How Nexthink launched a CSR program in 7 countries and engaged 33% employees in the first year
Nexthink Founded in 2004, Nexthink is the leader in digital employee experience management software helping IT leaders get unprecedented insight into employees’ daily experiences of technology at the device level – freeing IT to progress from reactive problem solving to proactive optimisation. The company’s over 700 ‘Nexthinkers’ are spread across offices in the US, Switzerland, Spain, UK, France, UAE and Germany.
Company:
Nexthink
Industry:
Tech
Number of employees:
700+ across US, Europe and Middle East
Case focus:
Launching a program from scratch across 7 countries and engaging employees around the world.
The context Nina Zellweger, Corporate Social Responsibility Specialist, is responsible for Nexthink’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program which includes creating their strategy at the corporate level and executing their program on a day-to-day basis in partnership with Alaya. She shares how Nexthink developed and launched their CSR program across their 7 countries to engage employees and contribute to communities while they grow as a company. As a fast growing tech company in the field of employee experience, Nexthink’s CSR program has been championed by Co-Founder and CEO, Pedro Bados, so that as the company grows their people can give back to their communities, through monetary donations and company-paid volunteer days provided to each employee.
“Our Volunteerism initiatives create a sense of community and belonging that extends outside the office – gathering people around a common goal that they can feel good about beyond their day to day. That sense of Community is what makes Nexthink so special.” - Meg Donovan Chief People Officer, Nexthink
Nexthink’s CSR mission is in lockstep with its corporate mission to delight people at work, and tightly connected with the company’s HR strategy to build a great place to work. Together, this sets the foundation for their program:
The context “We have built HR programs and opportunities that not only help our employees grow and develop, but also engage with our communities and support a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable tomorrow. Participating in our CSR initiatives is a way for our employees to build trust, collaborate, and meet other Nexthinkers around the globe, and an opportunity for us to give back to the communities where we live and work. It’s important that as we grow, we continue to be good corporate citizens and give back to the world around us.” - Nina Zellweger Corporate Social Responsibility Specialist, Nexthink
The challenge The main challenges were to: 1. Break down traditional barriers in the technology industry, to reach young people to educate about opportunities in the tech field, and to build a better future. 2. Find and provide structured ways for employees to engage with volunteering opportunities that makes it easy for their teams to make suggestions and participate, and supports team building.
“From an employee standpoint, we wanted to find and provide structured ways to engage with volunteering opportunities. We offer Nexthinkers 3 company-paid volunteering days per year, so we wanted to find a platform that could help us suggest and facilitate participation. We also see our CSR efforts as a good way to support teambuilding at Nexthink.” - Nina Zellweger Corporate Social Responsibility Specialist, Nexthink
The solution A supportive program and policies to
Instant tracking and reporting to share
encourage employees
their progress
Nexthink developed a structured program and
The central team can also track and report on key
policy for their employees, including a network of
metrics such as participation, volunteering hours, and
local program champions to drive participation, and
causes supported to include in strategic reports for
offering 3 days of company-paid volunteering days
management and external stakeholders.
per employee per year while enabling choice to support the causes they care about.
Streamlining virtual activity An all-in-one platform to facilitate
organisation in a virtual-first world
CSR activities globally
Adapting to a virtual-first world to unite their
Nexthink implemented an easy-to-use online platform to centrally manage their CSR activities across their global offices efficiently to offer a wider choice of activities, manage registrations and drive participation and impact.
workforce was key. For example, they launched their first-ever virtual fundraising initiative: Nexthink Across the Globe. Employees collectively ran or walked over 11,000km and for every km tracked, Nexthink donated $1 to 2 nonprofit organisations supporting coding literacy to traditionally underserved communities. Registrations, communication and tracking were all centrally managed through their platform.
“In partnership with Alaya, we create efficient and simple ways for our Nexthinkers to give back to their communities in ways that are meaningful to them. When employees are engaged and happy, they are able to make an incredible impact on the world around them. Using a tool like Alaya helps us not only track our progress towards our goal, but also helps surface relevant opportunities up to our employees and grow participation.” - Nina Zellweger Corporate Social Responsibility Specialist, Nexthink
The solution
Volunteering to help local
Nexthink Across the Globe -
farmers in mountain regions
fundraising run
Cooking meals for vulnerable
Holiday gifts for vulnerable
communities
children & teenagers
" When you are working full time, it is often difficult to slot in the time to participate in volunteering initiatives or events. With 3 days per year to volunteer, Nexthink is offering us the availability to do just that. This provides us with the opportunity to help others and give back to the community which is truly appreciated!" - Eshan Abdoolraman Technical Recruitment Lead, Nexthink
The results
33%
employee participation
38
activities organised in the first year alone
“We have only started to scratch the surface on our CSR efforts. In 2021, we want to further connect our CSR efforts as a part of our overall culture, aiming to grow participation in our volunteering programs. We anticipate that we will still be virtual for most of the year, so we will be focusing on providing virtual volunteering opportunities through Alaya. We also intend on partnering with local initiatives that are closer to our office locations, so that we can put a bigger emphasis on sitespecific team building opportunities.” - Nina Zellweger Corporate Social Responsibility Specialist, Nexthink
Tips and advice for other companies 1.
Communicate clearly and frequently about what is happening with your CSR efforts. Give employees every opportunity to hear about what is going on and how they can participate, give management regular updates about progress and program direction often.
2.
Develop a strong team of champions. These will be your connection points to your CSR program around the world. Make sure you have a solid group of champions who are trained on the platform, who can help communicate locally about upcoming opportunities, and who can be point people for any questions. regularly with employees so you can reach them and sustain engagement.
3.
Find opportunities that resonate with your employees’ passions. Everyone is passionate about something. Finding opportunities to engage with that passion is where we can make a huge difference in the world.
Thanks for reading! If you'd like to learn more about Alaya, book a demo with us below GET A DEMO
Learn more at www.alayagood.com