Inspiring people: why giving is good for your team

Your people are your greatest resource.

It may be a bit of a cliché, but it’s true. And as the workforce become mobile, and more demanding in what they look for in an employer, finding and hanging on to talent can become more difficult than ever. Employees want to know what your company stands for, and that’s where giving can help.

A war for talent

Two decades ago, Mckinsey researchers declared a “war for talent”, arguing that talent rather than technology would be the most important business resource over the next twenty years.

“In the new economy, competition is global, capital is abundant, ideas are developed quickly and cheaply and people are will to change jobs often. In that kind of environment all that matters is talent. Talent wins”. Source: McKinsey

And they’ve been proved right. Big businesses are investing millions in building their employer brand to recruit and retain the best and the brightest. The pressure is on as platforms such as Glassdoor aim to do the same for the workplace as Tripadvisor has done for travel.

More than just a job

There has been a shift in what people expect from a job and the company they work for. It’s not just about the monthly pay check, people want their job to have purpose. This trend is particularly evident amongst millennials:

What does this mean for small and medium sized businesses?

Small and medium size businesses employ more than 14.1 million people in the UK. Many don’t have the resources to invest in major employer brand initiatives.

The good news is there is an advantage to being smaller — it’s easier to be authentic, responsive to employee needs and create the kind of working culture together that talent thrives in. Take Foundation SP, winner of the Great Places to Work small business category 2017. They’ve built a highly successful business based around the shared values of Family, Success and Passion.

The role of giving

Values only mean something when you put them into action. That’s where giving can become such a powerful tool when it comes to inspiring people. It’s one thing to support employees in their individual fundraising, but how about plugging purpose into performance by giving to charity through your sales or when your team hits a target?

Work for Good makes it easy to involve your team in your giving.

• Get your team involved in choosing which charity to donate to. You can select multiple charities at once through our platform, or vote on a different one each quarter.
• Share your giving stories with your team to show the impact you’re having
• Wear the Work for Good mark with pride on your website and presentations, on the walls, on your van… It’s a great way to show your people what you stand for.
• Tell the world — talk about your giving on your digital and social channels and inspire your future workforce.

As a team member at Work for Good member RS Sales, who donated a proportion of sales from an autumn promotion to WaterAid, describes.“We were delighted to be consulted on the charity RS Sales wished to support. It helped to improve team morale and it was great to feel we were making a difference”

If you’d like to find out more about how Work for Good to could inspire your people, please get in touch.