The Art of Retaining Top Talent: Philanthropy

There are so many benefits and reasons for companies to give back to the communities they serve. But it’s not just about dollars and cents if you really want to make it work. A company needs a good strategy for its philanthropy and social responsibility, and this is where it can get thorny and maybe some companies decide they’d rather remain focused on their business. Philosophical arguments can be waged about charity and business, but very simply put: Young, talented people want to see their talents enrich more than just themselves and their companies.

Apple was notoriously stingy in the Steve Jobs era. This has since changed. Google has wrapped their identity in their unofficial Don’t be Evil motto, and has famously empowered its employees to be driven not by profit but by making the world a better place. And their public battles with shareholders and banks over their business model has only made being a Googler more desirable to young talented people.

The benefits of philanthropy are enormous; so big that it’s hard to parse when motives move from altruism to self-serving. But who cares? Showing people you’re willing to fight the good fight and that your organization’s bureaucracies or short-sightedness haven’t crippled its ability to do the right thing attracts good talented people.

The pressures to quantify results are growing at an insane rate. And some of the benefits of philanthropy, including making your place of work a great place to work, are difficult to track. But that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

About NextGen

NextGen is the brainchild of longtime telecom professionals with nearly 50 years of experience and millions of dollars in Telecom Recruiting Services. We focus on establishing long term relationships with our clients and candidates so we can recruit the best and the brightest in the telecom industry. This ‘quality over quantity’ approach is at the heart of everything we do and has resulted in successful job placements at Fortune 1000 firms worldwide.

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