Companies are facing increasing pressures to meet deadlines, improve profit margins and build revenue share.

Amid these daily struggles it is easy to forget to motivate, reward and value the staff that make this happen.

Salary is an important motivator, but it’s not everything. Having a happy and fulfilled workforce that is engaged with the firm’s ethics and values is vital for staff retention and even profits.

According to Gallup, “organisations that are the best in engaging their employees achieve earnings-per-share growth that is more than four times that of their competitors.”

Getting your firm involved in volunteering is a crucial part of building – and retaining – a strong workforce.

 

Why should companies help with volunteering?

A firm is more likely to retain contented staff. Allowing them to volunteer within work hours can help with that sense of satisfaction.

A PwC study revealed: “Employees most committed to their organisations put in 57% more effort on the job—and are 87% less likely to resign—than employees who consider themselves disengaged.”

A company that looks beyond its own business to altruistic interests is likely to be highly regarded and see its brand boosted.

Volunteering allows staff to gain new skills and experience that can be of value to the business.

Teams that volunteer together are stronger and more connected.

New team leaders can be uncovered when volunteering projects are organised.

 

Why should staff join in a company volunteering scheme?

 

Volunteering is a fantastic way to gain new experiences, meet new people from different backgrounds and give to your community.

According to a study by UnitedHealth Group, people who volunteer report that they feel better emotionally, mentally and physically – and they perform at a higher level.

Volunteering is a great way to use the skills you have learned in the workplace – and to gain new ones that can be migrated back into your working day.

Respondents to the NCVO’s Time Well Spent: ESV report noted a number of benefits from taking part in volunteering, including feeling they were making a difference (84%); gaining new skills and experience (76%); gaining more confidence (74%); and seeing improvements to their mental health and wellbeing (71%). 

 

Ways your firm can get involved in volunteering

 

• Set up a volunteering scheme – this is a scheme where a company allows its staff to take a set amount of time to undertake volunteering, say two days per year. These are paid days and are undertaken within a set policy. Here are more details on setting up a volunteering policy.
• Set up a charity of the year, and let staff know about the charity, what it does, and how they can help to raise cash for it. Keep momentum going throughout the year with repeated calls to action and fund-raising progress.
• Sign up to a skills bank where those with specific skills in the workplace can help out on individual volunteering projects. Link up with charities to see if your skillset matches their projects.
• Offer to promote selected charities through the company’s intranet, giving details on why colleagues should volunteer.
• Enter teams from different departments into events, such as a marathon or dragon boat race, and compete for the highest fund-raising. Name a selected charity, such as WAA, to receive funds.
• Reward staff who volunteer. This can be anything from rewarding the top volunteer by hours with an extra day off that year, to recognising volunteers at the company awards do, or having a discount scheme on goods/incentives that staff can earn through volunteering.
• Invite someone from WAA to give a lunchtime talk to staff about the organisation, and how they can be a part of it by volunteering.
• For large firms - at the start of a volunteering year/scheme invite charities to the firm for a mini volunteer’s fair.
• Build volunteering into a team bonding exercise, such as organising a fund-raising event for WAA.
• Consider setting up a Payroll Giving scheme. If an employer, company or personal pension provider runs a Payroll Giving scheme, employees can donate straight from their wages or pension.

 

 

Why choose Wales Air Ambulance?

Wales Air Ambulance covers the whole of Wales every single day – having carried out over 35,000 missions since its inception in 2001.

The charity is one of the most trusted brands, making for an excellent partnership with businesses that value the principles of reliability and helping others at crucial times.

Wales Air Ambulance has grown to be the largest air ambulance operation in the UK, with four aircraft.

We are a success story, having grown from our set-up in 2001 to having a state-of-the-art life-saving service, including a vital Children’s Wales Air Ambulance.

But we still need your help. We are the only air ambulance charity based in, and dedicated to, Wales and rely entirely on donations to raise £8 million each year to keep our helicopters flying.