A number of corporations have started to create volunteer initiatives for their employees, devoting a small number of employees’ paid work hours to philanthropy. These initiatives allow workers to take paid time off to work on a project within the community or devote time to a cause they feel passionate about. Companies have started to create these initiatives hoping to dispel the notion that a person who takes time off to volunteer is actually hurting his or her chances of promotion because of the time that will be spent out of the office.
Companies have also started to create volunteer initiatives because of growing pressure from the public to take on a larger role when it comes to social responsibility. In order to appease employees who may feel that they are working in a company that does not care about the world outside of the corporation, companies have started to offer paid time off for volunteer efforts. Some corporations have even started companywide days of service in which their employees must take time off to work on a project within the community.
Companies also want to get employees to volunteer because of the skills that can be gained from working in a volunteer setting. For lower-level employees, companies hope that volunteering will help workers see a bigger picture, one that illustrates that is more to life than simply meeting financial goals. This will push workers to go above and beyond expectations in the workplace.
In addition, upper-level employees get to hone an entirely different skill set in a volunteer setting than they would in a normal corporate setting. With financial incents removed, upper-level employees get to enhance their persuasion and mediation skills on completely level interpersonal communications grounds. These employees get to develop supervisory and leadership skills, often leading larger teams on a project, and have the opportunity to network with groups of people they might not have had the chance to meet in a corporate setting.
For more information about corporate volunteer initiatives please visit http://www.forbes.com/sites/karlmoore/2011/12/21/volunteering-a-great-way-to-learn-real-executive-leadership/.
