‘Tis the season to give back. With Thanksgiving approaching and the holidays not far behind, is your company ready to encourage employees to help out?
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By Jessica Woloszyn, Content Strategy, iCIMS
If not, now is the perfect time to introduce a volunteer program that will strengthen your employer brand while making a real impact. Leading a company-wide effort to make a difference in the community provides employees with a feeling of belonging to a larger purpose and showcasing that when it comes to attracting great talent.
Whether you are looking for some minor improvements, or aiming for a spot on Fortune’s 2017 list of best companies for giving back, you can be sure that this year’s volunteer program is meaningful with these 4 steps:
- Start with a Cause
Employee participation in a company’s volunteer program is contingent on the cause it supports. The basis of a strong program will be the selection of a volunteer organization that employees can truly invest themselves in and that aligns with the company’s mission and values. Further, the degree to which specific details are planned out to ensure the best support is provided for the volunteer organization will make all the difference.
There are many strategic elements that go into planning for a successful program. Get ahead by determining items such as how many hours the company will devote to the cause over a set time period, if the company will participate in a year-round initiative or specific projects during peak times, and which (if any) incentives, or compensation the employees will receive for their involvement. Establishing set goals and objectives for the program can motivate employees and pave the foundation for a long-lasting relationship with the volunteer organization. The right choices for your company will inspire employees to jump on board and increase commitment, while making an enormous impact in the community around you.
- Mobilize Your Employees
Modern philanthropic involvement extends far beyond just monetary donations. A truly purposeful program is one that connects employees with hands on activities to support the cause. To create a beneficial employee experience, it is important to identify skills that can be transferable to volunteer efforts. Even more, an effective program design can leverage employee talent and increase enthusiasm while also fostering the adoption of soft skills, often missing in candidates. Employees can benefit from their exposure to valued skills such as communication, empathy, teamwork and collaboration that will then be applied to their roles.
Companies such as EY are designing their volunteer programs with employee development in mind. EY Earthwatch Ambassadors is a specialized program that sends teams of ten employees on weeklong assignments to assist environmental nonprofits in developing countries and create better business and logistics systems. This is a result of the company’s desire to provide international and relatable experiences to their employees.
By focusing on the benefits that your volunteer initiatives can provide, results can include a boost in employee morale and overall better day-to-day office culture. It is important to get everyone involved from the interns all the way up to executive leadership. When an employee feels as if they are a critical piece of a much larger picture, that passion will be reflected in their performance on the job.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at two more tips for creating a good seasonal volunteer program.