06.06.2019

Room for improvement in workplace volunteering, new research finds

The experiences of people who give their time through employer-organised or employer-supported activities, known as employer-supporter volunteering (ESV), are positive but lag behind those who arrange their own volunteering, a new report from NCVO finds.

The research shows that 39% of ESV volunteers reported being 'very satisfied' against 56% of non-ESV volunteers. It suggests that focusing on the quality of the experience of workplace volunteers tends to be less of a priority for the organisations involved than it would be for other forms of volunteering.

All volunteering-involving organisations should be considering how they can give workplace volunteers a more positive experience, NCVO said.

While employers and charities and other organisations involving volunteers participating in ESV said they are motivated by making a difference, the research shows they also have other motivations. For charities and other volunteer-involving organisations ESV is often seen as a route to accessing additional funding and for employers it is a way to enhance productivity and reputation.

The mismatch of priorities and expectations from these differing motivations can create tensions and negative perceptions from the different groups. But where there is a focus on shared values and purpose, it can lead to a range of benefits for all involved.

The report, which looks further into data collected as part of NCVO's landmark Time Well Spent research, provides insight into how charities and other volunteer-involving organisations can avoid the pitfalls and provide the best experience for those who give their time through employer-supported volunteering programmes.

Karl Wilding, director of public policy and volunteering at NCVO, said: "A new generation of volunteers want to make a difference to the causes that they believe in, in their own time and in work time. Volunteering supported by employers is worth getting right, but that isn’t always what’s happening.

"The message from our research is clear: employer-supported volunteering needs to start with why people want to volunteer, involve each of the different groups to work together in making the experience of getting involved a good one, and remember the reasons we are all doing this at the end of the day: to make a difference to the causes we all care about."