By Courtney Weill

When Chase Manhattan Bank merged with Chemical Bank, the two financial behemoths knew it would be difficult to find ways to meld corporate cultures and to create informal opportunities for employees from both companies to meet.

But when Chase Manhattan's Global Day of Service rolled around, company officials realized that getting its employees together to volunteer on a community project achieved the kind of ice-breaking and team-building the newly merged company needed.

"Volunteer programs are a wonderful way for employees to come together, especially after the merger," says Rebecca Felson, volunteer coordinator for the bank. "It is a great way for them to see the other side. They were all volunteers together."

The Global Day of Service allows employees to take the day off to volunteer with their peers in the surrounding communities. The number of employees volunteering rose from 3,000 on the first Global Day of Service in 1995 to 9,000 in 1997.

The Chase Manhattan experience is not isolated. National corporations increasingly encourage volunteerism in an effort to revitalize their employees and their communities.

"(Corporate volunteerism) is good for the community," says David Ford, president of the Chase Manhattan Foundation. "It's good for employees - they feel good about volunteering. It's good for the bank to help our community and our employees." Volunteer programs attract new employees, build team-working skills and increase company loyalty, according to a recent study by the Conference Board.

"Volunteerism is a huge part of society today," says Chase's Felson. "People are very happy to hear that corporations are doing it."

The volunteer programs at Chase Manhattan even helped the company retain employees after the merger with Chemical Bank, she says.

Susan Thomas, communications manager at the Center for Corporate Community Relations at Boston College, says the number of corporate volunteer programs has risen significantly because companies see that it makes good business sense.

"In a survey of 181 companies, 79 percent of the companies had a formal volunteer program," Thomas says. "One in three provided compensation or time off for employee volunteer efforts. Nearly half provided some kind of incentive to become involved in the community."

Corporations encourage employees to volunteer because company volunteer efforts also improve the company's reputation in the surrounding communities, says Thomas.

"These people who volunteer are the ambassadors for the company out in the community," Thomas says. "They definitely build the company's rapport with the community."

NationsBank's volunteer program, NationsBank Neighbors, was created in the fall of 1997 to increase company volunteer efforts by making volunteer opportunities easy and accessible to its employees, says James Malone, assistant vice president in corporate affairs at NationsBank.

"It sets up clearinghouses in 27 major markets to receive and evaluate requests for volunteers from qualified nonprofit groups," Malone says. "It allows us to focus and direct people to volunteer needs."

NationsBank and Chase Manhattan also offer incentives for employees who volunteer on their own time.

"If a person puts in a 100 hours of volunteer work, we'll put in a $500 donation (to their cause) in that employee's name," say Chase Manhattan's Felson. "It makes employees feel good that Chase cares about what they care about."

Chevron Corporation supports its employees' favorite charities by donating corporate funds, says Richard Jones, corporate volunteer coordinator for Chevron Corp. Chevron matches employee gifts of up to $5,000 to education or arts programs in the community.

"We try to allow employees to invest their time and company money where they feel it's needed," Jones says.

Courtney Weill can be reached at
ccw@email.unc.edu