It’s been 22 months and counting since COVID-19 locked most of the world down, and 561 days since the murder of George Floyd. While a lot more than that has happened in the last almost two years, these two events in particular changed not only the hearts of the Realized Worth team forever, but it also changed the way we operate.
How We Changed
Our Client Delivery team went from facilitating two-day onsite strategy workshops with bright-eyed clients to virtual design sessions spread over multiple weeks with sometimes exhausted partners.
Our Support Services team went from helping us manage the status quo while gently nudging us into the future, to leading the way on problem-solving and adapting to sudden change.
And perhaps the most telling is the change in the first question we were asked in conversations with prospective clients. That question changed from, “How do I demonstrate that this contributes to the bottom line?” to “How do I demonstrate this changes hearts and minds?”
We – the Realized Worth team and our clients – did what most companies had to do: orient, adapt, and persist. We have asked a lot of ourselves because we deeply believe that what we’re trying to achieve together is important. The impact we’re working towards is big, and the work that goes into it is no different.
Committing to Progress
What makes this work difficult (and so, so rewarding) is that it can never be stagnant. The CSR industry and the people in it are committed to progress – and progress doesn’t have an end. That’s why Realized Worth is made up of innovators, researchers, thinkers, contemplators, over-achievers, and advocates. Our work needs to be able to shape-shift when needed, become more efficient and effective over time, and ultimately, progress. This is our MO – progress, innovation. And this is what we’ve been doing – improving our work one project at a time, iterating on our method every chance we get.
Slow innovation is tiring, and Realized Worth is ready to change with the change. As a company, we are creating much-needed space for innovation with the introduction of our Product & Innovation team. Made up of product, strategy, systems, and consulting minds, this team is dedicated to the continual advancement of what we do best to ensure that our impact can be as widespread and effective as we’ve ever dreamed. We’re committed to making our work more accessible, more inclusive, and most of all, more impactful.
For that reason, we want to share with you what we’re focused on achieving – for you!
1. Do what we do best, but better. First and foremost, we’re focusing on integrating everything we’ve learned over the last year and a half – about working with clients and with each other, about virtual volunteering and new ways to motivate people, and about the inextricable intersection of CSR and DEI – into how and what we deliver. On a quarterly basis, we’ll revisit our “last best” to make it the “next best.” That may look different each time, as we continually adapt everything from the tools we use to facilitate engaging client meetings to the language we use to be more and more accessible and inclusive.
2. Focus on our highest value products and services – and make them accessible to everyone. Over the last year and a half, we’ve introduced versions of what we’ve done best over the last 13 years to ensure clients with smaller teams, smaller budgets, and smaller employee populations can yield the same benefits as our enterprise clients, like Apple and eBay. Our Virtual Volunteering Accelerator and off-the-shelf Training options are great examples of how we do this. In the next six months, our sights are set on the release of two additional Accelerators: Program Development Accelerator (design and launch a hybrid volunteering program to support impact goals) and Network Development Accelerator (establish and scale a sustainable volunteer leader network company-wide), as well as upgraded Training options including the integration of advanced skills-based volunteering content.
3. Continue pushing – no, defining – the edge of employee volunteering. Realized Worth prides itself on being the industry thought leader on corporate volunteerism, and we are so excited about a few things to come. In the next year, Realized Worth plans to focus on measurement, DEI, and training. Some of this is a secret, for now, but we’ll give you a teaser on measurement…
In partnership with the RW Institute’s Nudge for Good project, Realized Worth plans to level-up our approach to measuring the real impact of employee volunteer programs. This means not only looking at the behavioral change following the implementation of our programs, but how we can integrate programmatic “micro-nudges” as we continue to optimize and support programs throughout their lifecycle. Exciting stuff, we know! For more information on RW Institute’s Nudge for Good project and how to get involved, reach out to Kostapanos Miliaresis at kostapanos@rw.institute.
This is an exciting shift for RW and for the field of CSR. For us, this means a level-up in our commitment to leading the way in employee volunteering and citizenship. For you, it means even more confidence in the work we deliver to you and your company.
Realized Worth is committed to listening to our clients and continually delivering on their needs and the needs of the CSR industry. If there’s something – a product or service – you’d like to see from Realized Worth, drop a note in the comments! We’d love to hear from you.