A recent newsflash about employee well-being programs has been making the rounds, and the headline is striking: They don’t work. The news comes from the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, which studied the outcomes of 90 workplace well-being interventions (i.e., mindfulness apps, coaching sessions, relaxation classes and resilience courses) and found that a majority of them did nothing to improve outcomes for employees in the workplace at a collective level—except for volunteering. Now, to be fair, this is based on just one study and, as the research states, it's unclear whether these other interventions worked for some employees at the individual level. However, it's important to note that the Oxford research concluded volunteering has an impact on well-being because it provides a sense of purpose and belonging. Other research confirms a strong connection between volunteering and mental health and even demonstrates that it can lead to a longer life.

As the CEO of an organization that creates corporate volunteering programs that are highly regarded by employees, this makes perfect sense to me. Employees involved in our programs tell us they appreciate the opportunity to give back, feel a sense of purpose and build new relationships. People tell us they leave feeling rewarded, invigorated and grateful.

From my experience, a few tips can ensure volunteering program success:

  • Carefully curate the project. For traditional volunteering, this can mean offering a variety of program types to foster employee choice and ensure a strong mission fit. For skills-based volunteering, the key is to intentionally co-create the project with the nonprofit, so it meets their current needs and capacity, as well as to thoughtfully recruit volunteers and accurately match them to the nonprofit’s project to ensure they fruitfully contribute.
  • Intentionally involve leadership. In our experience, projects that are given the stamp of approval by senior leaders are the most impactful. When employees get the message that purpose is valued at the top, employees are more likely to give it their all and, in turn, get the best experience out of it.
  • Facilitate engagements closely. Truly impactful programs require facilitation, so assigning a key lead is best practice. Outsourcing to an organization like mine is also possible. Either way, the goal is to ensure a positive experience for both employees and the organization.
  • Demonstrate and share impact. After giving precious time to a nonprofit cause, there is no better reward than hearing about your impact. We always create time at the end of our engagements for volunteers and nonprofits to talk about their work together. It is not an overstatement to say that sometimes there is not a dry eye in the house during these sessions.

Read the full article about volunteering by Leila Saad at Forbes.