Employee engagement

Crises and emergencies happen regularly and can strike anywhere in the world. When a disaster strikes, it is imperative to provide relief as quickly, efficiently and effectively as possible. While the Z Zurich Foundation cannot respond to all crises, we do provide assistance for two types of disasters:

1) Disasters on a global scale that are so large that they cannot be dealt with by the usual in-country coping mechanisms, and merit a much broader response. The Z Zurich Foundation will launch a global appeal for employee support, with the Z Zurich Foundation matching all donations made, capped at CHF 250,000 maximum per appeal. A recent example of disasters we have launched campaign for include the tsunami in Indonesia (2018).

2) Local disasters, when a major disaster hits a country in which Zurich has an office but where it is not so large as to need a global response. At the request of the local office, the Z Zurich Foundation will launch a local appeal for employee donations, with the Z Zurich Foundation matching all donations made, capped at CHF 10,000 maximum per appeal. Recent examples of disasters for which we have launched campaigns include mudslides in Mocoa, Colombia (2017), and earthquakes in central Italy (2016).

In addition to the cases mentioned here, the Z Zurich Foundation also contributes CHF 500,000 annually to the International Federation of Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies’ Disaster Relief Emergency Fund. This fund allows local Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies access to emergency funding in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, ensuring relief can still be provided even though donations to public appeals may not yet have begun.

Each year, the Z Zurich Foundation allocates an annual budget of CHF 1m to match employee fundraising for good causes.

Each year, the Z Zurich Foundation allocates a budget of CHF 500,000 to match employee volunteering hours with donations to good causes. This is designed to encourage employees to volunteer during business hours, while recognizing that volunteering also comes at a financial cost to the charities involved. Each country submits its total volunteer hours to the Z Zurich Foundation, and in return and it earns a proportional share of the overall funding for its chosen organization. Skills-based volunteering receives a higher weighting than standard volunteering, as research shows sharing employees’ business skills, expertise and knowledge is often more valuable to charitable organizations. .

In 2017, the Z Zurich Foundation launched a program to recognize employees who make significant contributions in their communities. Employees can nominate their colleagues for a wide range of activities, including fundraising, volunteering and campaigning. Regional winners will be selected by an employee panel of judges, and prize money of USD 60,000 will be awarded to community groups chosen by each of the winners. Read more about our 2018 winners. From 2019 onwards, based on feedback from Zurich employees, the Zurich Community Champion Awards are evolving into Community Hero Awards to recognize and to support event more employees and community groups.

Each year, Zurich encourages its local offices to celebrate the work they do in their communities. We call this Zurich Community Week. Some offices use the week to conduct fundraising or volunteering activities, some use the week to highlight important causes, while others tell stories about their achievements over the past 12 months. No matter how it is structured, we believe employees should use it as an opportunity to reflect on, and be proud of their commitment to improving the lives of others.

We always look for ways to add value to the organizations we support. Upon request, we carry out capacity audits to help them identify skills gaps, and work with them to find a Zurich employee with the appropriate expertise to help close those gaps. This is done through a formal secondment opportunity, where employees are taken out of their usual business role for the length of the project and seconded to the supported organization. Structured support from HR enables employees to learn as much as possible from the experience and identify skills that they can transfer back into their business roles. In the past, these opportunities have covered areas such as business strategy, HR policy development, communications and financial planning.

New initiatives are currently being piloted with the support of Zurich employees.