Community Service
We encourage our employee-owners to seek out volunteer opportunities in the community. We allow each of them 16 paid hours a year to work with the charitable organization of their choice. In addition, we set goals for the number of employee volunteer hours we contribute annually to our communities. We report our progress in meeting these goals to the CEO.
Here some recent example of how our people have contributed to the community:
- About 100 Herman Miller employees were involved in every aspect of building a Habitat for Humanity house.
- Through an international organization, Herman Miller paid for 100 women in Kosovo to learn trades, understand women's rights, and get jobs. Herman Miller women paired up with them as "sisters," writing letters once a month to support them in rebuilding of their lives.
- Women's Volunteer Day, a grassroots effort coordinated by and for Herman Miller women, contributed their hours of service to 11 agencies that support women, children, and families in our community.
- For the seventh consecutive year, Herman Miller, Geiger, and the architecture and design community partnered to host "We Care" events. They were held in 20 cities throughout the U.S. and Canada. Some 4,500 children participated in this day of craft-making and creativity.
- At our Global Sales Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, salespeople worked at a charter school for underprivileged children ages pre-kindergarten to third grade. They contributed 426 volunteer hours and rose over $19,300 in donations.
- Over 200 Zeeland Operations employees volunteered to build a 1,500 foot trail that crosses three wetlands and a creek.
- More than 90 Herman Miller employees and family members spent 569 hours cleaning up a Nature Preserve that used to be a 15-acre landfill site.
- To make our newcomers feel welcome and learn the ropes, we piloted a Buddy Program. Its goal is to provide new employees with someone to support them in their first few months at Herman Miller.