Employer Supported Volunteering

What is employer supported volunteering?

Businesses and the public sector are becoming increasingly interested in how their own employees can become involved in volunteering. Many and varied programmes are being set up to assist employees to volunteer, whether during work hours or in their own time.
In 2005, 24% of employees in England and Wales worked for employers who had schemes for volunteers. Of these, 24% received paid time off to volunteer on their employer’s scheme*. And 74% of FTSE 100 companies have some kind of employer supported volunteering programme.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) also realise the huge importance of local relationships to their business. In 2001 a survey showed that 61% of SMEs were involved in their community in some way.
Employer supported volunteering may complement and enhance other community investment programmes, such as charitable and community donations, payroll giving schemes, charity of the year partnerships, recycling office equipment, and other forms of giving time such as secondments.

So what distinguishes employer supported volunteering from other forms of volunteering?

Employer supported volunteering is a three-way partnership between the employer, employee and the receiver of these volunteers (the Volunteer Involving Organisation e.g. a community group, school, hospital, local football team). For each party there are clear benefits in getting involved.

Benefits for the employer:

• Demonstrates commitment to building healthy communities
• Develops skills and morale in the workforce
• Improves image and can help reinforce brand loyalty.

Benefits for the employee:

Offers the satisfaction of ‘giving back’ to society
Develops new skills and enhances existing ones
Is fun and can offer a welcome break from the daily work routine!

Benefits for the volunteer-involving organisation and the community:

Increases the supply of volunteers with valuable new skills
Builds important partnerships with business and the public sector
Helps to break down barriers between different sections of society.

Links:

Here is an example of how one organisation, The National Trust, recommends setting up an ESV. Click here. http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-trust/w-volunteering/w-employeevolunteering/w-employeevolunteering-howto.htm

*Statistics from The Citizenship Survey - a biennial survey of adults in England and Wales, covering a range of community based issues including views about the local area, racial and religious prejudice and discrimination. The 2005 survey was published on 27 June 2006.