Employee engagement
Community involvement provides many opportunities to engage employees and to develop a wide range of skills and competences including communication, project management, leadership and team working.
It can also provide a channel through which companies can demonstrate their values, contributing to improved employee perceptions, motivation and retention.
In particular, employee engagement research conducted for Business in the Community on a pro-bono basis by Research International proves that employees that are actively involved in community investment activities:
- are significantly more likely to find their work interesting
- will recommend working for their company to family and friends
- credit their engagement in community activities to helping them manage people more effectively.
Employee volunteering can take many forms, from team challenges to individuals using their business skills for community projects. Whether a one time experience or ongoing opportunity, employees from business leaders to new graduates are enjoying volunteering in many different guises, as mentors, job coaches, school governors, magistrates and offering professional skills on a pro-bono basis.
Employers need to recognise, support and encourage both employee-led volunteering, where the motivation is often highly personal, and volunteering through corporate programmes, where the motivation is more likely to involve skills development and be strongly linked to responsible business.
Community champions
Appointing ‘champions’ from different parts of the business to promote community activities can be a great way to bring together a diverse collection of people and to maximise their impact and involvement.
Fundraising
Employees can enjoy raising money in the workplace for a national event such as Comic Relief, local charities or a charity of the year, and employers should not overlook this simple way of involving people.
