Employee Volunteering - A profitable venture for Business and Communities

Employee volunteering involves companies supporting and encouraging the involvement of their staff in the community, for mutual benefit.

This article has been reproduced with the permission of the authors, Dr John Murphy and Barrie Thomas.

Employee volunteering involves companies supporting and encouraging the involvement of their staff in the community, for mutual benefit.

Around 90 per cent of big companies in the U.S. and 30 per cent in the U.K. have employee volunteer programs.

Traditionally, the main way that businesses have supported communities has been through philanthropy or gift-giving. Most commonly this has involved a business giving a money donation and then having little further to do with the beneficiary. Employee volunteering, on the other hand, entails a more substantial relationship between a company and a community group, often involving an extended-term commitment or partnership to work together. In the process, employees of the company have a hands-on role with the projects, services, and staff of the community group.

Increasing numbers of companies overseas are combining employee volunteering with core business functions. External studies and internal assessments by companies have found that the benefits of employee volunteering are as follows:

For employers:

• develops the knowledge and skills of staff in 'real-life' situations
• enhances staff's ability to initiate and cope with change
• develops teamwork and interdepartmental co-operation
• raises staff morale and company pride
• helps to create healthier communities in which to do business
• enhances the reputation of the company as a good corporate citizen and its consequent capacity to be more competitive.

For employees:

• provides satisfaction from making a useful contribution to the community
• develops their existing abilities and additional skills
• broadens their outlook through experiences outside of company culture
• enables personal growth through the process of 'putting something back'
• makes work more interesting and meaningful overall, especially for staff in mundane and unfulfilling jobs.

For the community:

• extends limited resources
• adds new skills and energy to problem-solving
• provides an additional source of volunteers
• builds productive links with companies
• helps to increase management skills in the community sector
• improves the quality of community services
• helps groups to reach their full potential.

Read the online version of the report

Download the report (pdf)

For further information

Contact	:	Dr John Murphy
Email	:	jmurphy@alphalink.com.au