What Is Employee Volunteering?
Employee volunteering has become increasingly popular over the years as companies recognise the benefits of giving back to their local communities as well as the broader global community.
It can take many forms, including virtual volunteering, in-person volunteering, and group volunteer work. In this article, we will explore the different types of employee volunteering, how to implement a volunteering program, and why employers choose to offer volunteering benefits at work.
Types of Employee Volunteering
Virtual Volunteering
Virtual corporate volunteering activities are a relatively new concept, but one that has gained popularity in recent years, in large part due to the pandemic and the rise in remote working. It involves volunteering remotely from the comfort of your desk, and lends itself to more skills, computer based volunteering.
Some examples of virtual volunteering include online tutoring disadvantaged children, social media management for non-profits, auditing websites for charities, and writing grants to name a few.
Studies have shown that remote, skills-based volunteering programs like those facilitated here at Matchable create as much as 150x more impact value for the charitable organisations than traditional in-person volunteering programs.
In-Person Volunteering
In-person volunteer opportunities is the 'traditional' form of volunteering where employees physically go to a location to help out. This type of volunteering typically includes activities such as cleaning up a park or local green spaces, serving meals at a soup kitchen, beach clean-ups, or building homes for those in need.
This kind of in-person volunteering can of course provide great opportunities for team building, and for businesses whose team is largely in office, it creates a nice break from the everyday, and helps to engage staff and improve morale!
Group Volunteering
Some company's corporate volunteer programs may instead focus group volunteering rather than helping out on an individual basis employee to employee.
This involves staff coming together to volunteer with a particular charity, non-profit, or impact startup as a team at the same time. This type of volunteering can be either virtual or in-person but as the name suggests, focuses on working together in a group to give back to your local community.
This kind of volunteerism can enable employees to collaborate across different teams, without necessarily having to all leave the office.
Implementing a Volunteering Program
Implementing a volunteering program, and getting employee participation can have numerous benefits for both the company and its employees. Here are some simple steps to follow when implementing your volunteering programmes:
Define the goals of the program: Determine what you want to achieve with your volunteering program. This could be improving employee morale, giving back to the community, or building your brand. Or perhaps you have specific causes you want to support. For example, on the Matchable platform you can select which of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals you want to contribute to with your volunteering programmes.
Choose the type of volunteering: Decide what type of volunteering works best for your company and employees. This could be in-person, virtual, or group volunteering. You will want to consider both what is convenient for the majority of your team, and also what sort of corporate volunteerism will create the impact you and the other senior leaders want to make. Which sort of volunteering will help you meet your sustainability or charitable goals?
Partner with a non-profit or find a platform: The next step is finding the right volunteer project, or charitable organisation(s) to work with. The majority of businesses take the route of working with a dedicated volunteering partner that can source bespoke volunteering projects for your team. Access to these volunteer platforms, where employees can search for projects that they are passionate about is often provided as a paid time employee benefit.
You can also choose one or two specific non-profits or charities that align with your company's values and goals, and focus on working directly with them.
Set a budget: Determine how much you can afford to spend on your volunteering program, including any costs associated with transportation or supplies for your teams.
Promote the program: Encourage employees to participate in the program by promoting it through company newsletters, social media, or other internal communication channels. There's no point spending time and money on an employee volunteering policy if you don't shout about it and work to get engaged employees.
Track your progress and success: Keep track of the impact your volunteering program is having on the community and your employees. Lot's of online volunteering platforms these days have dashboards where you can track the return on investment from your volunteering time. This can help to identify areas for improvement and inform adjustments to the program as needed.
Why Do People Need TO Volunteer at Work?
There are many reasons why people choose to volunteer at work, and depending on the department you work in, there can be some big benefits for both employers and employees:
Giving back to the community: Volunteering allows employees to give back to their communities and make a positive impact. Under resourced charities need volunteers, and companies need to find new ways to engage their team and also hit their CSR/ESG goals. It's a win-win for both parties.
Build skills and boost productivity: Volunteering can help employees build new skills or improve existing ones, such as leadership, communication, and teamwork. This could be an especially appealing benefit for those working in human resource management, as volunteering can offer significant (and innovative) learning & development opportunities.
Improving morale and employee engagement: Volunteering can help individuals to feel as though there work and time is more valued in the workplace. This in turn also helps to create a culture of giving and shared values in bigger teams.
Building relationships: Giving employees volunteering opportunities as a team can help to build relationships between employees and departments that may never have collaborated before. Thus improving team dynamics and helping employees to create valuable social connections at work.
Enhancing the company's reputation: workplace based initiatives like corporate volunteering can help to enhance a company's reputation and improve its standing in the community. Forget greenwashing and 'pledging' to give back through low-impact schemes, why not make a REAL difference by utilising your specific skills to help a charity in need.
Corporate Volunteering and Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate volunteering is an essential component of corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR is a company's commitment to social and environmental responsibility. By implementing a volunteering program, companies can demonstrate their commitment to giving back to their communities and voluntary organisations, as well as supporting social causes.
In conclusion, by providing a way for employees to volunteer in the corporate world, you can create numerous benefits for both your company and your employees' wellbeing.
By implementing a volunteering program, companies can give back to their communities, improve employee morale, and enhance their reputation. Whether it's virtual, in-person, or group volunteering, there are many ways for companies to make a positive impact on society, while at the same time creating some truly memorable and impactful memories for your teams!
Drop us a line if you're keen to learn more about how you can get your employees to volunteer either online or in-person soon.