IAOP, The Rockefeller Foundation Announce Winners of 2019 Global Impact Sourcing Award

WINDERMERE, Fla. - Jan. 31, 2019 - PRLog -- IAOP®, together with The Rockefeller Foundation, announced today the winners of its 2019 Global Impacting Sourcing Award (GISA) (https://www.iaop.org/Content/19/165/4856/Default.aspx). This award recognizes both buyer and provider organizations as well as influencing organizations that are impacting local communities by creating jobs in the BPO industry in underserved areas.

Winners were chosen in three categories and are as follows:

·         Impact Sourcing in a Purchasing Organization: Intuit

·         Impact Sourcing in a Provider Organization: Samasource (tie)

·         Impact Sourcing in a Provider Organization: RuralShores (tie)

·         Impact Sourcing Influencer: Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator

IAOP and The Rockefeller Foundation will present their second annual Global Impact Sourcing Awards to the winners at a luncheon on February 19^th during OWS19.

"The 2019 GISA recipients were selected because they are helping to drive awareness of Impact Sourcing across the BPO industry," said Jon Browning, IAOP CSR Committee Chair. "With so many companies now employing this model, the judges had a difficult time selecting the 11 finalists and eventually after much deliberation, the four winners.  Companies were chosen based on the significance of Impact Sourcing to their overall business strategy, their public commitment and promotion of the model, and the actual results achieved. IAOP is proud to showcase examples of impact sourcing where buyers partner with providers who are committed to inclusive hiring practices."

"Impact sourcing is no longer about finding a cause to support; it's a smart way of doing business," said Debi Hamill, IAOP CEO. "Today, more than ever, it's important to recognize responsible businesses. We salute these organizations for their continued efforts and positive influences they continue to make in our industry and in our global communities.

Impact Sourcing in a Purchasing Organization — Intuit: Intuit has created 800-plus jobs in underserved communities struggling with high unemployment. Through its Mission Hope initiative, it opened sites with Sykes Enterprise in an old coal mining town in Virginia in 2016 and with Convergys in a former steel manufacturing town in Pennsylvania in 2017. Intuit and its customer care partners have taken a community approach, engaging with local economic development agencies, Chamber of Commerce, colleges and universities as well as workforce development leaders. It has identified new markets that have suffered economic downturns to expand Mission Hope.

Impact Sourcing in a Provider Organization — Samasource: Samasource's mission is to train and hire low-income and marginalized people to work in the digital economy, partnering with companies like Microsoft and Google, as well as smaller startups. Since 2008, it has trained and hired 10,000-plus women and youth in Kenya, India, and Uganda, supporting over 46,000 people through their salaries. Currently, Samasource has more than 2,000 employees and provides equal pay for women, ongoing training and subsidized nutritious meals. On average, 50 percent of its East African workforce is female. Additionally, the company is striving to include a biophilic design that integrates nature into all of its offices and delivery centers.

Impact Sourcing in a Provider Organization — RuralShores: Founded in 2008, RuralShores has brought transformational changes by training and employing rural women, youth, and people with disabilities by offering them sustainable employment opportunities in the BPO sector. RuralShores BPOs are set up in remote districts of India, where employment opportunities are almost non-existent and seasonal agricultural income is the only source of livelihood. These communities have been severely challenged due to recent climate changes leading to immense hardships.  The company has employed 3,000-plus impact sourcing workers, impacting more than 900 villages in India and training over 26,000 young workers for their first career job.

Impact Sourcing Influencer — Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator: Harambee, meaning "all pull together" in Swahili, is a non-profit social enterprise that connects employers with the entry-level talent of South African youth. Over the past two years, it has strategically partnered with the BPO industry body, Business Process Enabling South Africa (BPESA), and the government arm responsible for the BPO sector, The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Harambee has played a meaningful role in reshaping South Africa's BPO strategy and how it embraces impact sourcing at scale and has prepared the country for significant growth into the future. Through these partnerships, it has targeted the creation of 10,000 new impact sourcing jobs over the next five years.

About IAOP: IAOP is the global association that brings together customers, providers, and advisors in a collaborative, knowledge-based environment that promote professional and organizational development, recognition, certification, and excellence to improve business service models and outcomes. Our members and affiliates worldwide are digging deep at IAOP conferences, learning at IAOP chapter meetings, getting trained and certified at IAOP courses and workshops, and connecting through IAOP social media, all with one goal: better business results. Whether you are a customer, provider or advisor, new to collaborative business models like outsourcing, or you are an experienced professional, IAOP connects you and your organization to our growing global community and to the resources you need to get the results your company deserves and demands. Visit IAOP.org (http://www.iaop.org/).

About The Rockefeller Foundation: The Rockefeller Foundation's mission—unchanged since 1913—is to promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world. Together with partners and grantees, The Rockefeller Foundation strives to catalyze and scale transformative innovations, create unlikely partnerships that span sectors, and take risks others cannot. Visit RockefellerFoundation.org (https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/).

Media Contact:
Kate Tulloch-Hammond
Director, Media & Communications
+1.845.452.0600, extension 122
kate.hammond@iaop.org