Enhancing Work Force Quality
In order to meet the demands placed on today's business, companies must recruit
and retain work forces that are highly skilled, deeply committed to the organization, creative in their solutions to problems,
willing to assume responsibility, effective as team workers, and healthy in body, mind and spirit.
Management has long recognized that volunteer programs are highly effective in creating, recruiting and retaining such a quality
work force.
According to a Minnesota executives survey, employee skills significantly enhanced by volunteering include
verbal and written communication skills; organizational and time management skills; "people" skills - caring, listening,
negotiating; accountability and assessment capacity; planning, budgeting and allocation skills; and survival skills such as
stress management and setting personal priorities.
The surveyed executives also stressed the importance of the beneficial attitudes fostered by volunteering, such as
increased understanding of coworkers and respect for diversity; more innovative approaches in responding to difficulties;
enhancement of calculated risk taking; heightened appreciation of the benefits provided by employers; an enlarged sense of
community and social obligation; greater appreciation for contributions from all levels of the organization; affirmation of
personal capability and worth; development of habits of pride and responsibility; and positive resistance to feelings of isolation
and alienation.
"Sooner or later the company's culture and habits will represent the society
as a whole. If that society is to be caring, efficient and responsible, its corporations must model that behavior. Volunteer
activities promote these behaviors and play an important role in building a livable society."
A
sample of executives canvassed for the National College Graduate Survey on Volunteering listed, among others, the following
professional benefits resulting from volunteering:
- new business contacts;
- experience in strategic planning;
- experience
in working with different constituencies;
- better understanding of social patterns;
- better understanding of
government policies and regulations;
- the opportunity to work with leaders and others in the community.
Another
significant finding concerns the health benefits derived from volunteering. In one survey of more than 3,000 volunteers, over
90 percent reported that regular volunteering produced feelings that alleviated stress-related symptoms. Other health benefits
reported included strengthened immunity and relief from certain chronic conditions.
Companies that sponsor volunteer
programs find that doing so helps attract and retain high caliber employees. Tizziana Weber, manager of community relations
at United Technologies in Hartford, has observed that "people from MIT and Wharton ask about volunteering and community
service. We have to be able to show our involvement."
An IBM-sponsored study of 156 companies has found that employee
morale is up to three times higher in companies actively involved in the community and that such companies enjoy a better
ROI, ROA and higher employee productivity. A survey of 5,000 employees at Pacific Northwest Bell revealed a statistically
significant relationship between volunteer work and job satisfaction and organizational commitment. And a study conducted
by Chivas Regal found that job loyalty is greater in companies that are active in the community, with 51 percent of the workers
stating that their loyalty to the company would increase if they knew that the CEO volunteered.
