PwC Singapore organises CSR activities and their mission is clear; to engage the hearts and minds of its employees with the wider community. The company centres its activities on four key pillars: volunteerism, giving, professional services and corporate community leadership. When planning activities, it focuses on responding to the needs of its employees. By doing so, it ensures sustainability in the activities that they are involved in and facilitates collaboration amongst staff locally, regionally and globally.
On the ground
PwC Singapore's CSR initiatives begin at home. It regularly organises local volunteering opportunities for staff at Child@Street 11 - a pre-school centre for underprivileged children. Recently, staff took the children to the Zoo, Sentosa and even on a PwC office tour. "It provided us with a chance to brighten up the children's lives and made us realise that it doesn't take much effort to bring a smile to someone. Making someone smile, particularly those who don't have many reasons to, is just priceless," says employee, Alvin Y Yong, senior associate, Assurance.
PwC Singapore also actively conducts fundraisers for its CSR partners. The Yellow Ribbon Project was organised in 2006, where 240 volunteers, ranging from senior management to administrators, were given time off to sell ribbons on the streets. The response was excellent and the following year, 388 volunteers signed up. Staff also raised funds internally in a project titled Jeans for Joy, by earning a day's right to wear jeans through salary deductions. Over 400 PwC employees participated in the activity. In the wake of the tsunami, Sichuan Earthquake and Cyclone Nargis, the company worked with its counterparts across the world to raise funds via salary deductions.
Being responsible towards the environment is also part of PwC Singapore's CSR agenda. As part of a fundraising initiative, in January 2008, ez-link cards printed with environmental messages were distributed by the firm's Singapore leadership team to its 2,000 partners and staff as New Year gifts to encourage the use of public transport. Specially printed 'enviro bags' were distributed to spread the PwC Experience message, as well as to discourage the use of plastic bags, in July 2008. Fifty partners and staff also got the opportunity to engage in teambuilding through environmental activities, by getting the entire department to bond over a beach clean-up.
Internally, PwC held a Go Green campaign from June to December 2007. This was in support of promoting environmentally friendly practices. Flash screens and mass e-mails were used to remind staff to save paper and reduce wastage. All printers for internal use were set to double-sided printing, and recycled paper or lightweight paper was used.
Deborah Ong, partner, Human Capital, says the company supports staff engaging in CSR activities and generally gives a day off for every staff member who participates. (Annie -pls check fact)
For overseas community service projects and other more labour-intensive community projects, time off is given to volunteers on a case-by-case basis.
Beyond Singapore
With any worthwhile CSR initiative, their programs extend beyond domestic shores. The firm organises community service opportunities abroad for staff across departments and levels. PwC Singapore's first foray into the international scene was through collaboration with their Shanghai office. Two contingents from PwC Singapore were sent to schools in Shanghai to conduct English lessons, refurbish buildings and paint murals.
"We shared their joy and saw the hope in the teachers' eyes, but it was the children who taught me a lesson of a lifetime," says Sam Kok Weng, partner, Financial Services Industry Practice, PwC Singapore. Another 20 workers and partners will be going to Cambodia to teach disadvantaged youths and children, build a road and cook for a rice-soup program.
Ong says that the firm's CSR activities have provided opportunities to fulfil its staffs' desire to participate in community service while developing their sense of purpose, empathy and compassion. "We're glad to put into action our commitment to make our people's experiences as important as that of our clients," she reveals.
The retention factor
PwC Singapore views the retention of talent as a key priority for the firm. According to a worldwide survey conducted by the accounting giant in April 2008, employees around the world were demanding healthier eating facilities, time to undertake community work and greener corporate behaviour such as recycling paper. "Our people view our CSR initiatives as excellent platforms for them to extend their reach to the community, and we'd like to see that this positive feedback means we're able to retain good staff through CSR initiatives as employees realise our CSR initiatives support their personal values as well," adds Ong.
Employer branding through CSR
A key value proposition, according to Ong, is giving staff ongoing exposure to challenging opportunities. Through the various CSR initiatives, employees extend themselves beyond their comfort zones and learn about the core values of teamwork, excellence and leadership. "These experiences, when shared with prospective employees, continue to spark interest and more importantly, engage individuals to become part of our firm," says Ong.