How to design a volunteering program in your workplace

More and more workplaces are strengthening their volunteer programs, especially as employee demands for socially responsible employers and engagement increase. Nearly three in five companies surveyed by the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals reported increased group volunteer opportunities last year.

With National Volunteer Week in the rearview mirror, colleagues, buoyed by recent acts of kindness, may look for ways to integrate service into their professional calendars more regularly. They also benefit from it themselves. Recent research from the University of Oxford shows that organized volunteering is one of the most effective workplace programs for improving employee wellbeing.

But not all corporate volunteering is equal. The following advice from experts and nonprofit leaders offers some best practices for anyone interested in building or strengthening an office-wide service culture.

Dr. Eddy Hogg, a lecturer at the University of Kent who studies volunteering, recommends giving employees choice when designing their workplace volunteer programme. People who volunteer on their own time are likely to have a much more personal connection to the cause, he said, while a group of employees will have varying levels of interest in a particular service.

Allowing employees to choose from a range of local community groups and suggest their own can help ensure everyone feels connected to their nonprofit partner’s mission. Affinity groups can be a good place to align employee interests with service work.

Yet buy-in from the entire corporate ladder is necessary.

“It’s one thing if someone at headquarters thinks it’s a good idea,” Hogg said. “But if people’s line managers think it’s a load of rubbish, it’s not going to happen. Even if the staff actually really wants to do it.”

Hogg also recommends breaking away from the short, light duty days that often appear in company press releases. Otherwise, Hogg says, you’re essentially just participating in a corporate retreat. Deep connections between employees and the community won’t develop if they only interact once or twice a year.

“Might as well put everyone on a bus and take them to the Catskills, right?” he said.

Nonprofit bosses and leaders to communicate how the chosen activity will benefit the community. That means fostering direct interactions with the people served, says Jessica Rodell, which can keep employees returning for future volunteer work.

“The more meaningful the activity, the better,” says Rodell, a management professor at the University of Georgia.

Cold calling charities can be daunting. Fortunately, there are third-party organizations willing to partner with companies looking for skills-based volunteer opportunities with nonprofits that need extra help.

Common Impact leverages the increased power of corporations in society by connecting their employees with community groups. CEO Leila Saad describes it as the corporate version of legal pro bono work.

The nonprofit works with dozens of Fortune 500 companies. Common Impact connected Allstate employees with a domestic violence prevention group in Wisconsin to improve employee parental and bereavement leave policies, for example. It also brought together Blue Cross Blue Shield employees with a gang rehabilitation program based in Worcester, Massachusetts, that needed help collecting data to measure the success of grant applications.

Employees who work at smaller companies may consider working with their local Big Brothers Big Sisters of America club. Mentors help high school students plan their lives after graduation by assisting with completing college aid forms or choosing majors under the “Big Futures” program.

The necessary commitment levels come and go, said Chief Development Officer Deborah Barge. For example, volunteers only show up once at a career fair. Others may work with students for approximately six or more hours over several days.

Lower the barrier to entry by creating a variety of programs where newcomers can get their feet wet and seasoned volunteers can go all in. In a business world where employees are increasingly on hybrid schedules and geographically dispersed, this means providing remote service options.

Beauty brand Shiseido Americas is sending volunteer kits to its employees across its New York headquarters, New Jersey manufacturing facilities, Ohio warehouse and regional offices across the country. Keep America Beautiful, an environmental nonprofit dedicated to ending litter and expanding recycling, features cleanup kits used by Shiseido employees to beautify local parks. The company also sends kits with materials that employees can use to make blankets or decorate bags for foster children.

A robust employee engagement program should celebrate the “wholeness” of who they are,” said Melissa MacDonnell, head of the Liberty Mutual Foundation.

The insurance company often starts by inviting organizations that have already received donations through its employee match program, MacDonnell said, and also asks for employee suggestions.

In addition to months-long, skills-based opportunities, MacDonnell says Liberty Mutual is also offering curated service projects that employees can sign up for during the first three weeks of May.

“If you force it, it doesn’t feel authentic,” said Julia Haase, chief operating officer of Liberty Mutual Investments. “If you give people the platform and the choice – where, when and how they want to engage – I think they will feel empowered to pursue those areas that are truly meaningful to them.”

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Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits is supported by the AP’s partnership with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.