Employee Volunteering and Community Engagement Programs

I was asked to speak at a human resources brown bag for the Arizona Technology Council on Employee Volunteering and Community Engagement Programs. The concept of a program for this seemed foreign to me even though I have consulted at large companies that have extensive programs. As a non-profit director for several groups I have also been on the receiving end of some really great programs. Locally Intel does a great job of employee volunteering.

It is important to understand that you don’t have to be a billion dollar a year company to allow and encourage employee volunteering. Here are five things you could do as a small company to help give back to the community.

Participate in something like AZ Give Camp and give back your talents locally.
Work with a local charity to help see how your company can support them. As little as 10 hours a month or $100 can make a real difference.
Use volunteering as team builder. Help feed the homeless or build a house together.
Allow employees to volunteer for their favorite charity and for every hour they work give the charity $10. You can put a cap on it for a $100 per employee and everyone wins.
Find a local school and sponsor a classroom. Help them go on a field trip or buy supplies that they wouldn’t be able to otherwise.

Ultimately, it is in our DNA to help each other out. I won’t go on and on about the benefits of employee volunteering, there are already resources for that. Just know that if you want to attract, keep and satisfy quality talent you need to be mindful of their need to give. Embrace and encourage it.

Make a non-profit’s day today and contact them about how you can make a difference for them.