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Volunteering: How to find the best fits
As an administrator of volunteers, I have spoken with thousands of interested volunteers and interviewed hundreds of potential volunteers.
Apply to Have the Experience of a Lifetime
The search continues for a few good men or women to represent Canada at Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Beijing Olympic Games volunteers offer lessons for VANOC 2010
They know they will have to stand for hours and keep their cool amid the 33-degree heat waves of Beijing in August.
The Business Case for Volunteerism
Many employers believe money is a sure way to keep top talent, but some find a culture of volunteerism is as appealing to workers.culture of volunteerism makes them more appealing to workers.
Tours with duty
Lying on a beach and sipping margaritas is no longer enough to satisfy world travelers. Instead many people are opting for spend their vacation time volunteering.
Using time off work to save the world
High-profile TV correspondent, Lisa LaFlamme often reports on strife -- recently, she spent her vacation doing something about it.
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By Laura Williams
Many employers believe that adding more to a paycheque is the surest way to secure top talent in the current competitive labour market. While there is no doubt that money talks, some organizations are finding that focusing on being better corporate citizens and encouraging a culture of volunteerism are making them more appealing to workers.
There are obvious altruistic benefits of corporate citizenship. Regardless of whether employees are encouraged to donate time or money, the end result is additional support for needy groups and individuals.
However, there are other business-related reasons for organizations to adopt a philosophy of "giving back", as outlined below.
Employee engagement
Research from the 2007 Best Employers in Canada study looked at the engagement level of various generations of employees. "Engagement" is an indicator not only of how likely employees are to stay with an organization, but how positive they are when they speak about the company and how motivated they are to work hard to achieve corporate goals. In short, a focus on increasing employee engagement can help with attraction, retention and productivity.
One of the factors that are important in boosting employee engagement is organizational reputation. While slightly more important to older employees, organizational reputation ranks amongst the top five drivers of employee engagement for every generation. People want to work for an employer they respect and believe in.
Organizational reputation alone is not enough to ensure an engaged workforce, but it can clearly help to increase employee satisfaction and loyalty.
Greater career experience
Encouraging employees to volunteer can provide them with opportunities they might not have in their current role to learn new skills and gain additional experience.
One of the advantages employers frequently cite for encouraging volunteerism is the opportunity to cultivate teamwork. Organizations may encourage groups of employees to volunteer together for team-building purposes. Doing so may help co-workers see each other in a new light. For example, a team that volunteers to work together on a Habitat for Humanity build may find a more junior employee has better handyman skills. That person will have an opportunity to demonstrate leadership skills in the volunteer setting. Where a group of employees works closely with a client team, a joint volunteer initiative can help them to get to know each other better and find new ways to work together.
Enhanced corporate reputation
Being active in the community provides opportunities for an organization to heighten its positive public image. While the company may not become a household name, an enhanced reputation can certainly assist in attracting employees -- and customers.
Even though an organization may make significant charitable donations each year, its staff may not be aware of its generosity. Encouraging employees to join forces with the company, either by fundraising or volunteerism, brings the message home to workers that their employer is socially responsible.
Business opportunities
Clients and customers are increasingly on the lookout for vendors and service providers that are as involved in the community as they are. They want to partner with organizations that share similar values. Questions about community or charitable participation are now appearing more frequently in Requests for Proposals, for example, and organizations are expected to demonstrate their community involvement with tangible examples.
Corporate volunteerism in action
In a 2006 Hewitt survey, "Attracting and Retaining the New Workforce", employers were asked about community-oriented work arrangements:
- 55 per cent of employers indicated that they provide matching-gift charitable contributions.
- The same amount -- 55 per cent -- provided paid time off for community or charitable activities.
- 44 per cent of employers provided unpaid time off for volunteer activities -- but many more had plans to do so. In fact, 69 per cent of organizations expected to provide unpaid time off for community or charitable activities by 2009.
Another means by which organizations are supporting employee volunteer activities are through unpaid sabbaticals (44 per cent, increasing to 58 per cent by 2009). Some employees want to take extended periods of time off to pursue some volunteer activity, often abroad. If the employee is someone the organization wants to retain, it may well offer the employee a chance to take the time off, with the promise of a job when he or she returns.
There are also numerous other ways that companies use to encourage volunteerism. They may permit the use of workplace facilities for volunteer activities, for example, host a volunteer fair, or acknowledge the volunteer efforts of employees.
The most proactive employers establish formal volunteer programs that align with the company's mission. The exact initiatives that the employer chooses to support are often determined by surveying employees about their volunteer interests, so that the company facilitates efforts that truly important to its workforce. These organizations make volunteerism an integral part of their culture and often reap the greatest rewards.
Laura Williams, CHRP, is a senior benefits consultant in Hewitt Associates' Vancouver office: laura.williams@hewitt.com
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