Getting Started

So, what is involved to create a successful program? We have pulled together some points for you to consider when setting up an employee volunteering program and when planning a volunteering project.

What to consider when you are setting up an employee volunteering program

Who will organise the program?

As with any new initiative, careful business planning and the establishment of simple, clear internal policies, procedures and recording processes are vital to the success of a corporate volunteering program. Undertaking detailed planning at the outset will ensure that successful outcomes are achieved. Often the most effective approach is to form a small committee to take on this task. One of the responsibilities of the committee would be to detail and seek management approval of suggested policies and procedures.

Next: Is corporate volunteering a good fit for your business?

Is corporate volunteering a good fit for your business?

To be valuable and meaningful to a business as a whole, an employee volunteering program must be in alignment with the mission, values and goals of the business. Positive engagement and support for the program needs to be sought from all levels of business (not just management) before the decision is made to proceed with implementation. Widespread employee acceptance will be gained if the benefits of implementation of the program are actively promoted from the top and if there is leadership by example, with executives and management engaging with their teams in volunteering projects.

Next: How much volunteering will you do?

How much volunteering will you do?

Understanding the capacity of the business to allocate one or more days of volunteering per employee per year and deciding how this will be recorded is important to the success and sustainability of the volunteering program. Decisions will also be required on how the absence of employees while they are volunteering will be managed in the workplace.

Next: What are your employee's interests?

What are your employee's interests?

Consultation with staff is recommended to ascertain which area, organisation or cause they wish to support through volunteering and whether this will be on a one-off or on an ongoing basis. Alternatively staff and the business may decide to support a number of areas or a different organisation on each of their volunteering days.

Next: How will you measure success?

How will you measure success?

A decision should also be made in regard to the type of qualitative and quantitative data and documentation that will be required to enable effective measurement and analysis of the program. Some businesses choose to undertake an internal audit of a volunteering engagement prior to implementation for the purpose of gathering baseline data to use in evaluation.

Next: Is it worth having external help?

Is it worth having external help?

If a business does not have the capacity to internally coordinate, manage and evaluate the program, consider outsourcing the facilitation and management of volunteering activities. National, State and Territory Peak Bodies for Volunteering, some Volunteer Resource Centres and organisations that offer specialist corporate volunteering programs have extensive experience in employee volunteering program planning and management and would be pleased to work with any business in need of assistance.

Next: How will you promote the program?

How will you promote the program?

Once established, the success of the program and outcomes achieved should be communicated to internal and external stakeholders. Providing regular information on employee volunteering activities in newsletters, at team meetings, on noticeboards, and on internal and external web pages assists in building momentum for the volunteering program.

What to consider when planning a volunteering project

How do you start?

In shaping how your business will go about establish a corporate volunteering program, you might like to consult Volunteering Australia's, Employee Volunteering: A guide for small to medium sized enterprises (2007) lists important considerations when starting an employee volunteering program. The guide's accompanying CD provides a range of templates and materials that will enable businesses to establish a successful volunteering program. Initial questions to consider include:

What will your volunteering policy look like?
Why has your business decided to support the community in this way?
Are there any restrictions on the types of activities staff can do?
Will you use a broker (National, State and Territory Peak Bodies for Volunteering, Volunteer Resource Centres and organisations that offer specialist corporate volunteering programs) to organise your placements? What other administrative processes are needed?
Will there be any budget available for reimbursing staff for any costs associated with volunteering?
Will there be funds or in kind support available to contribute to the volunteering program?
Will the business extend workers' compensation coverage to their staff while they volunteer?
When will a safety and risk assessment be undertaken?
How, when and by whom will the program be evaluated?

(Volunteering Australia, 2007)

Next: How do you choose an organisation?

How do you choose a project?

To ensure a quality employee volunteering project, the match between the community organisation and the volunteers must be right:

The community need must be genuine.
Employees must want to be there and be interested in the cause.
The number of volunteers should suit the activity.
There should be an appropriate budget allocated for all costs including equipment and incidentals.

Next: What are the logistics of corporate volunteering?

What are the logistics of corporate volunteering?

All parties should understand the logistical challenges involved from both sides. Keep in mind that not-for-profit organisations generally have limited personnel available and limited financial capacity. As a result project planning may need to accommodate a longer timeframe.

Skills and logistics needed to organise a volunteer day are similar to those for event management.

Safety, hygiene and risk mitigation need to be thoroughly assessed and given high priority at all times.

Next: Developing a project with a community organisation

Developing a project with a community organisation

The following should be considered when embarking on a volunteer project:

Has the community organisation clearly planned and communicated to all appropriate personnel what the corporate volunteers will be doing? Is the task clearly defined (with a written project description) and is the corporate group the right size for the task?
Have the team members involved had input into the planning of the volunteering event? Will the community organisation's regular volunteers and paid staff be working alongside the corporate group?
Have both parties itemised and discussed all equipment, materials, and personal protective equipment needed, and who will supply such goods?
Has insurance cover for the corporate volunteers been discussed with the community organisation?
Has the project been evaluated in terms of risk and occupational health and safety?
Is it necessary to conduct a site visit for the intended project prior to the volunteering day? This is beneficial for assessing risk and occupational health and safety issues and for determining equipment and briefings needed.
Will a Job Hazard Analysis need to be prepared?
Has an on-site volunteer briefing been arranged and a site map prepared and distributed prior to commencing? This normally includes information about the community organisation's mission, volunteer tasks involved, clientele, supervision, equipment usage, safety and emergency procedures.
Has someone been appointed to oversee the project? Good supervision = effective volunteering = positive interaction = successful outcomes.
Have the parties discussed any potential promotional opportunities and received the necessary consent of participants?
If photos are to be taken, have all persons involved signed an Image Release Form? Sharing photos and print media post-event is a great way to enhance the corporate-community relationship and communicate the success of the volunteering project to fellow staff members.
Who will develop an evaluation strategy and collect feedback to ensure improvements in the future?

The How

A guide to implementing, improving and sustaining your employee volunteering program.

Learn from experience

The Corporate Volunteer Council has a diverse range of members representing businesses that have years of experience in corporate volunteering to others that have only just begun in this area. Explore the challenges they have faced and mistakes they made so that your organisation can avoid them.

Use templates

Consult the planing and resources sections of this Toolkit. Or view the examples section for a number of current policies, procedures and advice on corporate volunteering.

Develop guidelines

Once your organisation's volunteering policy is written, ensure you have procedures to follow so that employees know how to get involved in well-planned and meaningful volunteer activities.

Talk to an expert

National, State and Territory Peak Bodies for Volunteering, Volunteer Resource Centres and organisations that offer specialist corporate volunteering programs all have a wealth of knowledge in setting up volunteering programs and some offer management of the complete process on a fee for service basis.

Set aside funds

Do not forget to ensure you have a dedicated, realistic budget for your corporate volunteering program. It costs money to coordinate volunteers, transport employees to a volunteer activity, provide catering, record and evaluate the experience and to provide safety and other equipment.

Seek support

Ensure you have buy-in for the volunteering program throughout the business. Volunteering should be of the volunteer's free will, and be a positive, meaningful and supported experience.

Make it positive

Volunteering should be a positive, meaningful experience for employees. The more appealing the program is, the more participation there will be.

Strive for best practice

Consider benchmarking your business against other companies in the area of employee volunteering. There are excellent tools available to measure the impact of your corporate social responsibility program.

Keep track

Are your employees participating? If not, think about how you can increase the uptake of the program. How are you promoting the program? Is it easy to register? Is there involvement at executive level? Are you offering the right type of volunteering experiences?

Collect feedback

Is the employee volunteering program having a positive impact on the employees and on the community organisation involved?

Talk about it

Ask the employees if the program is working to their satisfaction.

Adapt

Your program should be continuously improved to meet changing organisational and community needs, and also address feedback received from employees and community partners.

Plan for succession

Ensure new staff members maintain and build on effective systems, experience and knowledge already in place.

Spread the good news

Record, communicate and recognise your employees' achievements in volunteering.

Examples of corporate volunteering policies

Alcoa

Alcoa encourages its employees to help build stronger local communities through active participation and volunteerism with community groups and organisations.

Employees are encouraged to participate in events that occur outside normal work hours, on weekends or during rostered days off.

Volunteer events during normal work hours require approvals and should not cause any business interruptions.

Alcoa has a specific program that recognises the collective efforts of employees who volunteer through a financial contribution to the non-profit organisation they support. These grants are limited in number; require approvals; and associated volunteering must take place outside of work hours.

Bankwest

Bankwest colleagues are passionate about making a difference in their communities, which is why they support community initiatives at a grassroots level to contribute to causes they care about.

Bankwest facilitates volunteering opportunities for its people to actively contribute via team based, skilled volunteering and mentoring programs and also encourages its people to volunteer through their own personal connections to charities and not-for-profit community groups.

All colleagues (whether they are full-time, part-time, fixed-term or casual) and contractors of Bankwest may be eligible to take part in volunteering activities at their manager's discretion. The program involves:

Sixteen hours of Volunteering Leave per year.
Up to 10 days for approved emergency service organisations (includes leave for training)
Access to approved volunteering projects through a number of volunteering partners: including Volunteering WA, United Way WA, Australian Business and Community Network plus charity and volunteering partners.
Volunteering can also take place with any registered not-for-profit organisation that meets certain criteria.
Each application to participate in a volunteering activity must be approved by the relevant line manager.
Teams who coordinate their own volunteer day need to conduct a risk analysis and complete an online form through the Internal Safety Intranet to register the activity.

Beyond Bank

The Beyond Bank Australia Group supports Community Development by encouraging staff to participate in the volunteer program and by providing staff with the opportunity to take up to two (2) 'Community Leave Days' in support of endorsed Community Development Team charities and community groups.

Essentially, staff each get two leave days per year to use towards volunteering. This can be through an organised volunteer project with the bank, or through personal volunteering opportunities staff take up themselves. If the volunteer project occurs on a day off (i.e. weekend), staff are able to claim those hours back as part of TOIL and work directly with their line managers to make those arrangements.

RAC

RAC’s Corporate Volunteering program is part of their commitment to give back to WA.

All volunteering activities are organised by RAC’s Corporate Volunteering team.

RAC people can access paid volunteering leave with a number of approved not-for-profit program partners, either on a day they choose (individual volunteering) or with their immediate team (team volunteering).

Criteria and eligibility is as follows:

Individual volunteering

One paid individual volunteering day per calendar year (volunteering does not accrue)
Open to permanent and maximum-term contract employees who have passed probation
Volunteering leave must be taken on a rostered work day (time in lieu is not supported for activities that fall on a non-rostered day)
Participation is subject to leaders approval and the capacity within the business unit
Employees may apply for additional paid volunteering leave, this requires approval from their direct leader and relevant Executive General Manager.

Team volunteering

The number of activities is at the discretion of the leader, within the capacity of the business unit
All RAC people can participate in team volunteering days.

Deloitte

Deloitte is committed to supporting the community and will provide employees with one day (7.5 hours) of paid leave each year to participate in voluntary work with one of the firm’s approved charities to make a positive contribution in the community. This policy applies to all permanent and fixed term full time and part time employees. Additional paid volunteering leave can be granted with approval under certain circumstances.

Deloitte recognises the provision of pro bono services and volunteering as a vital component of how we contribute our time and skills to the community, as a Responsible Business and good corporate citizen. The firm’s aim is to integrate pro bono work with its professional practice and to develop a volunteering culture and giving ethic within the firm. Deloitte encourages partners and employees to take part in pro bono work and has set an annual pro bono target/budget. Deloitte expects that the quality of services provided to pro bono clients be the same quality of service provided to full-fee paying clients. In addition, those doing pro bono work should show the client the same professional and ethical obligations that are owed to any paying client for approved pro bono engagements.

Deloitte acknowledges that the giving of blood is a valuable community service and will provide leave entitlements for employees participating in blood donation programs. This policy applies to all permanent and fixed term full time and part time employees. Employees are entitled to two hours of paid blood donor leave per quarter. This leave is not cumulative and may not be carried over.

Employees who are members of a Government recognised volunteer emergency services organisation such as the State Emergency Service, St John Ambulance Brigade, the Bush Fire Brigade or an equivalent organisation may be granted paid leave at their current base salary rate under the following circumstances where supporting documentation is provided:

Two days per calendar year to attend training associated with their volunteer emergency services status (This leave is not cumulative and may not be carried over to the following year); and
For the duration of their attendance at an officially declared emergency or disaster. Paid leave may be granted on each occasion that an employee is called upon to undertake official emergency services duty providing they are not required for essential Deloitte operations.

Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto supports and encourages all Western Australian employees to contribute to their local communities through the Rio Tinto Employees in the Community program. Employees are also encouraged to take up volunteering opportunities with Rio Tinto community partners.

The three main elements of Rio Tinto's Employees in the Community program are:

Dollars for Doers - grants to organisations where an employee has volunteered over 50 hours in a year.
Team Rio Tinto - financial and in kind support given to groups of 20 or more employees participating in fundraising, volunteering, or community events.
Choose your own Charity - employees vote for top six charity events they would like the company to support them in for the year. Rio Tinto provides up to $20,000 per event.
Time off for volunteering during work hours is provided to employees at the discretion of their direct line manager. The exception to this is State Emergency Services volunteers, who are released from duties to attend emergencies at all times.

Woodside

Employee engagement is a driver to embedding the social investment program's theme of health and wellbeing among Woodside employees, under the three social focus areas of Living Energy, Creative Energy and Natural Energy.

The three main elements of Woodside's social investment employee engagement strategy are:

Workplace giving.
Volunteering.
Employee participation.

Employees are given one full day or twelve hours (over the year) paid volunteer leave. Volunteer opportunities are sourced externally from Conservation Volunteers Australia and Volunteering WA.

Approval for use of employee volunteer time must be sought from the Business Unit Director to ensure that activities chosen comply with Health, Safety and Environmental requirements and also the Woodside Corporate Code of Conduct.

Support

Support, guidance and further information from volunteer centres & other helpful organisations

Support for Volunteering Centres

Volunteering WA, along with other National, State and Territory Peak Bodies for Volunteering, some Volunteer Resource Centres and organisations that offer specialist corporate volunteering services to help your business:

Clarify your volunteering vision, goals and policy.
Understand what commitment your business can make.
Determine program requirements.
Talk to, engage with and train staff.
Advise on and select meaningful projects.
Plan volunteering events and take care of logistics.
Build partnerships with community groups.
Evaluate the program and its impact.
Establish an ongoing employee volunteering program that includes various levels of engagement such as team-based skills-based placements.

Need more information? Go to our web site at corporatevolunteers.org.au. You can also contact the corporate volunteering team at Volunteering WA on 9482 4333 or make an email enquiry today.

National, State and Territory Peak Bodies for Volunteering have a wealth of information and practical experience in their particular jurisdiction and are able to provide employee volunteering assistance to any business interested in making a difference to the community through corporate volunteering.

A Volunteering Resource Centre in your local area may also be able to assist. Contact details for Volunteer Resource Centres can be found on the website of their State or Territory Peak Body for Volunteering.

National & State Bodies

Other helpful organisations

Following are links to other organisations that may be of help in the development and growth of your corporate volunteering program. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list, but one that is relevant to the content, context and date of publication of this Toolkit.

GoVolunteer

GoVolunteer is the national database for volunteer referrals and volunteer management. GoVolunteer is managed and maintained by Volunteering WA on behalf of Volunteering Australia. With some 12,000 volunteering opportunities, GoVolunteer is designed to make volunteering easier by bringing volunteers and volunteering organisations together.

Creative Partnerships Australia

Connects the arts, business and donors. Through information, expert advice and networking events Creative Partnerships Australia is a catalyst for giving business a creative edge and helping to make artistic visions a reality. Creative Partnerships Australia has a skillsbased Advicebank and Boardbank, both of which match corporate volunteers with identified skills, experience and interests with community arts organisations in need of support.

Australian Business and Community Network (ABCN)

Is a partnership of highly committed national business leaders and companies involved in mentoring programs with public schools. Interested businesses are matched with public schools and develop close, long term mentoring relationships that bring unique opportunities and benefits to students, staff and the broader school communities.

Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD)

Located in each State and Territory, AICD presents business management, good governance, leadership and professional development programs, including courses aimed at the not-for-profit sector. AICD assists with placement of corporate graduates on not-for-profit Boards on a probono basis. It also offers scholarships for not-for-profit organisations to attend courses.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA (CCIWA)

The CCIWA is the leading business organisation in Western Australia representing private, not-for-profit and government organisations. With a mission to make it easier to do business, CCIWA has developed Guidelines for Corporate Community Engagement, a resource that targets small to medium businesses that wish to engage with the community in a corporate social responsibility relationship.

Giving West

Giving West is a community resource which supports, encourages, and promotes more effective giving in Western Australia. It seeks to increase the level and effectiveness of giving in Western Australia.

Leadership WA

Leadership WA presents leadership programs for prospective future leaders in all areas of business including the not-for-profit sector. Leadership WA also invites not-for-profit organisations in Western Australia to register their leadership-related needs. It then matches graduate and alumni members with relevant interests and skills to the not-for-profit to meet their needs on a pro-bono basis.

London Benchmarking Group (LBG)

LBG is the internationally recognised standard for measuring and evaluating a corporation's community investment. The LBG model values company-wide contributions to the community including cash, time, in-kind and management costs.

Pro Bono Australia

Pro Bono Australia, is an online hub for people and organisations wanting to know more about the community sector. The hub includes information on what businesses are doing in their communities. Pro Bono Australia is a source for news and comment about the community sector and offers skills-match volunteer opportunities for businesses.

Resources

Templates

Employee Volunteering: A guide for small to medium sized enterprises, Melbourne (2007)

This resource was funded by the then Prime Minister's Community Business Partnership and produced by Volunteering Australia. The booklet contains the following templates: