Volunteering & Talent Management

As I was reading the April issue of Talent Management magazine, an article by Tory Clarke, Volunteerism’s Impact on Talent Management caught my attention. As the title implies, the article looks at how organizations should encourage their employees to volunteer because it produces numerous, positive benefits to the organization.

The obvious part of this equation that the article discusses is how individuals want to be employed by organizations that are good corporate citizens. The reality is that potential employees are going to look for organizations that are involved in the community. As the article explains:

“Support corporate volunteering and not only will an organization’s brand as a socially responsible employer help attract top talent, it also will help identify potential employees in the community. Getting employees involved in community-based activities can help identify new talent through scholarships, internships and straightforward networking. Talent managers should think of employees as company ambassadors. The contacts they make outside of work and the way they represent their companies to those contacts can give organizations a head start when recruiting top talent.”

Encouraging volunteerism has other benefits to the organization that directly impact talent management, including increased employee morale and productivity, as well as enhanced skill sets and work performance. The article does a great job of explaining these, with many examples, all of which make a compelling case for any organization to make volunteerism a priority.

In the case of employee engagement, “employees are more open to supporting and adapting to significant changes when they believe in the company and its leadership.” Makes perfect sense really. Happy employees perform better on the whole. And what’s more, according to Della Britton-Baeza, president and CEO of The Jackie Robinson Foundation, quoted in the article:

“Wise businesses realize that very often giving back to the community is directly in sync with their business goals, both with regard to the satisfaction levels of their employees and an improved consumer base.”

It goes on to give great examples of skills development through experiences on a volunteer board, and a case study of the StreetWise Partners Career Ventures programs where corporate volunteers provide mentoring and job coaching, which I recommend you give a read through.

In focusing on building strategic talent management programs, volunteerism is often under used or overlooked. It’s a great, (and highly rewarding!) practice that every organization should consider, or re-examine and use as an asset when it comes to talent management strategies. And don’t think your organization is too small to have formal volunteering programs, as the article points out, employees in small organizations “have much to gain.”

Feel free to comment below on how volunteerism strengthens your organization’s talent management strategy.