Employee Supported Volunteering
Employee Supported Volunteering (ESV) is an increasingly popular way in which businesses can contribute to the community and individuals can develop their skills in a rewarding context.
ESV can appear in various forms:
- Employees receive paid time off for voluntary work;
- Employees receive time off in lieu for volunteering;
- Businesses explore and participate in a formal volunteering scheme;
- An ongoing commitment (as opposed to one off instances) are made to voluntary activities.
With the emphasis falling on supporting individuals to pursue skills and activities that they are interested in, ESV is not concerned with businesses telling their staff what to do - 'volunteering' means that the staff are participating because they are doing something that they want to do!
The Home Office Citizenship Survey (2005) found that a quarter of employees work for an employer who has a formal volunteering scheme and that 40% of employees participated in those schemes. Despite the time commitment required, these findings clearly demonstrate that this is an area which staff want to be involved in.
Benefits
Not surprisingly many of the benefits are similar to those for Team Challenges in terms of demonstrating concern to stakeholders and developing personal skills. In fact Team Challenges can often launch, or support, an ongoing ESV programme.
Business benefits include:
- Demonstrates concern for the local community to employees, customers and other stakeholders.
- Access to new networks.
- Develops skills, and a sense of accomplishment, which in turn can lead to heightened motivation and commitment.
Employee benefits include:
- Skills development by performing new tasks ? or through working in a different environment
- Opportunity to work alongside others in a way that often enhances existing relationships or develops new ones.
- A greater insight into both the community and other issues.
Process
Key Steps are:
- Decide what your ESV policy is with regard to time and commitment.
- Identify a community partner with whom to work ? take into account their needs and seek to match with your business priorities.
- Check insurance cover and draw up a Risk Assessment of the task.
- Decide how to engage your staff and who should be involved.
- Feedback to stakeholders to include impact of all that you have achieved.
Employee Supported Volunteering Toolkit
