Volunteerism is defined as giving your time and your skills for the benefit of other people. It allows you the opportunity to make your community better and it’s not a one-way street either. By volunteering, you are not only helping individuals or groups of people, but you are also benefiting from it because it lets you reach new people and it lets you put into practice a variety of skills.
But how does it benefit your business? Ready let’s dive into it.
Here are the 8 ways volunteering helps your business
1.) Networking
Volunteering will allow you to meet new people from different walks of life. You can meet politicians, business leaders, and other entrepreneurs who can help take your business to a different level.
The very nature of volunteerism is giving back to others and because of this, you will certainly meet someone who you can benefit from you and vice versa, either way, it’s a good way to network your business and potentially meet a new friend.
Volunteering is you giving your time and effort to an organization or a program. It is unethical to volunteer for the sole purpose of recruiting new people for your business. However, if you do come across a person whose skills and talents match with your company then there is no harm in engaging with them about it. Just don’t overdo it, you’re there to help not recruit.
2.) Publicity
There is a high chance that the local media outlets will cover the volunteering program that you participate in. This will give you and your business great coverage and exposure to an audience you may not have had a chance to reach.
This will put you in a new position that will give you a chance for possibly new and better opportunities for your business. This would be another way for you to market your business to your community.
3.) Nurture new Skills
Volunteerism allows you to focus on you and your team’s personal growth. It can help develop new skills. By meeting new people in a short amount of time in a new environment will push you and your team to experience and develop new skills.
You will also have the chance and learn to be more creative because an organization with limited budgets will usually require a unique way that will allow them to innovate their process more efficiently. It also nurtures mental flexibility because of the environment volunteerism brings.
4.) Empower and Retain
The Great Place to Work conducted a research study where they looked at thousands of employee surveys from different varieties of companies that give back. Their study has shown that workers from companies that have programs that give back to their communities are more likely to stay for a longer time. And this is the result of their company’s outreach programs.
Elizabeth Stocker, a consultant for Great Place to Work explains that, when employees are involved actively in giving back, it can lead to a deeper connection and commitment to their work.
When employees are given the chance to participate, get hands-on, or even have the chance to choose when and where they can volunteer, this gives them the feeling of being empowered. This creates commitment and pride within the workers and their corresponding teams.
5.) Be Different
Employees can become so deeply rooted in their routines, roles, and environment that it can be counter-productive to your company. Workers can get stuck in their way of thinking or perceiving tasks and their works and end up feeling less challenged or even burnt out.
By allowing and creating an opportunity for your workers to experience a new environment and nurture new skills and meeting new people, you are giving them the avenue to think differently. Volunteerism will give them the chance to explore and tackle obstacles in new and stimulating ways.
6.) Customers and their Experience
When you put your employees in a new environment with new people it forces them to adapt and socialize in new ways. This will help them develop new skills and new ways of expressing themselves or the company’s message in a different way to your customers.
Meeting people from different walks of life or even different stages in their life allow your employees to discover new ways to interact with other people. This nurtures and develops their communication skills and can even change the way they perceive life and challenges. Which would ultimately help your company diversify its communication avenues with your network or audience.
Conclusion
To put it simply, volunteering is the act of giving back. This can be done in so many ways and it can employ different people, skills, and situations. When you volunteer it empowers both you and the beneficiary. It’s a two-way street but it is not limited to just individual volunteerism.
Businesses that have created programs or have joined organizations in reaching out and providing that help can not only benefit individuals but the company as a whole. It can benefit your business by increasing your network, generate more publicity for your company, nurture your worker’s skills, empower and retain your staff, allows them to be different, and lastly it can improve your customer’s experience.
By applying these benefits to your company through volunteering, you are not only giving your local community a lending hand but also giving your own company and your staff a boost. And when you think of it in the long run, every boost will help keep you operating and making more money. Think of it as a way to improve your own business. And this is not limited to big corporations but also small business and mid-sized businesses.
Anyone can volunteer and your company can benefit from it. So, why don’t you start now.
Shivendra helps construction companies and contractors win more projects and grow profitably. Regarded as a master of practical implementation, Shivendra has guided organizations such as Downer and Siemens as well as smaller contractors to achieve double-digit improvements to their bottom line.
Underpinning his extensive industry experience are qualifications in engineering and a Ph.D. focused on rapid cost improvement techniques. He is the author of two books, The Competitive Contractor and From Paper to Profit, host of the Competitive Contractor podcast, and the founder of Shivendra & Co, and The Constructors Network. You can find more about Shivendra & Co on www.shivendra.com.