Creating Executive Volunteer Championship and Engagement: JA Hong Kong
The goal for Hong Kong’s JA More than Moneyprogram is to reach 2,400 students in the 2008/09 school year, with the support of 75 HSBC volunteers. To mobilize employee support, JA Hong Kong and HSBC developed the “Executive Volunteer Championship and Engagement” strategy and successfully engaged Sandy Flockhart, the CEO of HSBC Asia Pacific, and Teresa Au, Head of Corporate Sustainability Asia Pacific, as volunteers to deliver the program.
HSBC publicized this top-level championship of the program internally at the Hong Kong office and externally to the community through a leading newspaper. At the time of the best practices submission deadline, 44 HSBC executives had committed to volunteer to teach JA More than Money. More are expected to join for the summer semester.
Strategy: To attract the number of volunteers needed to deliver JA More than Moneyto local students, top regional executives volunteered as a leadership example. This championship and endorsement encouraged other HSBC executives to sign up to teach the program. The plan also included publicizing the championship/endorsement to the community and to educators to increase awareness of JA More than Moneyin Hong Kong.
Measurability: JA Hong Kong’s goal was to motivate 75 HSBC executives to become program volunteers. At the time of the JA More than Money best practices submission deadline, 44 volunteers had been recruited, and more are expected to sign up for the summer semester.
Sustainability: Executive volunteers Flockhart and Au taught classes in November 2008. Their championship was further publicized in leading newspapers in January 2009. Their participation will be engaged year to year to sustain internal HSBC volunteer recruitment efforts and JA program publicity in the community.
Replicability: Executive championship is critical to the successful and quick launch of a new program. In this instance, leading by example was a very powerful endorsement, motivating other HSBC volunteers to sign up. Also, executive sponsors Flockhart and Au were able experience firsthand just how valuable the program is for local students—and for company sponsorship. This strategy is an effective way for JA Member Offices to launch other Junior Achievement programs, as well.
Contact: Vivian Lau, vivian.lau@jahk.org
Entry filed under: Volunteer Recruitment. Tags: Best Practices, JA Hong Kong.
