Volunteering need less bureaucracy and more support, warns Commission

A major report launched last week warned that red tape and misguided initiatives are deterring many people from becoming volunteers.

Despite the fact that a huge amount of volunteering takes place, there are real constraints and frustrations

The hard-hitting new report of the Commission on the Future of Volunteering explains that many potential volunteers are often deterred by bureaucracy and a lack of support and encouragement.

Julia Neuberger, the Lib Dem peer picked by Gordon Brown to be his volunteering champion, and Chair for the Commission on the Future of Volunteering, gave a strong message to the government at the launch of the report saying that “too many people are being put off volunteering”.

"Despite the fact that a huge amount of volunteering takes place, there are real constraints and frustrations", she said. "Sadly, volunteering is not always the joyous experience we would like it to be."

The report acknowledges the central role that employers have to play and recognises that larger employers in particular are supporting volunteering as part of their CSR activities.

However, consultation exercises carried out by the commission did find that “most employees do not have a great deal of positive support for volunteering from their employers”. The commission also found that “more could be done to enable employers, particularly those in small and medium size enterprises, to understand, recognise and value volunteering for the skills it develops”.

The commission also feels that more can be done by government to ‘walk the talk’ and show leadership in this field as one of Europe’s largest employers. The report further recommends that volunteering criteria be included in the Investors in People standard as further motivation for employers.

The rewards for getting volunteering right are high. Research carried out by Business in the Community demonstrates that employees who are supported to volunteer in their communities by their employers feel more committed to their company, and speak positively of the company’s work to family and friends.

The same research shows that when volunteering is offered as part of a community strategy embedded in responsible business the benefits include motivating, attracting and retaining staff.

This research and the very best examples of employee volunteering programmes will be shared at a national conference to be held in London on 11 March 2008. Business in the Community’s National Volunteering Campaign, Cares, is hosting the one day event for companies wanting to maximise the impact of their volunteering.