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If I told you that approximately 70% of FTSE 100 companies have a volunteering programme, would you be surprised? I know I was!

So, there must be a compelling reason why our biggest and most successful corporates do this. After all, they have budgets and performance targets like the rest of us. So how do they justify this ‘charitable’ financial commitment to their returns-hungry shareholders? Because they know that engaged employees make better employees, that’s why!

One really smart business solution is to combine volunteering with team building activities. This means you are not only helping your employees to get the feel good factor, but by doing your bit for the local community, you are playing an important part in your role as a responsible employer and meeting your Corporate Social Responsibility too!

Community volunteer team building events have a proven track record of developing team cohesion, staff morale and motivation while making a substantial contribution within the community. Importantly, they are also extremely enjoyable, rewarding and satisfying.

The most successful organisations’ are always seeking competitive edge, and they know that good employee engagement directly correlates with better productivity, superior recruitment and retention, better staff morale and reduced sickness and absenteeism. The icing on the cake is the double benefit of volunteering upon skills development -a 2014 CIPD report showed this ‘double benefit’ of volunteering, and identified ten key skills and behaviours that it developed including:

• coaching and mentoring,
• confidence,
• communication,
• team-building,
• self-awareness and
• creativity

So, couple all of this with the obvious philanthropic aspects of giving back to your local community, whilst enhancing your local Brand profile, and strengthening local connections – and you have a ‘win-win’.

So come on, be be smart about it. Why not incorporate a community volunteer activity into a company team building day this year? Clued-up local charities are always more than keen to reciprocate; often offering to organise your event and provide highly engaging volunteer activities which provide wide opportunities for personal and professional growth and development.

Being able to work together as a team is one of the biggest assets that you can have in the workplace. Volunteering as a team takes teamwork to a whole new level and is unparalleled in how effective it is at building a sense of shared objectives among the team. I can personally vouch for its effectiveness, having just completed a Pretty Muddy Race for Life with a team of professional colleagues!! What we learnt about ourselves and each other during the process couldn’t have been learned in an office or any meeting room.

So, are you convinced that team volunteering would a good idea for your business? Talk to me today about how we can together build an innovative employee engagement strategy for your business.