ABSTRACT
This study presents findings from piloting a new framework for measuring the
business impacts of corporate community involvement at Underwriters Laboratories.
It focuses on evaluating the human recourse (HR) outcomes of employee volun-
teering in three signature programs. Five business impacts were measured-job
satisfaction, morale, organizational pride, belief in the UL mission, and engagement.
Using an employee survey, the research team compared signature program volunteers
with others and found a positive correlation between volunteering and impacts on
morale, organizational pride, belief in the UL mission, and engagement. Employee
awareness (without participation) of UL signature programs was also associated with
increased morale and organizational pride. While the study did not prove causation,
it confirmed previous research on the link between employee volunteering and
positive HR outcomes. The authors provide recommendations for further research
and how companies can use the impact measurement framework to evaluate the
bottom-line benefits of their community involvement programs.
