Giving Compass' Take:

• Companies can better engage their employees and reduce absenteeism through social impact practices, including employee volunteering. 

• How can companies best tailor their employee volunteer programs to their organizational goals and mission?

• Here are three benefits of corporate volunteering. 

Conducting operations while not depleting the resources these operations depend on is the pinnacle of any company pursuing sustainability. With countless factors to consider when tackling environmental or economically sustainable initiatives, many companies struggle to find a starting point. Some even quit before they begin.

Knowing this, I urge companies to start where they have the greatest influence: their employees.

It behooves companies to recognize their employees as a treasure trove of experience and to take steps toward engaging them. A company without engaged employees simply isn’t sustainable.

Companies can increase employee retention while reducing absenteeism, while also increasing workplace satisfaction, morale, and productivity. How? Through social sustainability practices that include a formal outlet for employees to volunteer their time. For companies that don’t already have a sustainability program, this type of employee engagement effort is a great place to start.

Engaging employees through volunteerism has a myriad of benefits. Below are just a few:

  • Opportunities For Leadership, Growth & Mentorship
  • Reduce Stress While Gaining New Perspective
  • Establish Connectedness by Aligning Employee and Company Values
  •  Increase Inherent and Acquired Diversity

Social sustainability as a concept can be hard to grasp and can seem out of the realm of possibility for many. Start by doing something that’s concrete and can be easily implemented, such as an employee volunteer program. By doing so, social sustainability becomes obtainable.

Read the full article by about corporate volunteerism Jerome Tennille at VolunteerMatch.