Pebl Centralizes Global Volunteering in One Scalable Program

Pebl

Global Employment / HR Technology

Key Offerings

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Centralized, scalable, and global. Those are the three words that come to mind when I think about Percent Pledge.
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}_,_{Senior Employee Success Partner}

About Pebl

Pebl is a global employer of record and workforce management company. It helps businesses hire, pay, and manage people in more than 185 countries. Pebl has helped shape its category for a decade and serves thousands of customers. It has 500+ employees, and many of them work remotely. Pebl was formerly known as Velocity Global.

Giving back has always been part of the culture. In Pebl's early years, the company held a day of giving every year on its anniversary. Employees took the day off to volunteer in their offices and communities.

Then Pebl grew fast, and the tradition paused as the company focused on growth. Pebl was no longer a local company. It was a global one, and that made the team rethink how it approached giving back.

Volunteering has gone through different stages here at Pebl.
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

In an effort to bring this back to life, Pebl partnered with Percent Pledge to launch a centralized, scalable, and global volunteering program. It also restores something that was once central to Pebl's culture and employee experience.

To hear the story in their own words, we sat down with Isabel Cristina Tobón, Senior Employee Success Partner at Pebl.

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Why Pebl Brought Back Its Corporate Volunteering Program

Every year, Pebl surveys its employees about their experience at work. Last year, social impact and social connection came up as one of the lowest categories. That survey showed the team it needed to act.

Employees were sharing their thoughts. Volunteering had become less frequent, and many mentioned how much they missed it.

Tobón says the team wanted employees to know they had been heard.

We wanted to say, 'Hey, you've mentioned this. We've heard you. We care about you.'
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

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Finding a Centralized, Scalable, and Global Partner

Pebl knew it had to do something. Now it needed the right partner.

After considering different options, Percent Pledge stood out as a strong partner. Pebl already knew about Percent Pledge's monthly Community Volunteer Events, and that was a key reason it chose Percent Pledge.

The people team also had no extra bandwidth. They needed support to coordinate and scale the program.

Pebl needed a partner that was centralized, global, and scalable. It found all three in Percent Pledge.

Before it could move forward, the people team had to win support.

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Making the Business Case for Corporate Volunteering Software

Tobón built a deck for Pebl's chief financial officer. He wanted numbers, so she gave him three.

Retention. What a stronger giving culture could mean for employee retention.
Outsource or build. The cost of working with Percent Pledge versus hiring someone to run the program in-house.
Cost per employee. How the price compared with other employee programs.

Comparing the cost of Percent Pledge to hiring someone in-house made the decision clear. It just made way more sense.
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

One more fact helped her case. Pebl already offered volunteer time off, but employees weren't using it the way the company expected.

"We were not using this benefit in the way it was expected. It was a combination of lack of opportunity and lack of awareness," said Tobón.

Pebl had already invested in the benefit. Percent Pledge would help bring it to life.

The numbers made the decision clear, and the CFO approved the partnership. Now Pebl had to get started.

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Launching with Percent Pledge: "A very smooth process"

Tobón remembers a launch that was easy:

It's a very smooth process. Fast and straightforward. And the guidelines are super easy to follow.
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

The kickoff call set the tone. “I really appreciated the kickoff call with our Social Impact Manager,” said Tobón. She added, “It’s such a helpful way to align expectations and set the tone for what it looks like to work together.”

And the partnership has lived up to those expectations ever since.

You've proven us right since that day. You truly keep your promises.
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

Getting started with Percent Pledge follows three steps:

Kickoff meeting. Meet your Social Impact Manager.
Integrations and communications. Connect your HRIS and single sign-on, and receive custom communication kits and guides.
Live launch demos. Percent Pledge hosts up to three, free of charge.

It took Pebl just a couple of weeks. New clients typically launch in days or weeks, not months.

With the program in place, Pebl was ready for its first big moment.

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Global Month of Service: Kicking Off Corporate Volunteering at Pebl

Pebl chose to kick off with a Global Month of Service. It was centered on the anniversary of the company's founding, the same occasion as the day of giving Pebl held in its early years.

Percent Pledge organized six volunteer events across a two-week period. The events reached employees in Europe, North America, and South America.

In person: team events in California, Colorado, and London.
Virtual: several events that brought in employees from around the world, including South America.

The virtual events gave Pebl's large remote workforce a way to join in.

In Palo Alto, employees volunteered at a local food bank. Aarushi Srivastava, an executive assistant in the Palo Alto office, told Tobón it was a great event. She said everything was clear and organized.

Pebl's leadership wanted more.

We actually want to do this later in the year again. This was such a great experience that we don't want to make it a one-time thing.
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

The engagement survey had been the spark that started Pebl's search. The Global Month of Service was the first sign it had worked. "That was the first spark of seeing social impact come back to life at Pebl," said Tobón.

Tobón says what stood out was the team bonding:

The main highlight was the team bonding that comes from coming together and giving for a greater good. It was also a chance for folks who have been working so hard these past few years to do something outside of work.
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

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Continuing to Scale Global Volunteering With Dedicated Support

After the Global Month of Service, Pebl kept going. Employee demand for volunteering is high, and many HR/People teams lack the bandwidth to meet it. Here is what centralized, global volunteering that employees notice and join looks like at Pebl, without adding bandwidth.

Working With a Dedicated Social Impact Team

Tobón says the relationship and support are what she appreciates most about Percent Pledge. She works with a team of dedicated experts, including Social Impact Manager Lenna Daniels and Mick Alpert.

Their responsiveness is a great example. Requests often arrive at the last minute. Nonprofits still need to be vetted. Details still need to come together.

What I appreciate most about the relationship we have with Percent Pledge is how responsive the team is. People throw last minute requests at us and I know it requires a lot behind the scenes, but you’ve always beat our expectations.
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

The proposals feel built for Pebl.

Every time you come back with a proposal, you're taking into consideration our needs and our focus for each event. It doesn't look like you just Googled and shared the first one that came to mind. You're giving details and making our lives easier.
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

The communication stays consistent and transparent, which is appreciated when you’re short on time. Tobón added: "If there's any delay, you keep the communication transparent and clear, and offer alternatives. It's really smooth and very organized."

Tobón's responsibilities grew significantly this year, and she credits Percent Pledge’s support as a key reason why the program was still able to scale.

If I didn't have Percent Pledge backing me up, we wouldn't have been able to scale the program. There's no way I could have managed it on my own.
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

Volunteer Events Tied to Company Milestones

Pebl also ties volunteering to big moments in the company's life.

It has been super helpful to tie volunteering to specific celebrations within our company and big milestones like opening the Toronto office. Percent Pledge was a great help there.
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

Pebl opened its Toronto office this year. Percent Pledge organized a volunteer event to go with the opening. A representative from the nonprofit partner came to share the story of the community Pebl was helping. Pebl's chief legal officer joined in.

The team loved it.

The Toronto event got super great feedback from the team. In the pictures, you can see people so engaged in the activity.
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

The event started as a passing idea, just three weeks before the opening. It came from Pebl's own team. Since the partnership began, volunteering has been on people's minds in a way it hadn’t been in some time. Percent Pledge pulled the event together on short notice.

It just randomly came up in a conversation that a volunteer event would be a nice way to bring people together. Now people think, 'We can actually do this. We can make it happen.'
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

Virtual Volunteering for Remote Employees

Pebl's remote employees can take part too.

Pebl's program has two main parts. Percent Pledge organizes full-service volunteer events, like those in the Global Month of Service. Pebl also uses Percent Pledge's volunteer management software as its central hub that brings employee engagement and reporting together in one place.

Percent Pledge also hosts ready-made virtual volunteer opportunities every month, called Community Volunteer Events. Each one lasts an hour, is tied to an important date, and employees join from anywhere. A nonprofit partner presents, and employees take part together. They come with the platform at no extra cost.

Employees can opt in with no planning, and Pebl's team doesn't have to organize them.

I really appreciate the virtual volunteer opportunities you offer. As a remote employee myself, I always think of remote employees, and it's so great that we can give them options too.
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

Tobón has even received unprompted messages on Slack praising the monthly Community Volunteer Events.

One employee told me, 'Oh, this is so much fun. This was so easy to do.'
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

Tobón now shares that positive feedback whenever she promotes the program. Hearing it from colleagues encourages other employees to join.

Employees Are Utilizing Their Volunteer Time Off (VTO) Benefit

Employees are now using the benefit the way Pebl intended.

Now that Percent Pledge exists, we're getting questions like, 'Can I put my time off on Percent Pledge? Can I track it there?' A year ago, we never got any of those questions.
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

Employees have already logged nearly 150 volunteer hours in just the first six months of the partnership.

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Volunteering Is Now an Ongoing Employee Expectation

The Global Month of Service, the Toronto event, the monthly Community Volunteer Events, and employees logging their VTO hours all point the same way. Employees now expect volunteering to be a part of life at Pebl. The culture of giving that Tobón and Pebl's leaders envisioned for this program is taking shape.

We initially saw this as a nice-to-have. But as we keep having these opportunities, it's becoming an expectation. Volunteering and giving back are now part of the conversation.
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

The survey showed that, six months into the partnership, Pebl's social connection score had increased.

There's a lot more we can do. But seeing an increase gives us a good signal that something is shifting, and people are noticing.
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

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One Centralized Program That's Global but Feels Local

All of this runs through one program. It supports Pebl's employees worldwide, and each event still feels local.

Centralized support to scale global social impact efforts that also feel targeted to local sites. That's the first thing that comes to mind.
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

The local feel comes from Percent Pledge's knowledge on the ground. Tobón works remotely. She has still been able to create impact in cities around the world.

We've been able to make an impact in different cities thanks to your connections and your knowledge on the ground.
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

Looking back on the first year, Tobón says this is the biggest achievement.

When we look back at this first year, that has been the greatest achievement. Having one place to see all of the good that has been done, feel genuinely connected to the company, and promote more ongoing opportunities in the smoothest way possible.
_{Isabel Cristina Tobón}

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Next Up for Pebl

Pebl plans another Global Month of Service in April.

The company keeps growing. Toronto opened this year, with Medellin and Bangalore following. The program will grow with each new office.

Pebl wants to keep building its culture of giving. That means:

Even more use of volunteer time off
Even higher engagement survey scores
More ways for employees to give

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More Companies Building a Culture of Giving

Pebl isn't the only company that built a stronger culture of giving with Percent Pledge.

Datasite’s small team runs a global program that "meets employees where they're at" with Percent Pledge. Read the Datasite story.

Progress Software logged more volunteer hours in their first six months on Percent Pledge than in the prior three years combined. Read the Progress Software story.

DRW employees raised more than $1.5 million in a global giving campaign. Read the DRW story.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What's it like to get started with Percent Pledge?

Pebl called it "a very smooth process." Getting started has three steps: a kickoff meeting with your Social Impact Manager, integrations and communications, and live launch demos. Pebl launched in just a couple of weeks. New clients typically launch in days or weeks, not months.

What is a Global Month of Service?

A Global Month of Service is a company-wide volunteering program centered on a meaningful date. Pebl's centered on its founding anniversary. Percent Pledge organized six events across a two-week period, with in-person and virtual options in Europe, North America, and South America.

How can a global company run volunteering across many offices?

Pebl runs in-person events in key offices and virtual events for everyone else, all from one central program. Local knowledge from Percent Pledge keeps each event relevant to its community.

How do you get employees to use a volunteer time off benefit?

Pebl offered volunteer time off, but employees weren't using it the way the company expected. After launching Percent Pledge, employees began asking how to track their time, and they logged nearly 150 volunteer hours in the first six months.

How do you make the business case for corporate volunteering software?

Pebl's People team showed its CFO three things: the effect on retention, the cost of outsourcing versus hiring in-house, and the cost per employee compared with other programs.

How can volunteering include remote employees?

Monthly virtual Community Volunteer Events let employees join from anywhere. Each lasts one hour and comes ready-made, so no one has to plan anything.

Can an HR or People team with limited bandwidth run a global volunteering program?

Pebl's People team had no extra bandwidth. Isabel Cristina Tobón, Senior Employee Success Partner at Pebl, says the program wouldn't have scaled without Percent Pledge. A dedicated Social Impact Manager supports nonprofit vetting and event planning, and local knowledge supports events in each region.

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