Facing a shortage of skilled workers that will only worsen, employers ignore such demands at their peril. To retain valued workers, they'll make time off for volunteering a perk. The proliferation of employee volunteer programs will catch fire in the new century as corporations realize their value in employee retention. Indeed, Prudential Insurance Co. has nurtured such a vast community relations effort that it constitutes a virtual social services agency for downtown Newark, home to its headquarters. Programs range from an employee tutoring service to company investments in a factory that makes components for modular houses for the homeless.
Officials work with city leaders to ensure the school superintendent repairs crumbling buildings.
We have to be able to attract good people,'' says Larry Naldi, plant manager at the vast Rahway operation. That makes Merck unusual. Companies are concerned that they'll offend shareholders if they seem to be giving too much cash away,'' says Stacey Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy . Such corporate good citizenship won't be without pitfalls for business and the programs it supports. For one thing, as companies make bigger donations and embrace more causes, consumers could start to take corporate involvement for granted.