Another topic that has come to my attention from the conversations I’ve had with my employees is how the lack of reliable transportation affects both them and Loretto. (ICYMI: I covered insight to starting a dialogue with Loretto and our diaper program in two previous posts – Make a Difference for Your Employees – Part 1, and The Value of Having a Conversation with Your Organization.)

Many of our employees do not have a car. I know what you’re thinking – what about public transportation? That’s how many employees get to work. The problem is, then they are reliant on public transportation’s performance. When there’s a delay in the line, employees are late for work; if the demands of the job require them to stay after their shift to wrap things up, employees leave their duties to catch their ride home. In addition to interfering with work schedules, not owning a car gets in the way of employee promotions – as a manager, you have to be able to arrive on time, cover for your staff, and stay late, as needed.

I’m a compassionate person, so it’s easy for me to see how this hurts my employees, but what about how it impacts business? Every time an employee is late, our schedule is disrupted. Every time an employee is unable to stay late to finish incomplete assignments, or cover for co-workers, our work schedule is also disrupted.

Can an answer to this be found in pragmatic altruism (more about pragmatic altruism here.)? Yes. Here’s how. ACMG Federal Credit Union is a local non-profit institution. Its mission is to provide affordable financial services to low-income individuals who have been turned away from more traditional financial institutions. Loretto, CenterStateCEO and ACMG Federal Credit Union teamed up to pilot a program that enables Loretto employees to become qualified for an auto loan to purchase a vehicle. Is it easy to qualify? No – and it shouldn’t be. It’s an extensive process to qualify – a process that involves revisiting the details of past finances, pursuing financial counseling, developing a budget, etc. However, it blazes a trail for many where there wasn’t even a path – and that’s what pragmatic altruism is all about.