How Doing Good Makes Doing Great Easier

Helping others feels good. But does philanthropy make sense for the bottom line of a fast-growing company? The answer is yes…if it is done in the right way. To have a real impact on recruitment, retention, morale, and truly benefit the cause, volunteer activities have to be a grassroots movement supported by management commitment. Let me explain. 

Recruiting Made Easier Through Aligned Values

Credit Karma is an innovative, technology-driven financial services company operating in a competitive environment for engineering talent. My never-ending quest to attract skilled engineers is aided by the fact that our “product” is giving people the tools to take control of their financial lives. That is a mission that almost anyone can get behind. The friendly, practical and non-judgmental way we approach credit optimization makes working here feel even better. People who care about our mission self-select by applying to move it forward. So by the time we have the first phone call, the candidate and I can be pretty certain that we share a vision for making the financial world an easier place to navigate. Those aligned values make my job easier so we can get on to other details.

Retaining Fulfilled Employees

In Maslow’s famous “Hierarchy of Needs” pyramid, the top parts of the triangle are dedicated to things like belonging and actualization that are expressed when we look beyond ourselves and do things for others. We believe that employees who are encouraged to use their skills in a philanthropic way will feel better about where they work. That leads to happier employees who are more productive and less inclined to look for fulfillment elsewhere, reducing recruiting costs and limiting the chaos of turnover.

While recruitment, retention and morale are good reasons to encourage philanthropy, we also include it in our operational plan because it is just the right thing to do. Volunteering has been part of Credit Karma’s DNA since the beginning. Our founder and CEO, Kenneth Lin and his team support taking the time to be a force for good in the community. That means a lot. Sometimes it is a half-day or daylong activity that takes people away from the office. Sometimes it is an organized evening or a weekend event, and sometimes it is something the employee does independently, but the drive to participate comes from them. The C-Suite is there for support. They show that support by making accommodations in meetings and schedules and participating themselves.

Whether it is serving meals for the families at Ronald McDonald House or pounding nails for Habitat for Humanity where we are in our fifth-year of participation, employees are the ones who decide how they want to use their volunteer time. One of the most recent additions was Project Open Hand, a group in San Francisco that has been “nourishing the community for 30 years” through meals and groceries. This worthwhile cause needs all the help it can get sorting and preparing food for the elderly and ill. This was an idea brought by an employee and has now been incorporated into our new hire orientation program so everyone understands our commitment from day one.

These are powerful experiences. When you and your fellow employees are working together for the good of the community that creates a strong shared bond that makes working together the next day in the office even more rewarding. It helps engagement, which helps retention.

Managing Good

Any program, no matter how well-intentioned, can get out of hand if not properly managed. That is why we have the Doing Good Committee at Credit Karma to vet the ideas and ensure that they are the best use of resources so the company can have the maximum impact on the community. 

It all starts with a true spirit of making a difference every day. But it doesn’t end there. When we have a shared philosophy of aligned values and ideals, that makes everything else so much easier. 

Ragini Parmar is the VP of Talent Operations at Credit Karma, an online consumer finance platform with over 60 million members that offers truly free credit scores and reports alongside a suite of financial management tools. Since joining Credit Karma in January 2013, she’s overseen the company’s growth from a headcount of 40 employees, to over 400. Stay up on Credit Karma job news at the company careers page or by following Ragini on Twitter at @ragini_parmar.