Volunteering typically begins for a person when they find a nonprofit with a cause that has a direct relation to their lives. This is an individual choice made to enrich one’s own life and the lives of others. A more recent trend involves organizations engaging their employees in volunteering. This idea, known as employer-supported volunteerism, appears to be a great idea on the surface.

However, there can be many challenges between an organization and a nonprofit when trying to get the most out of the experience. In order to further discuss this, I spoke with Chris Jarvis, co-founder and senior consultant of Realized Worth in Toronto. He works with businesses and nonprofits to create outstanding employee volunteer programs. When asked about the name, he simply stated, “Once you start to volunteer you begin to realize that this is a place where you experience a transformation. You see people not as objects, but somebody who has something to offer. Once you open yourself up to that, you begin to realize your own worth.”

Understanding your organization

Many companies are willing participants in employer-supported volunteerism, as it presents a great opportunity to broker relationships with a nonprofit. The challenge is in understanding how to enter into a connection that works for both parties. Some companies want an event that can be done in a day, that fits with the company’s objectives, is not in conflict with anything else going on, and which gives employees the opportunity to develop skills and relationships. There are nonprofits, such as Habitat for Humanity, that can connect with companies at that level.

However, as Jarvis points out, the problem is “that many nonprofits are not set up that way. What companies have to do is decide what they really want from the experience. They need to think about creating partnerships and shared objectives with nonprofits rather than looking for events that appear to be a good fit for them. “The idea is for the company and the nonprofit to have an open dialogue so they can see each other as peers and partners, each with expertise to offer. A great approach to building this relationship is to create a committee of people from multiple departments and designations. This allows for broader representation that should, in turn, generate greater interest among employees. As Jarvis says, “Creating teams is the best way to go beyond a personality-driven connection and institutionalizing a relationship.”

Even though some companies are trying to involve themselves, many others are not. For some it is because they do not see the potential benefits of a partnership. Jarvis notes three common reasons for not being involved. “Organizations are reticent to get involved in the community because they have never thought about the practicality of it before. They also fear the unknown if they have not experienced it, or at least seen another company do it properly. Lastly, you have to decide that it’s worth the resources to put into it.” These resources could include paying your employees to be out working in the community, repositioning your branding or marketing campaign, or selling your executives on the idea. At this point, some will decide that it may not be worthwhile because it has the potential to create a major culture shift for their company.

Involvement and opportunity

Jarvis believes that if you are not engaging in employer-supported volunteerism for the right reasons, you should not involve yourself. “Nonprofits hate being ‘charity cases’. This attitude diminishes a nonprofit to the point that they feel as though they do not have the resources or abilities to be effective in the community. Businesses have to stop treating nonprofits like [this] and start treating them like partners.”

Even with the ideal partnership in place, it is still up to the individual employee to decide whether they want to partake. In order to encourage others to participate, employees could simply start inviting coworkers to functions they are involved with. Another idea is to start a dialogue, either during a performance review or when speaking with human resource staff, regarding your volunteer experiences and how you believe others could learn from similar experiences. You could also start a dialogue with an upper manager who you know does volunteering and discuss the possibility of the organization moving toward employer-supported volunteerism.

A method to connect

Although there some companies that may not benefit from employer-supported volunteerism, there are many that would gain from a relationship with a nonprofit. Jarvis has worked for years brokering connections, and he believes in four conditions that assist with this relationship. The first is structure. This includes the policies, procedures, bylaws, event planning, phone calls, etc. These items may be the monotonous aspects of the function but they are important things that have to be discussed.

However, it is the other three conditions that Jarvis believes make a corporate volunteering program interesting. “They change the program from a transactional activity into a transformational experience. Nonprofits have a single opportunity to get people to understand what their mission is, to buy into their vision, and begin to invest in their project. If you want to go from transactional to transformational you have to pay attention to these other three conditions.”

The first of these three conditions is movement. The idea is to give people a sense of accomplishment. Jarvis believes that “often times in a volunteering experience, people do not have a sense of the big picture; they are just told it’s important and they do it. If nonprofits can break it down so people know how they are contributing, it can give them a greater understanding.” If you take homelessness as an example, feeding 200 people in one night isn’t going to stop the problem. However, that is not the issue at hand. Instead it is about being with the homeless so they understand that they are worth your time. In turn, that may help the homeless person connect to their own humanity. Jarvis feels that “the important thing for nonprofits is to understand how to communicate these issues to people so they understand that giving their time allows for movement; not only in the ongoing project but in the volunteer’s life as well.”

The next condition is motivation. The idea is to ensure that motivation becomes personal. Making it personal allows for a greater volunteer experience.

The final condition is meeting people at the highest level of contribution. Jarvis says, “When most people volunteer they just show up to do something. This is fine, but a nonprofit has to offer more opportunities for people who want to go further. As a result, you have to meet people at their highest level of contribution. How to structure that is crucial for a nonprofit.”

Karl Noseworthy is a freelance writer from Newfoundland who currently resides in Kitchener, Ontario. He can be reached at karlnoseworthy@hotmail.com.