IBM CSC

IBM is a major player in the technology and consulting space, known for its extensive global footprint and progressive workforce initiatives. The Corporate Service Corps (CSC) program, launched in 2008, exemplifies IBM’s commitment to leveraging its resources for global good while fostering organizational development. The CSC program sends teams of IBM employees on pro bono consulting assignments to emerging markets, aiming to deliver a triple benefit: leadership training for top-performing employees, enhanced brand recognition in emerging markets, and improvements for the host communities through strategic consulting projects.

Scaling and implementing the CSC program presents several challenges. Firstly, effectively monitoring and documenting the social impact of CSC projects is complex, requiring IBM to adapt and refine program metrics and goals continually. Additionally, the program must balance the social benefits with corporate objectives such as business development, marketing, and talent retention. This necessitates a complex logistical and strategic setup involving intensive pre-deployment training, coordination with multiple NGO partners, and continuous engagement with local and regional IBM offices to identify suitable projects and host organizations.

In its ten years of operation, the CSC had evolved considerably. In terms of social impact, IBM was working on ways to more effectively monitor the performance of its projects and considering adjustments to program design to improve their benefit to communities. Many program elements could be adjusted; from the number and choice of implementation partners, to the criteria based on which IBMers were selected for the program, the type, size, or sectoral approach of the organizations IBM chose to assist, the duration of deployment, to the activities performed in pre or post deployment, or the type of partnerships or networks that IBM pursued with the program. However, before any program changes, CSC’s management had to consider not only the depth and breadth of CSC's social benefits, but also the program’s other goals. 

Developed in partnership with EGADE and the University of Ghana.