Employee Retention and Corporate Volunteering: 5 Facts For Human Resources Professionals

Ryan Scott

5 Facts For Human Resources Professionals

For those searching for employee engagement ideas, corporate volunteering has become an extremely hot topic. The Volunteer IMPACT Survey that Deloitte released last year further validated what had been increasingly acknowledged amongst corporate social responsibilityexperts for some time; employees who participate in corporate volunteering are more strongly engaged with their companies…and more likely to stay that way.

If you’re a human resources professional, employee retention and employee recruitment are a part of your job description, and you’re probably well aware that your engaged employee is your best brand ambassador. So you can’t afford to ignore the powerful data around corporate volunteering. Beyond the invaluable Deloitte study, last year’s Giving in Numbers survey by the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy revealed some eye-opening statistics about how companies continue to invest in programs that allow employees to bring their values to work—programs like matching gift policies, company-supported volunteer offerings, pro bono service projects and recognition awards for public service.

Based on data from 184 companies, including 63 of the top 100 companies in the Fortune 500, CECP’s survey underscores five employee engagement trends you should internalize at your own company:

  1. When CECP asked its members, “Which factor most drives your company to engage in community investment programs?,” the top-two answers selected were complementary: “brand, trust and reputation” followed by “employee engagement and recruitment”—which are inextricably linked in their contribution to employee morale.

  2. Companies are leveraging a greater suite of their resources and administrative time to create new channels to support locally-relevant causes as identified by their employees.

  3. In 2010, 94% of companies offered a matching-gift program (programs that match employee contributions of cash or volunteer time with a financial contribution to the employee’s charity of choice). Among those companies, matching gifts comprised an average of 15% of the company’s total cash giving.

  4. From 2009 to 2010, 57% of companies increased their cash contributions to matching gift programs on account of three main factors: increased employee participation, raised caps on the corporate matching limit, and the addition of new programs.

  5. In 2010, 89% of companies had a formal domestic employee-volunteer program, while 52% had a formal international volunteer program.

CECP’s survey further verifies what forward-thinking businesses already know: employee engagement activities that relate strongly to CSR make it easier to attract and hold on to top talent.

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