Michelle Barbin’s work doesn’t always fill her bucket. Yes, she loves that her nine-to-five job helps improve the consumer experience at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. She emphasizes that she would not have spent nearly 19 years working for health insurance otherwise.
But his “empathetic heart” derives genuine satisfaction from the company’s opportunities to apply his professional skills to resource-strapped nonprofits. Routine work—managing projects or organizing slideshows—seems more satisfying when it’s, say, a new marketing campaign for a Pittsburgh children’s health group.
It has also benefited from development benefits; she credits her leadership during a day of service for helping convince her current boss to hire her on a new team.
“That’s a big part of why I stay,” Barbin said.
Employees are increasingly finding that strong workplace volunteer programs meet their desires for in-person relationships, professional growth, and altruistic employers – career goals that might be lacking in conventional corporate atmospheres . Renewed interest in pandemic shutdowns that have forced many Americans to reevaluate their commitments to their communities has led to more corporate partners, volunteer hours and active participants in 2023 than ever before, according to Benevity, a platform that helps companies manage such programs.
More than 60% of respondents reported increased participation last year in employee volunteer activities, according to an association of corporate citizenship professionals. survey of 149 companies.
Even employees who don’t volunteer themselves feel better working somewhere with a strong civic-minded culture. Regardless of their individual volunteer commitments, they take pride in their affiliation with a socially conscious company, according to Jessica Rodell, a management professor at the University of Georgia who studies worker psychology.
Companies with strong volunteer programs also tend to have lower turnover rates, she said.
“Volunteering can be a tool in a company’s toolbox to help employees become invested enough in the company to perform well, and then want to stay there instead of going elsewhere,” said Rodell.
This can be a particularly effective tool for instilling social sense in front-line employees who tend to give meaning to work, but report a detachment from their company’s mission.
But flexibility is essential. Business management experts note that employees must have the freedom to choose their volunteer activities, nonprofit partners, and time commitment for successful connections to truly develop.
Workplace volunteering wasn’t something Jesse Weissman knew he wanted from employers when he joined. Microsoft in May 2021. Three years later, it’s an aspect of working life that he believes would be worth seriously considering if he was looking for a new job.
Looking for a deeper connection to the Seattle community, Weissman began mentoring students of color through Microsoft’s partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and a local nonprofit. Since September 2022, he has worked with Microsoft’s Seattle-area Black Employee Affinity Group to organize speaking and mentoring opportunities for his colleagues.
“It filled a hole I didn’t realize I had,” Weissman said.
Not just any sloppy activity will do, experts say. These service days aren’t necessarily circled on office calendars as afternoons of matching tee shirts and on-site photo ops. Some companies set aside regular work hours for months so employees can build websites or develop business strategies for local charities.
Leaders might think that a light social effort — filling backpacks at happy hour, for example — is necessary to develop fun-loving employees. But Rodell, the management professor, said longer, more meaningful programs resonate more with volunteers.
Best practices include following up on employee leads and meeting them where they are at. Skills-based opportunities at Blue Cross Blue Shield range from one-day “flash” projects to multi-month partnerships. The company sets aside 15 days a year for associates to volunteer, much like vacation and sick leave. Affinity groups can co-create service projects.
Incorporating donations into volunteer programs is another way to engage busier, more experienced employees who have less time to commit but a bigger wallet. Liberty Mutual distributes employee gifts to more than 11,000 eligible charities. Insurance company volunteers are further incentivized by the opportunity to win miniature grants for the charity of their choice. The total reaches $2,500 for those who complete 100 hours of service.
Some employees recently spent more than six months consulting with More Than Words, a Boston nonprofit that provides work for young people ages 16 to 24 who have cycled through foster care, courts, and shelters. homeless or other systems. After surveying participants, Liberty Mutual employees identified a lack of initial support, according to Naomi Parker, the nonprofit’s chief advancement officer. Young people needed help getting transportation and food before they could get a job.
The volunteer commitments are now part of expanded connections that have seen a Liberty Mutual employee join More Than Words’ board of directors and more than $3.4 million committed to the nonprofit since 2013. Employees have donated more than $85,000, including matches and other incentives.
“It doesn’t turn into LinkedIn post, right? Parker said. “It’s not a quick success. It’s true. It’s deep. And it’s not for show.
Volunteering can be a gateway to relationships beyond the otherwise costly behind-the-scenes help provided by employees. Long-term partnerships in turn introduce budget-constrained nonprofits to new donor pools.
Now is an especially good time to make those connections given that Generation Z is expected to overtake baby boomers in the job market this year, said Matt Nash, executive director of the Blackbaud Giving Fund. More than three-fifths of charitable donors have recently volunteered with the organization they supported, according to a report from Fidelity Charitable. As younger employees increase their income, Nash said, well-formed bonds can become especially lucrative for nonprofits.
Legendary Legacies Executive Director Ron Waddell didn’t expect Blue Cross Blue Shield employees to remain engaged in his nonprofit’s work to rehabilitate young gang members. Several IT specialists and data analysts helped them better understand the success metrics of their programs, which is important for both feedback and grant applications. But several months later, a volunteer donated $200, which Waddell considered a testament to his honest motives.
It was not “a performative measure to look good,” he said. “You could tell people were really invested.”
