How do company volunteer opportunities influence employee experience?

Volunteering can play a pivotal role in making your employees feel accomplished and engaged. While its benefits are more intangible, there is a significant overlap between the personal impact of volunteering and factors of workplace wellness programs.

A 2023 BioLife poll on giving and volunteerism found that volunteers felt:

• An increased sense of purpose (45%)
• Increased happiness (36%)
• Improved mental wellbeing (26%)
• Greater self-esteem and self-confidence (20%)
• Reduced stress (11%)

These benefits also extend into the workplace. For example, employees may increase their output, approach the workday with a more positive attitude and feel more appreciated. As a result, these improvements can reduce the likelihood of experiencing stress and burnout.

Corporate volunteering opportunities that benefit all involved

As you build a catalog of business volunteering opportunities to share with your team, include an array of possibilities that encompass one-time events and long-term opportunities. Volunteer openings should cater to diverse skill sets and demographics, ensuring inclusivity and passion-driven commitment regardless of background or experience level.

1. Start a community garden

Food costs in the United States are on the rise, with inflation rates reaching a 43-year high of 11.4% in 2022. Even spending a few extra dollars on produce during each shopping trip can significantly impact the average family’s budget. This is why more communities are looking into the benefits of a community garden.

Consider making your next business volunteer opportunity to plant a community garden that is accessible to everyone.

2. Organizing a community cleanup

Schedule everyone for a half-day and take them out of the office to a local space in need of cleanup. You may be able to recruit other companies in your same building, clients and even local residents to lend a hand. Consider providing lunch for participating employees.

3. Tutoring students

Tutoring gives children who need a boost in English, math, biology and other key subjects a chance to catch up. Give employees the option to volunteer for an existing program or establish an in-house corporate initiative. Volunteers from various departments can sign up to contribute their time and expertise.

4. Mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators

Mentorship can give groups of all ages a chance to acquire the skills they need to go to college, interview for jobs or get funding for their own business ventures. Mentorships can be broad, such as an advertising executive providing long-term support for a marketing major, or very specific, like pairing a junior sales representative with a senior sales mentor to accelerate learning on-the-job.

If you’re interested in building an in-house corporate mentoring program, consider:

• Job shadowing: Students can follow a professional for a day to see what their job is like.
• Peer mentoring: A long-term employee serves as a mentor and sounding board for new entry-level hires.
• Book discussions: Monthly sessions based around a professional or personal development title.
• Mock interviews: Allow students and those re-entering the workforce to enhance their skills with an HR professional.

5. Sorting donations at food banks and other organizations

Local food banks are generally open to the public and welcome all volunteer opportunities as food items must be reviewed for expiration dates and damage. They also need to be sorted and organized into boxes so they’re ready for pickup/drop-off.

Consider scheduling a volunteer day for your employees to sign up to help sort donations at a nearby food bank or similar organization, such as local shelters. The same company volunteer opportunities exist at other organizations that concentrate on gathering backpacks, school supplies, warm coats, home goods, disaster relief supplies and interview-ready clothes for women’s shelters. Employees can sign up to help their desired cause.

FAQs about corporate volunteering ideas

How does volunteering help a company?

Incorporating business volunteering opportunities into your corporate culture is not only a great thing to do for your community but can also help your company in unexpected ways. Studies show that volunteer programs increase productivity. They also lead to improvements in employee engagement, which in turn increases employee retention. Strong corporate volunteer programs can also attract high-quality candidates looking for employers whose ethics and commitment to giving back align with their personal values.

What is corporate volunteerism?

Corporate volunteerism is how large organizations formally demonstrate their commitment to social responsibility. These organized efforts see corporations encouraging employees to give back by volunteering their time and skills to aid non-profit organizations in need of assistance. Corporate volunteerism can be highly structured, with donated time factored into working hours, or less formal with employees simply given a list of possible volunteer opportunities.

How can we build a corporate volunteer program?

Providing occasional corporate volunteering opportunities is admirable, but building a long-term corporate volunteer program makes giving back a little more official. These programs require a lot of organization, beginning with setting clear goals and objectives and creating an action plan. You need to communicate the benefits of volunteering with your team, forge relationships with local organizations in need of volunteers and lead by example. This means upper management should volunteer their time as well.