12/ 14/ 2006
How company-wide volunteering can benefit your business
Holidays are a hectic time for small businesses as they're focused on wrapping up projects for the year while juggling the countless disruptions like parties and other pre-holiday distractions. But did you also know that the holidays can give your business the opportunity to build teamwork skills, attract better employees and improve your chances of holding onto the great employees you already have? Workplace volunteer programs, which are much more prevalent during the holidays, are a great way to accomplish these goals and more.
Whether it's a simple in-house food drive to an all-out day of volunteering, even the simplest gesture to your community can inject that holiday spark throughout your business. Take a look at some of these ideas and incorporate them into your business this holiday season and in the holiday seasons to come:
Can drive: There isn't a simpler way to give back to your community than participating in a can drive. Ask employees to bring food items over the next week and choose a day to drop off your company's collection at the local food bank. If you're not sure where the food bank is in your city, stop by your local grocery store to see if your donation can be dropped off there instead. Before the drive, announce a goal and follow up each day until that goal is reached. Set the goal based on number of employees and the average amount of money you expect each employee to spend. Don't be too lofty, keeping in mind that most people are on a strict budget, especially during the holidays, but make the goal aggressive enough that you're challenging your employees in this season of giving.
Adopt an angel: Community organizations like the Salvation Army, the Prison Fellowship and many more rely on angel trees and the gracious donations of others to make sure children in need are not left out during the holidays. Adopting an angel--choosing a name off an angel tree at local malls, shops and churches and purchasing presents for that child--is another great way to get your employees involved in the community. You can collaborate as a team and come up with gift ideas, take an afternoon and purchase gifts together, wrap them at the office and designate someone to deliver the presents back to the community organization. The deadlines for many angel tree programs may have already passed or are coming up soon, so act fast or, if it is too late, keep this idea in the hopper for next year.
Make a donation: In lieu of cans and toys and children's clothing, a no-frills way of getting involved in the community is to solicit monetary contributions from your employees and donate them to the community agency of their choice. Create an incentive for them and announce that the company will be matching the funds they raised. Also consider creating a committee that will help decide which community agency will get the funds. One of your employees may already have a connection with an agency, and donating to that one would be a great way to show your support for the work he or she does outside of the office.
Get your hands dirty: You don't really have to get your hands dirty if you don't want to, but there are sure to be volunteer opportunities out there in your community that would let you if that's how you wanted to spend your day of volunteering. From sorting cans at the local food bank to cleaning up and painting at a local school, hands-on volunteer opportunity for offices of any size are endless. If you don't want to close the office for an entire day, consider closing a little early, heading over to your site around 2 or 3 p.m., working until 5 or 6 p.m., and then treating your employees to dinner.
Big and small, the opportunities to get your employees involved in giving back to the community are endless. Not only will a workplace volunteer program make a big impact on your community, it will also make one on you and your employees.
