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Playbook: Winners Choose to Give Back
July 01, 2006
More than 150 Citigroup employees volunteered to spend an afternoon building beehives for impoverished Jamaican farmers during a recent incentive trip.
By Michele Marchetti
It could have been a failure.
In a bold attempt at originality, Barbara Blumhof, manager of events for the Commercial Business Group of New York–based Citigroup Inc., planned a team-building activity this past March that was nothing like the beach Olympics, scavenger hunts and other traditional (not to mention tired) events staged in years past. On a day when the top sales performers attending the division's Circle of Excellence program at the Ritz-Carlton Golf & Spa Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica, had free time to swim, sleep or snorkel, they were also offered the opportunity to volunteer for a local farmers association. According to a brochure employees received in their welcome packs, participants in the activity would assemble beehives, thereby contributing to a burgeoning island industry and giving back to the residents of the poverty-stricken tourist spot.
When the time came to kick off the makeshift assembly line, Blumhof watched in disbelief as more than 150 employees and their guests swarmed (no pun intended) the scenic lawn overlooking the Caribbean and began working in earnest. "Even though I knew our employees are very generous, I wasn't sure how they would react to doing a project like this on the Circle of Excellence," she says. Blumhof had supplies for 30 beehives; the group could have easily built 100.
Citigroup's beehive event is the brainchild of Impact 4 Good, which creates corporate team-building events with a social conscience. The company, based in East Hanover, N.J., works with corporate clients, incentive houses and destination management companies to plan and run activities that achieve business objectives while making a difference in local communities. In addition to offering prepackaged activities, Impact 4 Good will custom design events—such as Citigroup's, which was created for Blumhof after Jamaica was selected as the destination. She had asked Impact to find an activity that would make a difference in the local community.
Demand for Impact's humanitarian- minded services reflects a growing trend in the incentive industry to stage events and activities with more meaning. The motivation isn't entirely altruistic. "There's definitely the idea that consumers are watching," explains Alan Ranzer, Impact's executive director. "You can't just put out a product anymore. Consumers look for companies that care." What's more, Ranzer says, employee loyalty is higher among corporations that give their workforce opportunities to volunteer, citing a two-year-old study by Deloitte & Touche USA that found 72 percent of employed Americans would choose to work for a company that supports charitable causes when deciding between two otherwise similar jobs.
In Citigroup's case, the timing for such an activity seemed especially right. "Last year was a year of unprecedented global humanitarian effort by Citigroup and its employees," Blumhof says. "Our mind is always on helping someone else. In keeping with that, I thought about what we could do to make team building more interesting."
And arguably more effective. In years past, when the group staged more traditional activities, Blumhof wondered whether employees were truly networking and strengthening relationships. This time around, there was little doubt. As each beehive was finished, a mini quality-control group spontaneously emerged to inspect the final product, reinforcing nails where necessary. Other employees were simply happy to carry cold beverages to those swinging the hammers. The best part: Employees wanted to be there. "A lot of times when you tell someone there's going to be a scavenger hunt or some other activity, you hear, 'What if we don't want to go?' I never heard anyone say that."
In a ceremony a few days later, several representatives from the farmers association accepted the beehives and spoke about the significance of the group's efforts. In a country whose economy is dependent mostly on tourism, beekeeping is a vital industry with the potential to benefit many poorer citizens. Honey and wax from the hives are used to make candles, facial and hand creams, salves and, of course, honey. The association aims to broaden marketing of its honey products and to increase its honey yield, which currently falls short of local demand due to scarce materials and technical assistance.
The Citigroup volunteers' small donation to that mission impressed and surprised the bee farmers, who had never before been a beneficiary of donated beehives. Citigroup also purchased a small bottle of honey for each employee and made a financial contribution to the association.
At the end of the activity, several employees approached Blumhof with ideas for future charitable activities. One couple remarked how touched their cab driver was when they told him about their work with the farmers. Another participant said the group should dedicate an entire day to a similar event on future trips. Next year, Blumhof's group is headed to Bermuda, and she's already asked Impact 4 Good to start finding a worthy cause. "I'm kind of stuck," she says. "There isn't a lot of poverty in Bermuda, but everyone needs something."
Whatever the activity, she has learned from this year's experience to anticipate logistical challenges. Getting the necessary materials for the activity cleared by customs was difficult, and the actual beehive kits arrived just in time. However, the reception Blumhof received from the farmers, Citigroup's employees and upper management was worth the effort. "I wondered whether senior management would get involved. Everyone did—it didn't matter who they were," she says. "I was overwhelmed because they really did enjoy it."
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