Can Volunteering Improve Your Employee’s Performance?

Getting out in the community and lending a helping hand is an important part of being a responsible Australian. Recently, businesses have seen the value in connecting with not-for-profits and disadvantaged groups both from an ethical and a business standpoint.

Aided by HR consulting, businesses can implement their own initiatives to improve their corporate social responsibility standing and even see better employee performance.

Interest in community work is already high amongst business professionals. A survey conducted by Robert Half found 41 per cent of employees volunteer outside of work. Participation varies with age and gender, with men more likely to volunteer than women. Among professionals aged 18 to 34, 49 per cent give their time to causes compared to just 35 per cent of those aged 35 to 54.

As Senior Executive Director Paul McDonald explained, allowing time for workers to give back to the community can help their professional development.

“Managers may find that encouraging their employees to volunteer is a beneficial retention and recruitment tool,” he said.

“Not only does it provide the gratification of giving back to the community, but it could open doors to a new professional opportunity or business connection.”

Volunteering programs are not just positive for employees, but for the business as a whole. According to corporate social responsibility company FrontStream, encouraging employees to give back to the community can bring direct benefits such as increased employee engagement, improved skills and a better bottom line and business reputation. Volunteering builds a sense of pride and purpose in workers, which means better clients and customer outcomes for a company.

By analysing workplace metrics through HRIS software, businesses can access the improvements in employee performance themselves. this will allow them to develop a volunteering program that meets the needs of both the staff and the community.