Here's How Volunteering Can Strengthen Your Company
By Pamela Hawley
Volunteering can do more than make you feel good - it can also help strengthen your company. Volunteering is a key part of any Corporate Social Responsibility program, and can improve your corporate culture in many ways. It shows what your company stands for, improves employee attraction/retention, encourages employees to work together, and enhances corporate brand image. If you haven’t guessed it already, all of these factors help your company’s bottom line while also serving the community.
Instils Company Values
Volunteer work is a great way to show employees your company’s core values and objectives. With this kind of volunteer program, your company can be strengthened by the cohesive values instilled in employees. Not only are employees more aware of the mission that your company is pursuing, they will also appreciate their company-organized involvement in relevant community work. Apart from providing a break from your employees’ regular schedules, volunteer work will foster motivation in the workplace under the precedent of working for an impact-minded company.
In order to do this, create volunteer opportunities based on your company’s aim. It sounds simple. But you can’t just react to a crisis, or have your foundation give money and expect that to build your CSR brand. It’s not that easy. Any good CSR program develops from starting with your company’s goals. It’s in your company’s speaking and living: the message – what your company speaks – and in practice, how your company lives on the ground. Your company’s values should be shown not just through formal communications and events, but also through the actions of every person and employee who represents your company in the day-to-day life of the community.
