Mainstream Volunteerism and how to encourage Corporates to participate for volunteering

activities in India.

Before we discuss how we could encourage corporates to participate for volunteering activities in
India, let’s begin with understanding what volunteerism is.

In a lay man’s language, volunteerism means to o er one’s time or resources without any
obligation or monetary returns. One must not confuse spontaneous assistance at the time of
emergencies with volunteerism, as volunteers actively seek out opportunities to help the
community.

One of the reasons people hesitate to volunteer because they feel that they don’t posses the
desired skills. Thus, it is imperative to align volunteers and projects with matching mission and
visions.

Most corporates are reluctant to participate in volunteerism because they feel like they already
have too much on their plate. They don’t need the extra work. Even if someone is inclined to do
volunteer work they will put it on backseat. This is a valid concern when your professional growth
is based on your daily deliveries. But what if volunteerism could be used as a way to bring teams
together?

Volunteerism is an e ective management tool, promoting bonds and engagement between

employees. Deloitte’s 2017 Volunteerism Survey results indicated that “creating a culture of
volunteerism in the workplace may boost morale, workplace atmosphere, and brand perception.”

An e ective way of getting more employees to volunteer is if the management could add
volunteering as part of appraisals. Companies can promote volunteering during lean seasons. It
would strengthen teams by involving them in larger goals, outside their world of work.

When corporate begin to explore volunteering projects, they may begin their relationship with
non-compatible organisation. This in turn may lead to the complete disowning of volunteerism or
a half hearted attempt. If we can nd the right organisational partners for the company
volunteerism, the relationship may be fruitful and will last longer. As per a Deloitte report give year
organisations tend to volunteer more if they have a better understanding of the impact their e orts
are making.

Nowadays corporates have huge teams, with people from di erent ethnicities, nationalities,
orientations & backgrounds. Volunteerism is a great way to bring diverse departments together
while creating a positive impact. As per CII report “90 percent of Fortune 500 HR managers in a
survey said that volunteering is an e ective way to develop leadership skills.”

There are distinct advantages of engaging in volunteerism. "There are opportunities to connect
with each other on a human level that you don't nd in an o ce environment" (Forbes, 2016). A
study done by SAP showed roughly $40 million revenue uctuation when employee engagement
rose or fell by just 1%. And it's well known that employees are more engaged in their daily work
when they participate in team building activities.

Corporates need to be shown clearly how volunteering initiatives may bene t their organisation
and the society at large. This may give them added incentive to increase their participation in
volunteer work and help them connect with local community more meaningfully.

Some organisations are already implementing volunteerism awlessly, some are struggling and
some are reluctant to engage. If we could get them on one platform and initiate a dialogue,
corporate volunteerism could go long way. All while shaping a better community.
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