Employee volunteer programmes (EVPs) create more engaged employees. They allow people to feel that they are part of something, inspiring loyalty and reducing staff turnover. That’s why EVPs are a global mega-trend – they’re great news for business.
Unless employees aren’t getting involved. Then volunteer programmes are just a lot of paperwork.
The issue of whether or not to incentivise volunteering is a hotly debated one. Shouldn’t volunteering come from the heart? Isn’t the intrinsic motivation to create social impact more important than an extrinsic incentive?
Or do we just live in a crowded world, where your noble messaging about volunteering is getting lost in the overworked inboxes of corporate South Africa?
At forgood, we’re firm believer in using incentives to cut through the clutter and get those all-important “first movers” moving! The trick is using clever initiatives that match your brand, your volunteering ethos and attract employee attention. You need people to listen. Sometimes you need to show a little personality!
Unless employees aren’t getting involved. Then volunteer programmes are just a lot of paperwork.
Attending the Mandela 100: Global Citizen Concert would be an experience up there with Nelson Mandela’s 46664 concert – which is why it’s such an effective tool to cut through the clutter and generate some interest in a volunteering programme.
A few forgood EVP clients running this campaign saw more than 335 programme actions happen in less than a week. If you compare that to the average estimated participation rate in anything volunteer-related that isn’t Mandela Day (spoiler alert, it’s 1%) – then the power of incentives becomes quite obvious.
We’re only a few weeks into this month-long competition and look forward to even more exciting results as the word starts to spread.
You’re also right to be worried about the ethics of incentivising participation. That’s why we always try and create link between incentives and quality. For the Global Citizen campaign, only volunteers who complete an activity AND get a 4 or 5-star rating from their chosen Cause are entered into the draw to win tickets from the forgood allocation.
When employees get inspired to take part in your volunteer programme – everybody wins.
Kick your EVP into gear with forgood
Volunteering is inspirational. It makes everybody feel good. Reward it with the right incentives and suddenly it becomes a challenge, a goal, a possibility. Then it grows beyond just a programme you offer to a culture you’ve created.
Read more about the forgood Global Citizen campaign
