Supporting charities is a real rarity within business nowadays, however, it could be a key tactic in boosting employee engagement and happiness, as it gives workers a clear focus aside from their job roles to achieve something positive.
If you’ve never considered supporting charitable causes in your workplace – it may be a good idea to think about it. Quite simply, big businesses who give back, play a part helping the world run efficiently. You may also attract new clients and top-class candidates who are also keen to back your efforts.
There is a simple method when it comes to integrating charitable support within the workplace, as follows: Decide on a cause, explain the fund-raising agenda to employees, put some money behind it and then give employees the opportunity to get involved, should they wish.
Here’s how supporting a charity can motivate your employees:
Improves company culture
Within business, one of the slogans that is always being spoken about is ‘culture’. Although culture means improving different aspects of the business with employees in mind, it’s essentially about making workers feel closely linked to an organisation. One way to do this, is to work together to support a charity.
Breast cancer is one of the main charities workplaces support, for the sole reason that around 55,000 women are diagnosed with the disease every year in the UK; a figure which equals to one in seven women developing breast cancer in their lifetime. As a result, we all know someone who has been diagnosed. Choosing a charity that a vast amount of employees can connect with is the key to greater involvement.
Essentially, charitable giving gives each team member an objective, beyond simply selling products and services connected to the business; which may allow them to feel much more content with the company culture in the sense that it’s not just about the ‘hard sell’.
Allowing employees to take time out of their daily schedule to organise and promote charity events has been proven to dramatically improve employee engagement. However, in order to get the best response, ensure you state that these roles are simply voluntary, rather than mandatory.
Workers are happier
Research revealed that employees were much happier and motivated in their positions when they had the added responsibility of charitable work. Some of the best outcomes for businesses which stemmed from charitable efforts included greater productivity and better relationships with managers and business owners.
According to a survey, 37% of individuals claimed they felt much more connected to their company as a result of partaking in charitable events; while an astonishing 57% claimed it made teams stronger.
Improves skills and qualities
One of the fears that many businesses have when it comes to charitable work is the amount of time spent on the cause, which may result in profit losses. Rest assured, this is often the opposite, as they will learn new skills and qualities along the way.
For example, employees will learn the basics of mentorship and leadership which they may then be able to use in their paid positions and develop their teamwork and communication skills by working closely with their colleagues.
Reward your employees
Supporting charitable efforts is one way to reward employees. Knowing that they’re appreciated in the workplace (even if it isn’t connected to their actual job role) should give them the motivation to work even harder when it comes to business dealings.
If you are interested in supporting Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer within your company, we would love to hear from you. Please visit our contact page to get in touch and find out ways you can get involved by raising funds/ awareness for our charity.
