FAQs for CSR Connect page

• What is employee volunteering?

  Employee volunteering is a form of employee engagement found in many corporate social responsibility programs. There are many different types of employee volunteering programs, including offering volunteer time off, rewarding volunteer hours with company donations, and skills-based volunteering.

• What is an employee volunteer program?

  Employee volunteer programs can exist on their own, or as part of an overall corporate social responsibility program. These programs are supported by the business, and can involve individual volunteering, team volunteering, skills-based volunteering, and much more.

• How do I start an employee volunteer program?

  Anyone can start an employee volunteering program. If you’re starting a program for the first time, you’ll want to consider whether your program will focus on specific nonprofit partnerships or be open for employees to volunteer with whomever they like. You’ll also want to create guidelines for your employees to follow.

• What is one of the benefits of volunteering for employees?

  Employee volunteering is a great strategy to engage employees. Studies have shown that volunteering can make you feel happier, and that engaged employees are more productive, more loyal, and less likely to leave.

• Should companies give employees time off to volunteer?

  Giving time off to volunteer can be a great employee benefit. This can happen in a couple of different ways. The first way is through a company- or department-wide volunteer day where everyone is given time off to volunteer together on a specific day. You can also offer employees a bank of volunteer-time-off, where they can use the hours as they see fit to volunteer.

• How does volunteering affect employee morale?

  Employee volunteering programs can be a great tool to increase engagement, give your employees a sense of purpose, and make them feel more connected to your company culture and their peers.

• How can I track employee volunteering?

  There are many platforms that exist in the market to help you track your volunteer hours and provide a place for employees to find and sign-up for volunteer events. One popular platform used to track employee volunteering (as well as employee and corporate giving) is CSRconnect.

• Why is offering volunteering opportunities to your employees important?

  Offering volunteering to your employees is an important part of a company’s overall corporate social responsibility efforts. Volunteering helps your employees feel more connected to their communities, your company, and can be a great tool to increase engagement and boost morale.

• How do companies encourage their employees to volunteer their time?

  There are many ways to encourage employees to volunteer. Some companies have a dedicated day, week, or month where they rally their employee base to participate in a set time-frame. Companies can also offer incentives to encourage participation, like dollar-for-doers and volunteer time off programs.

• Do employees get paid to do volunteer work?

  Many companies do offer volunteer time off, where employees have a set amount of days/hours where they can go volunteer during work hours. Additionally, some companies have company-wide or department-wide volunteer days where employees volunteer during working hours and are still paid.