How a big business found a little voice

Written by Christopher Caen

United Parcel Service (UPS) has been in business for more than 100 years. During that time it has grown from a messenger company inAtlanta, Georgia to an international force with revenues over $42 billion dollars, spanning more than 200 countries. But as UPS has grown through the years, it has also found ways to keep the feel of a small, community-based company.

From the Neighbor to Neighbor program, which mobilizes UPS employees and their families to volunteer in their communities, to ongoing efforts with United Way, UPS has consistently identified ways to give back at the local level. But in 1968 it created what may be one of the most revolutionary executive programs in the country. UPS created a training and motivational program that was contrary to virtually every other executive program in existence. UPS didn't send its executives to a major university. It didn't create an executive MBA program. It didn't create an off-site weekend program filled with teambuilding exercises.

Instead, UPS decided to pull the rug out from under the executives, and in doing so create enthusiastic philanthropists in almost every corner of the company. The seeds of the revolutionary Community Internship Program were sown in the mid-sixties when UPS, like many corporations in America, was feeling the repercussions of the Civil Rights movement. Back then UPS was, as one executive puts it, "200 white guys in Atlanta." But the corporate culture at UPS was always cognizant of the company's future. The company was always aware that even as it grew, UPS was fundamentally a company that interfaced with its customers one-on-one, at the local level. That awareness is a cornerstone of the company's philosophy, affecting support for customers in their communities

In 1968 and 1969, this community connection was under siege. In the midst of the nation's social turmoil, as UPS was still showing up on the doorsteps of their customers, many of those same customers were rising up against big government and rejecting big business. How could UPS fit into this emerging picture as a credible member of the community? The company quickly realized that it would not be able to solve this problem internally. It was going to have to reach outside UPS to find solutions.

One of the first people UPS contacted was Eileen Hernandez, who had been appointed to the Equal Opportunity Commission by President Lyndon Johnson. There she helped enforce the Civil Rights Act, battering down illegal corporate regulations-like the one in the airline industry that required all flight attendants to be under 25 years old and single. Later, Hernandez became the president of the National Organization for Women. These experiences afforded Hernandez the opportunity to cultivate a wide network of people she could tap to address the issues facing UPS.

Hernandez and UPS came to realize that ultimately they needed to create a new culture of awareness. Simply abiding new laws would no longer be enough. To assist UPS's management address workplace diversity issues, Hernandez contacted Dr. Edward E. Cahill at the University of Pennsylvania. Earlier, Dr. Cahill wrote a ground-breaking white paper on the subject of urban internship. With Dr. Cahill's help, UPS identified the foundation of a new type of corporate executive program.Working withDr. Cahill, the company created a three week program. First, corporate "interns" would visit the University of Pennsylvania for a crash course on community involvement. In 1968, after a week of academics, the first group of interns was turned loose on the streets of New York. They teamed with Henry Street Settlement, a local community organization on the lower east side of Manhattan.

This program was different because of the level of involvement UPS asked of the interns. They lived, ate, slept and worked at the Settlement. They became part of the daily rhythm of their adopted community. They saw the different faces of homelessness, crime and poverty every day. When asked why the program was taken to such an extreme, one UPS executive replied, "we wanted to create the opportunity for people to not look away." And in 1968 there was quite a lot to look at.

The original goals set for the program in that first year still hold true today: Provide managers an opportunity to become aware, gain understanding, develop sensitivity, and get involved with their communities. UPS had basically created a boot camp for philanthropists. Managers were taken out of the world they knew while being given the tools necessary to survive the transition.

When the first interns entered the new program, they had no idea what to expect. It was the very definition of culture shock. UPS employees are trained to take action-to do something and see it through to the end. And they are incredibly results oriented. But this would prove to be a different engagement, one where the true measurement of their actions would only become apparent months after the interns returned to their jobs. Their mission was to set up programs designed to help people learn how to help themselves. As one intern put it, "we had to learn to trust that results will come from our actions."

The executive program, now known as the Community Internship Program (CIP) was an instant hit, both with their community partners and within UPS itself. The scope and depth of the impact for "UPSers" became evident after the interns would return to their offices. They walked out of the program jazzed, wanting to do something more. They came back to their departments as evangelists, wanting to tell everyone about their experiences. At one point UPS surveyed past participants in the program, exploring the attitudes and philosophies of interns before and after participating in CIP. Employees consistently and proudly indicated that CIP continues to affect them years after the internship. Since its inception, CIP has expanded to locations outside New York City, including McAllen, TX, Chattanooga, TN and San Francisco, CA.

CIP is not cheap. To date, UPS has spent more than $14 million dollars on the program. More impressively, they have dogmatically not tried to apply metrics or "return on investment" formulas to CIP. The return for UPS comes in the form of managers who are more responsive to the world around them, more understanding of their communities and able to handle diversity and change in today's global village.

It is sometimes hard to believe that a corporate community program could truly have this type of impact on employees. Recently, UPS finished a CIP program in San Francisco. All locations of the internship program are ultimately driven by local issues on the street, and the man that UPS turns to for assistance in San Francisco is Dr. Harry Chuck-known simply as Harry-a Presbyterian minister who has worked in Chinatown for more than forty years. Harry visited the CIP programs in other cities to observe what they were doing. He then created concepts that were specific to San Francisco, including crafting engagements with the local community-based organizations.

In 2006, the five interns hailing from Baltimore, Dallas and Oakland, as well as Taiwan and Belgium came to San Francisco. Why did they volunteer for this extreme experience? It is interesting to hear the interns describe their initial motivations in relatively clinical terms. One volunteer knew a previous intern who returned "invigorated." The volunteer from Taiwan liked the idea of "a transfer [to the united States] without really having to transfer." Once the realities of the program quickly and forcefully dawned on the interns, clinical preconceived notions began to fade.

The interns were told, "For the next four weeks you work for Harry." Following the formula of the original program, the first week focused on education and awareness of the interns' new community. Dr Chuck instinctively understood the success of the program hinged on whether he could usher the new interns through this initial step. The first night, after getting settled at their new home, the Donaldina Cameron House, the interns went to dinner at a local restaurant, where the initiation their new life began. No company work on Harry's time. No cell phones chirping. No conference calls with the home office. Are you looking for the company car? Well, figure out the bus lines or start walking.

The next morning began with a series of visits and introductions to the local organizations where the interns would work. The group was taken to a Single Resident Occupancy (SRO) hotel, the housing staple of the city's less fortunate. As one intern put it, "I don't think you truly get the chance to appreciate the living conditions in an SRO until you physically have gone there, walked up those stairs, walked into the room, look at the living conditions and compare it to where you live and where you grew up. That was a real eye-opening experience."

Suddenly, things were not so simple for the interns. They expected to bring their considerable skills in and "solve problems." But they quickly realized that their skills were not effective, certainly not in the way they were used to. One intern expected that the group was there to share their training and lessons with the community, but she soon learned that much more would be required of her. She would have to dig deep into her core understanding of people. She started to realize with newfound clarity that there really was no difference between herself and those she was to serve.

At first, the five senior UPS managers all jockeyed to take charge, but the group of interns quickly learned not only how to function as a team, but that it was essential to do so. They learned to depend on each other and start working in support of the others' skills. They started bringing their individual skills to bear, working on employment processes and helping people find jobs. They were in this together, experiencing their own version of "reality philanthropy." By the third week they were expected to start driving the programs and goals themselves. And they started to embrace the diversity within, not just outside.

Of course, there were moments of frustration. At the beginning, the problems seemed so big they were insurmountable. From their initial perspective, the homeless program looked completely hopeless. By week three, they changed their opinions. The interns came to realize how mental illness, immigration, addiction, veterans' issues and other factors complicated what initially seemed to be one simple issue. Hopelessness was dispelled by watching people work in local non-profit and community organizations, witnessing their level of commitment. Said one intern, "I hadn't really understood the impact of the individuals that work in the nonprofit areas, the impact that they have made on the people in their communities, the impact on their lives."

And the interns started to learn how to read the signs. When they were serving lunch at Glide Memorial Church, one intern became preoccupied monitoring who was or wasn't saying, "thank you." After a bit, she paused and asked herself why she was placing such weight on this action. She asked herself, "Was it really a reflection of these people or a reflection of the path they had been on?" She came to realize that many of the people she was serving never experienced an environment or a family that would cultivate "proper manners." There were challenges that she previously had never stopped to consider, bigger issues than just "thank you."

Ultimately the interns started to evolve and grow by "not looking away." One intern who has been at UPS for 31 years believed he had been doing his part ever year by writing a check to United Way. His experience as a division manager taught him how to lead people. But he had never effectively learned how to get involved, until now. Taking that experience back to his work group meant that he now knew how to spearhead involvement beyond "checkbook" philanthropy. He was always the kind of person who wanted to see the end result. Now he had learned how to trust. He learned to have faith that goals will be achieved if one does one's part.

Often the moment when diversity and understanding come together has unexpected side effects. This year the interns were invited to march in San Francisco's famous Chinese New Year's Parade. One night they were talking to parade volunteers who mentioned they were going to do a Lion Dance. The face of the intern from Texas lit up immediately and she jumped to her feet. "Heck, I am from Texas," she said, "and if there is one thing we know in Texas, we know how to line dance!" From such moments of laughter come a lifetime of understanding.

So where does CIP go from here? Bob Kapelski, a manager in charge of guiding the program, is constantly tinkering with the model both inside and outside the company. He still hears that interns wish they could see something tangible, something permanent, at the end of their efforts. But Bob is confident the delayed gratification motivates people to seek different ways to contribute. Building a structure is great, but working on a way out of hopelessness is equally positive, even if the end result isn't immediately visible.

More interesting, though, are the comments that Bob hears from outside UPS. Many other companies have approached UPS to discuss replicating the CIP program. And the first question is usually metrics. How can the financial return be quantified, so the program can be pitched to their respective companies? Bob has become adept at explaining that running an internship is not like running a business. While it does not lend itself to a results-based system, the results are there. UPS deeply believes that by creating more aware people, they are creating more aware managers. A mentality and a culture is created, permeating the buildings of UPS long after the program has ended. The program introduces managers to people from other parts of the company they would not normally meet. These people stop being a voice on the other end of the line in another country. They become someone known, trusted and understood. In fact, the program is creating an entire tier of managers across the globe who share this common experience.

Bob also tells the other companies that finding the right community organization to team with is crucial. Without a trusted ambassador-with credibility on the street-these interns would never get as close to the problems as they do. And the long term benefits of this relationship are powerful.

Currently Kapelski is exploring the possibility of inviting other organizations and companies to send people to the UPS program. Use CIP to create groups of interns who will return to their companies, become evangelists and grow the process. After all, UPS has discovered the greatest cheerleaders for CIP are the interns who have experienced the program. Why do they carry the passion long after they have left Cameron House? As one intern put it, "Judgments we make without being aware of the circumstances and conditions can be very damaging. They can put you in a position where you do not want to help, and that is shame. We need to stop making those judgments. I need to stop making these judgments and learn that sometimes people can't help the circumstances they are in. I am walking away a more enriched individual. I plan on applying that knowledge and those abilities in my daily life."

She paused for a second and pointed at the front door of Cameron House. "When I walked through those doors four weeks ago, I thought I was going to be the one giving the lessons. Instead, I walk out tomorrow with lessons learned."