Technology companies are known for offering generous pay and benefits to attract and retain highly skilled workers. But employees often crave more than a rich paycheck and creative benefits. Many, especially Millennial generation employees, want to use their time to give back to causes that are important to them. When companies provide the support for them to do so, employees get more engaged and committed to their work and their employers.

Cadence Design Systems, ranked number 38 on a recent Fortune Magazine’s great places to work list, employs over 7,000 people in 35 countries. Finding ways to connect with a workforce of that size is not easy. But the company found a way to appeal to prospective and current workers through its Cadence Cares volunteer initiative. One of the company’s core values is giving back to the communities where it operates. Consequently, it was a natural extension to involve employees at all levels in those efforts.

Employees are given 40 hours of paid time off to work on volunteer projects of their choosing. The company matches employee financial contributions to charities and last year contributed over $150,000 in matching funds. Further, the company donates products and software to universities around the globe. The company even runs a Corporate Citizenship Challenge among all of its operations to encourage employees to use their talents and time to improve their communities.

While Cadence’s volunteer program was in place for many years, it was not as well-utilized as leaders wanted. The company’s HR director discovered that it was not being promoted or advertised to employees, so few knew about it. She partnered with the senior leadership team to promote the program using e-mail, posters, and employee meetings. Managers had to be included and trained so that they would support their employees’ volunteer efforts by allowing time off when requested.

One of the outcomes of the program has been an increase in the number of Millennial workers who have joined the company. They are attracted to the community giving and involvement of this program. Some recommendations for companies trying to enhance employee engagement are as follows:

If your goal is to boost employee morale and camaraderie, then arrange for a group event that requires teamwork—such as building houses or planting trees.

If your goal is to value employees’ individuality, then provide for time off that employees can use to work on projects for which they have passion.

If your goal is to maximize the impact of volunteer efforts, then identify a nonprofit that would benefit from the talents of your employees and do a project for them.

For Cadence Design Systems, giving employees time and support to pursue philanthropic activities that they really care about leads to employees who are more engaged, satisfied, and committed to the company.

Questions

1. Identify other companies that offer volunteer programs and compare their programs to that at Cadence. What are some of the outcomes those companies have achieved regarding employee recruiting, engagement, or retention?
2. As a future job seeker, how important would a company’s charitable work be in your job search decision? Research this aspect of recruiting and retention to learn if workers in the Millennial generation and Generation Z value this more than Generation X or Baby Boomer workers. How might this affect companies in the future?