NCVO has said that workplace volunteering schemes create “an invaluable opportunity for charities” to meet their recruitment challenges as a new report claims it would also benefit employers.
Pro Bono Economic’s report found that participation in a workplace volunteering scheme created an average reduction in absence of around 0.9 days per year for each member of staff that volunteered.
Produced for business volunteering charity Pilotlight, the new report argues that workplace volunteering can boost productivity, improve employee’s wellbeing and generate billions for the UK economy.
One of the studies in the report claims that high-skilled individuals who volunteer experience an estimated £2,300 boost to earnings.
It adds that between 1.5 million and 2.8 million additional people might volunteer if workplace volunteering schemes were expanded across all employers.
NCVO: Charities are facing challenges recruiting new volunteers
Sarah Vibert, chief executive of NCVO, said: “Workplace initiatives to encourage volunteering are not only good for employee wellbeing, which in turn is good for employers, but crucially they create an invaluable opportunity for charities to meet the challenges they face recruiting new volunteers.
“By enabling people to use their skills to support causes they care about, charities can access expertise and resource that will help them make a greater impact on the communities they support.
“To maximise success, the right conditions must exist. Both charities and employers should be mindful of making volunteering opportunities flexible, inclusive and accessible so as many people can give their time as possible.”
Pilotlight: Volunteering is an investment
Workplace volunteering is likely to provide employers with around £1.50 to £3.60 of benefits for every £1 spent, the report states.
It says that this improvement in staff wellbeing has an economic value of between £800 and £1,290 per additional volunteer, meaning that expanding workplace volunteering could be worth an estimated £2.2bn overall.
Ed Mayo, CEO of Pilotlight, said: “When it comes to business and charity, these results change everything - volunteering is not a cost, it is an investment. It is good for charity, good for the volunteer and good for the bottom line.”
‘Triple dividend for increasing workplace volunteering’
Jansev Jemal, director of research and policy at Pro Bono Economics, commented: “Increasing access to workplace volunteering opportunities has a triple dividend, as it could boost productivity and unlock billions in the UK economy, while providing much needed support for charities.
In addition to wellbeing for employees, there’s a compelling, hard-nosed business case for considering workplace volunteering, including boosts to health and skills.
“As businesses take up this opportunity, there is a need to be realistic about the challenges for the charities themselves. Using volunteers effectively takes resources to manage, oversee and support those that are giving up their time.
Businesses and other funders will need to consider how they can benefit by supporting the underlying costs of volunteering programmes, rather than assuming that an offer of time alone will suffice.”
