forgood’s four strategies for successful Employee Volunteering Programmes

by Stephanie Makhlouf (Programme Manager)

Running a volunteering programme that’s meaningful, sustainable, and well-supported doesn’t happen overnight - it takes intention and a sound plan.

Let’s explore forgood’s four essential, tried-and-tested strategies that have helped our corporate partners build world-class employee volunteering programmes.

Strategy one

Communication: Make it clear and consistent

One of the biggest barriers to employee engagement is simply not knowing what’s going on. Clear and consistent communication is key to keeping volunteering top of mind.

Each company’s employees respond to communications differently – there is no one size fits all. The best way to discover what works most effectively for your employees is to test various messaging and media.

Experiment with different types of communication and see which versions perform the best through A/B testing. What might work well with one group may not necessarily work with another (interns vs the C-Suite / desk vs non-desk workers).

Use a combination of the following:

• Weekly or monthly newsletters.
• Town halls and other company-wide events.
• Teams or Slack updates.
• Screensavers, tv screens, posters and pop-up activations in common areas.
• Using leaders and middle managers to share messages in department or team WhatsApp groups or in weekly team meetings.

Example: One of our clients experimented with different communication types to test how this would affect sign up numbers. For their upcoming online reading session event, Mukuru’s CSI Manager asked Heads of Department to send WhatsApp messages to middle managers who would in turn remind employees about the event while the CSI Manager sent a traditional email communication about signing up to the event. Not only did employees sign up in their numbers, but the senior leaders themselves ended up joining the event too and served as a positive example to their colleagues. The event filled up in less than a day instead of the normal 2 weeks, thanks to the CSI Manager trying a secondary approach to sending out comms.

🔔TIP! If you are not able to send out your own mailers, work with your internal communications team to hold a regular spot in weekly or monthly business-wide mailers.

Strategy two

Incentives: It’s not about the cost, but the thought

While many companies do not believe in incentivising volunteering or don’t have the budget for incentives, this doesn’t always need to imply a hefty investment.

Many employees care about giving back, but a little nudge can go a long way - especially when launching a programme or introducing new initiatives.

Small rewards such as vouchers, coffee gift cards, or entering volunteers into a monthly lucky draw are an option. Pairing incentives with a sense of purpose creates momentum and gets people through the door.

Example: Sanlam offers employees the opportunity to gain or reward others with “Applause Awards”, their internally developed awards system which offers employees vouchers from local retailers and malls. Employees can reward each other for making impact with Causes and the community as a “kudos”.

Strategy three

Recognition: Celebrate the Champions

Employees are more likely to keep doing something if they feel seen and appreciated. Recognising employee volunteering efforts is crucial for building a volunteering culture.

Recognition is a powerful motivator - employees who feel acknowledged for their efforts are more likely to stay engaged and inspire others to get involved.

How can you celebrate your Champions?

• Who doesn’t love a bit of competition! Create an internal volunteer leaderboard or monthly shoutouts in company newsletters.
• Run a “Volunteer of the Month” feature or celebrate teams who’ve hit major milestones (e.g.: 100 collective hours volunteered).
• Spotlight top volunteers in internal comms. Get employees to share photos, experiences, or lessons learned, and showcase those stories on your internal platforms, via your volunteering platform or forgood’s Info Centre.
• Create formal volunteering awards to recognise long serving volunteers.

Example: Momentum Group hold the annual Lesedi Awards to honour employees who made a difference in their communities. Winners are celebrated on social media and featured in the company’s CSI report, giving them the credit they deserved. Another client, Royal Bafokeng Holdings celebrated their back-to-school competition winners at a quarterly company-wide meeting, taking time out of their regular reporting meeting to highlight the efforts of their volunteers, this help the employees feel valued and appreciated for the work their put in to the project and also boosted team morale with the winners being awarded with a celebratory medal.

Strategy four

Experiences: Make it meaningful and fun

At its heart, volunteering is about human connection. Offering diverse, engaging experiences makes participation more rewarding and makes employees want to come back.

Include a mix of in-person and virtual activities, one-off events and longer-term commitments. Give teams the option to volunteer together. It’s great for bonding and morale.

Example: Redefine Properties integrates their quarterly team building activities with impactful volunteering days such as engaging with youth in mentorship sessions, gardening and painting at ECD Centres.This ensures activities serve a dual-purpose - bring the team together and giving back.

A great employee volunteering programme builds more than just a list of hours logged, it creates a culture of purpose, empathy, and active citizenship. By being intentional about your strategy, you can turn volunteering from a nice-to-have into a must-do that benefits your business, your employees, and Causes you care about.

When communication is strong, incentives are smart, recognition is sincere, and experiences are memorable your employee volunteering programme is that much stronger. It becomes a core part of your company’s culture.

Start with these four strategies and watch your impact grow - inside and outside the office!

Want to learn more about how these strategies can boost your volunteering programme? Email us at contact@forgood.co.za.