Volunteering in the workplace
Providing a workplace volunteering programme is more than just a way to give back to a local charity, it is also an important element of supporting employee wellbeing. The benefits are far reaching and can have an impact on the long term success of your business.
However, it isn’t as simple as signing everyone up to take part in a bucket shake at the local supermarket. To really make the most of employee volunteering, you should volunteer with intention. Choose a charity or volunteering opportunity that aligns with your business, your employees’ skillsets or your employees’ interests.
Some examples of this:
- An eyewear company working with a sight loss charity
- A tech organisation providing staff time to improve a charity’s database
- An office 5-aside team taking part in a charity football match
- A business that is focussed on employee wellbeing volunteering with Healing for the Heart!
Giving your employees choice
We would also recommend offering your employees a choice in how they take part in your volunteering programme. Your team will be varied in their interests and capabilities. Encouraging everyone to sign up for Tough Mudder can be a great team bonding exercise, but this type of event isn’t accessible to everyone. If you don’t provide an alternative, some could feel excluded.
In a similar vein, you may assume that everyone can spend a day in a care home or running activities for school children, but some people find this type of volunteering very intimidating and some simply won’t enjoy it. Not everyone is an outgoing ‘people person’, and that’s okay!
Look for a charity or multiple charities that can provide a range of meaningful experiences. That way all staff are more likely to take part and reap the benefits of volunteering.
Benefits of workplace volunteering
There are lots of brilliant reasons to implement a volunteering programme within your workplace. A study by Deloitte found that 89% of employees “believe that companies who sponsor volunteer activities offer a better overall working environment” (Source). Volunteering is beneficial to your company, to your team and to the charities you support.
1. Improved employee engagement
Volunteering helps employees feel more connected to their work, their colleagues, and their communities.
2. Increased job satisfaction and productivity
Employees will feel proud to work for an organisation that cares about them and cares about their community.
3. Encourage teamwork and collaboration
Volunteering gives employees the opportunity to work together in new and different ways, building stronger relationships and improving communication and collaboration skills.
4. Company reputation
Companies that support employees to volunteer are seen as more socially responsible and caring. Consumers are becoming more conscious of which organisations they buy from. Having a strong Corporate Social Responsibility strategy can genuinely increase sales.
5. Skills development
Give your employees a chance to learn new skills or improve upon existing skills such as leadership, project management, and communication.
6. Employee retention
Volunteering helps employees feel more fulfilled and connected to their work, which can lead to higher levels of job satisfaction and employee retention.
7. Positive impact on communities
Last but not least, volunteering can have a positive impact on your local community. You can help charities grow, thrive and support more people, animals or environments in need.
What can Healing for the Heart offer your employees?
At Healing for the Heart, we always try to do things a little differently and that means creating unique volunteer opportunities. We do all the usual fun stuff, like encouraging teams of staff to take part in the Kiltwalk or 10Ks. We also occasionally have opportunities to help out at events or hold a collection bucket (you aren’t allowed to shake them nowadays!)
However, the volunteering opportunity that we really love to tell businesses about, is our Craft Days. We are about to launch our online shop and we are looking for people to help us stock it. Your team will be able to create something and then see it being sold online to raise funds for our work. We are sure everyone taking part will feel a huge sense of achievement by the end of the craft workshop.
Our service users often partake in creative and craft based activities which have a positive impact on their wellbeing. So we thought this would be a great way to get more people involved with Healing for the Heart, in a way that benefits their mental health. Your employees don’t need to have any arts and crafts experience, just a willingness to learn!
We are sure your employees will be very grateful for this opportunity and we promise to make it a fun-filled day. All we ask in return is that you make a small donation to Healing for the Heart to support our services. If you don’t have the funds right now, our Fundraiser can give you advice on how to raise money for our cause.
As we mentioned earlier, we know that crafting isn’t for everyone. So if you would like to find out about the other ways your employees can volunteer, we can provide you with a range of options that suit different personalities and abilities.
Get in touch to book your space!
