Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER October 5, 2015 12 FEATURES EmploymentSource™ New to WestlawNext® Canada EmploymentSource is your fastest route to the employment and OH&S law you need to expertly advise clients, employers and unions. Be more effective and efficient in your research with the right mix of resources in one online research tool. EmploymentSource combines exclusive expert commentary, case law, legislation and dismissal notice periods, with functionality that is easy to use. Experience the benefits • Prepare winning dismissal litigation strategies • Defend occupational health & safety charges • Advise clients/employers regarding health and safety compliance Visit westlawnextcanada.com/ employmentsource or contact us at 1-866-609-5811 for more details 00224VB-A47772 CSR Mobilizing CSR Apps, gamifi cation can help get employees involved By Lindsey Goodchild A s much as we are living in an increasingly con- nected world, finding effective ways to engage and mobilize employees around cor- porate programs remains a chal- lenge. Employees are busy, have competing priorities and are employed in a complex matrix of diff erent work arrangements (such as remote or virtual work, flextime, telecommuting and satellite offi ces), creating a dif- fi cult environment to meaning- fully connect with employees. Nowhere is this problem clearer than with managers tasked with rallying employees around cor- porate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Many employees are unaware of their company's CSR programs, let alone participating in them. Despite established, positive links between employee engagement in CSR and operational performance (such as employee morale, loyalty, effi ciency and retention), compa- nies continue to be constrained by outdated communication chan- nels — namely, email, posters and intranets — which continually de- liver low rates of employee aware- ness and engagement. Email's out, mobile's in Email is out for CSR commu- nications. Employees typically receive an average of 121 emails a day, according to a 2014 sur- vey by Radicati Group in Palo Alto, Calif. Further, the average employee spends 28 per cent of the workweek managing emails, according to a 2012 McKinsey Global Institute study. It is no wonder then why CSR managers are having such a dif- fi cult time raising awareness and engagement through internal programs and initiatives. eir voice is drowned out by the noise of other organizational priorities as they compete for employees' attention on traditional commu- nication channels. To engage today's busy, on- the-move and geographically dis- persed employees, the traditional paradigm of CSR communication has to shift. Gone are the days of longwinded newsletters, "green" meetings and case studies bur- ied somewhere on a company intranet. Today's employees, especially millennials, expect timely, rel- evant and personalized commu- nication in digestible pieces. e good news is the technol- ogy that's going to fl ip the para- digm on its head is already here, and employees have it in their pockets — the smartphone. Enterprise mobile apps provide a convenient communication channel that's not only familiar to most but can reach a much broader section of employees — including front-line employees who lack corporate email or con- stant access to a work computer. Mobile is a direct and proactive way to engage and to verify that important, time-sensitive CSR communications are being con- sumed and understood by em- ployees — all in real-time. More importantly, mobile can be the conduit by which employees com- municate feedback and opinions to management, helping to foster employee buy-in in a bottom-up approach. A mobile-centric approach to communication allows CSR managers to cut through the noise of corporate communica- tions, giving them the ability to get employees' attention when and where they want it, in a way that traditional communication channels can't. Here's how: Push: Mobile platforms, in- cluding many apps, provide the ability for employers to send tar- geted messages, via push notifi - cation, at the exact time employ- ees need to see them. For example, front-line retail employees could be "pinged" with information on a consumer- facing environmental program in advance of its launch. Once live, talking points and program positioning can be broken down into easy-to-un- derstand components and de- livered directly to an employee's smartphone. Information delivered in the form of questions and quizzes allows CSR managers complete visibility to identify and address knowledge gaps in real-time. Hav- ing front-line employees advocat- ing and articulating intelligently to consumers on behalf of corpo- rate CSR not only enhances brand image but can greatly increase op- erational effi ciency and help grow the business. Direct: Mobile doesn't require an employee to open an email or go to a website and download ad- ditional information. With mobile apps, employees simply tap the notifi cation and are taken directly to the infor- mation to be consumed — in- creasing both awareness and knowledge. And it eliminates the need for them to navigate through the infi nite piles of information typically dumped on intranets. For example, a well-designed mobile app and the curated de- livery of information can take less than fi ve minutes of employ- ee time per week while quickly Case study: Putting mobile to the test Recently, mobile's ability to engage and mobilize employees around CSR was put to the test with Partners in Project Green's annual People Power Challenge. Partners in Project Green (PPG) is a partnership between the Toronto Region Conservation Authority and the Greater Toronto Airports Authority that was established to unite the thousands of businesses in the area in an effort to become more environmentally responsible. One of their major initiatives, the People Power Challenge, pits companies head to head to earn points in an environmental challenge. Competing companies have to actively engage employees in CSR programs in order to climb the leaderboard and work towards the ultimate goal (a cash prize to be used to fuel future sustainability projects). Companies earn points by having staff make pledges for environmental behaviour change, giving suggestions on how to improve environmental performance, and taking on sustainability actions and projects. In 2014, the Nudge Rewards app was introduced into the People Power Challenge. "It provides an opportunity to (engage) those that don't necessarily have the opportunity to be engaged in-house or at the organization, whether they work at a satellite location, are away from work or work remotely," say program lead Clifton Copplino. The app makes it easier for employees to stay connected to the larger CSR goals in a fun way and allows them to self- report on their commitments. At the same time, the analytics platform makes it easy for managers to track the progress and results of their program. This year, 12 companies representing 16 teams and more than 10,000 employees competed in the People Power Challenge. As a result of the challenge, there were: • 2,747 environmentally focused suggestions • 1,055 projects being implemented • 653 projects to be implemented over the next 12 months • over 34,000 pledges for environmental behaviour changes made by competing employees. NUDGE > pg. 15 A mobile-centric approach allows CSR managers to cut through the noise of corporate communications.

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