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Recruitment & Retention

Published April 2009

Volunteerism's Impact on Talent Management

 

  Tory Clarke

Organizations should encourage, value and support extracurricular volunteer efforts, not just because it is the right thing to do but because these volunteer activities will increase employee engagement, underscore the employer brand, support recruitment and retention initiatives, and develop valuable workplace skills that ultimately will help the employer succeed.

Seventy-seven percent of companies believe volunteer programs can help them improve their business practices, and nearly half said aligning their giving programs — including volunteering — with business objectives was the biggest change in their philanthropy, according to a survey by Deloitte and The Conference Board.

Almost all organizations want to capitalize on talent, and volunteering programs can have a significant impact. As Peter F. Drucker wrote in the article "Managing Knowledge Means Managing Oneself," "The real development I've seen of people in organizations, especially in big ones, comes from their being volunteers in a nonprofit organization.

"I hope we will soon begin to talk about the nonprofit organization as the great social opportunity for business. It is the opportunity for business to develop managers far more effectively than any company or university can. It is one of the unique benefits that the social sector can offer."

The so-called "war for talent" may have shifted from a numbers game to concern about how talent fits, but potential employees increasingly are questioning their future employers' approaches to community involvement and social responsibility. Bill Freeman, former president of Verizon Communications' Public Communications Group and board member of Junior Achievement Worldwide and CIT Group, said "Potential employees absolutely value the role that potential employers play in the support of community-based organizations. This is truer today than in the past."

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.

Company-supported community/volunteer programs also can significantly increase employee morale and productivity, ultimately enhancing skill sets and work performance. Thus, some organizations include an element of community/volunteer involvement as part of their internal employee assessments. Whether formally or informally, talent managers should make an effort to understand and capitalize on the skills employees learn through volunteer activities.

Jeff Myers — a Bank of America executive and volunteer officer leader for StreetWise Partners, an organization that builds mentoring relationships between volunteer business professionals and low-income individuals — said, "Through volunteering, I have gained invaluable networking skills that have become increasingly important due to the current economic environment. Additionally, StreetWise Partners has allowed me to become more proficient in public speaking, improving my effectiveness in dealing with external clients as well as internal senior management."