Skills-based volunteering vs. general volunteering: When it comes to long-term impacts, skills-based will win every time. So why am I still an advocate for general volunteering? Read on and join the conversation. You can comment at the bottom of the page or contact me at chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com.

I want to be very clear - I am a fan of Taproot and Aaron Hurst, the President and Founder of the Foundation. Realized Worth lists Taproot as a highly competent option for companies seeking out help with their skill-based or pro-bono volunteering efforts (read more about our thoughts on hiring consulting firms to help with employee volunteering).

If you’re unfamiliar with Taproot, I recommend you learn about them. “Taproot is a nonprofit organization that makes business talent available to organizations working to improve society.”

Recently, Aaron and I exchanged a couple tweets about the value (or lack thereof) of non-skilled volunteering. Aaron strongly believes that skilled volunteering is the way to go for companies looking for genuine impact through their employee volunteering programs. This past June, he wrote an article for the Huffington Post entitled “The Fortune 500 Need to Take Their Own Advice."

“The vast majority of companies still support employee volunteering programs that consist primarily of painting fences and cleaning parks, despite the fact that data clearly shows it has less community impact and provides less employee satisfaction, skills development and networking value compared to pro bono service.

On behalf of the nonprofit sector, I would like to ask companies to act more like businesses. If you truly care about making a sustainable difference in the community, do less hands-on volunteering and focus on where you can make your talent matter.”

Not only am I a fan of Aaron’s, but I think he’s right. When it comes to high impact employee volunteering, pro-bono or skill-based volunteering is the way to go.

But there’s a bit more to consider....

This is Not an Either/Or Conversation

Typically, when people refer to employee volunteering they tend to categorize the activity into one of two types:

The litmus test for effective corporate volunteering is not skilled vs. non-skilled.

This is the litmus test: If you remove your company from the equation, does it matter? 

If your employees are able to volunteer in the same way, achieving the same outcomes on their own time using their own resources (and that of the nonprofit), then your company may be offering nothing more than a day out of the office. This kind of volunteering is still good, it’s just not good enough (here are some examples of what were talking about).

The company’s resources are the key ingredient for creating high-impact volunteering - whether it is skilled or non-skilled volunteering.

This is a Both/And Approach

Companies looking to generate high levels of impact as a result of their corporate volunteering programs need to pay attention to three realities and requirements:

REALITY ONE: Most employees don’t volunteer and are not interested in significant commitments.

On average only one out of three employees volunteer on a regular basis (UK, USA, and Canada). Yet companies have the amazing opportunity to promote volunteerism through corporate volunteering programs. According to the University of Toronto, in 2009, 42% of surveyed employees in Canada volunteered for the first time (in their lives) through the corporate volunteering program.

Business has the opportunity to significantly increase the civic engagement in the communities and nations in which they operate.

REQUIREMENT ONE: Provide employees quality experiences which allow them to explore the idea of volunteering and how it connects to them personally.

Companies need to design employee volunteering programs that allow their employees to fall in love with volunteering. This may involve skill-based activities, but at this stage it’s not about impact - it’s about conversion. It’s about creating a business culture where civic engagement is the norm.

Here’s how to do it:

Understanding The Journey of a Volunteer - Part 1

Understanding The Journey of a Volunteer - Part 2

The Key To An Engaging Volunteer Program

REALITY TWO: One out of three employees does volunteer on a regular basis, but probably not as part of the corporate volunteer program.

Many people view volunteering as a personal activity. Corporate volunteering programs are a nice option for those employees who volunteer regularly, but they’ve already made a connection with a cause or community that fits their interests. A significant number of these employees are volunteering their skills and they are highly committed.

REQUIREMENT TWO: Find and collaborate with these seasoned volunteers.

If you want your program to get off the ground, you need to find the employees who are already volunteering. They are influential because they possess the experience, knowledge and compelling stories to convince their colleagues (who have never volunteered) to try it out.

Here’s how to do it:

How to Find Your Influentials and Let Them Lead

REALITY THREE: If the company’s assets are not essential to the employee volunteering program, it’s not having the impact it could.

There are major pharmaceutical companies that plant trees as the main employee volunteering activity. That’s good because it may turn a number of employees on to volunteering - but it’s not good enough.

Why?

Because anyone can plant trees. The pharmaceutical company is not adding anything to the equation.

Even if the pharmaceutical company was encouraging pro bono work among it’s accounts as part of the project, it’s still not good enough. Accountants don’t need their employer to volunteer in that scenario.

Remember the litmus test: If you were to remove your company from the equation, would it matter? That litmus test applies to both skilled and non-skilled volunteering.

REQUIREMENT THREE: Design corporate volunteering programs that depend on the business’ unique tangible or intangible assets (here’s an explanation of these assets)

Here’s a great example of how to do it:

A Great Example of Employee Volunteering Done Right

The Future of Employee Volunteering

Employee volunteering programs need to offer opportunities to experience volunteering and fall in love with it. This takes time. It also requires enjoyable experiences that ask for low commitment.

Companies also need to enable/allow employees to invest their skills and abilities in ways that increase the impact of the nonprofit or community they serve. (Through Taproot, for example! They are brilliant at this.) If your employees connect with a cause or community, they’ll most likely be looking for this kind of opportunity.

Contact us to talk more about it! chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com or angela@realizedworth.com or 317.372.2435

If you want an engaging employee volunteer program, you'll need to make it 3 dimensional. Here's how.

If you're even vaguely familiar with Realized Worth, chances are you've heard us mention the "Journey of the Volunteer." Whether in blogs, presentations, or client work we talk about this journey as much as we can. Why? It is the most essential key to success for employee volunteer programs. The Journey of the Volunteer is not a theory we made up over here in our offices, in front of our computer screens - it is a reality we've observed for many years on the streets, as and with volunteers. 

As you design your employee volunteering program, things will quickly begin to make sense as you incorporate the reality of the 3 stages that take place in the journey of the volunteer. It's not a difficult task - but it does take some time. Either way, it’s worth it. Here are a couple thoughts to get you on your way to designing a program that results in meaningful impacts for your company, your community and your employees.

Stage 1: Experience before Commitment

First, many people, both in North America and the UK, are not in the regular habit of volunteering. The opportunity to volunteer in your company’s program will be many people's first time engaging in this type of civic activity - ever. For these uninitiated volunteers, remember this: the activity must be about experience first - not commitment. 

The 1st Stage in a volunteer’s journey is one of investigation and curiosity. As we often note in our blogs,  people who choose to participate in your EVP will be compelled by extrinsic motivations. It is important to provide free space for employees to discover their intrinsic (internal and personal) reasons to continue to participate in further corporate volunteering opportunities. In the 1st Stage, allowing employees to self-identify as "willing to take the next step" is a key component. By allowing employees to internalize their motivation and move forward at their own pace, you will eventually see the right people step into the right leadership roles at the right time. 

Stage 2: Guidance toward Leadership

The 2nd Stage in the journey of a volunteer is one of meaningful discovery. An identity begins to form within the volunteer that includes the place/cause for which they are volunteering. Often it is a time filled with frustration and confusion. Many people in Stage 2 tend to ask questions which can be framed rather negatively - this is because they are trying to break away from an 'us and them' mentality, to one of inclusion where they 'belong' to the people/cause with which they volunteer.

As counter-intuitive as it sounds, employees that have moved into stage 2 are likely candidates for leadership development and basic leadership roles. Program leaders and supporting staff should be trained to identify and recruit employees at this stage to more intense levels of involvement. Usually, this kind of training takes place in the form of a workshop, but there are also online tools, printed materials or even coaching calls. (One major element that needs to be taught? Reflection.)

Stage 3: Empowering Leaders

Finally, the 3rd Stage in the journey of a volunteer is one of alignment and internalization. At this point, the individual’s identity has fused with the specific cause or activities associated with the EVP. The employee-volunteer is now a champion for the cause with regard to the objectives of the community, fellow volunteers/staff, and the organization. In fact, loyalty to the overall success of the community/cause/project, becomes aligned with personal benefit.

Your company probably has a handful of 3rd Stage people (there are only ever a handful, if any at all). So how do you find them?

Our recommendation is to profile existing employees with targeted surveys, phone interviews, or though consultation with other employees active in the community (believe me, they’ll know who the 3rd Stage people are once you describe them). 

It's important to identify your employees who are already operating at this 3rd stage of involvement. These volunteers will multiply your efforts, offer insightful (and accurate) feedback - ultimately, they'll ensure your program is successful. Concerned about participation rates? Focus on your 3rd stage leadership and they’ll go to work on enlisting colleagues into the community involvement efforts.

These people are influential. Not because of their personality or communication skills, but because they have an authentic and compelling story to share - even if the delivery is shakey. When you meet a ‘true-believer’ you know it. Prioritize your time around employees at this stage. Facilitate their leadership and let them do the "heavy lifting." I guarantee - this is they’ve been waiting for all along.

Getting Started

If there's one step you can take right away toward a successful EVP, it's this: open a "1st stage space" for your volunteers - or, at the very least, start thinking about what it would take to do so. Here's what a 1st stage space looks like:

Once you set up this space, you'll begin to see the journey of the volunteer happen naturally. After that, we'll worry about the more complicated steps.

At Realized Worth, our favorite topic of discussion is corporate volunteering. You can join in by contacting us here:

Chris Jarvis: chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com

Angela Parker: angela@realizedworth.com

317.371.4435

The 2010 LBG Canada benchmarking exercise produced a wealth of information and insight into the management approaches that underpin best practice in employer-supported programs. In reviewing the data, ten essential elements of successful volunteering and giving strategies are apparent. We are pleased to share them with you here. You can view the full results of the 2010 Benchmarking Survey here.

1 • Clear objectives

It may seem like common sense, but clear objectives are a surprisingly low priority for many volunteering and giving strategies. How can one be sure that their objectives are, in fact, clear? LBG Canada companies would ask you to consider the following: Are your objectives realistic and achievable? Can they be measured? Do they have set time limitations? Start with these simple questions and you’ll be on your way. 

When it comes to employee giving and volunteering, make sure your focus is on what matters most. Read our review on Microsoft's program here.

2 • Approved policies and procedures

While policy and procedure may not be the most exiting category to outline and implement, it is this element that will allow your employee volunteering and giving strategy to reward you with smooth operations – and more importantly – peace of mind. Approved policies and procedures include categories such as: criteria for sign-up, management approval, volunteer conduct and volunteer health & safety. Unfortunately, very few companies (and not one participant in the LBG Canada study) has a complete set of policies in place. In 2010, expect to see a major focus on improvement in this area.

For more guidance, be sure to check out this tool Angela and I helped produce “Mapping Success in Employee Volunteering: The Drivers of Effectiveness for Employee Volunteering and Giving Programs and Fortune 500 Performance”

3 • Executive buy-in

Speaking of smooth operations and peace of mind, nothing will settle the volunteering and giving waters more than executive buy-in. Just don’t forget: buy-in is only the beginning. 77% of the LBG Companies measured have executive buy-in in support of their programs, but less than 36% set targets for any form of participation. Less than half track participation. Ninety-six percent (96%) of companies support employee volunteering, yet only 29% have an organized program to recognize, thank and motivate volunteers. Prove to your execs that they made the right choice when they bought-in: set goals, measure everything, and keep your volunteers happy. 

Watch our video for more thoughts on how to create buy-in through proper motivation.

4 • Targets for annual participation & 5 • Tracking participation against targets

At the end of the year, when you’re asked to prove that your program was successful, you will probably say, “Yes, we had a 25% participation rate!” And….after a pause….you will be asked, “And how does that percentage demonstrate success?” Unless you can produce the targets for annual participation that you set at the beginning of the year, you won’t have anything to say. Set targets to demonstrate success and track participation against those targets. By doing these things you will have the information you need to prove success, renew funding and continue your valuable program. It’s that simple. 

But remember, participation rates don't necessarily equal success.

6 • Evaluation of results in order to improve

The more metrics you measure, the more results you will have to apply toward improving your company’s volunteering and giving strategy. The LBG Canada Benchmarking Survey is a clear example of this. With the survey, we can clearly see percentages that tell us the areas that are strong (executive buy-in), areas that need improvement (volunteer recognition), and areas that need to be addressed (clear program objectives). As the results are evaluated, it is important to include every relevant perspective such as: the volunteer, the community partner, and the business. 

 Find out more on measuring what matters.

7 • A complete communications strategy

Many volunteering and giving strategies are new as Corporate Social Responsibility is a relatively new phenomenon. We see companies scrambling to pull together a haphazard plan in order to to show that they at least have some kind of plan in place. LBG Canada companies, however, are learning together that a haphazard approach is simply not good enough; a complete communications strategy is essential. The goals of the strategy ought to include: methods for motivating involvement, recognizing volunteers, and reporting on program results.

Read more about our thoughts on strategy in this Inc. Magazine interview.

8 • Accountability for commitments

Even with executive buy-in, once a volunteering and giving strategy is implemented, promised involvement will often get lost in the intensity of other business initiatives. In order to keep this from happening, participants must be held accountable. What this looks like will be different for each organization, but should all include the following categories: executive involvement, manager involvement, board of director involvement, and managers required to encourage and support.

Here's an interesting Case Study on PwC's community investment program demonstrating the importance of executive buy-in. Especially when things go horribly wrong.

9 • Opportunities for feedback

An easy win for every volunteering and giving strategy can be found in offering direct opportunities for feedback. This allows for a sense of ownership and personal value. Be sure to offer this opportunity to: managers, employees and community partners. 

Remember when listening to feedback - not everyone is at the same stage in their volunteer experiences. It's important to account for this reality when reacting to feedback. Read more about the 3 Stages in the Journey of a Volunteer.

10 • Program flexibility re: employee schedules

When employees choose to be involved in something above and beyond their regular job requirements, one important reason for this is usually the fact that their personal needs are acknowledged. If the only opportunity for a single mom to volunteer takes place after 5:00 on weekdays, she is likely to feel devalued and unwanted. When the program offers flexibility for different levels of availability, employees feel valued and greater participation is possible.

Here are 3 reasons why flexibility is key to a successful employee volunteering strategy.

Contact Chris or Angela at Realized Worth here: 317.371.4435 or chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com, angela@realizedworth.com

Click the "hire us" tab above to learn more about what we can do for your company in the areas of corporate volunteering and social media. It's our favorite thing to talk about, so feel free to call or email with questions.

Corporate Volunteering promises an array of benefits, but there is one single benefit that overshadows the rest - one single benefit that is the sole measurement of success for your program.

For me, the question is never, “How much did you do?”

The question is, “Why does what you do matter?”

This perspective colors every headline I see and article I read, which is why one title particularly piqued my interest. “The Best and Worst of Corporate Giving in 2010” by Caroline Preston. Immediately, I wanted to know the criteria for measuring the “best” and “worst” when it comes to corporate giving - and naturally, I assumed I might have a disagreement or two. (Which is all the more fun for me.)

Admittedly, I clicked on the article and before a minute passed, found myself distracted by one company that seems intent on surprising (and delighting) CSR enthusiasts across the globe: the Microsoft Corporation.

First, a good idea:

As one of the best examples of corporate giving listed in Ms. Preston’s article, she describes “Microsoft’s move to train more out-of-work people in technology skills, in part to compensate for its declining cash contributions amid the recession.” Combining the skills of current employees with the needs of the people is a good idea.

Next, tools to make it work:

I took a second to poke around on Microsoft’s website where I found an impressive array of support tools for nonprofits and individuals. The site “aims to help you get the Microsoft tools you need, whether you're a student, entrepreneur, nonprofit worker, technology professional, parent, or you just want to brush up on your IT skills.” (A lot of the resources here are free - I highly recommend checking them out.)

And finally, belief in your employees:

Microsoft made realistic changes based on the recession by providing cost-effective, hands-on training. At the same time, they empowered their employees to make their own choices and give as much or as little as they wanted. As you may have read in our previous article, Microsoft and their Smooth Kung-Fu Moves, the opportunities for employees to contribute at this company are endless.

Maintaining these opportunities for employees may have been the most genius choice of all. This past year, Microsoft employees gave more of their time and money through the company’s annual employee giving campaign than ever before. Despite concerns around the recession, 2010 turned out to be Microsoft’s most successful year of giving. They raised more than $96 million (that’s a 9.2% increase over 2009) for more than 16,000 community organizations of all sizes.

Impressive. ...And distracting.

Now, don’t get me wrong. There is no doubt that $96 million is a number worth broadcasting. That caliber of giving has the potential to quite literally change the world. But let’s get back to the original issue:

    For me, the question is never, “How much did you do?”

    The question is, “Why does what you do matter?”

It’s not the number $96 million that’s most important - it’s what happened because of that number. Let’s take a second to examine Microsoft’s reported numbers, and see if they really matter to both the community and the company.

The Community Benefit

For Seattle Children’s Hospital, Microsoft employees are their largest, active source of ongoing donors. That means that no one who comes to Seattle Children’s is turned away for insurance or financial reasons. The employees give more than $800,000 each year in funds that go to assist over 1000 families.

Microsoft employees raised more than $2.76 million for the United Way of King County. That money is helping their new Parent-Child Home Program, which ensures that children from low income, struggling families enter school with an equal chance.

Microsoft employees also made donations through Jolkona, a nonprofit organization providing effective ways to channel small-scale gifts to high-impact projects around the world. Here’s just a few of the immediate outcomes of those donations:

Slideshow: Some of the people and activities that helped make the 2010 Giving Campaign Microsoft’s most successful ever.

The Employee Benefit

Several years ago two Microsoft employees, Leif Hemstad and Kristen Marchus-Hemstad, were transformed through a simple act of giving. The husband and wife duo are regular participants in Microsoft’s annual Giving Campaign.

Each year they host a party at their home in Minnesota. This particular year they decided to invite their friends and colleagues from Fargo’s Microsoft campus to bring donations for the local food bank. In the end, they collected about 50 pounds of food and a few hundred dollars as a donation.

A few weeks later, when Leif and Kristen excitedly drove the food and money to the food bank, they were disappointed with what they saw. The long shelves meant to be filled with food were nearly bare - and more significantly, the people waiting in line hoping for help looked humiliated, desperate, and very, very hungry.

“Once we walked into the food bank, we began thinking that our gesture, while noble, was not significant or impactful to the thousands in our county who face hunger,” Hemstad said.

What this couple saw, was deeply unsettling. They recall returning to the parking lot and sitting in the car. “I cried, and Leif got direct,” Kristen said. “We decided we were going to do this – we were going to make a difference.”

The couple decided they needed to branch beyond themselves. They partnered with the United Way and planned another party for friends and friends of friends. Their goal was to receive 75 guests and raise $7,500. They were delighted when 190 people showed up, raising $23,000. A year later the couple held another party and raised $61,000. This year, the goal is $75,000.

What’s the Point?

There are a lot of reasons why companies have employee volunteer programs. Volunteering is growing in popularity, it’s an effective means of engagement in the CSR strategy, it communicates powerfully to the community. But whether or not companies know it, the single most important reason for employee volunteering and giving programs is this: they create better people.

Corporations are literally a ‘body of people.’ So it follows that each corporation reflects those people who comprise its body. If you want a good corporation, you need good people.

Companies like Microsoft, which place an enormous emphasis on community investment, create space for their employees to become better people. When we interact with others in our community that we may not normally see or listen to, we are captured by the possibility that there is more to life than what we know. We are led to better questions about the world around us and about ourselves. For Lief and Kristen this happened when they entered a little food pantry and asked themselves, maybe for the first time, “What is hunger?” And more importantly, “In what ways can we take responsibility for the issue of hunger in our neighborhood?”

When we ask questions like these, “better questions about the world around us and about ourselves” we become better fathers, better sisters, better friends and better employees. Microsoft accomplished a great feat by giving $96 million - but that’s not what matters. What matters is that they’re changing the world by changing their people, one by one.

We really do love talking about community engagement. Want to join the conversation? 

You can either comment below or email us here: Chris: chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com or Angela: angela@realizedworth.com