ELEKS: How an IT Company Builds Social Partnerships and Invests in Education

ELEKS is an international IT company with Ukrainian roots that creates software solutions and provides consulting services to help clients achieve their business goals. It is important for them that their products have real value, while the team focuses on exceptional quality and pays close attention to detail. ELEKS not only provides clients with the resources and expertise of its developers, but also cares about their success as if it were its own. The effectiveness of this approach is evidenced by the following figures: The company has 21 offices in different countries on three continents, over 150 clients, and more than 700 implemented projects.

The IT company ELEKS is actively developing its corporate social responsibility in various areas, with one of them, for over 10 years, being education. We talked to Senior Employee Relations Specialist Oksana Malai and Head of Learning and Development Office Oleksandra Mokiy about the projects their team is currently working on in this area. We discussed partnerships in general, their specifics, and how to make them mutually beneficial.

On partnerships and criteria for their development

Oksana Malai:

ELEKS approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) focuses on the latter’s real impact to avoid its reduction to symbolic donations. The company consciously chooses partners — non-governmental organizations and foundations that are ready not only to accept help but also to engage the team in educational and collaborative activities.

Sustainability and tangible benefits for people are at the core. ELEKS concentrates its CSR efforts on five key areas:

• developing the IT community;
• supporting IT-related education;
• improving community well-being;
• supporting diversity, equality, and inclusion;
• systemically assisting Ukraine.

One of the first and most significant partnership projects during 2017–2022 was the collaboration with the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine NGO (NAPD), which operates within the Lviv Polytechnic National University. We have many joint projects: translating books into Braille and distributing them to libraries across the country, helping to purchase Daisy players for blind children, and developing and printing portable 3D models, which the NGO took on educational tours for the blind. The most memorable moment for me personally was when the copper 3D model of the Solomiya Krushelnytska Opera House, which was initially developed by our specialist and then finalized by our partners, was installed on the square in front of the theater itself.

For us, this project is an example of a sustainable, long-term, and successful partnership, the results of which will have a lasting visible impact.

When requests for new partnerships come, we always assess how we can help. Still, the willingness of a civic society organization or charitable foundation to cooperate officially through contracts and reports is our top priority. We want to be sure that the allocated funds will be used for their intended purpose. Also, in recent years, we have been paying more and more attention and time to collaborations that go beyond charity (just providing funds).

We have identified CSR stakeholders, and when we decide whether to enter into a particular collaboration, we are guided by their needs and requests.

CSR interaction models and works within projects

Oksana Malai:

Over the past few years, we have focused on partnerships with non-profit organizations, though we do not rule out charitable financial support. We try to distinguish between these concepts and, when possible, explain to our colleagues that charity is not the same as CSR. For example, we provide charitable assistance to selected organizations, including a monthly contribution to the Tabletochki foundation. However, in some cases, they ask for emergency assistance. We cover such requests depending on our capabilities at a given moment.

As we cooperate with some partners in providing IT services (website development, application development, technical support, and consulting), we ask them to hold a meeting for our colleagues related to their field of activity.

One of our biggest partners is Superhumans. In addition to donating to prosthetics, we have a warm personal relationship with them. They have recently asked us to organize a blood donation drive due to an urgent need caused by a large number of long and complicated surgeries. We arranged the event and involved other IT companies, for this is precisely the case when you need to put competition aside and partner with those with whom we work side by side in the market. The next donation is already planned for October.

Oleksandra Mokiy:

In partnerships, we apply the same approach as we do in the company’s commercial projects, especially when it comes to long-term projects, including those with educational institutions. That is, we meet, plan our work, and, as the project ends, we figure out what went well and what didn’t in retrospect. We always speak honestly about what can be improved. And I can see how organizations change following our feedback to make their programs more efficient.

This cooperation format is mutually beneficial: Partners receive practical insights for their development, and we get an opportunity to see real progress and feel that our support brings results. This makes our collaboration a dynamic and long-term process rather than a one-time event.

How to make partnerships mutually beneficial

Oksana Malai:

We provide support in the form of funds or expertise and, in return, invite partners to tell our colleagues about their activities. It is important that the company’s experts understand who we are helping, what for, and how this affects society — this motivates them to get more involved: donate and participate in volunteer or project initiatives.

The guest lecture format emerged as a way to raise our colleagues’ awareness of CSR initiatives and further strengthen the already powerful volunteer spirit within the company. Partners personally share their stories and inspire the team. For example, the Project R.I.D. NGO, for which we developed a website, gave a lecture in English on the Ukrainian language for our foreign colleagues. Olga Rudneva, CEO of Superhumans Center, spoke about prosthetics and the creation of the center, and this was an extremely warm meeting. Within our collaboration, we also sold their merchandise in our Charity Shop. Superhumans items are so recognizable that even our foreign colleagues bought them.

Among our partners is the Free Choice NGO, which provides psychological support to veterans and civilians. We help them develop the Baza app, while ELEKS Design Manager Eugene Shykiriavyi shared solutions for improving web accessibility for different categories of people at their mental health conference.

On different approaches to CSR in Ukrainian and foreign offices

Oksana Malai:

ELEKS offices operate in large cities in Ukraine and abroad, with each local community having its own unique needs. Therefore, we always focus on real problems and choose CSR initiatives that can indeed help. For example, it is not appropriate to organize community clean-ups everywhere, as different countries have different challenges.

It is worth noting that Ukraine’s system of public organizations and charitable foundations is much more developed today than in many other countries. It is easier to establish communication and get a quick response here. Herewith, in Poland and Croatia, where we are currently actively developing our presence, legislative regulation ensures high transparency, though the process of cooperation with organizations is more formalized and requires more time.

On cooperation with various universities and UCU

Oleksandra Mokiy:

Cooperation with UCU is the best case of a partnership based on values and mutual understanding. We only choose universities that are ready to partner actively rather than just use our resources. We have a stable, long-term relationship with UCU: Our experts conduct training courses for students, and once we even selected mentors for their hackathon. We also involve students in company projects, where they help us and we train them.

Within our partnership with UCU, my responsibility as the head of the Learning & Development department is to give our people meaning. They need to understand why and what for they are working: Is it to satisfy the customer or to do something more? When they interact with students, where you have to explain, encourage, and check homework, a certain meaning emerges that is different from what they do every day. While doing their job, our colleagues also think about what new and interesting things they can give the students, thus growing themselves. I teach, too, and for me it’s a daily challenge, as I’m responsible for what those kids will take with them into the world. Sometimes, this is even more important to me than the operational work I do every day. And that’s the meaning that many of us are looking for to survive in this time.

On the online course “Returning from War: First Steps in IT”

Oleksandra Mokiy:

The goal of the course is to help veterans learn about different IT areas and understand how their previous experience can be a starting point for their career in this field. For example, attention to detail is the basis of a tester’s work, while experience in coordinating a brigade has much in common with project manager tasks. We did not set ourselves the goal of teaching new professions in a short time — it was important to convey that you don’t need to know everything about IT. The main thing is to identify an area that resonates with you and develop in it.

Course participants have access to a channel with expert support from lecturers and receive certificates upon completion.

Oksana Malai:

Although we call the course a veteran course, it is available to anyone on the UCU-Online platform, which we have also helped to develop. Whether you are a veteran, a military serviceman, or a civilian, you can study, and what’s more, for free.

On the criteria for successful partnerships

Oleksandra Mokiy:

A successful partnership is about constant contacts rather than formal correspondence once every few months. We share news, celebrate victories together, and always know about each other’s projects and ideas.

Furthermore, a partnership can be considered successful if it is truly meaningful. Some universities limit themselves to requesting financial support, while the most valuable ones invite us to join the educational process and interact with students. For example, recently, our colleague and an UCU graduate have given a lecture to first-year students, sharing their own experience and practical advice on how to build a career path in an international company.

On the value of social projects for the ELEKS team

Oksana Malai:

More and more often, our new colleagues tell us at regular meetings for newcomers with company management or HR meetings that they have seen our communication on certain collaborations and that this is important to them. In several cases, people said that they made their final decision to join our company partly because of our partnerships with large foundations. Such collaborations create an additional sense of belonging, because it is a person’s working hours that help the company donate or do something important.

On project reporting

Oksana Malai:

We usually brief organizations and know what will be effective in communications. We distinguish between legal and public reports, which have different focuses. We know what to say to convey the necessary idea to both our experts and the target audience (market colleagues, potential candidates, etc.).

For us, reporting is not just a formality, but also an important tool for building trust. Legal documents confirm the correct use of funds and the transparency of processes, while public reports help demonstrate colleagues and partners the real impact of our initiatives. We try to make the latter lively: We show specific stories, results, and examples so that people feel involved. This motivates the team and inspires them to participate further.

On the need for gratitude

Oksana Malai:

We strongly believe that it is vital to openly talk about good deeds. Words of gratitude from those we help inspire the team, give a sense of the significance of our work, and motivate us to continue. This can also set an example for other companies and encourage them to get involved. In addition, such publicity has a positive impact on our employer brand: Employees, potential customers, partners, and candidates see these stories, sincerely rejoice in our successes, and support our initiatives.

Oleksandra Mokiy:

It is highly valuable when gratitude is expressed openly and has a tangible result. For example, while partnering with UCU, we see second-year students come for training, complete an intensive five-week internship with their own project, and then return to us in their fourth year and bring their friends with them. This gesture is a kind of public gratitude that inspires the team and confirms the value of our cooperation.

Oksana Malai:

Public gratitude and open exchange of cooperation outcomes show that CSR is not only about donations, but also about mutual support, development, and inspiration. We build our cooperation on openness, trust, and mutual value: We share resources and expertise, while our partners inspire the team, demonstrate real impact, and motivate new initiatives. This approach helps both the society and ELEKS experts as the latter feel involved, find meaning in their work, and enjoy shared achievements. As a result, CSR becomes a living long-term process that unites people around shared values and makes the world a little better.