Employee Volunteering: a reboot for your business

It seems backwards somehow, doesn’t it? To encourage your business to work smarter – spend time out of the office. But there is a real concrete business benefit to employee volunteering.

Everyone knows that volunteering is generally a “Good Thing”; it is good for the community and makes employees feel positive about where they work. But are there more far reaching benefits? Can it really have an impact on the entire business?

Give the marketing department a hand and help promote your business

There's a lot of noise out there and it can be hard to differentiate your business in the minds of your customers and consumers. A strong corporate responsibility strategy can show you are different.

Tell your customers about the time that you surprised a primary school with a new garden or all spent a day baking cakes with dementia patients and suddenly you have a story that people want to read. 

It is certainly more tempting than the latest quarterly report and more importantly gives your business a personality that customers can relate to.

Give the sales department a boost with new networking opportunities

When you get involved in employee volunteering, a whole new network opens up. Start supporting a school and you will find that there are many other businesses that are doing the same.

These opportunities for networking outside of your immediate circle can provide endless opportunities.

Engage and develop your employees

There's no doubt about it, giving your employees the opportunity to volunteer on a regular basis creates more than goodwill, it creates better employees who are more able to manage their time and are more confident. 

Research conducted by the CIPD found that ten key skills were honed through employee volunteering; including professional knowledge, communication and time management. 

Ensure your team have a meaningful experience with a deserving cause. Business in the Community is a campaigning organisation that helps business to engage with individuals and voluntary organisations.  

We can help you to have a purposeful impact in the community and nurture great relationships by finding organisations that align with your business.

Volunteering is more than a team building day it is a reboot for your business.

About the author

Laetitia Watts has worked in the voluntary sector since 2002. She currently works at Business in the Community producing programmes to encourage businesses to make a more meaningful impact in the community.