Supporting volunteerism in the workplace
Abstract
In 2004, volunteer program award winners of the Points of Light Excellence in Workplace Volunteer Programs awards from the previous year and the 2003 winner of the George Bush Corporate Leadership Award came together for a Business Leadership Forum on Workplace Volunteering, hosted by the Points of Light Foundation. This effective practice shares the panelists' comments concerning their companies' innovative and successful approaches to building and growing winning workplace volunteer programs.
Issue
Supporting workplace volunteer programs that address community needs takes foresight and integrity on the part of corporations. Program directors and volunteer managers of nonprofits who seek to collaborate with corporations can gain knowledge of how to approach these partnerships by learning about what makes programs successful.
Action
According to senior executives from companies that received the 2003 Awards for Excellence in Workplace Volunteer Programs, effective practices for supporting volunteerism in the workplace include:
Build Social Responsibility
- Incorporate social responsibility into your business values
- Be aware how employee volunteerism helps your company and the community
- Determine local needs to achieve long-lasting community impact
- Use the positive value of volunteerism to further existing company goals
Measure Volunteer Programs
- Don't measure too many precise factors
- Use simple measurements
- Measure outcome when a significant investment has been made
- Ensure the nonprofits you work with are equipped to measure outcomes
Build Bridges
- Use workplace volunteering to unify across company divisions or groups
- Good-natured competition in volunteer activities can build teamwork
- Build workplace volunteering for all staff, at all levels
- Integrate passion, mission, and vision into your program
Build Capacity With Activities
- Provide management and leadership trainings
- Work with nonprofits to build coordination and cooperation
- Provide business expertise during volunteer projects
- Match your business skills to nonprofit needs
- Work with Volunteer Centers or other organizations to build capacity across multiple nonprofits
Support Volunteering
- Consider shifting employee interests and time constraints, then change your program to accommodate them
- Include all divisions and groups in your workplace volunteer program
- Make volunteering a company priority
Build Collaboration
- Serve as a facilitator by bringing government, nonprofits, and businesses together to work on community issues
- Realize the critical importance of education in building a stronger community, and create consensus around that issue
Recognize Trends
- Outcomes measurement for nonprofit agencies
- Focusing resources on single issues for increased impact
- Capacity building
- Leveraging resources
Additional Advice for Strong Employee Volunteer Programs
- Grow from bottom up or top down, depending on your organizational needs
- Base programs on employee interest
- Recognize employees for the good work they are doing in the community
- Offer release time for volunteer work
Context
The Business Leadership Forum began in 1999 as a way to share the innovations, strategies, and best practices of companies that are leaders in workplace volunteering. The Points of Light Foundation and the Volunteer Center National Network sponsor the Business Leadership Forum. The Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network engages and mobilizes millions of volunteers who are helping to solve serious social problems in thousands of communities. Through a variety of programs and services, the Foundation encourages people from all walks of life -- businesses, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, low-income communities, families, youth, and older adults -- to volunteer.
Citation
The effective practice is excerpted from the 2004 session summary, "2004 Business Leadership Forum on Workplace Volunteering." The publication sponsor is salesforce.com foundation.
Outcome
In addition to meeting community needs, benefits of workplace volunteer programs include:
- The community responds positively to business investment in social needs
- Companies with high social responsibility also draw top recruits
Internally:
- Workplace volunteering helps unify across company divisions or groups
- Employees are more likely to stay with a company that makes a difference in their communities
Resources
To learn how to build a workplace volunteer program, contact the Points of Light Foundation at CVDinfo@PointsofLight.org or call (202) 729-8139.
The following Points of Light publications can be ordered from the Points of Light website at www.PointsofLight.org or by calling 1-800-272-8306.
- Developing Excellence in Workplace Volunteer Programs: Guidelines for Success
- Chief Executives Talk About the Business Value of Workplace Volunteering: The Principles of Excellence for Workplace Volunteering
- Building Value: The Corporate Volunteer Program as a Strategic Resource for Business
- The Corporate Volunteer Program as a Strategic Resource: The Link Grows Stronger
See also: Benioff, Marc and Karen Southwick. Compassionate Capitalism: How Corporations Can Make Doing Good an Integral Part of Doing Well. New Jersey: Career Press. January 2004.