Volunteerism is Key to Employee Engagement
Employees are the driving force behind our companies and businesses, their happiness and motivation extend beyond their daily tasks. How do we ensure they stay fulfilled and engaged in their work?
How do companies cultivate a workplace that values employees’ fulfillment and builds teams that can collaborate seamlessly towards corporate goals.
Volunteerism has become a leading way that companies are uniting their employee base, especially in a time where teams are spending more time apart than ever before.
According to a recent Benevity study on corporate volunteerism, over the past three years:
57% YEAR-OVER-YEAR INCREASE in the rate of global employee volunteering participation
41% YEAR-OVER-YEAR INCREASE in the total number of volunteer hours dedicated by companies and their people
FACTS ON CORPORATE VOLUNTEERISM:
COMPANIES ARE USING VOLUNTEERISM AS A WAY TO UNITE THEIR WORKFORCE
• 71% of companies are using volunteerism as a way to unite their workforce and 70% of employees believe volunteerism is more likely to boost morale than companysponsored happy hours.
-Benevity
EMPLOYEES WHO VOLUNTEER ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE SATISFIED WITH THEIR JOBS
• 79% of employees who volunteer are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs compared to 55% of non-volunteers and twice as likely to recommend their company to prospective hires.
-Milken Institute
ALLOW THEM TO BE OF SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY
• Gen Z and Millennial Survey found that they’re drawn to businesses that allow them to be of service to the community.
-Deloitte
LOWER TURNOVER WHEN THEY PARTICIPATE IN PURPOSE PROGRAMS
• Companies see a 52% lower turnover among newer employees when they participate in purpose programs.
-Benevity Talent Retention Study
CORPORATE CULTURE
Top reasons why companies should prioritize in corporate volunteer programs:
• Team Building and Engagement: Especially with hybrid workers or across different geographies.
• Employee Fulfillment: When employees have opportunities to contribute to meaningful causes and make a positive impact on the world around them, it enhances their sense of fulfillment and purpose in both their personal and professional lives.
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging: Volunteerism can serve as a platform for promoting diversity and inclusion within the organization by participating in volunteer activities that support marginalized or underrepresented communities employees gain a deeper understanding of diverse perspectives and experiences.
• Retention of talent: Employees who participate in employer-sponsored volunteering are five times more engaged at work.
Best practices from companies with successful corporate volunteer programs:
• Make a stand: actively promote a culture of volunteerism and set clear goals and give their people the opportunity to come together.
• Offer options: They offer 4 types of volunteer opportunities:
• Company support volunteer opportunities
• Team volunteering
• Employee led volunteering
• Company wide volunteering events
• Maximize your impact: employees are a force for good and can have a multiplier impact in addition to dollars given to local nonprofits.
Where can you start:
If your company doesn’t have a dedicated Corporate Social Responsibility resource or it’s someone’s part time job, where can you begin:
• Start small: plan one day to bring in a few local nonprofits to learn about their organizations and how your companies can support them.
• Listen to your employees: follow their lead on the causes that are important to them or engage our employee resource groups (ERG’s)
• Determine how your company wants to show up in the community: are you passionate about STEM education, the environment or workforce development. How can you align your company’s priorities with your impact in the community?
• Skills based volunteering or in-kind donations: do your employees have specific skills that could be beneficial to local nonprofits or do you have products that nonprofits can use?
SHARE CHARLOTTE
SHARE Charlotte is your one-stop shop for volunteering in the Queen City. We power social good in Charlotte through our online platform, www.sharecharlotte.org and we are the engine to create a more generous and engaged community with over 700 local nonprofits to choose from.
Our mission is to build a better Charlotte by EMPOWERING NONPROFITS AND HELPING PEOPLE invest in their communities in ways that matter most to them.
We are a trusted partner to help companies navigate and support nonprofits to help them achieve their social impact priorities. Acting as an extension of your team we craft meaningful volunteer experiences and handle the details so that you can focus on enjoying the experience!
Our corporate engagement services range from:
• Coordinating Volunteer Fairs from concept to execution.
See example with Duke Energy “Power of Giving” Volunteer Fair.
• Creating an annual volunteer calendar for your teams and working directly with the nonprofits to coordinate the volunteer opportunities
See example
• Creating a custom annual volunteer plan based on your team’s needs and helping team’s coordinate their volunteer experiences
See example.
• Educating your teams on the nonprofit landscape in Charlotte and how they can give back through our “CLT Philanthropy 101 - Your Guide to Giving Local” class delivered on site or via zoom.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SHARE CHARLOTTE or explore how we can help your company, please contact Managing Director, Melissa Hovey at melissa@sharecharlotte.org
SHARE Charlotte is working to build a better Charlotte by EMPOWERING NONPROFITS AND HELPING PEOPLE invest in their communities in ways that matter most to them.
