Developing Leadership Teams: JA of Chicago

To fill the need for classroom volunteers to deliver the program JA More than Money, the staff at Junior Achievement of Chicago implemented an HSBC “leadership team.” This is a team of dedicated employee-volunteers, company representatives, and JA staff, who help determine program outreach goals and organize and allocate responsibilities. In this instance, the goal was to reach
90 classrooms in Chicago. Leadership teams provide strong support for JA programs simply because a team effort increases resources, reach, and enthusiasm to promote and fill requested classes.

Strategy: Building leadership teams is very strategic to JA of Chicago’s overall goals. The Chicago office has been using leadership teams at other organizations for several years and has found that the most involved firms have this model in place to help allocate volunteers and resources. The focus of the JA More than Moneyleadership teams was to motivate those individuals most enthusiastic about JA in the organization to drive participation and outreach within HSBC.

Measurability: The leadership team at HSBC was given certain goals per geographic area. HSBC headquarters had the goal to reach 35 classrooms, its field office’s goal was 45 classrooms, and the surrounding areas’ goal was
10 classrooms. With this approach, the Chicago office could assess where the sources of volunteers were coming from. Also, it was easy to measure progress by maintaining an Excel chart of requests per area and filled classes per area.

Sustainability: Junior Achievement of Chicago has utilized the leadership team concept successfully for more than 10 years. The teams draw passionate people who commit to stay involved for the long haul. Team representatives often teach the program or serve on the local board, so they are aware of what the program can do for students, schools and their own business.

Replicability: JA of Chicago has leadership teams in place at companies like Kraft, Hewitt, AT&T, Abbott Labs, Baxter Healthcare, UPS, GE, and Motorola, as well as at HSBC. The results are impressive; JA of Chicago’s six top corporate volunteer supporters come from firms that utilize the leadership team setup. In 2008, more than 1,600 classes were reached through these firms, with HSBC being the top supporter, reaching 357.

For all JA Member Offices, developing leadership teams at sponsoring businesses could provide ongoing benefits. These teams promote continuing success because dedicated volunteers lead the groups, are recognized by upper management, and encourage increased levels of company involvement. The teams have a sense of ownership of the programs they are advocating — and, with ownership, comes accountability. Having more then just JA staff accountable for program and sponsor success boosts the JA Member Office’s ability to reach projected annual goals.

For more information about leadership teams, download JA of Chicago’s leadership team brief.

Contact: Peter Truschke, ptruschke@jachicago.org

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

Increasing Volunteer Pool by Creating More Inclusive, Cross-Cultural Volunteer Teams: INJAZ United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Pairs of volunteers (one Arabic speaker and one English speaker) were assigned to deliver the program in English to Arabic-speaking sixth- and seventh-grade students. (Higher grade levels were targeted because of the need for fluency in English.) The teams reflected the business environment that the students are likely to encounter when they graduate from college – a truly global business world.

This approach worked well. As the business hub of the Middle East and North Africa, the UAE has a strong multi-national presence of expatriates from all over the world, particularly South Asia. Many potential volunteers at HSBC previously felt excluded from participating in programs delivered in Arabic, so this cross-cultural team strategy built team spirit for the company, as well as the program. An added benefit was that volunteers felt less anxious going into the classroom because they knew their partner would be there.

Contact: Sulaf Al-Zu’bi, Sulaf@injaz-arabia.org

Recruiting and Motivating Corporate Volunteers through Role-Play as Students: JA South Africa

To actively engage potential volunteers in the program, HSBC decided to create an opportunity for actually experiencing the program. A group of 40 HSBC employees who expressed an interest in volunteering to deliver the JA More than Money program assembled to participate in the program in the role of students in a classroom (playing the board games, etc.), with a JA facilitator taking the role of the volunteer delivering the program. The group’s response to the program was enthusiastic.

This idea is easy to implement. Not much time is taken away from work (about two hours), and the cost is minimal. Not only does this activity help volunteers become familiar with the program content, but it also encourages championship of this and other JA programs at the company and at schools.

Contact: Linda McClure, linda@jasa.co.za