How helping helps your business

Corporate volunteering has long been popular, but now more and more businesses are creating volunteer programmes and encouraging their staff to enrol in them. It’s part of their CSR strategy — they want to do business more responsibly and give something back — but the truth is that they can gain as much as they give.

Good for your team

Employee engagement soars. Staff feel more connected to the business. They connect with their employer’s values and ethics, they form bonds with other team members on the programme and they genuinely feel part of the company. Engaged employees are more motivated, often more productive, and stay with their employers for longer. According to a 2017 survey, employees who volunteer with their company are 13% happier than average — and 15% more likely to recommend the organisation they work for to others.

The most successful volunteer programmes tend to be those where the staff have played a part in selecting the charity or organisation to support and the type of tasks to undertake. This encourages engagement in the voluntary work — which leads on to engagement at work too.

Staff can develop skills and leadership while volunteering. Often they will bring those new skills and a new-found confidence back into the office. So a volunteer programme can contribute to learning and development in unexpected ways.

Creating a programme has benefits for employee wellbeing too. Studies have shown that volunteering gives a sense of purpose and can have a positive impact on mental health — one of the New Economic Foundation’s 5 Ways to Wellbeing is ‘to give’.

Good for your community

When your staff participate in a volunteer programme in the local community, your relationship with that community will develop. Better community relations are good for everyone, your business included.

Good for your reputation

A successful volunteer programme provides tangible evidence of your commitment to doing business responsibly and your desire to put something back. This can lead to better relations with your clients as well as with your staff and local people.

At the Upper Norwood Library Hub, we work with both businesses and volunteers for the benefit of our local community. From business networking to employability mentoring, from health and wellbeing programmes and debt advice to our soon-to-be corporate volunteering programme, we’re here for all ages and all walks of life.

So come and see first hand that being linked with a social enterprise can provide benefits and satisfaction for corporate business. We also see our many volunteers develop their skills and confidence — which is great for them, great for us, and a benefit to our community as a whole.