Volunteerism is a core pillar of corporate social responsibility (CSR). It is also one of the best ways for your business or organization to make a difference in the community. But the benefits don't end there.
Research shows that employees who volunteer perform better in their roles and feel a deeper connection to their place of work.
If you're launching a corporate volunteering program, it can be hard to know where to get started. But with the right tools and approach, you'll soon feel the advantages. Here are five steps you shouldn't miss.
Set the Vision
Your corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives should align with your company's values. Depending on your industry, you may focus on particular priorities, like education, housing justice, the environment or healthcare.
On the other hand, you may find that a few different areas of focus serve you well. Identifying what causes make sense for your organization will allow you to set a clear vision for your CSR strategy.
Create Volunteering Policies
Creating a volunteer time-off policy is a great way to incentivize community engagement and ensure you compensate your employees for their time. Your policy should communicate how frequently employees can volunteer, whether or not you will pay them for their time and how they should request time off.
Using a CSR management platform like GivePulse, you can streamline the process. Our interactive calendar allows employees to request a timeslot with their chosen organization. It will then prompt their manager to approve or deny the request.
Get Your Employees On Board
Your employees are key to your success. Communicate effectively and regularly with your employees about volunteering opportunities, and make sure your leadership team is doing the same.
Try setting up a volunteer committee to help plan and execute your initiatives, or use an employee survey to gather input.
By including employees in the development of your corporate volunteering program, you can help build consensus and enthusiasm.
Consider how you will prepare employees for their volunteering roles, too. Depending on your program, this could range from arranging for a background check to providing CPR training.
Promote Your Program
Highlighting your corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives is a great way to showcase your company's commitment to the community. Businesses that offer employee volunteering opportunities report higher customer engagement and reputational gains — along with all the perks of a happier workforce.
Include information about your CSR initiatives on your website, your newsletter and on social media. But don't limit yourself to sharing information externally. Get your employees excited about their impact by highlighting your corporate volunteer program in internal communication channels.
Promoting your CSR program will raise awareness and encourage more employees to participate.
Invest in CSR Management Software
Corporate volunteerism has many benefits. But it's a significant administrative lift, too. You'll need the right tools to effectively promote opportunities, organize and track participation and measure the impact of your corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
By investing in a CSR management platform like GivePulse, you benefit from an all-in-one solution to manage employee volunteering, donation matching and grant management.
GivePulse allows you to connect with community partners and list and promote volunteering opportunities. You can also manage requests and approvals for employee time off, track hours and use our reporting tools to demonstrate the difference you are making.
Ready to empower your employees and invest in your community? Schedule a demo with GivePulse today.
About GivePulse
GivePulse's mission is to enable everyone in the world to participate and engage in lifting their community to new heights. We do so by providing a platform to list, find, organize and measure the impact of service-learning, community engagement, philanthropy, corporate social responsibility and volunteerism.
Founded in 2012 in Austin, Texas, GivePulse works with 650,000+ groups, including colleges and universities, nonprofits, businesses, K-12/school districts and cities and municipalities. Together, we connect millions of people in an effort to create positive social change.
Start making a difference today by visiting www.givepulse.com.