Team building tips for better productivity and happier employees vary greatly, but one effective strategy that your organization may overlook is employee volunteerism.
Getting employees away from their desks and out into their communities is good for everyone involved, and it gives your employees the sense that they are part of something greater. The following articles offer effective team building tips to get employees excited about volunteering: How to Create Meaning at Work When the Outcome Isn’t Always Meaningful, The True Value of Employee Volunteerism, and Getting Employees to Volunteer and Give.
Implement some of the following team building tips within your organization to promote volunteerism among your employees.
Help employees find their “meaning.” According to How to Create Meaning at Work When the Outcome Isn’t Always Meaningful, the idea that meaningful work might be more important than the amount listed on paychecks is prevalent among many Millennials, and organizations should take note of the trend. While meaning can come from an organization that strives to offer clean drinking water around the world or helps kids get off the street, not every organization can base a business model off helping people. But employees can find meaning with their work in many other ways, such as taking pride in their accomplishments and change initiatives; developing their skills to work toward a promotion; or volunteering their time, either during or outside of work, and feeling that their organization places value on giving and is not only concerned with the bottom line. One of the ways we have accomplished in-house volunteering is to give employees the opportunity to serve on problem-solving teams that resolve issues that are meaningful to them.
Promote skills-based volunteerism – during working hours. Skills-based volunteerism gives employees the opportunity to learn from and gain leadership opportunities that they may not be able to from their current position, according to The True Value of Employee Volunteerism. Allowing employees to volunteer during normal workday hours is beneficial for both employees and their organizations because these initiatives strengthen your internal culture and supports employee recruitment and retention. Organizations that are launching volunteer programs should broaden their scope by working with multiple organizations that align with employee interests and your business objectives; focus on year-round giving, not just during the holidays; and appease stakeholders by communicating quantified dollar amounts of giving initiatives.
Place value on participation. According to Getting Employees to Volunteer and Give, employees who actively participate and volunteer their time rather than just money enjoy the benefits of not only helping someone else, but having a better mood and feeling healthier themselves. To get everyone involved, organizations should seek input from their employees and create volunteer initiatives that employees can get excited about. And communication is one of the most effective ways to get employees out and volunteering their time, as employees cannot help out if they do not know of the opportunities available to them.
Creating a culture that gives back to the community is not only good for the community, but for employees and your organization as well. With the above team building tips, you can get your employees excited about volunteering, and everyone can enjoy the benefits.
Copyright TIGERS Success Series, Inc. by Dianne Crampton
About TIGERS Success Series, Inc.
TIGERS Success Series, Licenses HR professionals and consultants in the use of the TIGERS proprietary resources that improve workplace trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and result. When these six principles are strengthened so is employee engagement and retention. This is because employees enjoy not only the work environment but their colleagues, too.
Learn how these six principles build high performance teams and the behaviors that support them in the 6 Principles Self-study Leadership Program. Learn at your own pace in the privacy of your office or home.
