Giving Compass' Take:

• A company can improve employee engagement and set impact goals if it has an existing culture around volunteerism and giving back. 

• What are examples of companies that have successful volunteer programs? What does that model look like?

• Read about why you should let your employees decide how they want to volunteer. 

A culture of giving back is not only one of the most inspiring ways to engage employees, it also offers something even better than engagement: worker passion.

Every business leader is well versed in the benefits of employee engagement, with one study showing a 21% increase in productivity if employees are engaged in their work.

But Deloitte leader John Hagel argues that employee engagement is a distraction and we should instead be focusing on employee passion.

“It appears that many employees understand the value of volunteering and have the desire to do more, but they aren’t reaping the full benefits,” said Doug Marshall, managing director of corporate citizenship, Deloitte LLP. “Employers have an opportunity to build on their volunteerism programs by creating a culture that celebrates volunteering and empowers volunteers to be more active.”

Cultivating worker passion is a goal that exceeds even the more modest aims of employee engagement. But why not reach for the stars? When you build a culture of giving back, especially when you lay out an ambitious agenda for impact, you set the stage for a purpose-filled environment that inspires passion.

Read the full article about employee passion by Ryan Scott at Forbes.