed an interest in adding a CSR component to their meeting," says Lisa Mercer, director of catering and convention services at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa in Phoenix, a meetings property in the heart of Arizona's Gila River Indian Community. "In our case, we have a never-ending stream of philanthropic opportunities," says Mercer, ticking off a to-do list of needs that range from painting and book drives to moral and financial support for the Gila River tribe's fight against an epidemic of juvenile diabetes.

To that end, the Sheraton resort puts a variety of community service options on the table and lets groups decide whether they'd like to incorporate them into their meetings, and if so, to what degree. The results have proven beneficial all around, with the tribe receiving over $8,000 in monetary donations, service, and give-back programming from corporate meeting groups this year while the donor companies burnish their public image.

"I don't think anyone does this intentionally trying to repair their reputation," says Mercer. "The feeling I get is that they're spending the time and money on this meeting and want to make it as meaningful as possible."

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