A corporate volunteer program can provide your organization with a differentiator and the capability to do more good in the community. Here are 5 benefits of corporate volunteerism.
Corporate employers are continually looking for new ways to attract talent and offer employees benefits to keep them. Offering employees incentives to volunteer can provide your business with a win-win scenario. A 2017 study, performed by Deloitte, found that 77% of respondents believe volunteerism is essential to employee well-being. The same study found that 70% of participants thought volunteerism was more effective at boosting morale than company-sponsored happy hours. Finally, the study showed that workplace volunteerism can boost brand perception in the community.
Looking at the overall results of the Deloitte volunteer impact research study, it can be concluded that a corporate volunteer program can provide PR benefits, leadership skills, and a sense of purpose to employees. Revenue can also be impacted by a corporate volunteer program. Studies have shown that a corporate volunteer program can increase employee engagement at work. A study conducted by SAP showed a 40 million dollar fluctuation when engagement fell or rose by 1%.
If your organization is on the fence about launching a corporate volunteer program, here are 5 things to consider.
Volunteerism can build rapport between employees
Providing employees with opportunities to build repour can drastically improve business operations. Creating an environment focused on teamwork can offer several benefits for your organization. These benefits include enhanced relationships, increased innovation, and greater corporate flexibility. An infographic, created by Queen's University of Charlotte, claims that 49% of millennials support social tools for workplace collaboration and about 75% of employers rate teamwork and collaboration as highly important.
Investing in the development of a corporate volunteer program can provide your staff with an outlet to use teamwork to achieve a common goal.
Volunteerism can build and polish skills
Skill development is one of the biggest benefits of a corporate volunteer program. Providing incentives for employees to donate time can pay off in the form of newly learned and developed skills. Skills that can be brought back to the workplace and leveraged. Many nonprofit organizations today are looking for skill-based volunteers. SBVs are 47% more likely to report high satisfaction compared to traditional non-skill-based volunteers. A few of the most sought-after skills are marketing, program development, and fundraising.
Increased engagement can reduce turnover
As we discussed briefly in the introduction of this blog post, volunteerism has been shown to increase workplace engagement. Deploying engagement strategies in 2018 can help take your organization to new levels. A recent Gallup poll found that only 32% of employees in the United States are engaged in their work. A corporate volunteer program can provide your staff with a sense of purpose, increase happiness, and build strong relationships that can impact day-to-day operations at the office.
A 2014 study, performed by Globoforce, found that workplace friendships dramatically increase productivity and engagement. According to the study, 28% of employees with no work friends were engaged, compared to 69% of individuals with 25 or more friends. Volunteerism can provide your workplace with an avenue to build long-lasting friendships that impact the bottom line.
The increased engagement that a corporate volunteer program provides also can reduce your organization's turnover. According to Project ROI, social responsibility programs can reduce turnover by 50%!
Enhanced brand visibility both internally and externally
Effective marketing can be very expensive for your business. Gartner found that marketing spending is currently about 12% of a company's revenue and is anticipated to continue to climb. Creating a corporate volunteer program is an affordable way to enhance brand visibility both internally and externally. Investing in social responsibility can increase and maintain a reputation in the public eye. Consumers also prefer to purchase from socially responsible organizations.
A study, conducted by Cone Communications and Echo Research, found that 90% of shoppers worldwide are likely to switch to brands that support a good cause, given similar quality and price or products and services.
Attracts talent, especially from millennials
Attracting millennials is the key to success for many corporate organizations today. Showing millennials that your organization is socially responsible is a great way to recruit and retain them. According to a study, 75% of millennials would take a pay cut for the opportunity to work with a socially responsible company.
The same study found that 64% of millennials won’t take a job with an organization that is not socially responsible. Retention costs can also be substantially decreased if your organization focuses on providing millennial outlets for good. 87% of companies report that the cost of replacing a millennial employee is between $15,000 and $25,0000.
Creating a program may be easier than you think
Creating a volunteer program for your organization requires some planning, strategy, and execution. The overall process is often much easier than some organizations believe. If you are interested in learning more, check out our post outlining the eight steps to create an employee volunteer program.
