At E4E Relief, we're pleased to have partnered with The Conference Board (TCB) on groundbreaking research that illuminates the evolving relationship between human resources and corporate citizenship and resulted in the 2025 report, Strategic Integration of HR & Corporate Citizenship: Insights for the C-Suite. This collaboration has been instrumental in capturing critical data from over 150 leaders at national and multinational companies about where HR and CSR are heading and how they're more strategically engaging to reach similar goals. We're thrilled to work alongside TCB in documenting trends that will shape how companies support their people and communities for years to come.
The findings? Better together. Key business and social outcomes result from stronger collaboration between these two functions.
More than 60% of companies report increased collaboration between HR and corporate citizenship over the past three years. This is a positive direction, and the opportunity is still meaningful. The reality is that most organizations are stuck at the program level, coordinating volunteer initiatives and matching gift campaigns while missing the strategic opportunity in front of them.
Only a small minority have achieved genuine enterprise-level integration where HR and citizenship functions operate as true strategic partners and many are wading in ad hoc coordination, unclear accountability and non-functional governance structures. When asked about barriers, leaders point to limited resources, competing priorities and, tellingly, difficulty demonstrating concrete business impact.
Here's the problem: Without finance-grade return on investment metrics and clear ownership structures, HR-citizenship collaboration will always be seen as want rather than a non-negotiable. That means company leaders are leaving enormous value on the table. Shared goals will provide momentum for the important work that both functions are doing and allow them to strengthen efforts for the good of their workforce and the community.
Want to see an example of a meaningful HR-citizenship partnership? Look no further than employee Emergency Financial Relief programs.
These programs – which provide direct financial support to employees facing natural disasters, medical emergencies or other acute hardships – represent collaboration at its most effective. More than half of surveyed professionals now offer formal company employee relief programs, with another 21% either operating informally or actively considering adoption. Even more promising, 38% expect to increase their investment over the next three years.
Why the momentum? Because employee relief programs deliver measurable results that resonate in the C-suite. They strengthen loyalty at moments of peak vulnerability. They reduce absenteeism and turnover during crises that threaten operational continuity. They transform employer reputation with employees, investors and regulators by demonstrating authentic, values-driven support when it matters most.
Yet here's the challenging paradox: Despite their proven value, most employees don't even know these programs exist. Limited awareness is the single biggest barrier to utilization, followed by complex application processes and overly restrictive eligibility requirements. Companies are building safety nets that employees can't find when unexpected hardships happen.
The solution requires joint ownership from day one. Citizenship and HR teams partner to design a sustainable and equitable program that will offer a ready response to crisis. Together they can identify funding resources, program management and communication. Employees receive dignified, stigma-free access to support, organizations build resilience into their workforce DNA and both functions demonstrate tangible impact that justifies continued investment.
The external forces driving deeper integration aren't slowing down. Employee expectations, crisis management demands, regulatory pressures and economic volatility are all pushing HR and Corporate Citizenship professionals toward tighter alignment. Nearly half of surveyed leaders anticipate collaboration deepening over the next three years.
But expectation isn't destiny. Structural progress requires executive leadership prioritizing the work amidst full plates: establishing dual sponsorship between CHROs and citizenship leaders, institutionalizing shared goals and metrics that link retention and engagement to community impact and clarifying mandates so both functions know exactly who owns what.
Most critically, companies need to reframe how they think about this partnership. Corporate citizenship can't remain philanthropy' and community engagement domain alone; it must become a recognized pillar of talent strategy. That means embedding relief programs, volunteering initiatives and giving campaigns into the broader benefits ecosystem and positioning them as differentiators in competitive talent markets.
Employee relief programs aren't just safety nets; they're strategic investments. They represent clear evidence that when HR and corporate citizenship collaborate, companies can navigate the ongoing challenges related to climate disasters and personal hardships in a charitable manner. This effort delivers immediate humanitarian support while building long-term organizational resilience, strengthening culture and driving positive perception.