Continuously improving the way customers live and work is one of HP's major tenets as a multinational technology company. With operations in 170 countries, it has based its success on using technology to create solutions for people and companies. Similarly, its commitment to social responsibility enables it to help struggling communities.
Tan Yen Yen, Vice President and Managing Director of HP Singapore, believes strongly that global citizenship and business success go hand in hand. "People want to work with companies that are environmentally and socially responsible (and) invest in the communities where they do business," Tan says. Through extensive community outreach programmes, HP hopes not only to recruit those who want to give, but continue to encourage current employees to do so as well.
Employee altruism
Tan says employees of HP are proud to be a part of a company which places such emphasis on service. Potential employees who want to make service an integral part of their lives are also drawn to it. Staff can apply their expertise to help charity organisations by sharing best practices for managing projects or providing insight into innovative technologies that better serve the disadvantaged.
Tan explains that people - particularly those just entering the workforce - want to make a contribution to society as well as work on their careers. HP leads by example. "We want to show potential employees that HP is applying its expertise to help the needy and is committed to recruiting and retaining great employees. We provide them the opportunity to give back," Tan says, noting that employees may otherwise be too busy to search for volunteer opportunities on their own. Those who work at HP have the option of taking one day off each year to volunteer for a charity.
HP Volunteer Day is a designated day for employees to volunteer for beneficiaries of Singapore's President's Day Challenge. Although it isn't mandatory to attend, staff prefer to use this as their charitable day off. Recognising that family and personal commitments often take precedence over service to others, senior management believes this workday trade-in programme enables employees to make a community contribution without forcing them to sacrifice time away from other responsibilities. Fitting the company's overall purpose to find technological solutions, the 2007 theme was "Project IT - Involving Employees, Touching Communities." Volunteer Day has been taking place for the past three years. As the effort builds momentum, employees in HP are seeing charity as a habitual and integral practice in their lives.
Community activities
HP's Community Activities Committee (CAC) works to encourage participation in outreach activities. Founded in 1977, the CAC rallies HP staff to participate in annual fundraisers. Last year, a three-month campaign yielded $150,000, donated to more than 600 beneficiaries in conjunction with the President's Day Challenge. The beneficiaries included former drug users staying at the Green Haven halfway house, senior citizens at apartments sponsored by the Realm of Tranquility, a Christian charity, and patients at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
Selecting a charity is no easy task because the choices are made based on what the company is passionate about. With staff from a diverse range of backgrounds and experience, HP places importance on many causes. The Singapore Special Olympics team, for example, was chosen by HP staff because they felt the need to advance the worldwide struggle against discrimination. "We align ourselves with organisations which are accountable and adhere to values of humanity and protecting human dignity," says Tan.
In 2007, Tan and her colleagues took autistic children from the Pathlight School to Sentosa's Underwater World and Dolphin Lagoon. They learned to communicate more effectively with autistic children and developed special bonds with them.
Last year, Tan joined her fellow HP employees in cleaning one-room flats for senior citizens at the Realm of Tranquility. Tan describes the service as a precious experience which made the volunteers realise they cannot take what they have for granted. Other volunteers were in charge of helping the elderly residents - some of whom were stroke patients - out of their flats. The task taught them patience and understanding.
But more importantly, Tan says it taught them to appreciate everything they had. "We were touched by (the patients') optimism and joyful attitude of living life to the fullest."