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Employee volunteers

More and more employers help their staff find ways to get involved in their local communities.

Why do businesses support employee volunteering?

Because employers know that volunteering offers opportunities for:

  • Team-building exercise among peers
  • Generating some positive publicity for the company
  • Recruiting new staff (as more people look to work for socially-responsible employers) * Serving as a good community partner

What does employee volunteering look like?

Employee volunteering can take many forms.

  • Sometimes employers contribute pro bono staff time, professional skills, and company resources to local organizations.
  • Some offer employees time off to volunteer during the work day.
  • Others coordinate days of service for their staff to work together on large group projects.

Want to volunteer through your company?

Interested in finding out if your employer supports staff volunteering?

If volunteering is already a benefit

Check to see if your company offers employee engagement as a benefit; the contact person may be an in-house volunteer resource manager or a staff person in a department like public relations or community relations.

Once you've identified your contact person, explore your options to get involved through work. If you're not wild about the options they currently offer, consider proposing some fresh ideas and approaches (note: you should be ready to discuss how your suggestions might benefit both staff and the company.)

If your company doesn't currently support employee engagement

Think about whether you might want to start something yourself (a few of the links below can give you some guidance on this) following the links below.

Resources

Here are some additional resources on employee volunteering: