Innovation

When talking to Louis Bacigalupo, he discussed a few of the charity policies that W.S. Connelly is currently working on implementing. He said, "W.S. Connelly previously didn’t have any community service programs.” The company is currently considering many different ways for the company and its employees to engage in community service and charity. Some of those policies are giving employees one paid day off during the year for them to go do community service of their choosing, matching dollar-for-dollar charitable donations up to a certain amount, and giving employees a chance to give a presentation about a charitable organization they are connected to and the company will donate to the charity of the employee with the most compelling presentation. Mr. Bacigalupo also made a point to highlight the fact that W.S. Connelly and the private equity firm that owns the company look at more than just the finances of a company when determining value. The positive impact on communities is one of the core values of W.S. Connelly, and it is a key driver in the overall success of the company.

 In connection to SDG #17 (Partnerships for Goals) and SDG #11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), by having both ownership and employees that care about community service and helping charities, you create a multi-stakeholder system with the purpose of helping both people locally and nationally through various programs and organizations. For example, Mr. Bacigalupo told us about how W.S. Connelly worked with the organization Habitats for Humanity, to help a family in need of a home. W.S. Connelly's crew helped build a house for a family in need, which Mr. Bacigalupo said, “felt good for us as a company to do that.” It is incredibly difficult to make change as individuals, but by gathering a group of people, it is more realistic and attainable to make noticeable positive changes in communities and society. It is great to see a company and employees that care so deeply about leaving a positive footprint on people in communities who are in need. W.S. Connelly does not have the goal of generating the greatest amount of money possible, but they look at their profitability with an additional lens of how their profitability can benefit people outside of their company as well.

Inspiration

The main inspirations for a lot of the new community service and charity related policies that have been implemented or in the process of being implemented are the result of similar policies from previous jobs leaving a positive aspect on Mr. Bacigalupo as well as other common community service activities that people have been practicing for a while. In our interview, Mr. Bacigalupo mentioned “Another thing we did, again this was at a prior company, but we are going to do something similar, is a Christmas party.” This Christmas party idea may at first seem unoriginal or overused in businesses globally. This Christmas party idea at W.S. Connelly, however, is a great vessel to promote and facilitate charitable actions. At the Christmas party, employees will make a case for a charity that they feel strongly about, and at the end of the party, three of the employees’ charities that were presented on will be chosen and W.S. Connelly would donate money to each of the charities. Additionally, building homes for less fortunate families, matching charitable contributions made by employees, and paying employees to volunteer are all policies that numerous companies already have also put in place. Precedents allow companies to see that implementing new policies is realistic and does not threaten the overall success of their companies. Having more companies engage in charity and community service will show other companies that currently do not have any company programs or policies related to serving communities that there are countless positive impacts internally for companies that help people externally from the company.

Overall impact

There are many positive impacts of this innovation both internally and externally. In the short term, implementing community service and charity policies within W.S. Connelly will build employee and community trust and assist the local community around Midlothian, Virginia. When a company is able to show employees and communities that they care about the people they may have impact through their actions, their public perception will change for the better. One of the worst things a company can do through their operations is negatively impacting or harming their employees and the communities they come into contact with. This causes people to perceive the company as negligent and cruel, which can harm the business due to less people wanting to work for them in addition to potential business partners being put off if they find out there is a lot of bad publicity associated with a company they potentially want to get involved with. This innovation from W.S. Connelly will help prevent any of those potential negative impacts of not being people, family, and community oriented.

In the long term, people will rally around their company and fight for their presence in their communities. W.S. Connelly’s long-standing commitment to believing a people-oriented company will only continue to boost the outlook people have on their company in a positive direction. While a lot of companies may focus on more production-based methods of promoting sustainability, community outreach and impact on individuals is another way sustainability is promoted. As a species, humans are drawn to and act more intensely on emotional feelings. If companies can find ways to make people feel those positive emotions, the response will be much more visible and encouraging than when people hear about the change in how something is produced. People care less about inanimate objects and processes because they do not evoke strong feelings, causing people to look past them. By participating in volunteer work, by donating to charities, and by caring for people inside and outside of their company, W.S. Connelly will become even more intertwined with the local community around their headquarters, allowing them to be in a position to provide help to people in need for a long time to come.

Business benefit

The benefits of this innovation to W.S. Connelly are numerous. One of those benefits is boosting employee morale. When employees can see over and over again that the company they are working hard for care about their wellbeing and the wellbeing of people in surrounding communities and beyond, employees will view their employer as thoughtful, providing motivation for them to provide their best work. This could lead to increased efficiency and potentially increases in the profitability of W.S Connelly. Getting employees involved and excited about volunteering will give them fulfillment. Also, allowing them to have a chance to get their coworkers to be drawn to a charitable cause that has been a large part of their life will give them a sense of pride. Pride, fulfillment, and high morale are all feelings that will create a better working environment, resulting in having a better business.

Another benefit of this innovation is increased employee retention. Creating policies that result in employees building strong and meaningful relationships with their fellow employees and the higher up individuals of W.S. Connelly, they will have more loyalty to the company and want to continue working there. Helping build a home for a family in need, getting paid to help the local community around Midlothian, Virginia, and giving presentations about a charity that could result in a donation are all policies and events that most likely would not occur at another company. If employees realize this fact and consider those things to be especially important to them, that fear of no longer being able to do those things as a part of a company and losing that sense of comradery amongst coworkers will also motivate employees to stay with W.S. Connelly. All of the policies that W.S. Connelly have currently put in place and the policies that are being developed will continually benefit society and would yield significantly positive results for any company that adopts similar policies and practices.

Social and environmental benefit

As previously stated above, W.S. Connelly & Co. collaborates with their employees to pick a charity that employees feel strongly connected with. They let their employees give them options about which charity to help and why; they then pick the charity and work with them in whichever way they can help society. Recently they worked with a charity that helped build a brand-new home for a family. They have plans to work with other charities and help people because of the impact they can have on someone and how happy they make themselves feel for helping.

W.S. Connelly & Co. is doing something most companies do not do at all. That being connecting with their community and their employees by collaborating with different charities and putting in the time and work to help people out. There are companies all over the world that have no policies that promote giving back to communities, which establishes a company culture that is very profit oriented and less people oriented. W.S. Connelly & Co. have decided to develop a different company mindset. Like every for-profit company, their main goal is to be profitable. Despite this, based on the interview that was conducted with Mr. Bacigalupo, every member of the company is committed and has been susceptible to the idea of being more involved in supporting local communities and charities of all sizes. By having more companies all over the world become a little less focused solely on profit and more conscience of the positive impact they could have on society, accomplishing global goals will be much more attainable.

Interview

Louis Bacigalupo, CEO

Watch video