Creating a Lasting Impact by Supporting the Rise of the Social Enterprise

As mentioned in our LinkedIn publication earlier this year, the opportunity to participate in employer sponsored skills-based volunteering and socially-conscious service projects has become an important factor as individuals look to take the next step in their career. In fact, 67% of employees surveyed prefer to work for socially responsible companies, and 88% of millennials surveyed believe employers should play a vital role in addressing issues such as income inequality, hunger, and the environment.[1],[2] With the labor market tightening, companies are taking notice, and investing in the broader social ecosystem starts with an organization’s own employees. 

At Deloitte, one of the programs providing this opportunity for junior practitioners is People to People (P2P). Its mission is to create and foster an experience of human capital development and collaborative global social impact. Although many organizations participate in corporate social responsibility programs such as volunteer days and international service trips, People to People focuses on providing tangible human capital recommendations that can drive lasting impact for non-profit organizations, the individuals that offer their pro-bono support, and Deloitte itself. This article will provide an overview of how P2P operates so that other organizations can potentially provide a similar experience and bottom line impact.

The Application Process

For Deloitte professionals interested in participating, the journey begins with completing the annual P2P application. The applicant is asked to share what they hope to get out of working with their assigned non-governmental organization (NGO), and share examples of where they have made a significant impact at Deloitte or outside the organization during the past two years. The application also requires a personal reference from a Deloitte supervisor that shares how the candidate has excelled at Deloitte, and explains a strength the candidate may likely bring to the P2P program. The evaluations consider prior community service experience, skill relevance to P2P, how the program ties to the applicant’s personal and professional goals, and demonstrated enthusiasm in the application. The top 15 applicants are then invited to participate in the program. 

 Picture: 2018 P2P Analyst / Consultant Program Team Picture

The Learning Curriculum

Before any volunteering occurs, the P2P participants are required to complete a learning curriculum comprised of recommended reading and other media, which practitioners absorb and then discuss in small groups. This discussion component is critical – participants come with various levels of social impact experience and with differing backgrounds. It is each individual’s unique perspective that improves the collective experience that can be brought to the non-profits served. The content is refreshed annually to help reflect leading practices in the social enterprise space, and is comprised of five modules: 

In Module 1, participants discuss foundational elements of the program – what motivates Deloitte and the participants in creating the program, and how social impact work differs from client work in both its subject matter and potential cultural hurdles. Then, Module 2 focuses on avoiding ‘voluntourism,’ placing emphasis on how to drive lasting impact and ensure the work is squarely for the benefit of the organization that is consulted and not self-centered. In Module 3, teams review and discuss social impact business models and the context in which they operate, to help ensure potential recommendations are delivered with a clear understanding of capital constraints and other scaling considerations. Content from the first three modules are then applied in practice during a week-long international trip (explained in the next section).

Importantly, the learning doesn’t stop after the international trip is completed. Upon return to the U.S, Module 4 is completed, centering on creating lasting impact and maintaining personal and professional relationships with the NGOs that were consulted. Finally, prior to the kick-off of the second half of the program with projects completed in the U.S., Module 5 is completed, which focuses on the intricacies of driving impact closer to home. These five learning stages focus on personal and professional development, including preparing for promotion, and help ensure practitioners are equipped to affect meaningful change, not simply taking a trip to experience a new culture.

Picture: 2018 Meeting with children at Fundacion Martina school 

International NGO Experience

Upon completing the first three learning modules, the 15 selected candidates, joined by five leadership team members, are split into four teams to serve different social enterprises. This includes weeks of analysis via calls and emails in which teams explore challenges their clients are facing, finally culminating in travel for an intensive week-long project together with the NGOs. In October, Deloitte professionals helped Genesis 7, UBECI, INTI and Fundacion Martina in Quito, Ecuador. The mission of these organizations largely focuses on education, safety and supporting children and adolescents in situations of risk (e.g., domestic abuse, child labor, etc.).

Domestic Social Impact Experience

Upon completing the international NGO experience, the teams are re-shuffled as a new round of applications are reviewed for additional Deloitte professionals to join the domestic program, allowing new participants to benefit from the P2P experience. At this point the new participants and original members complete the fifth and final learning module in preparation for domestic projects. Armed with this knowledge and new perspectives infused into the broader group, teams are then organized regionally to work with local non-profits and tackle a new set of issues. The participants work with the NGOs both in-person and virtually around the United States. This working model is essential to the program’s achievements, as it illustrates how a diverse mix of individuals from across the country with different skill levels can come together and support the future health of the charitable organizations we serve. 

Conclusion 

As the pace of change accelerates in the modern workplace, leaders are re-evaluating priorities across their organizations. Two growing areas of emphasis are skills-development and investing in social impact opportunities for employees. Given the war for talent, practitioners should be exposed to new environments, while continually challenged to develop their capabilities and expand leadership skills. People to People accomplishes these priorities, with the important bonus of creating a lasting impact in the communities we serve. Rather than parachuting in for a week-long project, our emphasis on collective education, pre-project analysis, and sustained impact measurement helps ensure positive outcomes for the non-profits we support and the individuals that participate. With roughly 275 individuals working to impact over 60 organizations over the past five years, People to People continues to demonstrate sustainable, responsible practices in social impact.  

As Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” At Deloitte, we are fortunate to be able to buy the cups (i.e., financial support from Deloitte, personal donations) and fill the cups (i.e., donate our time, donate our vacation days, volunteer our skills). Through People to People, we continue to strive to make a difference in the lives of others by giving back to communities locally and abroad.  

Kevin M. Bingham is a managing director at Deloitte Consulting LLP, national sponsor for Human Capital’s People to People skills-based volunteering program, co-chair of the Casualty Actuarial Society Innovation Council, and a Lea’s Foundation for Leukemia Research board member. He can be reached at [email protected]. Andrew Kuhn is a consultant at Deloitte Consulting LLP, and is the international and domestic P2P program lead for analysts and consultants. He can be reach at [email protected]. Jennifer Lueck is a senior consultant at Deloitte Consulting LLP, and is the international and domestic P2P program lead for senior consultants. She can be reached at [email protected].

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[1] Deloitte, 2018 Global Human Capital Trends report, accessed October 26, 2018

[2] Deloitte, The 2017 Deloitte millennial survey: Apprehensive millennials: Seeking stability and opportunities in an uncertain world, accessed October 26, 2018