There is great value to both the employee as well as the organization when leadership supports employees’ involvement in social good work within the community. Such involvement provides a number of benefits for both employees and also the organization.
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Benefits to Employees |
Benefits to the Organization |
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Here is one example of what one of Abudi Consulting Group’s clients do to encourage and support social good work.
A national organization with offices throughout the United States encourages employees in their regional areas to volunteer for local non-profits. This organization enables employees to take up to 10 hours a month (during work hours) to work with a local non-profit in a volunteer position. For those employees who take advantage of this opportunity, the manager of the employee work with the employee to determine the value of working with the non-profit with a specific focus on new skills and knowledge to be gained as well as the potential for leadership growth/opportunities with the non-profit. This is used to build the non-profit work into the employee’s professional development plan.
This provides employees with growth opportunities they may not otherwise have within the organization and has been utilized as part of succession planning. Employees are asked to write up the work they do with the non-profit in the company newsletter, thereby promoting their own efforts as well as promoting and gaining attention for the non-profit.
The organization has also helped employees line up volunteer work with non-profits including helping employees get involved on non-profit Boards of Directors. As part of this initiative, the organization also agrees to provide financial support of the non-profit on behalf of the employee at $1,000 per year for each year the employee continues to be involved and work with the non-profit. (In particular this has been of value when employees want to work with a non-profit but may not be able to meet the expected financial contribution to be on the Board of Directors.)
Over the last five years that this particular organization has been supporting employees’ work with non-profits, they have realized:
- 42% of their employees have been actively involved in non-profit volunteer work and/or participating on Boards of Directors with non-profit organizations since the start of the program.
- The employees who participate in the non-profit volunteer program have been able to utilize the new skills and knowledge they have gained from working with the non-profit back in the workplace.
- 5% of these employees have been able to take on management roles based on the skills and knowledge they have gained doing work with non-profits (better prepared them for management roles in the organization.)
Additionally, a number of millennial new hires have commented that they had heard about the work the organization does in lining up employees with non-profits and supporting time out of work to volunteer with non-profits. They have noted that this was very attractive to them and increased their interest in working for the organization.
How to Get Started
Interested in supporting such efforts within your organization? It isn’t difficult to get started! Take the first step by determining:
- How much time will be permitted for employees to participate in non-profit, volunteer work during work hours
- What non-profits may/may not be included in the program
- How you will align work with non-profits with professional and personal development in the role
- How to share the good work that the employee does throughout the organization
- How to use such a program to attract and retain top talent in the organization
The benefits of such programs are of value to both the employee as well as the organization – a win-win for all!
