Why Volunteering Is a Boost to Business

National Volunteer Week takes place this month in the UK and it’s more than a ‘nice to have’ option for many companies, including tms. By committing time and resources to volunteering - whether this is for specific dates, or year round - businesses are investing in communities, skills building, team bonding, confidence and a sense of well being - all of which can have a positive knock on effect in terms of the attraction and retention of talent and a healthy bottom line. 

According to Benevity, employee volunteering has soared in the past three years. Companies that invest in actively promoting volunteering see the most benefits and corporate volunteering has renewed purpose in hybrid working environments. As a result it can strengthen employee connection, improve company culture and create a real sense of community. 

At tms, there is a specific structure in place that makes volunteering easy to take part in, measure and grow. As a start, it’s important that any organisation has a clear view of what volunteering is - here are some suggestions, but there might be better alternatives for different organisations -

• Hands-On Volunteering​: A traditional service activity like a neighbourhood clean-up, serving at a food pantry or soup kitchen, volunteering at your place of worship or mentoring youth.
• Skills-Based Volunteering​: Offering professional skills in a pro-bono capacity such as website design for a non-profit or providing legal or accounting services.
• Acts of Care: Other activities that contribute to the well-being of a community/society such as leading an ERG (employee resource group) event, serving on a non-profit board or donating blood.

Work has changed

Post-pandemic, work locations and timings have changed a great deal. This is wonderful as it offers people more flexibility and ways to work, and this can include volunteering. By having a system where employees can log their own volunteering times where they are, organisations can reach communities in far more locations. 

Fitting volunteering into a work pattern doesn’t have to be a cookie cutter experience that offers limited time. In 2023, tms global set a target of 9,000 hours and achieved over 11,000 hours of work. As an organisation we have 30 global volunteering ambassadors and counting and these people are spearheading local events for really diverse causes.

We have demonstrated commitment both on and off the clock - 57% of hours have been contributed through personal time. Volunteering doesn’t have to be hard if you have the right strategy in place to make it fun and easy for everyone.  

As a final sign off, here’s a few things that other establishments can do - 

• Communication. Getting the word out that volunteering is an employee option and how this work is vital. If people don’t know, they might not think it’s possible on work time.
• Being proactive. Though we partner with amazing organisations and our employees have worked with a really wide range of diverse groups to do great work, it’s also important to lead by example. So organised events and partnerships that offer people the chance to join in are a great way to start. 
• Create an accessible way to log hours and highlight results. Volunteering is a great thing to do, being able to see what your commitment has done and celebrate that work is even better. Investing some time and money into creating a platform for volunteer work to be logged and recognised makes everyone realise that they are appreciated.