| 
What is employee
volunteering?
Employee volunteering (EV) is the way in which employees are involved
in the community by contributing their time and skills with their company¡¦s
encouragement and support. EV is a three-way partnership between the employer,
the employee, and the receiver of the support.
Back
to top
Why
is employee volunteering a relevant business issue?
When done properly, EV can have positive benefits in several areas related
to business, including:
- Increase
employee commitment and team spirit
- Enhance
employee skills
- Improve
recruitment and retention
- Improve
public image
- Enhance
creativity and innovation
- Enhance
communication of values
Back
to top
Why
should my company be involved in EV Week? What are the benefits?
Employee volunteering is an essential part of CSR. Particularly during
a period of economic recession, EV Week is a practical CSR activity that
offers immense benefits to companies and the community at large, including:
- Commitment
¡V Enables companies to demonstrate their commitment to the community
during tough times.
- Team-building
¡V Provides employees built-in opportunities to team build and/or enhance
their skills.
- Inexpensive
¡V No fee is required to join EV Week and it is a low-cost CSR activity
for companies.
- Ease
and Flexibility ¡V Offers an easy activity for companies to carry out
and the flexible nature of EV Week enables companies to participate
in a way that suits them best.
As a Participating
Company in EV Week, your company will also receive:
- Branding: Your
company¡¦s logo will be displayed on the EV Week website and related
materials, such as fliers.
- Media Exposure:
Participating Companies receive acknowledgement in all press releases
(in English and Chinese). Participating Companies may also be acknowledged
in advertisements in the press.
Back
to top
What
does my company need to do to participate in EV Week?
1. Register ¡V Participating
Companies must register on the EV Week web site and agree to promote EV
Week to their employees.
2. Promote ¡V Participating
Companies must promote EV Week and to their employees. Companies can promote
two different types of EV (or both types) during this campaign:
- Individual Volunteering
¡V Employees volunteer during the week or on the weekend with a charity
either selected by that employee or a charity that their company already
partners with. Activities can take place during employees¡¦ own time
or company time and it is up to the company to determine whether or
not to give employees time off to volunteer.
- Company-Organised
Volunteering ¡V Companies organise a specific volunteer activity or
several volunteer activities for their employees to participate in during
EV Week. Under this option, companies typically provide time off to
employees if the activity or activities take place during the work week.
3. Provide Resources
¡V To the extent possible, Participating Companies should offer their
employees resources to help them carry out their volunteering, such as
time off to volunteer, transportation or reimbursement of travel expenses,
etc.
4. Recognition ¡V
Participating Companies should also recognise their employees¡¦ volunteering
efforts. Companies, for example, could publicise their employee volunteering
and accomplishments both internally (newsletters, emails, etc.) and externally
to the media through their web site and press releases. Companies could
also recognise their employees through appropriate benefits, such as earning
time off of for volunteering.
Back
to top
Does my company¡¦s
volunteer work have to take place during the work week?
No. Companies can
encourage employees to volunteer during their own time. Or, for example,
it can organise an evening or weekend volunteer activity for its employees.
EV Week
is intended to be flexible and meet the needs of all businesses, meaning
that your company chooses how it wants to participate and at a level appropriate
to your business. By focusing on a week rather than a single day, companies
also have the flexibility to choose the day that suits them best and to
stagger employee volunteering over the course of the week to minimise
disruption to their businesses.
Back
to top
What kind
of activities can my company do during EV Week?
There are a number of things companies can do during EV Week, including
provide pro bono services to NGOs, mentoring, visit an elderly centre,
take beneficiaries of a children¡¦s NGO on an outing, paint a wall mural
for a local NGO, etc. If your company already has one or more beneficiary
NGOs (i.e., charities that your company donates time and/or funding to),
you may want to contact these NGOs to find out how your company may be
able to volunteer with them during EV Week. For more ideas, visit the
Participating NGOs page.
Back
to top
How can I
find an NGO partner to volunteer with?
Consider contacting the NGO(s) you partner with or make financial or in-kind
contributions to in the community to explore potential volunteer opportunities
during EV Week.
While Community Business
is not responsible for organising or managing any employee volunteering
projects, the EV Week web site provides information about Participating
NGOs. Participating NGOs have agreed to participate in EV Week and help
companies in need of volunteer opportunities. Click here to read more
about EV Week¡¦s Participating NGOs.
Back
to top
Can not-for-profit
organisations participate in EV Week?
Yes, we encourage both for profit and non-profit organisations to participate
in EV Week by encouraging your employees to volunteer between 10-16 May.
Any company or organisation that wishes to participate in EV Week should
register on the Participating Companies page
Back
to top
What is the
Role of Community Business in EV Week?
Community Business¡¦ primary role is to act as the catalyst for creating
momentum and measuring the collective impact of companies engaging in
employee volunteering programmes during the campaign. Community Business
hosts this web site dedicated to EV Week and is recruiting companies and
organisations to take part in EV Week.
Back
to top
|
