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"Without a
sense of caring, there can be no sense of community."
-- Anthony J. D'Angelo, "The
College Blue Book"
To administer an effective volunteer program for you
and your staff, consider these tips:
- Understand that employee volunteer efforts contribute
to the achievement of business goals.
- Focus workplace volunteering on specific social
problems in the community that are identified with
your business.
- Get senior management buy-in.
- Determine time-off policies before implementing
the program, and make sure everyone understands them.
- Promote collaboration across departments and divisions
in developing the program.
- Encourage the involvement of every employee.
- Manage the program like any other business function.
Volunteering helps the bottom line
National companies that compete with local businesses know this well
By Erica Waasdorp
It makes good business sense for you and your employees
to volunteer. Not only is it a highly effective marketing
strategy, but it builds teamwork, improves morale and
increases productivity. A recent survey by the Points
of Light Foundation surveyed 188 companies across the
country and discovered the following:
- 74 percent reported that that volunteerism increased
productivity of their employees;
- 93 percent said volunteerism builds employee teamwork
skills; and
- 94 percent believed that volunteerism improved
their public image.
These companies also reported that volunteer programs
actually attracted better job candidates and helped them
retain good employees. The businesses used terms such
as skill building, company loyalty and job satisfaction
in the same breath as volunteering.
Corporate community involvement is a conscious decision
by businesses to be involved in specific social issues.
It can mean a partnership with nonprofit organizations
or a sole initiative by the business itself.
The Body Shop encourages staff in each store to volunteer
at an organization of their choice. It then pays two
employees to do two hours of community work together
every two weeks.
Each Home Depot receives a special fund each year
to use to benefit the community. Store managers use
the money at their discretion, for fixing up one house
or cleaning up an entire neighborhood. One manager
said: "It's easy to give money, but you don't get that
sense of giving back. Our associates can say they're
actually out there helping in the neighborhoods where
we do business."
Bank of America has an extensive network of volunteers,
ranging from assisting after-school activities to teaching
students money skills to promoting literacy. The company
is involved in the United Way's Days of Caring, a year-round
mobilization effort connecting company volunteers to
United Way agency projects. All staff levels work together
as one.
These are big companies, and many are coming over
the bridge to compete with local Cape Cod businesses.
So, the question arises: What can local business owners
with far fewer resources learn from them?
The biggest lessons may come on the human resources
side.
Companies that contribute their employees as volunteers,
such as Procter and Gamble, Hewlett Packard, Johnson & Johnson,
IBM and 3M, share three characteristics:
- They have a clear philosophy of how they want to
conduct their business. They stand for something.
- Management emphasizes shaping and fine tuning these
values to match them with its economic and business
environment and to communicate them throughout the
organization.
- These values are known and shared by all the people
who work for the company across all levels.
The challenge for any organization of any size is to
find the best business partners - and the best social
partners, preferably a nonprofit that has some ties with
the company's mission, product or service.
There are about 800,000 nonprofit organizations across
the nation, a number that has doubled since 1990. On
Cape Cod alone, there are between 1,200 and 1,400 nonprofits
actively engaged in every aspect of the Cape's community,
economy and environment.
Allowing your employees some time off to volunteer
and supporting local nonprofits clearly contributes
to a better image for the company, happier employees
and better results for your business.
If your business is considering getting more involved
in the community, there is an upcoming opportunity
to literally shop among 70 nonprofit organizations
at the April 26 Volunteer to Sustain Cape Cod EXPO
at the Sheraton Four Points in Hyannis.
Erica Waasdorp is president of
A Direct Solution, a marketing and fund-raising agency,
working with various
Cape Cod nonprofits. She can be reached at info@adirectsolution.com.
Cape Business™ Magazine - www.capebusiness.net
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