Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the practice of good corporate citizenship…an obligation to society beyond jobs and profits. It entails making business decisions that consider social and environmental impacts. To put CSR into practice, donations, sponsorships, and volunteering are essential activities. “Employee volunteering has soared in the past 3 years,” according to Benevity, in part because it’s a way to demonstrate commitment to CSR. But wait, there’s more…
Benefits of volunteering
Volunteering provides benefits to everyone:
- Employees. As a general statement, employees want to work for companies that have good values, such as supporting the community and giving back. The opportunity to volunteer—and be supported for it by the employer—aligns with these values. Other benefits: Volunteering is good for morale. And for employees working remotely or with hybrid arrangements, company volunteer days can be important team-building activities. Bottom line: 93% of employees who volunteer are happy with their employer.
- Company. It’s been reported that there’s increased employee retention in companies offering support for volunteering. A study a few years ago found that there’s 52% lower turnover among employees who participate in company-backed volunteering. It’s also helpful in job recruiting for applicants to know that volunteering is valued. And volunteering helps the company’s image (SCORE found that 85% of consumers have a more positive image of a company that gives to charity).
- Community. The goods and services provided by volunteers are needed and appreciated.
Volunteering How-to’s
A business can offer employees different ways to volunteer. It may be a full day for the entire staff to work on a project together, or it may be allowing employees individually to take time off for an activity—paid or unpaid time off. One source said 65% of companies offer some paid-release time for volunteering.
If volunteering is a group effort backed by the company, there are 2 main ways to do it:
- Traditional volunteering. These are volunteer activities that are unrelated to the company’s core business. SCORE reported that 32% of small businesses donate food or volunteer at soup kitchens. In my neighborhood, there are one-day beach clean-up events at which various companies’ employees participate while wearing company t-shirts.
- Skill-based volunteering. These are activities that use the expertise of employees. In my neighborhood, a dental office provides services at a homeless shelter.
When you think of volunteering, in-person activities come to mind. Today, virtual (remote) volunteering is growing. One survey last year by a London-based B corporation found that 31% of those who volunteered did so at least some of the time online or over the phone.
Resources
What’s the best volunteering opportunities for your employees? There’s no single answer; it depends on your particular business, where you’re located, and what you set as your volunteering policies. What are the needs in your community? What are the interests of your employees?
There are some websites to help you match employees with volunteering opportunities. Some are designed for skill-based volunteering while others are for traditional volunteering activities.
- Catchafire connects employees for skill-based volunteering
- JustServe allows employees to find local volunteering opportunities.
- Matchable matches employees with upskilling opportunities working with exciting non-profits and impact startups.
- United Way has a database of volunteering opportunities.
Final thought
“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” – Muhammad Ali
Review your policies about volunteering so you can optimize results for your employees, your company, and your community. It’s projected that 21% of companies plan to implement new Volunteer Time Off (VTO) programs by the end of 2024. Where do you stand?
