Delivering the Goods with a Unique Approach

From the judges: “A unique approach to opt-in by asking employees to make a decision.”

The customer-centric approach of electronics retailer The Good Guys is reflected in the company’s ongoing commitment to support and strengthen the communities in which it operates. It delivers this through its ‘Doing Good’ program which supports 14 charities across Australia through awareness campaigns, product support, fundraising and as of July 2017, Workplace Giving.

The ‘Good Giving’ Workplace Giving initiative enables staff to donate direct from their pay to their choice of charity partners, with the company matching their contributions dollar-for-dollar. Team members across the company were introduced to Workplace Giving in a multi-phase approach that was driven by best practice insights the team identified during their planning.

Firstly, executives and territory managers were engaged as advocates for the program. Following this was the launch of a fun, upbeat video at The Good Guys’ annual Doing Good Day. The video not only explained the financial benefits of donating through work, but also brought to life the important work done by charity partners. The next phase of the roll-out involved a roadshow where managers presented a package on the Workplace Giving program to their store teams.

Having built momentum through the communications campaign, The Good Guys used a unique approach to generating sign-ups to the program by requiring that each staff member make a conscious decision about whether to participate. By having all employees return a form indicating their choice, the strategy is designed to avoid people delaying their decision or simply not getting around to signing-up.

To incentivise teams to get behind the program, a challenge was set – the territory with the highest Workplace Giving participation will receive a one-off charity team building activity, plus a donation to the charity of their choice. Since the July launch, 54.5% of employees have completed their Workplace Giving forms and of these, 68.9% have opted into the program. This amounts a current company-wide participation rate of 37.5%, with an average donation of $3.54 per fortnight for July to September 2017, with the company matching the donations dollar-for-dollar. The Good Guys’ goal is to achieve Workplace Giving participation from 50% of its 3,500 staff in the first year, and is on track to achieve this.