Any engineer can tell you that the outputs of a system are only as good as what you put into it, and Rockwell Automation puts this into practice every day in its business and philanthropy.
Scot Tutkovics, Vice President of Engineering at Rockwell Automation and executive sponsor of their United Way workplace campaign for the last decade, grew up in the Cleveland area. “Giving back to Cleveland is one of the parts of working at Rockwell that I’m most proud of. We work hard to make the communities that we’re a part of, whether it’s Cleveland, our headquarters in Milwaukee, or other campuses we have around the country and around the world, the best that they can be.”
Founded over 120 years ago as the Allen-Bradley Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell is now a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation. With customers in more than 100 countries, they are dedicated to helping companies and their people be more resilient, agile, and sustainable.
Rockwell’s philanthropic strategy is driven by how the company can uniquely contribute and make a difference in the communities where they live and work, which makes their 30-year community outreach and philanthropy partnership with the United Way a natural fit. And in the Greater Cleveland area, where over 2,000 of Rockwell’s nearly 26,000 employees live and work, that long-term relationship is a great source of pride.
“We have a legacy of employees who are dedicated to United Way. You can see that in our annual employee giving campaign and the amount of excitement around it every year,” says Manager of Global Community Relations & Contributions, Ashley Johnson. In 2022, Rockwell gave $679,000 to the United Way in Greater Cleveland — $266,000 of that was employee contributions, making the company among the top ten workplace giving campaigns in the region.
“Clevelanders are invested in their community,” says Tutkovics. “And there are many people in the Greater Cleveland area who need help, whether it be housing, education, or access to food. There’s a pretty good understanding of that across the company.” Each year, to kick off their annual giving campaign, Rockwell’s Cleveland campus brings leaders from United Way and partner agencies to talk to employees. “I think that connection is what helps people feel this is a tangible thing they can do that will drive real impact. We’ve done a good job — and United Way is a big part of this — in connecting the need with people’s ability to give.” In fact, in 2022, Rockwell received United Way’s Torchbearer Advocate Award, which recognizes corporate partners that did an outstanding job in educating their employees about the needs in the community and inspiring them to take action.
For the last two years, Rockwell has been the signature sponsor of the United Way’s Community Conversations Series in Cleveland, which educates and provides a forum for dialogue on issues affecting the community. The 2022 series addressed issues and concerns raised by community members during the 2021 series, including education, voting rights, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health.
Rockwell ultimately sees United Way as a resource for impact with a hand on the pulse of Cleveland. It is clear that they appreciate the direct alignment in their company’s strategic priorities with the United Way’s. “When you look at philanthropy, it shouldn’t be just a nice to have, it should be embedded in company culture,” says Johnson. “What the data tells us about this new wave of employees is that being part of a company that stands for something matters. They want to see ‘what is my company doing in the community, what do they care about, does it align with who I am as an individual and an employee, and are there opportunities to engage?'”
And that data plays out. Rockwell employees are also especially active in volunteering their time. That spirit of community outreach and volunteerism is so much a part of the culture that in January of last year, Rockwell launched ROK in Action, a new global volunteer program and platform that makes it easy for employees to find and sign up for local opportunities — like kit packing with the United Way. They can track their volunteer time and earn Donations for Doers rewards when volunteering, which they can then direct toward eligible causes.
“For almost any company, you’re only as good as the people who work for you,” Tutkovics says. “And the people you attract to your company are only as good as the communities that they live in. If you can help create excellent communities and help the folks who are most in need, you lift everyone up.”
This article originally appeared in Give for Good, which is published by United Way of Greater Cleveland for our friends and benefactors. For more information on our Workplace Campaigns, please visit our Workplace Campaign page or email Sandra Fletcher, Senior Associate Director, Corporate Philanthropy at sfletcher@unitedwaycleveland.org.
