Talent – The Media Pub News (TM)

Software giant creates company culture by giving back

With a “people promise” to its employees and community, a prominent software company, in Tinton Falls, N.J., demonstrates it has a big heart.

Commvault Cares volunteers make sandwiches for the homeless at Asbury Park homeless shelter Wednesday.
— Provided photo

Commvault, New Jersey’s largest software company, reflects its “people promise” or, its corporate social responsibility (CSR), when it launched a volunteerism and charitable program called Commvault Cares in August three years ago.

Commvault Vice President and Chief Resources Officer Jesper Helt, said they initiated the social program because of “how we perceive our responsibility in the community where we are present…an organization that needs to give back and enrich the community that we are part of.”

Commvault Cares started in August 2017 with volunteers that have grown from about 850 volunteers last year, and is expected to exceed more than 1000 this year.

“We are early in August (now). We’ll get in above the goal we’ve set,” said Helt.

The company expects to surpass its past volunteering and charitable efforts for this year’s third annual Commvault Cares events.

From Aug. 1 through Aug. 27, the company’s calendar is full of events for Commvault Cares CSR within Monmouth County.

Commvault Cares events include the company’s collaboration with Ronald McDonald House, where volunteers cook for families in need; ice-cream social at Arbor Terrace; lunchbreak, where volunteers feed local community members; volunteers also organize costumes at Count Baise Theater; they help garden at Oasis Farms; beach cleanup at Sandy Hook National Park; they make sandwiches for the homeless at Asbury and Hoboken homeless shelters; among other community volunteering and charitable events.

“We do a diverse set of charities and volunteer activities that are done within and outside the office,” said Helt.

He also said that the company does similar activities throughout the year and globally, but Commvault Cares is specifically for August.

“We do many things throughout the year because it is meaningful and important to our company that we are engaged in that way,” said Helt.

He also said the company’s CSR is focused on “sustainability as it concerns the environment, children and health.”

Last year, Commvault Cares received the Horizon Hero Award for its volunteer work, he added.

Helt also said Commvault volunteers because it is entirely dependent on the talent that makes up the company, and that they are responsive to how employees feel when they are at work, and what it takes to make them productive and creative.

Volunteers from Commvault make meals for the needy at Ronald McDonald House in Monmouth County.
— Provided photo

He said that in order to attract and retain talent, the company has to care about the employees’ lifestyles that include work and leisure time.

“We as a company need to cater to your lifestyle…to represent many of the things that you care about as an employee. Part of that is giving back to the community, and getting involved in the community,” said Helt.

He said that Commvault wants to be a force for those in need and for the communities around them.

Commvault wants its employees to have the freedom to make an impact together in the local communities with their community partners during and after work hours, he said.

“It’s at the very core of how we as a company try to create a culture, an employee experience that is attractive and meaningful,” explains Helt.

The volunteers are from among Commvault’s more than 2,500 employees.

Commvault is the largest of its kind in New Jersey, making an impact locally and globally.

This worldwide company delivers backup and recovery software for enterprises and large organizations that need to manage their data.

Click these links to learn more about Commvault’s history and products.

Follow @Michelle_Dryden on Twitter.

Thinking about freelancing? Consider this

Art All Night Trenton 2017 art exhibit.
–Photo by Michelle Dryden

Today, millions of American artists are doing freelance work, and the business of freelance writing is filled with endless possibilities, opportunities and freedom.

One of the biggest advantages of freelance writing is that it takes almost nothing to start. The same is true for an artist. For either of them, it costs almost nothing to begin their journey.

Shelly Larson shares findings of a research in her article about freelance writing that is growing tremendously with more than 53 million Americans doing it.

Freelancing is an escape dream for many who do not want constraints on themselves, their work, or their time. It allows dreamers to escape into their dream world, and none does it better than the artist.
Artists crave freedom and creativity to showcase their talent and hard work to the world. They want to evoke emotions in others that give them abundant joy.

Although there are many aspirants to these artistic fields, only few make the leap. We can refer to the adage: There are two sides to the same coin. That is, freelancing has pros and cons.

There is a huge growth in demand for artists and freelance writers, owing to the Internet revolution and self-publishing sites like YouTube and Facebook.

As a freelance writer or artist, you do not have to worry about where to go to work. A freelance writer can work from almost anywhere in the world, with reasonable Internet connection. Artists do not have to worry either, because art is appreciated everywhere.

Artists are their own bosses and do not have to work for anyone except the vision of their art. Art is beautiful to the artist, and the idea of provoking emotions in others simply by your work of art is very intriguing.

However, on the flipside of the coin, freelance writers and artists have inconsistent income. Their hands can be so full sometimes that they might just have to turn down a few things. At other times, they are trying to find water in a desert.

Low income is a very high possibility for artists and freelance writers due to a lack of skill in lead acquisition. Although freelance writers and artists have freedoms that regular jobs do not have, they do not have the health benefits that most regular jobs offer.

Kristin Rymoen Ellstrom shares in her article that being an artist can be lonely. After all, she finds that most of the creative fields are solitary.

Whatever freelance field you choose, whether it is freelance writing or the path of an artist, you should consider the pros and the cons mentioned here.