“Do’s and Don’ts” for Starting Up A Corporate Volunteer Effort

Thousands of insurance workers will be turning out for Volunteer Week (coming up October 15-22), sponsored by the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation.

Even small businesses such as independent agencies are turning out for Volunteer Week. All insurance employers are welcome to participate, including those with only one or two volunteers to offer.

But good volunteer efforts don’t happen by accident. Someone with a desire and vision for getting fellow employees involved will spark the effort.

The first steps in volunteerism are to create a leadership team, invite employees to volunteer, and choose a cause or project. Volunteer Week veterans report there are “do’s and don’ts” for getting employees involved:

• Depending on the number of volunteers you might expect from your company, build a leadership team. It should be small, no more than 10 people.
• Get the word out: Tell employees through official and word-of-mouth channels that the company is getting together a Volunteer Week effort.
• Do not build the volunteer teams solely around managers. Why? Volunteer Week can be an opportunity for younger or less experienced employees to demonstrate leadership. Recognize that the dynamic can be different in a volunteer effort than in the office.
• Invite participation from across the spectrum of your organization. Suggest that leaders in the office participate as a way to demonstrate commitment to the effort.
• Find a way to solicit employees to suggest causes to support. Give fair consideration to that input.
• Invite representatives from the causes you are considering to speak about the work they do. Those individuals are usually much better at telling the story and why their cause is so important.
• When you choose a cause from among several suggested, not everyone will get their choice. Some considerations:
• See if you can find a cause that allows people to contribute monetarily, contribute time, or donate material goods. This can get more people involved, in ways they find comfortable for them.
• Try to support causes in communities where employees reside (and not necessarily where the office is located).
• Try to support causes that can be personally connected to members of the office or team.

Next time, I’ll cover ways to get your team prepared for Volunteer Week.

My thanks go to IICF volunteers for contributing these insights.

Do you have insights, experiences or ideas to share about volunteerism? Let me know at: emyatt@IICF.com.

Countdown to Volunteer Week