Posts Tagged ‘employee volunteer programs’

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5 Ways to Support Staff Volunteerism

Thursday, August 23rd, 2012

A company that volunteers is a happier and better company, but that is only a small part of the picture. The support and encouragement that an employer gives to its employee’s volunteer activity can make a world of difference to their outcome! From something as simple as a kind word to an elaborate partnership with a local nonprofit organization, there are many ways employers can encourage volunteering among their staff. A variety of approaches can be utilized to reinforce or complement one another and suit the needs of the company. Read on to find an approach that is right for your organization.

Acknowledgement

Acknowledging the volunteer work of employees may seem like a small thing, but projects and people alike thrive on acknowledgement. How can the employer acknowledge that employees are involved as volunteers and try to accommodate this reality whenever possible?

  • Counting relevant volunteer work as experience when considering candidate for a promotion
  • Allowing leaves of absence without pay for volunteer work
  • Allowing employees to adjust their work schedules to make it possible to carry out their volunteer work activities

Promotion

Recognition of employees who are involved with voluntary organizations and highlighting their achievements creates an atmosphere in which other employees become eager to be involved and be recognized themselves! How can an employer promote the service employees are doing?

  • Sending a letter or memo to all employees in which the CEO expresses his or her views on the value of volunteer participation
  • Sending a thank you note to employees during National Volunteer Week
  • Publishing activities or a regular column in the company newsletters profiling the volunteer work of employees

Encouragement

Perhaps the employer has already acknowledged and promoted staff volunteer work. Take the next step, with policies that encourage employees to volunteer!

  • Encouraging volunteer work as a legitimate way to gain skills and experience for professional development
  • Offering pre-retirement seminars promoting volunteer work
  • Featuring appeals in internal newsletters from employees on behalf of organizations they support
  • Inviting speakers from volunteer organizations to address employees

Endorsement

Several entities have a vested interest in service work done by employees. Get local nonprofits involved by working actively with volunteer groups to encourage employees to do volunteer work. How can an employer do this effectively?

  • Liaisons with a local volunteer center regularly to make employees aware of volunteer jobs available in the community
  • Developing a skill bank to record the skills and experience of employees who are interested in volunteer positions
  • Offering to help in kind or free services to the organizations for which employees volunteer without requiring the organization to identify or publicize the source

Sponsorship

Perhaps your company is saturated in the spirit of volunteerism already! It may be time to consider sponsorship, volunteer work done under the auspices of the company.  How can an employer institute this corporate driven element of service?

  • Appeals to the employees to volunteer for a specific organization
  • Nomination of employees to serve on the board of a specific volunteer organization
  • Employer sanctioned volunteer time and company projects that take place in regular working hours

How does your organization support staff service? Let us know in the comments below.

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Posted in Volunteer Recognition, Volunteering, Volunteerism | No Comments »

Make Workplace Volunteering Excellent

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

Experts and layman alike agree that employee volunteering is a good thing. A strong employee volunteer program can make a company develop employee skills, develop customer loyalty, improve relationships with the community, and spur innovation and creativity. In addition, time-crunched employees are increasingly looking to their jobs to provide opportunities for the good deeds that they don’t have the hours for outside of work. Read on to discover clear principles of excellence and best practices to create a successful workplace volunteering program.

  • Acknowledge that the workplace’s employee volunteer efforts contribute to the achievement of its business goals.
  • Commit to establish, support and promote an employee volunteer program that encourages the involvement of every employee, and manage the employee volunteer program like any other business function.
  • Target workplace volunteering at serious social problems in the community.

ACKNOWLEDGE that the workplace’s employee volunteer efforts contribute to the achievement of the organization’s business goals.

Why: Ensure program sustainability by aligning the program with core business values, thus laying the strategic foundation for the employee volunteer program.

How: Integrate the company’s social vision with the business vision. Use mission statements, credos, or social policy statements, to illustrate the understanding that societal and community issues impact the company.

1. The company recognizes that societal and community issues have a direct relationship to the organization’s future success. This relationship is expressed through organizational identity statements such as mission, vision, values statements, and/or organization, business or department goals.

2. Employee volunteering is a key component in the organization’s overall community involvement efforts.

3. The organization communicates its corporate social vision consistently to its external and internal stakeholders through means such as an annual report, posting on web sites, newsletter articles, etc.

4. Senior management participates in leading the volunteer effort and takes an active, visible role in the community.

5. The employee volunteer program brings strategic benefits to the organization and contributes to its business goals.

COMMIT to establish, support and promote an employee volunteer program that encourages the involvement of every employee, and manage the employee volunteer program like any other business function.

Why: Making an organizational commitment to the program is essential for its success and longevity.

How: Allocate sufficient resources to develop, manage, and sustain successful employee volunteer efforts. Manage the employee volunteer program with a business plan. Conduct evaluations of program to determine its effect on the company, employees, and the community.

6. The employee volunteer program is designed with a work plan including goals, resources, a promotional plan and recognition strategies, evaluation, etc.

7. The employee volunteer program is employee-driven and has input from senior management and community members.

8. The employee volunteer program is supported with policies and practices that encourage optimum participation.

9. The employee volunteer program is managed to bring value to the organization. Value can be gained through team-building, employee leadership development, family-included events, enhanced community relationships, strengthened business relationships, etc.

10. The employee volunteer program is evaluated to determine the outcomes that it brings to the company, employees and the community.

TARGET: community service efforts at serious social problems in the community.

Why: Targeted volunteer efforts at community social problems will bring tangible results and outcomes for the program, employees, and the community.

How: Survey employees to determine their interests on which serious social problems they would like to work. Focus employee volunteer programs so that they address serious social problems. Analyze results from regular evaluations with nonprofit partners and employees to determine the program’s outcome.

11. The employee volunteer program has a focus on addressing serious social problems.

12. The organization develops employee volunteer partnerships with local businesses, nonprofits, or grassroots agencies to leverage resources to meet serious, systemic social problems in the community. The result being that both the organization and the community view the employee volunteer program as a resource for the community.

13. The employee volunteer program engages in increasing its nonprofit partners’ capacities of skills and resources to work toward their missions.

Related Posts

Four Benefits of Employee Volunteer Programs

Twelve Tips for Planning an Employee Volunteer Event

Improve Business with Corporate Volunteering

Four Benefits of Employee Volunteering

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Posted in Service, Volunteerism | 2 Comments »

Improve Business with Corporate Volunteering

Friday, March 9th, 2012

Time-crunched employees are increasingly looking to their jobs to provide opportunities for the good deeds that they don’t have the hours for outside of work, and companies are responding. Corporate social responsibility programs are no longer an afterthought in corporate planning, but garner big payoffs.

Volunteering offers participants the opportunity to strengthen their skills, broaden their networks, break out of a career rut, and find new meaning in their job. These benefits return to employers in the form of increased engagement and retention. A strong employee volunteer program can also increase company loyalty, develop ties to the community, and spur innovation.

The vast majority of college graduates want to amplify their commitment to good causes through their employer. Generation Ys employees who frequently participate in their company’s volunteer activities are more likely to be very proud to work for their company, feel very loyal, and are very satisfied with the progression of their careers. In fact, for many recent college graduates, a robust corporate social responsibility (CSR) mandate makes a crucial difference in where they choose to work, with 77% of respondents in a recent study (PDF) indicating that “a company’s commitment to social issues is important when I decide where to work.” This sentiment crosses generations, with the majority of people polled acknowledging the importance of contributing to their community or the wider world through work.

Corporate volunteer programs can range from one-day community service activities to mini-sabbaticals that send top performers to developing countries to lend their expertise to nonprofit organizations and proven entrepreneurs. Moody’s Afternoon of Service is a good example of a once-a-year opportunity for people who want to dip their toes into volunteering. The program takes place during the workday; employees sign up for a variety of team-based activities, including sorting library books at a public school in a poor neighborhood, planting flower bulbs in a city park, lending a hand at an organization that gathers clothing for and coaches disadvantaged women going out on job interviews, and preparing lunch at a community soup kitchen.

Such volunteer assignments can do more than inject excitement into a humdrum job; they can ignite a career. Despite the growing prevalence of corporate volunteer programs, placements are super-competitive — Intel, for example, says that only 5% of applicants win spots in its Education Service Corps. It’s also high-profile, with blogs and videos of participants’ experiences distributed throughout the company and on the internet. Who knows what kind of connections could result?

Corporate volunteer programs benefit employers, employees, and service recipients alike! By providing a practical bonus for both participants and employers, they’re not just a “nice to have” perk but a retention tool, leadership development opportunity, and strategic business initiative.

Have you participated in a corporate volunteer program? Tell us about your experience in the comments below!

Related Posts

Four Benefits of Employee Volunteer Programs

Twelve Tips for Planning an Employee Volunteer Event

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Posted in Volunteering, Volunteerism | 1 Comment »

9 Tips for Planning Employee Volunteer Projects

Monday, November 14th, 2011

On Friday, Points of Light staff in our Atlanta office got together at Medshare for an employee volunteer day. It was a really great experience, and a lot of work went into making it a great experience.

While it may seem easy enough to get a group of people together and volunteer on a weekday morning, a lot of planning had to go into the event to make it successful for Points of Light staff and Medshare.

We were lucky enough to have a relationship with Medshare’s CEO Meredith Rentz, who used to be a Points of Light’s COO. She helped pave the way to bring the Atlanta office’s staff to Medshare to spend the morning volunteering.

Whether you’re planning a single volunteer opportunity for your staff, or you’re working to build a long-term employee volunteering program, you need to make sure that resources are in place to support the program. Having a staff member whose responsibility it is to work with a nonprofit partner to ensure successful volunteer events is essential to the program’s acceptance and growth.

Here are a few more things to keep in mind when planning an employee volunteer event.

Planning

  • Verify all of the logistical information before sharing the information. This includes making sure that directions to the site are accurate, and that everyone knows what time to show up.
  • Be sure to choose a task that doesn’t require any special skills, or plan time to train the employees before the event. The staff at Medshare did a great job of explaining their mission, the work that volunteers would be doing, and how to do the work that Points of Light staff were being asked to do.
  • Communicating with the partner agency is essential to a successful and enjoyable event. 

Project Design

  • Work with organizations that have projects where employees can see and experience the impact of their work. As we packed medical supplies, we got to see the piles of boxes on pallets grow. The staff at Medshare also took the time to tell us short stories throughout the day about the impact our work would have on the recipients of the supplies we were packing.
  • Make sure the project meets a real community need and is seen as a benefit to the community
  • Don’t simply have the employees and their families do a task, turn the project into a learning experience. A lot of staff never knew that unopened medical supplies could be reused. We learned that our work not only helped hospitals around the world, but helped to divert thousands of pounds of usable medical equipment from landfills in Atlanta.

Management

  • Provide an orientation to staff prior to the project. Medshare staff did an awesome job of teaching Points of Light staff about their organization and the work they would be doing.
  • Provide opportunities f or the staff to interact with one another. Points of Light staff members that don’t normally get to work together got to volunteer together and learn more about one another!
  • Explain to your volunteers the mission and goals for the organization and what is hoped to be accomplished as a result of the project.

Points of Light staff had a really great experience volunteering with Medshare. We learned a lot about medical issues in developing countries, helped support healthy communities around the world, diverted usable supplies from landfills, and got to spend time with each other outside of the office. Overall, we packed more than 321 boxes and 3,137 pounds of supplies for hospitals that desperately needed the supplies.

We had a great time volunteering with Medshare, learned some great lessons about employee volunteer projects and medicine in the developing world, and had a lot of fun while we were doing it!

Have you planned a one-shot or long-term employee volunteering event? Let us know about it in the comments!

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The Key to Unlocking the Benefits of Corporate Volunteering, part 1

Friday, September 16th, 2011

Today’s post comes from Chris Jarvis, Co-Founder and Senior Consultant forRealizedWorth and appeared on Realizing Your Worth on September 6. This is the first of two parts.

Skills-based volunteering vs. general volunteering: When it comes to long-term impacts, skills-based will win every time. So why am I still an advocate for general volunteering? Read on and join the conversation. You can comment at the bottom of the page or contact me at .
I want to be very clear – I am a fan of Taproot and, the President and Founder of the Foundation. Realized Worth lists Taproot as a highly competent option for companies seeking out help with their skill-based or pro-bono volunteering efforts (read more about our thoughts on ).

If you’re unfamiliar with Taproot, I recommend you learn about them. “Taproot is a nonprofit organization that makes business talent available to organizations working to improve society.”

Recently, Aaron and I exchanged a couple tweets about the value (or lack thereof) of non-skilled volunteering. Aaron strongly believes that skilled volunteering is the way to go for companies looking for genuine impact through their employee volunteering programs. This past June, he wrote an article for the Huffington Post entitled “The Fortune 500 Need to Take Their Own Advice.”

“The vast majority of companies still support employee volunteering programs that consist primarily of painting fences and cleaning parks, despite the fact that data clearly shows it has less community impact and provides less employee satisfaction, skills development and networking value compared to pro bono service.

On behalf of the nonprofit sector, I would like to ask companies to act more like businesses. If you truly care about making a sustainable difference in the community, do less hands-on volunteering and focus on where you can make your talent matter.”

Not only am I a fan of Aaron’s, but I think he’s right. When it comes to high impact employee volunteering, pro-bono or skill-based volunteering is the way to go.

But there’s a bit more to consider….

This is Not an Either/Or Conversation

Typically, when people refer to employee volunteering they tend to categorize the activity into one of two types:

  • General Volunteering (also known as non-skilled or hands-on volunteering). This type of volunteering involves activities that usually require little to no skill or long term commitment.
  • Skill-Based Volunteering (also known as pro-bono volunteering). This type of volunteering utilizes a specific skill set possessed by the volunteer. Often the engagements involve a longer commitment but that’s not always the case.
Given these two options, skill-based volunteering will always yield a greater return. For example, let’s say you are an accountant and you have the option to either: a) paint a fence, or; b) help a nonprofit with their financials. Which would provide the greater benefit for the nonprofit?

Admittedly, these two categories offer an easy way to discuss volunteering. However, when it comes to corporate volunteering this simple duality creates some confusion.

The litmus test for effective corporate volunteering is not skilled vs. non-skilled.

This is the litmus test: If you remove your company from the equation, does it matter? If your employees are able to volunteer in the same way, achieving the same outcomes on their own time using their own resources (and that of the nonprofit), then your company may be offering nothing more than a day out of the office. This kind of volunteering is still good, it’s just not good enough ().

The company’s resources are the key ingredient for creating high-impact volunteering – whether it is skilled or non-skilled volunteering.

 

What has your experience with employee volunteer programs been? Let us know in the comments!

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Tips for Increasing Millennial Volunteering in the Workplace

Friday, June 17th, 2011

A few days ago, Deloitte released their 2011 Volunteer IMPACT Survey which looks at the connection between volunteering in the workplace and employee engagement – focusing on millennials in the workplace. The survey found that millennials who frequently participate in workplace volunteer activities are more likely to be proud, loyal, and satisfied employees as compared to those who rarely or never volunteered.

Millennials who frequently participate in their company’s volunteer activities are:

  • Twice as likely to rate their corporate culture as very positive, as compared to millennials who rarely or never volunteer (56% versus 36%)
  • More likely to be very proud to work for their company (55% versus 36%)
  • Nearly twice as likely to be very satisfied with the progression of their career (37% versus 21%)

The survey also looked at barriers to millennials’ engagement with employee volunteer programs. Seventy-one percent of millenials who don’t volunteer with their employee volunteer programs say they don’t have time to volunteer.

Companies can support their millennial employee’s desire to volunteer with strong employee volunteer programs. Here are some tips for building strong programs:

Companies can also structure their volunteer programs to address millennials’ perception that they don’t have enough time to volunteer.

  • Give employees more time to volunteer. Build time for volunteering into your company’s pay structure. Allow employees to earn paid hours to volunteer while they’re working. Give them two hours a week, or a day a month (or more!), of paid time to volunteer in their communities.
  • Bring small volunteer tasks to your employees. Try providing volunteer opportunities to your employees that can happen in the office. Try building disaster preparedness kits or toiletry kits in the office and taking the completed kits to an organization that can distribute them. Don’t forget to plan the event with the organization that will benefit from the work.
  • Bring employee volunteering online.Sparked has an employee volunteering program that is completely online and is built on small volunteer tasks that employees can do at their desk during a coffee break. Time to devote specifically to volunteering can be built into employees’ days so that it’s even easier for them to volunteer while they’re in the office.

Do you run an employee volunteer program? Are you a millennial that volunteers through your job? What makes volunteering an important part of your work life? Let us know in the comments!

 

 

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Four Benefits of Employee Volunteer Programs

Monday, April 4th, 2011

Yesterday, the Points of Light Blog looked at emerging trends in the workplace and their potential impact on the amount of time people can volunteer.

The outlook looks positive. With businesses starting to move towards a decentralized office and workers working from their homes on flexible schedules, more time can be made available for workers to spend with their families and in their communities.

The move to a decentralized work place will require traditional employee volunteer programs to adapt to new working conditions. Employee volunteer programs will have to adapt to the 21st century volunteer who gives not only of their time and talent, but lends their voice and dollars to the causes they believe in.

While community volunteering will likely remain an important part of employee volunteer programs, payroll giving programs and fundraising opportunities should become part of a business’ social responsibility planning.

Businesses with robust employee volunteer programs gain more than just a boost to their public relations. A strong employee volunteer program can make a company develop employee skills, develop customer loyalty, improve relationships with the community, and spur innovation and creativity.

When a company invests in a community through its employee volunteer program, employees gain access to new networks and perspectives that help them keep in touch with rapid social change. The company can gain insight into new market needs, explore different ways of working and encourage employees to use their initiative and foster inter-departmental cohesion by enabling new teams to work together and create a sense of common purpose.

The public expects companies to give back to their communities, and often has a negative view of companies that don’t actively support the communities around them. In the long run, community investment helps build community capacity, creating a stable, sustainable and healthy local community that will often supply a large proportion of the company’s employees and customers.

As the price and quality of products and services become increasingly standardized across many industries, community investment can help to differentiate a company from its competitors and make for more loyal customers. Consumers are increasingly using their dollars to support causes, not only through direct donations, but by purchasing products from companies that support causes that they are passionate about.

Many employee volunteer programs can help to increase employees’ skills. Volunteering and other forms of employee involvement can help to develop a variety of competencies, including teamwork, planning, communication, project management, problem solving, budgeting, listening skills and customer focus. Volunteering can challenge employees by taking them outside the confines of their usual 9-5 job, encourage innovation and creativity, promote respect for difference and affirm their personal contribution and confidence.

 

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Family Volunteering and Your Employee Volunteer Program

Friday, November 19th, 2010

National Family Volunteer Day is tomorrow, a day for families to go into the community to work together and make their communities better.  It’s also an opportunity for corporate volunteer programs to bring their employees and their families together to improve the community.  If you work for a company that doesn’t have a employee volunteer program, you can find out how to start program and learn some of the best practices here.

There is a lot to consider when planning a large volunteer event with your company’s families.  Be sure to plan the event carefully, make sure the project design contains tasks for all of the members of the families, and be sure to manage the project attentively.  Don’t forget about risk management when the project is being planned.

Here are some more tips for planning your employee and family volunteer project:

Planning

  • Verify all of the logistical information before sharing the information
  • Be sure to choose a task that doesn’t require any special skills, or plan time to train the employees before the event
  • Communicating with the partner agency is essential to a successful and enjoyable event

Project Design

  • Work with organizations that have projects where employees and their families can see and experience the impact of their work
  • Make sure the project meets a real community need and is seen as a benefit to the community
  • Don’t simply have the employees and their families do a task, turn the project into a learning experience

Management

  • Provide an orientation to the families prior to the project
  • Provide opportunities for the families to interact with one another
  • Explain to your volunteers the mission and goals for the organization and what is hoped to be accomplished as a result of the project

Risk Management

  • Assess the project site before the event for safety
  • Identify any equipment or areas of the project site that may be unsafe or a liability concern
  • Inform family members that they must report any accident or injury and to whom they should report

Most importantly, don’t forget to have fun!

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Get HandsOn Tag Challenge Update!

Yesterday’s Get HandsOn Tag Master was David Resnick!  David has won a pair of round trip tickets on JetBlue, $25 for himself, and $100 for his favorite charity!

Today’s Celebrity Tag is !  Tag Alicia for swag!

Are YOU up to the challenge?

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Posted in Events, Volunteer Management | 1 Comment »

7 Basic Steps to Create a Corporate Volunteer Council (CVC)

Monday, November 8th, 2010

1.  Obtain Leadership and Form a Planning Task Force.

Regardless of who takes the initiative (a Volunteer Center, another nonprofit organization or a business), the first step or idea for forming may come from a couple or a group of people who decided that they want to pool their efforts when responding to a specific community need.

2.  Identify Goals and Strategies.

The magic ingredient for success is to identify goals and strategies and integrate the desired benefits of all (business, employee, and community) into the CVC’s strategic plan, thus creating a win-win-win.

3.  Develop the Structure.

The structure of a CVC depends on how the council itself defines its overall mission, purpose and objectives. Much like its purpose, the structure is dependent upon the local community and the composition of the council’s membership.

4.  Develop the Programs.

Ask yourself, what types of programs and services should the CVC sponsor (ongoing, one-time, joint etc)? Should the CVC focus on one or several issues throughout the year? Should the CVC provide professional development opportunities to its members?

5.  Develop Partnerships with Community Organizations.

Community organizations know the community’s needs and have specific skills or experience in helping to organize others. The selection of the council’s nonprofit partners should be based largely on the mission and purpose of the CVC.

6.  Develop an Evaluation System.

The most important thing when planning for the evaluation process is to do it! Plan for the processes to be in place during the first stages of development, decide when and how it should be done and who will administer the evaluations process. Lastly, report the findings and use the data throughout the planning cycle.

7.  Join the CVC Network!

For more information or for assistance in developing and strengthening a Corporate Volunteer Council, contact the CVC Manager at .

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Get HandsOn Tag Challenge Update!

Yesterday’s Get HandsOn Tag Master was Dana Friedman!  Dana has won a pair of round trip tickets on JetBlue, $25 for herself, and $100 for his favorite charity!

Today’s Celebrity Tag is Sir Elton John!  Tag Elton for swag!

Sir Elton John

Are YOU up to the challenge?

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Posted in Equip, Mobilize, Service, Tools You Can Use, Volunteer Leader, Volunteer Management, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 1 Comment »

6 Ways Family Volunteering Benefits Businesses

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

1. Family Volunteering increases employee morale and builds a positive attitude in the workplace.

2. Family Volunteering improves the workplace by breaking down barriers among employees, reinforcing teamwork and building commitment.

3. Family Volunteering in the workplace adds an extra dimension of sharing, caring and creates a sense of community among employees.

4. Family Volunteering enhances quality time for families by allowing learning opportunities and positive role modeling for children.

5. Family Volunteering provides opportunity for skill development in such areas as leadership, problem-solving, and public speaking, as well as improved organizational skills.

6. Family Volunteering has a positive impact on a company’s image in the community and demonstrates the commitment of a company and its employees to the communities in which it is doing business.

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Posted in Service, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 3 Comments »

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