How giving back can help your employees feel more engaged
North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park | Jeff Bramwell | jeff@bramwellphoto.com
Now more than ever companies are waking up to their responsibility to do good in the world – not only to give back but as a critical way to engage and retain talent.
While social good may have been a nice-to-have prior to the global pandemic, what we’re seeing today is people seek and expect their employers to contribute to society in meaningful ways. And many employees also continue to share they want to know that the work they’re doing is making a difference.
In the fall many companies ran annual or bi-annual engagement surveys. If you’re a manager with more than five direct reports, there’s a good chance you recently received your team’s results. Engagement is a critical metric for managers as it reflects the overall level of connection, motivation, and commitment people feel for where they work.
In Flouracity’s consulting work focused on engagement surveys, one thing we’ve been hearing a lot lately is how to address low scores against factors like company sentiment, social good, and pride. In general results in these areas tend to be connected to scores on statements like:
Our company’s commitment to social responsibility is genuine.
I’m proud to work at our company.
My work at our company is fulfilling.
I see the impact of our corporate social responsibility initiatives.
If you’re a manager seeing these trends, it’s easy to think to yourself I want to help - but is actioning these results the company’s responsibility or my responsibility?
While it’s true low scores in these dimensions are a sign companies need to demonstrate a stronger commitment, we’ve found a manager’s personal commitment to leaving the world better than they found it plays a big role in how fulfilled their team feels too.
One of the easiest ways managers can bring their personal commitment to life is through volunteering.
Organizing opportunities for your team to give back elevates your company’s commitment to making a difference while at the same time providing a meaningful way to connect with your team.
While the observance of International Volunteer Day on December 5th is a fantastic impetus to do something immediately, as a manager you can bring Volunteer Days to life for your team throughout the entire year.
Volunteering at work can impact people in big ways. Recent studies show these opportunities are fulfilling for employees, in fact, a study by Deloitte revealed 74% of corporate volunteers believe volunteering provides an improved sense of purpose and 70% believe volunteerism boosts morale more than company mixers.
As you start to discuss the latest engagement results with your team, there are immediate steps you can take to build volunteering into the team’s overall action plan:
Dedicate an upcoming meeting to discuss causes that matter to your team. It’s a great way to say this matters to me and enlists them as allies to brainstorm ideas.
Ask for volunteers to lead and coordinate events. Spearheading these events isn’t just personally fulfilling, leading them can turn into a fantastic leadership opportunity to build new skills.
Explore virtual opportunities: If COVID and your team’s geographic distribution doesn’t make in-person volunteering possible, no sweat. VolunteerMatch is a great resource to find virtual volunteer opportunities in your city and state.
Looking for ideas to jumpstart the conversation? In addition to organizations and causes connected to your company’s existing social good priorities, upcoming observances like Universal Human Rights month (December), Poverty in America Awareness (January), and American Heart Month (February) can also bring awareness to important causes in the months ahead.
Managers play a critical role in helping people feel proud of the work they do every day. When you commit to activities like volunteering, you won’t just see the benefit of lifting dimensions like social good in your next engagement survey – your team will see that giving back doesn’t just matter to the company, it matters to you.
Flouracity is a professional development company that helps managers grow in their careers, leaders flourish in their roles, and people become the best version of themselves.