With all props to Jane Austen, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that people need purpose in their lives and want to feel part of something bigger than themselves."
That is certainly true at the company I work for. Covestro is an innovation company built heavily on advances in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). More than half a century ago, our employees ushered in the employee-volunteers-in-the-science-classroom movement that has become so prevalent. Today, everyone's doing "STEM." And that's a good thing. But when our employees first joined the movement, it was long before the acronym was even created.
Now, they're at it again. Our seasoned professionals and the swelling ranks of millennials alike are demanding new and different ways to get involved--even if they're not scientists and engineers. We've responded by pioneering a new kind of STEM volunteerism that supports their desire to make a real difference not just within the company, but also outside, in their communities. Skills-based volunteerism (SBV) allows virtually any employee to be a STEM volunteer and contribute their particular expertise and knowledge to solve a problem and build capacity for both STEM and non-STEM organizations.
Our proof-of-concept for SBV began several years ago when we created the Employee Engagement Academy at Covestro (then Bayer MaterialScience). After assessing their skills and providing them with training, employees were placed in small teams and matched with nonprofit organizations that needed help with a particular project/challenge.
The Pittsburgh Botanic Garden (PBG) was one such nonprofit. Opened in 2014, the garden felt their K-1 education offerings were insufficient and asked the team to create curriculum for this young audience. As with all SBV projects, there were a few challenges. SBV projects assigned are typically well outside the employees' comfort zones. Second, employees come from different departments all over the company so it's highly unlikely they've worked together before or even know each other. Further, few have worked in the nonprofit sector.
The PBG team certainly experienced these challenges. But it didn't matter. Together, they learned how to overcome the obstacles and rose to the challenges. After three months of collaborating, they not only presented a series of best practice K-1 education programs the garden could implement, they developed a plan to market the programs to local schools.
In Baytown, Texas, our largest manufacturing site in North America has for years supported the Eddie V. Gray Wetlands Center, a science education center focused on environmental education. But in 2014, they looked to Covestro for advice on a major business decision--whether or not to merge with the Baytown Nature Center. Our diverse employee team developed a feasibility study that helped the Center assess the pros and cons of such a merger.
The Heinz History Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution in downtown Pittsburgh, presented its team an altogether different kind of STEM challenge. The history museum needed a strategic sustainability and energy management plan. First, though, some key information was essential. The team was tasked with developing a baseline study of the museum's current carbon footprint. It would involve identifying key sustainability metrics that are typically used in museum settings.
Few of the team members--among them a product safety and stewardship manager and a polyurethane chemist--knew a lot about energy management. But, they do know how to apply critical thinking and creativity so that wasn't an issue. Together, during their four-month assignment, they dealt with ambiguity and conquered a steep learning curve. In the end, their work uncovered ways for the museum to save up to 60 percent of its energy costs.
At the project's end, the team reported back on a range of competencies they felt they'd either honed or developed - leadership, teamwork, management, strategic thinking, creativity, communications and personal learning.
It's stunning really. And hard to think of another volunteer situation that helps employees with such effective professional development. Indeed, with SBV the opportunity for people development with a social conscious is amplified well beyond the usual approaches. And, the technical expertise provided from one sector to another is transforming traditional manners in which the two worked together.
It's a win-win-win; so much so that we've codified our SBV efforts by establishing the Covestro Employee Engagement Institute at Robert Morris University where SBV education and training is a key offering. We just kicked off our spring institute with our new SBV class. Again, we have employees from all over the company--Treasury, Intellectual Design, Product Management, Procurement and Human Resources. Now, pairing with nonprofits begins. Personally, I'm looking forward to learning more about the STEM and other projects they'll be tackling.
Stay tuned.
Pathway To Purpose is a new blog series geared towards exploring why employees are putting a greater value on purpose in the workplace, and how employers are responding.
How are you taking purpose to the next level in your workplace? Let us know at PurposePlusProfit@huffingtonpost.com or by tweeting with #PathwayToPurpose.