How We Launched Social Impact in Asia-Pacific and Japan

Alteryx is on a mission to change our communities and planet. Our goal is to democratize analytics and channel the power of our workforce to unravel global challenges and accelerate progress. So, when we think about doing good, we think locally and globally.

The company’s Social Impact Program, Alteryx for Good (AFG), is built upon a wide array of initiatives that benefit employees, communities, and the environment. Social Impact is made up of our four programs: Community Engagement (volunteering, philanthropy and humanitarian aid); sustainability and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives; our free product program, Tech for Good; and our diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) efforts.

2022 has been a productive year for AFG in Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ). One of the most impactful moments was the addition of Alex Robinson, Social Impact Program Manager for APJ, to the Global Programs team. Alex supports Social Impact across India, Australia, Singapore, and Japan. Based in Sydney, Alex’s goal is to create purposeful change throughout the region that resonates with and engages the local community.

“It’s been phenomenal because Alteryx is a global company with a truly local touch,” said Alex. “Having me on the ground in the region means that I can help to drive our global initiatives in a way that resonates with the local team, and it means that everyone is able to be involved in doing good for their community.”

Alteryx for Good has launched multiple initiatives in the region – working with purpose-driven, minority-owned companies when coordinating office events, offering trainings in native languages, supporting local nonprofits as well as respecting and celebrating local customs and traditions.

Throughout 2022, we have had unique volunteering opportunities across the region. Volunteering is a key aspect of our Social Impact program, with each full-time employee receiving 20 paid hours Volunteering Time Off (VTO) to use each year. For the last two quarters in a row, APJ has logged the most amount of volunteering hours per capita.

During Inspire on Tour APAC, Alteryx’s annual conference tour for partners and customers, networking events were opportunities for attendees to give back to their local communities. In India, volunteers at Inspire Mumbai assembled school supply kits for underserved children. At Inspire Sydney, customers, partners, and employees came together to pack kits of essential items for women and children impacted by homelessness and domestic violence. We also held a luncheon called Inspiring Women, and in lieu of handing out swag bags, Alteryx for Good made a donation to a local women’s shelter on behalf of everyone who attended. As part of Alteryx’s Global Earth Month, Australian employees collected litter from Sydney Harbour during a kayak cleanup tour and Singaporean employees conducted a beach cleanup.

“We know that coming together to volunteer is a great way to bond with your team. You get to connect with your colleagues, including people from other teams you might not have the chance to interact with,” Alex stated. “Volunteering is one of the most popular ways for teams to get together and is now a standard component of most team offsites. Giving back to the community while also forming strong bonds with your colleagues is a win-win."

During the year, another key component of the Alteryx for Good program, Tech for Good, has grown. Tech for Good is a free licensing program. At Alteryx, we believe data science and analytics have the power to change the world for the better and are committed to donating 1% of our product through our Tech for Good Program to nonprofits working to bring positive breakthroughs and change to their communities, the planet, and those issues that align with our corporate values.

One Tech for Good partner is OzHarvest, Australia’s leading food rescue organization. On the April 2022 Alter Everything Podcast, OzHarvest’s data analyst Nigel Douglas described how useful the data transformation with Alteryx has been: “It’s become a major point in our business to be able to ask questions and identify trends and efficiencies – which for us means rescuing more food from landfill and delivering more meals to the hungry.”

Alteryx Sydney employees came together to volunteer in the OzHarvest “Cooking For A Cause” program. Alex spoke about the experience, saying it was “a really fantastic opportunity for us to roll up our sleeves and help OzHarvest in a new way than we had previously. Historically, Alteryx has only helped OzHarvest through their backend operations with data analytics, and it was great to be part of the frontend operations, too. While cooking and preparing meals for the community, it was great to talk to them about how they are using Alteryx in their operations and see them in action after we've been working with them for a while.”

In addition to helping nonprofits use data to solve societal challenges, Alteryx for Good is also on a mission to make the tech industry more inclusive. We recently partnered with The Codette Project, a nonprofit in Singapore whose mission is to support women from minority backgrounds gain access to opportunities in the tech industry. Alteryx partnered with The Codette Project to host a career advice, upskilling and networking session in partnership with our education team, SparkED. The goal of the program was to provide students with opportunities to upskill through data and analytics as an opportunity to enter the tech industry.

To make our programming more inclusive for employees across the region who are not able to come into an office, we hosted an online donation-based yoga class. Employees from all over the APJ region came together to take part in a relaxing yoga session, and employees were invited to donate to a nonprofit of their choosing.

Alex says AFG in APJ is just getting started: “Because we just launched Social Impact in the region in July, we’ve spent the past few months understanding which causes were closest to our employees' hearts and listening to our employees to learn how we could have the biggest impact. Next year is all about building on this. Doing good and helping others use Alteryx to do good is at the forefront of everything we do. My role is to enable this in the APJ region.”