Kiwi recruitment company Younity gave a $250 Good Gift Card to every member of their team last Christmas - a phenomenally impactful gift.
We asked their Managing Director Richard Vaughan to tell us a bit about their team, what drives their culture of giving, and the good vibes they enjoyed giving through The Good Registry.
First up, Richard tells us about Younity's 'Y':
Our company name, Younity starts with a Y and it’s fitting, because our ‘why’ drives everything we do. Our why comes from our beliefs, that we believe in meaningful experiences, making a positive and real difference to our people, our partners and our community, all underlined by a focus on doing sustainable business. In short, being a good ancestor.
What was the reason you decided to give each team member a Good Gift Card?
As I said, we believe in meaningful, positive experiences underlined by giving back, making a real impact, and doing it in a sustainable way. There are so many worthy charities out there that we could support, and as a company we focus our charity and sponsorship budget on causes that help build our community, grow our future tech talent, and help us look after our planet.
With that in mind, our team is made up of people who each have different causes that they are personally passionate about, from charities that touched their lives at some point to societal issues that they care about. We wanted to find a way to support them in a personal and meaningful way, and we were looking for a solution that will be easy to implement.
The Good Registry Gift cards ticked all our boxes – each person could personalise their giving, they could give the whole $250 to one charity or decide to break it up and support a few, it was also very easy to set up and manage the process. Best of all, as it was all done digitally it was a 100% sustainable gift giving! #winning
How did that decision align with your values?
It dovetailed perfectly. Our Younity ‘We Believe’ statement is core to everything we do. It’s not just words on a wall in our office, it’s our driving force and is core to our team culture. It’s how we work and how we relate to the world outside.
So, to be able to help our team to give back and do it in a way that is meaningful to them personally, which will also be good for the planet and for team morale was a no-brainer.
Tell us a bit more about your values and the importance of them to Younity’s owners and the team :)
When we started Younity in 2017, we were four people who knew there had to be a different and better way to do IT recruitment. We wanted to start something that we personally believed in, a business that cares about its people and the planet.
Our first step was setting up our guiding principles, our ‘We Believe’ statement which is entrenched in everything we do and is our ‘why’: “We believe in creating meaningful experiences for our people, our partners and our community. We believe in delivering positive experiences, investing in relationships, growing together and giving back and we know that we’re in a better place when our people grow, our partners succeed, and our community thrives.”
These principles frame our business decisions, strategic planning, our partnerships, and our daily interactions, it is our compass as we navigate our way ahead.
What was the response from your team?
It was quite emotional! When we announced our Good Registry initiative at our staff Christmas bash the response was spontaneous whooping and applause - there was a lot of joy in the room. I had several people come up to me that day to say thank you, I really appreciate this opportunity to support a cause that’s close to my heart.
I also had quite a few emails from our team afterwards and getting feedback like ‘thanks for making this happen, it’s such a lovely thing to do on a Monday afternoon, I really appreciate it’ and ‘thank you so much, this is an incredible gift 😊’, made it clear that this was a meaningful initiative to our people.
What surprised you most?
I think the outburst of genuine elation and emotion when we announced it took me a little by surprise – I knew that our people would love the Good Gift Cards and choosing their own charities, but it showed that giving back was a value that we truly live and breathe across our organisation.
I was also surprised by the variety of causes that our staff contributed to and it was interesting to see which charities received the most number of donations, with the Mental Health Foundation and Wellington Women’s Refuge coming out top, and Chained Dog Rehabilitation & Rehoming in third place. It gave us a bit of a snapshot of our team’s charity heart, so to speak!
What delighted you most?
That we could give our team an opportunity to give back to causes that are close to their hearts, the positive impact it had on our team spirit and making a difference to so many charities.
The excellent support from The Good Registry team was also fantastic and your team made the whole process easy and painless with clear instructions, quick turnaround times and great reporting and feedback.
What did you learn?
It affirmed to me that people appreciate the opportunity to help do good in this world, at our core people are kind and good and we want to make a difference. And you don’t have to give people things to make them happy, the gift of giving was a special experience.
By giving our staff the opportunity to support a charity of their choice we received so much in turn – goodwill, positive team spirit and cohesion. I’d highly recommend adding this element to any company’s corporate social responsibility budget, it’s a win-win.
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