Adding value through experience
In 2010 1,000 staff members across the Santander Group will carry out community projects
ranging from educational projects in schools to painting community buildings to clearing woodland.
The Programme is helping to bring the Group’s different sites and teams together following the
launch of Santander in the UK on 11 January 2010, combining the staff and businesses of Abbey,
Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester. The initiative also highlights the overall Santander
Community Relations programme and provides Santander staff with an example of the many things
they can do in the community.
CCWorks’ high level of service which draws on its wealth of experience in the field, and the software
used to manage the volunteering opportunities have been important to the smooth running of the
Community Days Programme.
“CCWorks customer service has been brilliant”, says Sheralee Morris, Community Relations
Senior Manager at Santander. “They understand our needs and how to meet them, and I find
them easy to work with.”
A simple online system that works
CCWorks and Santander are using the Community ODM online database system to manage the
Community Days programme. CCWorks sources suitable team challenge opportunities and uploads
them on to the database from their offices in Kent. Across the UK Santander staff at nine Head Office
locations are able search for volunteering projects by location or type of project from their desk.
Although the database is an off-the-shelf system, it can be configured to meet a company’s individual
needs and brand identity.
As Sheralee Morris says, “It’s useful to have all the necessary information on one site. It is
quick and easy for Santander staff to search for projects, with drop-down menus for further
details. It is simple for the Santander administrator to track how many people have reserved
and completed the volunteering projects. You can also upload photos of the completed
projects, and the feedback forms allow Santander to report on the activities that have been
completed.”
Furthermore, if Santander staff have a query, they can contact the CCWorks helpline via telephone or
email, and if they can’t find a volunteering opportunity that suits them, CCWorks will create a
bespoke project.
“I would definitely recommend CCWorks. I am delighted with the service and their extensive
experience of running volunteering programmes,” Sheralee Morris concludes.
