2017 Business/Corporation
The Advisory Board Company
The Advisory Board Company is a leading best practices firm specializing in healthcare and higher education. In May 2017, The Advisory Board Company was recognized by the Nonprofit Village at its annual “Making a Difference Awards Breakfast” in Bethesda, MD, where it received the 2017 Corporation Making a Difference Award for its service to the community.
Through its Community Impact program, The Advisory Board Company has pioneered a holistic approach to corporate social responsibility, empowering employees at all levels to achieve impact on the community. Its three-pronged approach ensures a sustainable and wide-reaching corporate social responsibility program:
- Cause Communities: The Advisory Board Company has 12 employee-led groups across all departments focusing on specific issues and creating an environment of community service across the firm. These groups focus on a range of causes including animal welfare, education, human trafficking, homelessness, hunger, mental health, public health, social innovation, sustainability, veterans’ issues, and women’s empowerment.
- Pro Bono work: This volunteer opportunity is open to all employees, who lend their expertise and time to service community organizations and nonprofit partners. Employees are encouraged to work on causes and with organizations about which they are passionate. All employees can propose pro bono projects with such organizations, applying through the company RFP process.
- Community Impact Leadership: This year-long training and development opportunity primes over 100 service leaders to motivate and inspire service to the community among other employees. The Advisory Board has three different types of leadership roles: Cause Community leaders, Nonprofit Executive aAdvisors, and Department Impact Leaders. Each has a role to play in promoting community impact work and acting as experts on their cause of choice.
Making Corporate Social Responsibility Integral to the Firm Culture
Since 2007, The Advisory Board Company has reaffirmed its commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility and to ensuring its work is meaningful to the community. Sticking close to its core mission, the firm has enabled all of its employees to participate in the company’s overarching CSR work through their participation in one of the above programs.
Crucially, the company culture supports employees in their service to the community by allowing them up to 10 hours per month out of their regular work hours to carry out volunteering work. In this regard, The Advisory Board Company offers the leading volunteer leave policy nationally. Through this initiative, employees gain skills and knowledge, advancement, and professional development opportunities while dedicating themselves to causes they are passionate about. In enabling employees to volunteer their time in such a way, The Advisory Board Company recognizes the importance that younger generations are placing on working for employers with a strong CSR program.
This approach has enabled The Advisory Board Company to complete over 120 pro bono projects, provide over 35,000 hours of service, and hold over 100 in-office service and learning events in 2016 alone. Additionally, more than 160 employees serve on nonprofit boards.
Maximizing the company’s core values and mission
In enacting corporate social responsibility measures, The Advisory Board Company utilizes its best assets by providing specialized pro bono services to nonprofit partners in the community. The Advisory Board Company leverages its most powerful tool, best practice research, grounding its strategy in the belief that great insight must be shared to empower the community. This impetus drives The Advisory Board Company to tailor the best practices in healthcare and education—derived from the firm’s research, technology and consulting work— to the unique and specific needs of partner nonprofits served through its innovative corporate social responsibility initiative.
Leading Partner