CSR IN TESCO POLAND
with a particular emphasis on employee
volunteer program
Report made by:
Katie Armstrong
Aleksandra Bobrow
Karolina Falkowicz
Christel McCombie
Jacek Zatoński
Table of contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 3
CHAPTER I - Background Information ............................................................................... 4
1.
Fact about Tesco ............................................................................................... 4
2.
“The Steering Wheel” ........................................................................................ 5
3.
Tesco Polska CSR Strategy ................................................................................ 6
CHAPTER II - Employee Volunteer System – Theoretical Approach .......................... 7
1.
Definition and Principles of Volunteering ........................................................ 7
2.
Benefits of Employee Volunteering Program ................................................... 8
3.
Models of Volunteering ..................................................................................... 9
4.
Establishing and Implementing Employee Volunteering Program ................ 11
Chapter III - Implementing the Employee Volunteering System at Tesco Poland ...... 15
1.
General assumptions and ground rules ........................................................... 15
Spatial and time boundaries ........................................................................................ 15
Participatory rules ......................................................................................................... 15
Budget and resources .................................................................................................... 16
Program Management .................................................................................................. 16
Guidelines ....................................................................................................................... 16
2.
Communicating ................................................................................................16
3.
Encouraging Employee Voluntarism ............................................................... 17
4.
Measurement tools and Program Evaluation ..................................................19
5.
SWOT Analysis of Employee Volunteer Program at Tesco Poland ............... 20
6.
Recommendation and Other Remarks ........................................................... 22
Summary ............................................................................................................ 24
2
Introduction
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a critical element for any
organizational structure and their future plans, especially in relation to expansion
and globalization processes and the growing relevance of sustainability since 1990s.
The predominately western phenomenon has now become adopted throughout
middle and Eastern Europe, including Poland, often modelling themselves on the
advanced frameworks of existing corporations such as Tesco. Despite the well
founded theories of these conglomerates, there are still flaws and potential
improvements which can made in relation to CSR strategies and their
implementation.
The main aim of the report is to propose an efficient voluntary scheme which will
improve the participation of employees in relation to voluntary work and ultimately
increase awareness surrounding their role in the community, wider society and how
their contribution to voluntary actions can improve not only their personal wellbeing
but also the local community as a whole.
In following chapters we introduce Tesco PLC and Tesco Poland, and the
company’s current CSR strategy. However the main focus of this report will be our
proposal of an employee volunteer scheme, with the aim of fostering a new mentality
amongst employee’s of Tesco Poland to be more willing to be involved in the
company’s CSR schemes.
3
CHAPTER I
Background Information
1. Fact about Tesco
Tesco is a leading UK retailer, which is present in 14 markets around the world.
There are over 440, 000 employees in more than 4,000
stores.
Entering Poland’s consumer retail market 15 years
ago, Tesco now operates around 327 stores throughout
the country and employees around 30,000 people.
With over 1500 suppliers and an estimated 4 to 6
million customers weekly, the store is growing to rival
some of the most dominant Polish hypermarkets such
as the leading store Biedronka.
Tesco’s retail products consist of the following ranges:

Tesco Value – a cost-effective brand with over 1,500 products for the ‘price
conscious’ consumer.

Tesco ‘own brand’- over 7000 products delivering high quality for
reasonable prices, up to 30% lower than other leading brands.

Tesco Finest – Premium quality for the more affluent consumer.
The headquarters are situated in Krakow, and Tesco looks to continue to expand
with an ambitious scheme to build and develop its presence of smaller ‘compact’
stores, to coincide with its hypermarket format. As such Tesco aids local businesses
and provides support and jobs for local communities. Its recruitment scheme has
seen employee promotions to section managers increase by 90%, which is a
testament to its values and its claim of being “... a great place for career
development.”
4
“Treat people how we like to be treated,” is the fundamental employee
ethos, which is employed throughout the organization and is the basis for many of the
company’s external and internal operations. Furthermore Tesco prides itself in good
customer relations and thus “No one tries harder for customers.”
“By supporting our customers and our staff, and by remaining focused on
tackling the key issues that matter to our communities and society at large, we have
sought to use Tesco’s size as a force for good.” Terry Leahy, Chief executive
2.
“The Steering Wheel”
Tesco presents its strategy in an internationally adopted model named ‘The
Steering Wheel.”
There are 5 sections of the wheel which are; Community, Operations, People,
Customer and Finance. This report will concentrate on the fundamental section of
Community, which represents the company’s CSR strategy and many related
activities in this area.
Figure: The Steering Weel
5
3. Tesco Polska CSR Strategy
CSR is a vital component of the company’s strategy, with specific actions such as fair
salaries and working closely with charities.
The main component of Tesco’s CSR strategy is the community plan, related to social,
ecological and charitable projects all circulated around the mantra of responsible
actions on behalf of the organisation. The community plan is based on customer
research, including information that has been gathered from suppliers and trade
unions, which competition often neglects to include, and as such Tesco provides a
comprehensive outlook of the main needs of local communities.
Supporting local communities is at the heart of Tesco’s Community Plan, as well as
their flagship programme Tesco for Schools. Tesco takes their sourcing of products
extremely seriously, developing and supporting Polish suppliers and products. The
exporting of these products has helped raise international awareness of Poland’s
position within the Tesco framework. For example, Tesco UK houses dedicated isles
to Polish produce. These actions collectively contribute to fair trade amongst local
suppliers and overall economic growth.
Leading the way in environmental issues, Tesco Poland has established 3 eco stores,
the only company in Poland to have such an initiative. Staff customers and youth are
all major components in their ecological plan. Communicating to customers and
employees is the essence of the community plan, and as a result 97% of Tesco Polska
staff support social engagements. However only 50% actively participate, this is a
major point of concern and thus this essay centres on the notion of increasing
participation in these social actions.
There are also energy-saving TESCO stores in the following cities of Poland:
in Garwolin, Zdzieszowice and Lubartów.
6
CHAPTER II
Employee Volunteer System – Theoretical
Approach
The aim of following chapter is to provide a theoretical background for this report. It
includes basic definition, principals and models of volunteering and establish some
models of evaluation and implementation of employee volunteering program. The
list of potential benefits of incorporating employee volunteering program into CSR
strategy is an important part of this section as well.
Following chapter was written on the basis of “A guide to Employee Volunteering”
publicised by Government of Western Australia’s Office for Seniors Interest and
Volunteering and “Corporation Volunteerism” by Boston College Center For
Corporate Community Relations.
1. Definition and Principles of Volunteering
Volunteerism has been part of human existing in society from long time, but in
business world it is only a few decades old. Volunteering is defined as:
“Those mechanisms used by companies that support and facilitate employee
volunteer activities in community based non-profit organizations and groups,
charitable groups and groups identified in need of services and assistance.”1
Business participation in the local community as a volunteers could bring lots of
benefits. We have to keep balance between corporate and community needs, but
1
Heidrick, K.W. (1990, p157), cited in Corporate Volunteering: helping to build business and community
sustainability: a handbook for corporations and business/ (authors Carl Holroyd and Anthony Silver). Publisher: Bunbury
WA: Volunteer South West in conjunction with Edith.
7
focusing mainly on achieving highest gaining. Participation in the community over
the long term can bring significant investment returns, when efforts are aligned with
strategically goals.
2. Benefits of Employee Volunteering Program
COMPANY
1. Improves
 relation with surrounding
community
 public image
 employee morale and
reduces absenteeism
 understanding of the
community and the
company’s customers
BENEFIT
S
COMMUNITY
1. Provides new talent and energy
increasing number of
volunteers.
EMPLOYEE
2. Increased employee
performance and
productivity.
1. Increased understanding of
colleagues and respect for
diversity.
3. Enhanced staff morale and
team work.
2. Improved leadership,
interpersonal skills,
communication
and teamwork.
2. Increases understanding
between business and the non
profit sector.
3. Gives capacity to provide
community services that
otherwise might be impossible.
4. Increased awareness and
education about social issues
and sustainable practices.
5. Potential for future
partnerships, resourcing,
funding and support.
3. Reduces isolation and increases
interaction with employees in
other segments and levels of the
company.
4. Adds variety and fulfillment and
increases sense of self worth.
The value of volunteerism in company is very high, but benefits are difficult to
measure. We can distinguish three type of benefits: for company, for employee and
for local community. A corporation through volunteers acting can improves “human”
face. Moreover it’s also can be part of promotion company in local level. Employees
who participate in voluntary have chance to demonstrate leadership, learn new skills.
They can also contribute to the local community. Table presents the main advantages
out of voluntary work.
8
3. Models of Volunteering
Volunteering can be implemented in many ways. There are different ways to support
local communities. We will present 11 kinds of employee voluntary programs. Each
sort of program is based on needs of local community and company capability. Each
program model involves different levels of employee initiative, employer support,
resource and time commitment. Programs are also different in time term eg activities
can be undertaken as short-term projects, one-off events, on an ongoing basis or
secondments. However every plan of action should be tailored to suit the needs of
the organization and the employees also embedded into existing policies and
strategies. There are main ways of implementation volunteering in company:
Table: Models of Volunteering
Programs
1
Explanation
An agency can support employee participation in
volunteering in the individual’s personal time through
Flexible Working Conditions
providing flexible working conditions. The balance of
contributing to the community and managing
individual
workloads can be negotiated with line managers to
enable employee participation in volunteering
2
This can take the form of employee donation
Fundraising
schemes, fundraising or money allocated towards
specific causes, programs or projects. Employees
can volunteer to coordinate the fundraising effort
and may be involved in the fundraising activity.
3
In this model of employee volunteering organizational
Release Time
policy allows for a specific amount of paid work time
for volunteering. The time allowance can be taken
as a one-off block of time or spread out over a set
period.
4
Model sees the organization contribute funding
to match employee fundraising for an agreed charity
Matched Giving
or organization. Similarly, some organizations have
a policy of paid leave for volunteering matched to
individual volunteering time contributed out of work
hours.
9
Employees are allocated a set amount of time on a
5
one-off basis during work hours to volunteer with a
community organization. While by definition, this
One-off Events
activity usually only occurs once, it can be undertaken
as a regular ‘one-off’ event on an annual basis.
The most common form of this program model is
a whole day team project whereby a group of
employees volunteer for a specific task or project.
7
In this model, organizations and their employees
identify a specific social issue to which they wish to
contribute. The employee volunteering program then
focuses on contributing staff skills, time and expertise
Mentoring
to this issue. This type of program may involve a
partnership with one or a number of community
organizations working to address the identified issue.
The community organizations will identify how the
employee volunteers can best support their work.
Employees can contribute their skills and expertise
8
to not-for-profit community organizations by
Board Membership
becoming a member of their board or committee.
This arrangement contributes a valuable set of
skills, knowledge and experience to the strategic
management of not-for-profit groups.
Employers can volunteer the professional skills,
9
knowledge and experience of their staff freely
or at a significantly discounted cost to meet an
identified need in a community organization. The
pro bono model provides benefits to the employees
in fostering leadership, breadth of experience
and management capacity. It may also benefit
Pro Bono Services
the organization in strategically fostering and
supporting the community organizations.
Employees with management expertise can assist
with strategic planning, legal advice, business
planning, financial management, human resources,
marketing and communications, and information
technology. Common pro bono services include
provision of free legal, tax and accounting advice.
10
Project Secondments
Linked to pro bono programs but involving a
medium to long term time commitment, project
10
secondments involve staff placement in a community
organization to undertake specific projects or work
for the benefit of the community. This model provides
the organization with resourcing for a key project,
enables knowledge and skill sharing, and provides
a new experience and challenge to the employee.
For example, an accountant may be seconded to a
community organization during tax time to undertake
an accounting audit and streamline finances. Other
projects include marketing plans, business strategies,
and feasibility studies.
Fellowship programs are similar to secondments but
11
relate more to research type volunteering placements.
Fellowships
Employees participate in research projects contributing
their expertise, energy and knowledge and also
drawing on the experience to increase their own
understanding and skills.
Source: A Guide to Explore Volunteering, Office for Seniors Interest and
Volunteering.
4. Establishing and Implementing Employee Volunteering
Program
A successful Employee Volunteering Program (EVP) should be established in a
strategic and logical way. Government of Western Australia’s Office for Seniors
Interest and Volunteering publishes some key steps to a successful EVP:
1. Harness high level management support and commitment for an EVP.
Integrate this commitment into business objectives and strategic policies.
2. Establish a working group involving employees, managers and the community
to coordinate the development, implementation and evaluation of the program.
3. Explore existing volunteering involvement of employees through information
and data collection, e.g. staff surveys, consultative committees.
4. Identify a model of employee volunteering suited to the organization’s
commitment, employee interests, EVP purpose and aligned with business objectives.
11
5. Develop an internal policy and guidelines on employee volunteering.
6. Determine budget and resource commitment to the program.
7. Set clear objectives and identify the outcomes to be achieved.
8. Identify and develop relationships with potential community partners.
9. Identify ‘champions’ to promote the program and encourage involvement.
10. Promote the EVP internally to recruit employee participants.
11. Conduct the employee volunteering program.
12. Recognize and promote the contribution of employee volunteers.
13. Monitor and evaluate the impact of the program on employees, the community
project assisted, the organization as a whole and the broader community.
The basic thing to do in developing EVP is to choose a model of volunteering
which will be implemented. To do that, it is essential to set a purpose, goal and
expectations connected with EVP. Other issues that will inform choice of EVP are the
type of volunteering activity employees are interested in, whether one specific social
issue is important to employees and/or the organization. Assessment of time,
resources and funding commitment available is crucial as well.
Employees should play an integral role in program development and
implementation. It is recommended that a working group be established - comprised
of employees, managers, and the community partner – to develop the program and
oversee its implementation.
An important step before implementation of EVP is to choose some community
organizations with whom the company intends to develop a partnership during the
volunteering program. It is required to involve these organization as much into the
implementation process as possible. It would impact positively on the effectiveness of
the program
Implementation phase can be divided as well into some parts that would help to
successfully get through it (according The Boston College Center for Corporate
Community Relations):
12
Step 1. Conduct internal and external environmental scanning.
 Utilize focus groups, surveys and meetings with management and community
leaders to get insight on just what is needed and what the current level of
support is for such a program. This type of information sets the stage in
defining just what the corporate role should be.
Step 2. Define the scope of the volunteer program.
 Ensure that the program is in line with the corporate mission. Readdress the
corporate mission if there is no integration between its business vision and
community vision. Develop a mechanism to ensure that the volunteer program
fits in and is consistent with the corporation’s other philanthropic efforts.
Incorporate guidelines for the volunteer coordinator to follow.
 Establish company policy on employee volunteer time during work or after
work hours and criteria for additional corporate support regarding
compensation; donation of funds, equipment or company facilities; and
matching donations.
 Target community service efforts to meet community needs, business
strategies and employee interest. Develop a system (via a volunteer
coordinator, employee volunteer committee or other) for choosing which
efforts or organizations the company will support. Outline specific guidelines.
 Consider forming partnerships with other companies or organizations to meet
the needs of projects larger than that which your company could support
alone.
Step 3. Establish program requirements and structure.
 Assess how long it will take to establish and maintain a program.
 Estimate the size of the program. Structure the coordination functions to meet
the anticipated program needs. Does it make more sense to coordinate
volunteer functions internally through a part-time staff person, or to contract
externally with a nonprofit to fill these services?
 Determine the financial and staff resources and commitment needed to
implement and run the program.
13
Step 4. Obtain internal buy-in and resources.
 Obtain top management support for the program; encourage participation
from all levels of the company.
 Ensure that funds are available for the program.
 Acquire adequate staff or services to oversee and coordinate volunteer
program functions.
Step 5. Make it easy and rewarding to volunteer.
 Establish an appropriate and consistent system for publicizing volunteer
opportunities and recruiting volunteers. This may include postings in the
employee break area, writing articles or listings in the company newsletter or
utilizing the power of phone calls and e-mail.
 Provide all relevant details when asking for volunteers. Find out exactly what
type of assistance is needed, location and directions, timeframes for when help
is needed, and a contact person for more information.
 Recognize volunteers for their efforts and dedication—be creative and have
fun. Publicize volunteers in the company newsletter; consider giving perks like
theater or sports tickets if available; host an annual recognition banquet.
 Highlight both internally and externally thank you letters from organizations,
success stories of individuals or communities helped, and testimonials.
 Encourage family participation in volunteer opportunities.
Step 6. Measure and share program success.
 Develop systems to periodically evaluate the cost and benefits of the program
and its impact on the community, the company and employees. Keep track of
staff hours contributed, the monetary value of employees’ time, the number of
organizations served, the number of people assisted, etc.
 Design a report to communicate the volunteer program’s results. Regularly
update and share this report with upper management and employees.
14
Chapter III
Implementing the Employee Volunteering
System at Tesco Poland
This chapter aims to present a scheme of Employee Volunteering System at
Tesco Poland which could be developed and implemented at Tesco Poland. Its
structure is the follow-up of the implementation steps described in the previous
chapter. The scheme includes a prediction of some obstacles which might appear
while launching the system.
1. General assumptions and ground rules
Spatial and time boundaries
This will be a nationwide scheme which will be localized for individual regions and
stores, taking into account the specific needs and wants of these communities.
We suggest setting a 3-year boundary of this program, after which 5 % of each store
staff member will participate in voluntary actions.
Participatory rules
As it is more likely that employee’s will prefer to participate in such schemes during
working hours, due to other commitments and the inconvenience that volunteer work
can incur for employees during social and leisure hours, Tesco will implement its
scheme in an efficient way during the working day. However it will be created in such
away to not be too costly for the company’s production.
In order to foster volunteerism as a part of Tesco Poland organizational culture, and
to dissolve the separation of high level employees and shop workers, the scheme will
integrate all levels of staff from ground floor workers up to management, working
together on the same projects. Our aim is to develop a program which would be of
interest to all types of workers, which will hopefully have the effect of developing and
strengthening relationships between staff floor workers and more senior members of
15
Tesco staff. Floor shop workers will feel that they have more responsibility and that
their ‘voice’ is being heard and more importantly they are valued members of staff,
equal to that of senior managers.
Budget and resources
Financial resources and support for the scheme will be allocated as the project
progresses and will be the responsibility of the operations and finance department
within the company which provide the budget details.
Program Management
We will utilize the knowledge and skills of the current staff in the corporate
responsibility office and appoint a member of staff as a Volunteer Project Manager
(“Community Champion”) who will oversee the operations of this scheme. The
responsibility of this manager will be to ensure that operations are running smoothly
and running in accordance with the needs and wants of the employees. Annually a
meeting will be held where a representative Community Champion from each region
will attend and meet with a panel of Level 5 Tesco Poland employees, where a
progress and a review of the implementation of the current strategy will be discussed
in detail.
Guidelines
Guidelines must be coherently written by management, that will be understood by all
level workers. Although there will be a general framework of guidelines, procedures
and rules that must be maintained to ensure the schemes are not misused, there will
be some flexibility to allow regions to localize issues and adapt them to their specific
needs. Furthermore the guidelines will provide guidance to all Tesco stores which
charities would be deemed acceptable and suit Tesco’s image.
2. Communicating
It is important to establish a consistent and effective system for employee
volunteerism that will be easy for members of staff to utilize. The aim is to use the
current Intranet as a communication tool for the volunteer scheme, which will
provide more specific details for employees on the projects and to perhaps create a
survey online where employees can vote which charity they would most like to work
16
with regards to the project. There will also be information available in this section of
the company intranet which will educate employees and provide evidence of benefits
of volunteerism for the wellbeing of the community and wider society. Through the
intranet system we can collect data and information of the current charities and
volunteer schemes that employees are already involved with and the cause that is
deemed most worthy and will be chosen based on its potential to educate employees
and its suitability with the current CSR sustainability and ecological strategies.
All materials will be provided for by Tesco Polska, under the direction of employees
store Community Champion. For example if the project location is out with the store,
transportation will provided free of charge to project members.
3. Encouraging Employee Voluntarism
Possible suggestions for motivating employees to volunteer:
 A national competition where different project teams will compete to win
recognition of having developed the most successful and engaging project.
Each Tesco region will be present at a national gala (location will be decided by
senior management), where rewards and celebrations will be held and the
winning team will be presented and awarded for their efforts with a trophy.
 Employees and projects will also be described and included in internal Tesco
magazines so continue to spark awareness and interest in volunteerism and to
reinforce its presence within the company. These articles will also feature on
the homepage of the company’s website so that customers and business
partners can read about the volunteer work.
 We could implement individual store competitions based upon a point system,
which is measured on volunteering hours and efforts, whereby employees have
the opportunity to win a small reward (e.g. a basket of fruit) Although we do
not wish to foster a culture of volunteerism based upon physical or financial
rewards, we believe that this may be necessary at the introductory stages of
such a scheme in order to gain initial interest. However this will be slowly
phased out as the culture of volunteerism becomes more established. In order
to make volunteerism normal practice and to break the cultural barrier
towards volunteerism being widely accepted.
17
 It is essential to ensure that Tesco manages and maintains its relationships
with charities professionally. For example it must send thanks to the charities
that have been involved in such projects. Furthermore to strengthen relations
within the company, project members should be thanked (an ecological way to
do so would be through the company email system).
 Aware that communities may be cynical about the motivations of such
volunteer schemes, and belief that such schemes may be only feasible and
appreciated by the larger Tesco hypermarkets. The scheme will be initially
implemented in smaller compact stores, in more rural regions to demonstrate
that these schemes can be implemented by any Tesco outlet and the work of
the volunteers of these smaller regions will also be appreciated and recognized
by senior managers at larger hypermarkets, such as the headquarters at
Krakow.
 Gala events:
After each project has been successful completed and implemented, Tesco will
express its appreciation to volunteers and the charities that are involved by
hosting a celebratory Gala which will unite all those who participated,
integrating Tesco employees with the local community. In order to ensure that
future generations are raised with this mentality of volunteerism, children
from the local community will be involved in such celebratory events to
educate children and adopt positive correlations of volunteerism and charity
work. A possible initiative for the future would be for children to be participate
in actual volunteer work. However such work will only be implemented once
Tesco has an established volunteer scheme.
 Film:
a low budget film will be created and produced around volunteer actions to
raise awareness and encourage participation. Tesco could launch this on its
company intranet for easy accessibility; it could be sent to employees mobiles,
and shown in company meetings. Hopefully the intranet, by the time the
scheme is launched, will be developed and advanced enough so that employees
have access to the website at home so that it can be watched in employee’s free
time and shown to their friends and family.
18
4. Measurement tools and Program Evaluation
Once a program is in place, periodically evaluating its effectiveness, costs and
benefits is a way to demonstrate its value to top management. In addition to gaining
information about added value and worth, the data gathered through evaluation can
provide useful insights for improving the program and planning future activities.
A KPI model should be utilized as an effective method of assessing the success of such
schemes. We recommend to set a new KPI which will precise a percentage of Tesco
employees involved in company’s voluntary program. This KPI will be able to
demonstrate in a quantitative way, to senior management (nationally and
internationally) how the efforts of volunteers is providing measurable results.
Another tool to evaluate the program will be a annual report on employee volunteer
program describing achievements and appreciation to volunteers both from Tesco
company and from external organizations, communities and individuals who took
part in program.
This report as well as being issued internally to all members throughout the company
by uploading it at mojetescp.pl. It will also be disrupted externally through Tesco
website to provide some PR related publications to support the volunteer work.
Employees will actively participate in the collection of the data for this report, as a
survey will be issued to all staff members to assess their views of the volunteer
schemes and will be used to indicate whether cultural attitudes towards volunteerism
are evolving and changing.
19
5. SWOT Analysis of Employee Volunteer Program at Tesco
Poland
SWOT Analysis is a common tool to point strengths, weaknesses of this program and
to estimate its opportunities and threats. The results are presented in the following
table:
Weaknesses
Strengths
 Amount of employees
 small budget on CSR actions
 Amount of stores
 insufficient motivation program
 Experience in the field of CSR
 low level of awareness of corporate
volunteering among employees
 CSR Officer at Tesco
 Significant amount of employees who
has already taken part in the previous
 access to the Intranet provided only
for office staff
 anonymity among employees
volunteer actions
Opportunities
 participation
in
the
Threats
Volunteer
Business Program
in volunteering among floor staff
 a high number of NGO actions
 changing expectations of society and
employees towards corporations
 growing
number
 low level of motivation to participate
of
companies
implementing corporate volunteering
 good press in the local community
 non-effective access to the intranet
for floor staff
 to
high
expectations
from
local
communities and NGOs
 regional
disproportion
of
volunteering actions
 decreasing CSR budget
20
21
6. Recommendation and 0ther remarks

The recent plight of the flood damage which occurred in early 2010, is a
project that strikes a chord with many Polish citizens particularly in
Southern Poland. As such a volunteer program which revolves around the
flood damage and helping repair communities is likely to be very successful
as it is a common plight and is likely to gain a lot of support in local
communities. Thus this is likely to be the cause that will central to our early
volunteering schemes.

We recommend to join Wolontariat Biznesu Program, an initiative that
supports volunteering within corporations and organizations. Becoming a
partner for this initiative and taking part in such actions as International
Volunteer Day or Volunteer Gala Tesco might gain some benefits. First of
all, this would be another way to promote volunteering among employees,
and what is more ensure some additional effective and costless rewarding
for them. Another important advantage of joining this program would be a
possibility to externally promote Tesco involvement into volunteering what
would contribute to its PR policy.

Case Studies of other polish companies and their volunteering program
show that implementation of such program might be successful and
enhances company’s prestige and impacts positively on its image. An
example of Telekomunikacja Polska SA. is described below.
22
TP.SA as an example of company with a successful employee
volunteering program
According Report of Responsibility Business in 2008 Telekomunikacja Polska S.A
started action ‘Education with Internet TP’, which was focused on ensuring safety in
the Internet. The program involved employees from TP SA Group and Orange
company . Volunteers visited schools in their home towns and run classes with about
4 thousands pupils. As a result 135 lectures were held by 47 volunteers.
Employees had one day or half day off to stand their voluntary work. Furthermore
company refunded money spent on transportation. Insurance during volunteering
hours was provided.
Employer benefited on developing better relationship with local community and
improving public image. Employees could directly contribute to the community and
improve communication and interpersonal skills.
Local community, especially
young people had an opportunity to discover safety way to use the Internet.
Decision to repeat “Education with Internet TP” the following year indicates a big
success of this Program. For sure it helped TP SA to achieve their long term goal.
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Summary
Tesco Poland – second biggest retail company after Biedronka in Poland, a
part of UK based Tesco PLC corporation in few past years evaluated an advanced CSR
policy being aware of its importance in corporate strategy. High performance in CSR
field is supported by many prestigious awards, however some elements require
improvement.
One of such improvements could consider employees volunteering. Tesco
Poland doesn’t have strongly developed volunteering system, while numerous
examples of other corporation show that implementing such system contribute
strongly to the society, company’s performance, employees well-being or
environment protection.
This report gives some basic ideas on how to implement employees
volunteering program in Tesco Poland, with particular emphasis on motivating
employees and raising culture of volunteering within company. Although rules
established in this report are rather superficial and should be reviewed and adapted
more deeply to company’s condition, some of its ideas and outcomes could serve as a
starting point to implement volunteering system in Tesco Poland.
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