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Nuheat Industries warms to employee-led model of giving

By Stephani Samaridis

People like to give and nowhere is that more apparent than at Nuheat Industries Ltd, manufacturer of an electric radiant floor warming system. In an effort to engage their employees in the spirit of giving, they have developed a model that is simple, fun and highly successful. This year, Nuheat raised over $40,000 for Canuck Place Children’s Hospice.

While the management at Nuheat had always been involved in charitable giving, employees became involved in 1998 when a cause caught the eye of a particular individual. The employee-led initiative began with the staff offering to work one Saturday for free if the company agreed to donate the wages to the charity of their choice. From that moment on, everyone caught the charitable bug, and the program now has 100-per-cent employee participation.

Typically, staff will support the company’s charity of choice, provided the leader is inspired and has a compelling story. Having a local angle to help the employees’ community is important, as is choosing a charity that serves a demographic population that the employees can relate to.

"Canuck Place was an excellent choice for our program this year as many of our staff have children or are getting married with family to follow," explained John Rose of Nuheat. "This program provides staff an avenue to take ownership of an initiative to help and relish in the feeling of making a difference while giving a company the opportunity to demonstrate corporate social responsibility. This has become increasingly important to the younger work force and provides a positive story to tell our customers."

Employee-giving speaks to the culture of a company. Employees are eager to be a part of a project and be contributors to its success. Personal pride and corporate pride can only lead to committed employees and business success. As the workforce and the focus of people’s lives change, so too, must the work environment.

"The success of a program is not always about dollars raised, but about people and their engagement, a sense of belonging to a greater good," said John. "I hope that Nuheat can provide inspiration to other companies, as this campaign has not only enriched the lives of the children and families of Canuck Place through our donations, but has also allowed our employees to embrace life."

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