Sarah Ford | October 14, 2013

Employee Engagement And The Social Bottom Line: Sands Shifting Again?

By Tom Watson, Contributor, Forbes

Last week in Virginia, we were 90 percent through a terrific panel discussion on the changing nature of charity, corporate social responsibility, and society. There was a lot of discussion of generational change and what today’s corporate workers want from a career (after a steady paycheck, that is). And my fellow panelists and I covered collective impact, community partnerships, and story-telling in public causes.But as the final questions wrapped it up, I realized there was one topic that hadn’t been discussed much during the session, and it surprised me. The topic was social media.

The panel was entitled “Transforming Employee Engagement: Understanding How Digital Culture is Driving the Next Generation,” it was co-hosted by America’s Charities and the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce. My fellow speakers included Debra Snider, vice president of operations for GuideStar; Emily Simone, director of global community outreach for Lockheed Martin, and Steve Greenhalgh, senior advisor to America’s Charities and author of the incisive 2013 report, Snapshot: Trends & Strategies to Engage Employees in Greater Giving.

In any previous year of the past eight or so, social networks and media would certainly have dominated much of the conversation. Discussions of user-generated content, contests, video, Facebook and Twitter tactics would have been the order of the day. Yet in the foggy early morning of a Tyson’s Corner fall Thursday, social media was secondary.

Why?

In my view, it’s about the ascendance of strategy over tactics – the mark of maturity in any sector – and we’ve seen this shift before.

>> Continue Reading

Get Resources and Insights Straight To Your Inbox

Explore More Articles

Minority Mental Health Awareness Month

July 18, 2025

July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness about the unique mental health challenges faced by minority communities. It’s an…

Read Article

International Self Care Day

July 18, 2025

Today, July 24, 2025, we celebrate International Self Care Day, a day dedicated to promoting self-care practices and their numerous benefits for physical, mental, and…

Read Article
How the “Big Beautiful Bill” Will Impact Individual Giving and Employer-Sponsored Workplace Giving Programs

How the “Big Beautiful Bill” Will Impact Individual Giving and Employer-Sponsored Workplace Giving Programs

July 14, 2025

The One Big Beautiful Bill was signed into law on July 4, 2025, introducing a range of provisions that will affect how individuals, companies, and…

Read Article

Get Resources and Insights Straight To Your Inbox

Receive our monthly/bi-monthly newsletter filled with information about causes, nonprofit impact, and topics important for corporate social responsibility and employee engagement professionals, including disaster response, workplace giving, matching gifts, employee assistance funds, volunteering, scholarship award program management, grantmaking, and other philanthropic initiatives.

newsletter-mock