Optimy webinar: How to optimize your international social impact

How the Orange Foundation optimizes its social impact internationally - a case study

For a foundation that must ensure the success of the projects of its subsidiaries throughout the world, it can be complex to standardize the processes and stages of each project undertaken and managed. Indeed, many elements come to hinder the possibility of having a single process for all the subsidiaries dispersed in the four corners of the world: the cultural specificities and the limitations imposed by each country do not always allow a Foundation to impose identical implementations, tools and working habits for each foundation. This is one of the challenges most often encountered by the Foundations with which Optimy has been able to work and is still working today.

Watch the replay of the webinar

However, these limitations can be solved… How?

This is what Optimy discussed with Fondation Orange during its webinar.

As a multinational company active throughout the world, it can be challenging to align the CSR and sponsorship initiatives. Indeed, local realities specific to each subsidiary make it difficult to fully harmonize the actions carried out: cultural, socio-economic, managerial, legal differences, etc. This is one of the challenges that the corporate foundations that use Optimy face. This is why, during this free online event, Sylvaine Behagel, Finance Manager of the Orange Foundation France discussed the Foundation's experience in managing its international social impact and the way they work with the other foundations Orange, all of these facilitated by the use of the all-in-one platform Optimy.

Key takeaways for you to get started

To this day, there are 20 Local Orange foundations, out of the 23 countries where Orange is deployed. Sustainable Development Goals are common to foundations. Among these objectives, there are two main action areas: the first, aimed at reducing inequalities and the second, focussing on developing "digital homes".

In this context, a solution like Optimy has proven to be essential. Initially, the Foundation processed a lot of paper files. But soon, the real needs of the Foundation and its teams have developed so much that it became clear that they needed an efficient project management tool. It was originally created internally. But very quickly, the Orange Fondation found out that a homemade tool cannot make it possible to meet the demands and realities of the projects. In this context, Optimy arrived and allowed them to set up process automation in the processing of files (from reception to follow-up).

With all this background and their history, the Fondation Orange reflect on their decisions and pass on their knowledge by advising:

#1 Define your process

To have a sponsorship policy, a governance process, internal policies defined within the Fondation. From this could be deduced the decision-making and operational processes. The tool, in this context, acts as a support for the processes.

#2 Think global, act local

Since the foundation has a large international dimension, it relies heavily on the country foundations. It is therefore essential to rely on team members who know the socio-economic and cultural situations of the country in order to facilitate the management and the realization of projects on site.

#3 Digitize your process

To know the value of historization of information and digital storage. Previously, the Foundation accumulated information in paper format. But now, everything is digital and this makes it very easy to provide access to historical information and to ensure the transparency of the Foundation.

You have a question? We have the answers

Does the tool allow to manage support in skills or in money?

Yes. And all of these internationally. It is very easy to set up the projects within the tool and to track the status and the success of each project.

How to manage the transition to a digital tool?

You might be afraid to lose the human aspect of communication but the digitalization of projects doesn't have to imply the end of human collaborations, on the contrary. A online tool helps your teams managing even more efficiently their projects and the numerous tasks that they are dealing with. They stop wasting time on managing and storing paper files. Digital also brings a lot of opportunities within the team: those who are more tech-savvy are there to help the ones who might struggle.

How many calls for projects can be managed?

Fondation Orange manages some 40 projects on an annual basis internationally.

Which criteria should we take into account when choosing projects?

• The project should fit the criteria that were defined during the call for projects, it should fit the values and goals of the whole project,
• The project should take into account the actual situation of the region, to make sense with this reality
• Rely on experts and their knowledge

How to make sure that the help is actually used for the expected purpose when the project is international?

Reports are the key element here. When asking for reports and informations about the budget and it has been used, you get a lot of information that are concrete. Some project managers also sent pictures that show the result of the tool.

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All of these questions and many more were discussed at the end of our webinar. To discover the answers of our experts, honor to the replay of the webinar now. And if you still have any questions, contact us to find out all about how Optimy can help you optimize your project management!

Want to know more? Watch the replay!

We could go on and on about all the insights that our participants learned during this webinar but it might be best to let you find you on your own. Discover the replay of the webinar here and enjoy the talk!