The endless benefits of volunteering
In a recent Harvard Business Review blog, Sylvia Ann Hewlett revealed a few surprising statistics that highlight the value of volunteering in creating a happy workforce. For one, 77 percent of recent college graduates said a company’s commitment to social issues is a crucial factor in where they choose to work.
Those feelings extend far beyond recent grads. In fact, 90 percent of female and 79 percent of male Baby Boomers also look to volunteer through their job, according to the blog.
Larger companies may have the resources to run more robust volunteer programs, but you do not have to be a Fortune 500 company to give back to the community.
In this blog post on TriplePundit, the author outlines nine steps you can take to run a successful volunteer program.
One key step is to pick events that your employees are interested in, which can be accomplished through a survey or just informally polling your workforce. The best events are somewhat innovative, align with personal values and give employees the feeling they are making an impact.
A great place to start is volunteering activities that directly benefit your company’s community. At Nautique, for example, employees have participated in numerous ventures that have aided homeless shelters and built homes through Habitat for Humanity in their hometown of Orlando.
Volunteering always comes with the reward of self-satisfaction. But for business owners, helping others can come with additional incentives, like improved employee retention and having a company people are proud to work for.
