Incentives in Employee Volunteering Programmes. Get ‘em while they’re hot.
for business
16 Oct 2018
Employee volunteer programmes (EVPs) create more engaged employees.
They allow people to feel that they are part of something, inspiring loyalty and reducing staff turnover. That’s why EVPs are a global mega-trend - they’re great news for business. Unless employees aren’t getting involved.
Then volunteer programmes are just a lot of paperwork. The issue of whether or not to incentivise volunteering is a hotly debated one. Shouldn’t volunteering come from the heart? Isn’t the intrinsic motivation to create social impact more important than an extrinsic incentive? Or do we just live in a crowded world, where your noble messaging about volunteering is getting lost in the overworked inboxes of corporate South Africa?
At forgood, we’re a firm believer in using incentives to cut through the clutter and get those all-important “first movers” moving! The trick is using clever initiatives that match your brand, and your volunteering ethos and attract employee attention. You need people to listen. Sometimes you need to show a little personality!
Incentives help increase motivation, performance and retention. These incentives don't always need to be costly (elaborate lunches with bottomless drinks). The effectiveness of the incentives lies in their simplicity, for example: recognition awards, gift cards, professional development courses and branded merchandise.
Unless employees aren’t getting involved. Then volunteer programmes are just a lot of paperwork.
When employees get inspired to take part in your volunteer programme - everybody wins.
Volunteering is inspirational. It makes everybody feel good. Reward it with the right incentives and suddenly it becomes a challenge, a goal, a possibility. Then it grows beyond just a programme you offer to a culture you’ve created.