Can human capital (business skills) really help charities

Mumbai Singapore Seoul Tokyo

15 Oct 18 Oct 23 Oct 25 Oct

Hong Kong 21 Oct

Fiona Halton, Chair, Pilotlight Foundation

fhalton@pilotlight.org.uk

1.

How to make the business case

Highlight the benefits to the business: a. For HR show how soft skills of listening, coaching, team working can benefit the company b. For CSR show how skills giving measurably works for charities Ensure that it is easy for skills rich, time poor business people to volunteer: do the administration for them Manage the experience as closely as possible Ensure you feedback success to the employee and the company Thank, and thank again, and publicise success if the company are happy for you to do so

2.

How to meet the needs of charities

Understand a charitys presenting problem may not be the real problem and undertake an analysis phase Coach, rather than tell, if you are to empower the organisation to acquire business skills themselves. Dont just give solutions Work to a plan and ensure strategy is in place before leveraging in specific skills for specific pieces of work Make sure the trustees, as well as the CEO, are on board and working with you Measure the progress you make in capacity building with charities so you are clear to yourself, your volunteers and the charity you are not wasting their time

 Publicise their success and the fact they have been working with you. It helps them

3.

How to meet the needs of skilled volunteers

Interview and induct volunteers Dont just match the volunteers into a charity and leave them to it use a trusted independent moderator, such as Pilotlight Be respectful of volunteers time: limit their commitment and be flexible with their busy diaries Try to work in teams mixing different skills e.g. finance, marketing, strategy. Best for the charity and the volunteer Take care of all other business: agenda setting, arranging meetings, taking notes, emailing follow up Measure both the philanthropic and business journey the volunteer goes on and vary the nature of the engagement according to their need and stage in their journey Report back on success to volunteers again, and again, and thank them

4.

Engagement structures that work well between skilled volunteers and charities
Facilitation works Use more than one volunteer so work in teams A longer engagement works better to understand the organisation and to impart business skills Coach, dont tell Evaluate every step of the way

5.

How to demonstrate impact

Determine a baseline for comparison Evaluate before, plus one and two years after Evaluate skills gained Evaluate increase in income

 Evaluation increase in people helped Put simple and appropriate social impact measure in place Keep gathering evaluation for your organisations benefit, as much as the charities, so you can measure and improve what you do