Volunteering – The Social Impact for Business
Throughout Australia we are seeing a new brand of social responsibility from business that is using employee volunteer programs to ‘invest’ in community and as the key to attract and retain staff, which then feeds into operational efficiency and profitability.
The Wimmera’s business community is pretty savvy; recognising that business is more than just about the bottom line when you work and live in a close community. You see and hear about sponsorship contributions, ‘meals on wheels’ rosters, and a plethora of ‘great ideas’ being supported.
According to Volunteering Australia:
- 96% of employees said they felt happier as a result of volunteering
- 94% of companies believed employee volunteering raised staff morale
- 66% of employees reported a greater commitment to the company as a result their Volunteer Program.
However, businesses are not charities and the general belief is that community-mindedness has to give way to generating profit at some point.
Given the input of volunteering is worth billions to Australia, overcoming the barriers of time and commitment for staff to volunteer is an instant value-add to our community as well as in-house productivity. (Locally, the volunteer hours invested in the MATES Mentoring program from 2010 – 2016 was estimated to be valued at $157,169.)
Locally, MATES Mentoring presents as an ideal Employee Volunteer Program. WSMLLEN has a list of “Community Champions” using the program and releasing staff during work hours to ‘mentor’ young people. Community Champion 2016 Award Winner’s, Hindmarsh Shire Council, provided flexible work arrangements for 7 staff during the year who all mentored young people through the MATES program.
MATES has been designed as a model which is easy and effective to implement and this is reflected by the high rate of program uptake.
For further information on using MATES as an Employee Volunteer Program, or to enquire about becoming a mentor, please contact mates co-ordinator, visit www.llen.com.au/mates,
or call (03) 5381 0122.