When Andrew Witty became CEO at GSK there was a burning question on all employees minds: would he honor the tradition created by his predecessor, JP Garnier?
You see at the end of every year, Garnier would reward employees with an extra day off for a job well done, and it became known as "JP Day." So when Witty gave his first employee broadcast, there was a collective intake of breath when he announced that he wasn't going to honor JP Day.
Instead he was creating Orange Day. Though not an extra vacation day, employees could take an extra day off each year to volunteer in their communities. The employee outcry could be heard around the globe--but it was a cry of unanimous support! GSK employees have embraced Orange Day with amazing gusto. A recent post highlighted the Orange Day initiative for the Philadelphia Communications team at GSK. Recently, GSK set out to make an impact in Alabama, as a group of our sales professionals helped put smiles on the faces of children with cancer.
Located in Alexander City, AL, Camp Smile-A-Mile is a non-profit organization that provides year-round activities for kids with cancer--or those who've survived it--as well as their families. And while it relies on the kindness of volunteers, when Executive Director Lynn Thompson told her staff that about 100 people were coming to help out from GSK, the staff didn't believe her. This was the biggest volunteer organization that the camp had ever had. "The manpower that GSK was able to provide, it was like a dream come true," said Thompson. "This was the biggest volunteer organization that we've ever had. It exceeded my expectations by 1,000 percent."
The GSK team felt Camp Smile-A-Mile was worth the visit. "Whenever you're dealing with people who have unfortunate situations, it's humbling--and makes you feel proud to be part of an organization that can give back in some form or fashion," said Jim, a GSK sales manager and volunteer."
GSK volunteers did everything: planted flowers, washed equipment, constructed picnic tables and benches, repaired bicycles, and painted.
"I had never done any kind of woodworking, and that was one of the reasons that I chose it," said a GSK volunteer. "At one point I looked like a giant ball of sawdust. I was covered from head to toe, but it was all worth it."
GSK staffers assembled spa kits for female campers, complete with bath sponges, lotion, fingernail polish, soap and shampoo samples, and provided sleeping bags for male campers. They also helped with landscaping.
"It's hard to measure what GSK employees did for the camp," Thompson said, adding she "couldn't put a dollar figure on it."
GSK employees said they got much more than they gave.
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