At a Glance
Nudging your employees to start volunteering for a cause can be difficult, especially if it’s their first time. From gamifying volunteering to giving dedicated days off, here are six strategies to encourage your employees to give more.
Volunteering at the Workplace
Volunteering can be an increasingly gratifying experience, especially for the current working population in the UK, who are more driven by purpose and vocal about their values.
According to a 2024 Deloitte survey, about 90% of UK millennials and Gen Z would like to work for a company that shares their ethics and values. With many willingly choosing to prioritise purpose and impact over paychecks, it becomes important to keep them encouraged to give back to the cause that matters the most to them.
From creating an employee volunteering programme to offering special corporate volunteering benefits, there are multiple ways of nudging your employees to volunteer all year round, and not just during Volunteers' Week in June.
In this blog, understand the various ways of encouraging your employees to volunteer and the benefits of employee volunteering.
Benefits of Employee Volunteering
The benefits of employee volunteering are diverse; it has a sweeping positive impact on your organisation, your community, and the employees themselves.
Benefits for Employees
Develops New Skills
Volunteering offers employees an opportunity to develop new skills, from problem-solving to leadership, which can be transferable to everyday operations.
Improves Well-Being
Regular volunteering can lower stress levels, increase self-confidence, and contribute to overall good health.
Networking Opportunities
Active volunteering allows your employees to connect with like-minded people both within and outside your organisation, helping them expand their personal and professional circles.
Increases Job Satisfaction
When employees are working for a cause they care about through their organisation, they feel a sense of fulfilment and that they’re making a positive impact. This can lead to a higher level of job satisfaction.
Benefits for Employers
Improves Employee Engagement
Employee volunteer programmes nudge your teams to break down working in silos and bring in better teamwork and collaboration into your operations.
Creates a Positive Company Culture
Bringing in giving and volunteering opportunities fosters a sense of culture that is more positive and inclusive, and one that drives belonging and purpose.
Enhances Reputation
Potential employees are more attracted to organisations that demonstrate social giving and encourage social responsibility.
Attracts Talent
An organisation that cares about giving not only attracts and retains the top talent but also enhances its reputation.
Benefits for the Community
Addresses Local Needs
When you’re involved in efforts for a cause, your efforts can directly impact various key social issues.
Builds Relationships
Employee volunteering opportunities can deepen your organisation’s relationship with the local community, building goodwill and relationships.
How to Get Your Employees to Volunteer – 6 Strategies
Here are six strategies to get more participation from your employees in various corporate volunteering opportunities.
1. Give Dedicated Days Off for Volunteering
Volunteering offers multiple benefits, but your employees may find it difficult to reserve time to do so. As a corporate leader, you can give your employees some dedicated hours to spend volunteering with the non-profit of their choice. This dedicated time off allows them to spend time volunteering without using any of their regular paid time off.
Integrating dedicated days off into your employee volunteering programme makes it easier for your employees to pursue their favourite causes and feel more connected to your organisation.
2. Offer Choice in Volunteering Opportunities
If your employees aren’t volunteering yet, it may be because they don’t know where to start. Motivate them by communicating about the various upcoming employee volunteering activities and service projects.
However, don’t restrict your communication channels to bulletin boards. Use KindLink’s Opportunities Marketplace to allow your employees to browse through volunteer opportunities posted by non-profits and make their choice in minutes. They can reach out to their existing non-profit or connect to new ones through our extensive network.
Also, let them know if you offer paid time off for volunteering.
3. Gamify Volunteering
One creative way to nudge more employees to volunteer or step up their volunteering efforts is to gamify the process. Gamification can inject a sense of fun and competitiveness and, in turn, drive higher levels of participation.
Consider introducing challenges, leaderboards, and rewards for individual and team achievements to encourage better participation and keep the momentum going. Using a volunteering platform like KindLink, your team can pick their cause, record their donated time, post about their activities and share the enriching experience on social media.
4. Allow Them To Take The Lead
One of the key benefits of employee volunteering is helping your employees build skills and take more responsibility. Taking on responsibility for a cause close to their heart gives them a sense of pride, ownership, and accomplishment over their contributions.
Invite your team to take the lead in setting up, scheduling volunteering opportunities, and requesting approval for their campaigns using KindLink’s easy-to-use corporate volunteer management interface. It allows them to be proactive and be independent in making a difference.
5. Leadership Buy-In
If your organisation is looking to amp up your volunteer participation, ensure your leaders are committed to the cause. Your organisation is more likely to have better employee engagement if your leaders are engaged. When your leadership and executives demonstrate their commitment to CSR and employee giving initiatives, such as donation and volunteering, they become powerful role models, nudging your employees to follow in their footsteps.
When leaders volunteer, it sets the tone and creates a culture of giving, where all employees can make giving back a part of everyday work.
6. Offer Recognition and Incentives
Offering your employees meaningful incentives and recognition can not only reinforce a culture of giving but also motivate your employees to amplify their participation and efforts.
From gift cards to extra holiday days, consider offering valuable incentives and a token of appreciation to make them feel recognised for their efforts and contributions and make sure they continue to volunteer their time in the future.
Kindlink’s Role in Getting Your Employees to Volunteer
Volunteering can be a rewarding experience, but it can be difficult for first-timers and those who are confused and don’t know where to start. With a seamless corporate volunteer management platform like KindLink, it can be easier to encourage as well as empower your team to pledge their time and talent for causes that are close to their hearts.
Our volunteering platform can offer a host of features to encourage greater participation in corporate volunteering activities.
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Volunteer management interface
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Survey management
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Event documentation
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Connect to the KindLink corporate marketplace for opportunities
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Schedule volunteering opportunities
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Reporting and data monitoring tools for HR
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Effortless integration with internal chat systems and intranet pages like SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and Slack
Simplify, encourage, and manage your employees’ volunteering efforts with KindLink.
We offer free, premium, and enterprise pricing plans. Book a demo today.
