MAPSTL

Volunteerism is a great way for any size organization to give back. Regardless of whether you are a solo entrepreneur or a big corporation, an employee volunteer program is a must for several reasons. The most important reason is it gives employees a stake in the company’s giving and it can even enhance employee morale.

An employee volunteer program doesn’t have to be complex and time consuming. But, it need to be leveraged against other assets for giving, which determines how you develop this program. The employee volunteer program needs to also have the systems in place for it to be productive and efficient. If you are thinking about establishing a firm-wide employee volunteer program or if you are a solo entrepreneur and want to include time as a way to give back, here are 5 simple steps to create and employee volunteer program.

1. Align volunteer activities with the firm giving mission. Volunteering should not be done on the fly or without consideration. Creating a branded giving program that sends out your message about what you care about is critical. Take the time to choose volunteer activities that closely align with your giving mission statement. Picking activities that align with your giving mission generate the greatest advantages for the organization, employees and the community.

2. Develop a volunteer program structure and policies. Written and communicated policies around volunteering maintain the program focused and effortless to manage. It lays the groundwork for what the firm will do and how it will do it and when recognizing employees for the volunteer time, it keeps the process fair.

3. Leverage volunteer activities against other assets the firm has to give. You require to know how a lot time you can afford to give back. Time is weighed against in-kind donations, money contributions (such as matching gift programs) and loaned expertise.

4. Communicate your volunteer efforts. Communicating your giving program generates enthusiasm within the company and great will within the community. The results and efforts of your volunteerism are linked to public relation and advertising efforts both internally and externally.

5. Reward engaged employees. Nothing speaks louder to employees than appreciation for what they do. Establishing a recognition program inspires other people and is a fantastic way to say ‘thank you’ for their contribution to the overall company giving program.

6. Measure and evaluate. You don’t know how effective your volunteer program is unless you take the time to evaluate it. Yes, volunteering is all great, but you this is the only way true success can be determined. Some of the areas to measure are employee satisfaction with the program and is it meeting your overall mission.

© 2007. Maggie F. Keenan, Ed.D. All rights reserved.