01 Feb 2007
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Executive staff attending a community event
Senior leaders supporting the Communication, Navigation, Identification & Reconnaissance (CNIR) Line of Business have also been assigned as ambassadors for local community and social responsibility programs.
The LoB leadership considers the involvement a Best Practice within the Electronics & Integrated Solutions (E&IS) operating group.
Executive staff attend events and help represent BAE Systems as part of CNIR's "VP Champion" program. Members of CNIR's Communications function in 2005 asked the CNIR LoB executive staff for assistance to "champion" nearly all of the community relations initiatives. "We were looking for a way to involve our senior staff in programs so we would have more resources — as well as showing our employees that we support our community," said Alicia La Pierre, manager, Community Relations and Internal Communications.
“The vice presidents and other executives have been attending kick-off events and dinners, mentoring, delivering speeches to high school students, and drumming up volunteers within their organizations.” Benefits include having senior management “buy in” provoke employee interest, creating greater success for the community event.
The program helps to support customer affinity events with an appropriate level of representation. It also rewards employees with high-profile galas, sporting events tickets and recognition programs. “The VP Champion process works in tandem with the site leads,” said La Pierre. “With the whole executive staff involved, we can cover more community territory and most of the executives champion their own directorates for additional support.”
For 2006, CNIR plans to expand its Customer Affinity programs and the VP Champions are focused to meet a 15 percent increase in programs that benefit the war fighter, said La Pierre.
