Volunteering – The Business Case - Corporate Citizenship · 2012-03-06 · Volunteering – The...

Volunteering – The Business Case

The benefits of corporate volunteering programmes in education

May 2010

Ima

ge

: TH

P Ph

oto

Ima

gin

g


The benefits of corporate volunteering programmes in education

May 2010

Corporate Citizenship5th Floor Holborn Gate

330 High HolbornLondon WC1V 7QG

Tel: 020 7861 1616Fax: 020 7861 3908

www.corporate-citizenship.com

http://www.corporate-citizenship.com


Volunteering – The Business Case is published by the City of London. The authors of this reportare Andrew Wilson and Francesca Hicks ofCorporate Citizenship.

This report is intended as a basis for discussion only.Whilst every effort has been made to ensure theaccuracy and completeness of the material in thisreport, the authors, Corporate Citizenship, and theCity of London, give no warranty in that regardand accept no liability for any loss or damageincurred through the use of, or reliance upon, thisreport or the information contained herein.

Cover photo: Nomura’s Japanese Club atOaklands School

May 2010

© City of LondonPO Box 270, GuildhallLondonEC2P 2EJ

www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/economicresearch

http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/economicresearch

Contents


FOREWORD 1

Executive Summary 2

The Purpose of the Research 2

Key Findings 2

Outputs and Next Steps 3

1. Context and Methodology 5

1.1 Background to the Research 6

1.2 The Research Questions 6

1.3 Participating Companies 7

1.4 Developing the Assessment Process 8

1.5 Developing the Competency Framework and Evaluation Tool 9

1.6 Lessons from the Data Collection Process 10

1.7 Results and Analysis 11

1.8 The Companies Involved in the Research 11

2. Understanding the Skills Developed through Volunteering 17

2.1 Introduction 18

2.2 Existing Literature 18

2.3 Motivations for Volunteering and the Impact on Job Performance 21

2.4 Developing Specific Skills and Competencies 22

2.5 Skills Development and Type of Volunteering 23

2.6 Aspects of Volunteering that Support Skills Development 27

2.7 Conclusions 30

3. The Wider Personal Benefits of Volunteering 33

3.1 Introduction 34


3.3 Impact on Career Development 34

3.4 The Personal Impact of the Volunteering Experience 35

3.5 Additional Benefits of Volunteering 36

3.6 Conclusions 37

4. Corroborating the Skills Gain 39

4.1 Introduction 40

4.2 Line Managers’ Overall Impressions 40

4.3 Assessing Skills Before and After Volunteering 42

4.4 Conclusions 44

Contents


5. Understanding the Financial Costs of Development Gains 45

5.1 Introduction 46


5.3 Our Approach to the Research Question 47

5.4 Building Skills through Training and Development 47

5.5 Building Skills Through Volunteering 51

5.6 Comparing the Cost of Developing Skills Through Training and Volunteering 53

5.7 Observations on the Findings 54

5.8 Conducting a Full Cost / Benefit Analysis 56

5.9 Conclusions 57

6. Case studies 59

6.1 Introduction 60

Case Study One – Deutsche Bank 61

Case Study Two – Accenture 64

Case Study Three – BNY Mellon 66

Case Study Four – Nomura 69

Case Study Five – Investec 71

Case Study Six – Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP 73

Case Study Seven – Société Générale 76

Case Study Eight – Financial Services Authority 78

6.2 Lessons Learned from the Case Studies 80

7. Conclusions 83

7.1 Introduction 84

7.2 Lessons from the Research Findings 84

7.3 Lessons from the Research Process 86

7.4 Concluding Remarks 86

Acknowledgements 88

References and Bibliography 89

APPENDIX A – Aviva UK Volunteer Research Results 92

APPENDIX B – Retrospective Survey 94

APPENDIX C – Before and after survey 97

APPENDIX D – Line Manager Survey 100

APPENDIX E – Skills Developed Through Specific Volunteering Activities 103

1


The positive effects of employee volunteering onthe community sector have long been recognisedbut there is less understanding of the benefits thatvolunteering can bring to a business and exactlyhow this happens.

Generally it is reputation, staff retention, motivationand recruitment that are cited as the key benefits.Less commonly mentioned is the effect thatvolunteering can have on developing staff.

Notwithstanding a lack of research this benefit waswidely held to exist. Indeed the City of LondonCorporation has worked for a number of years toalign our own internal volunteering programmewith learning and development, as we believethat staff not only have skills to share but also skillsto gain through volunteering. We also believe thatstrong community investment has a strong part toplay in a successful business.

Clearly the premise needed testing and in order to do this the City of London Corporationcommissioned Corporate Citizenship to undertakethe following research which looks at the impact of volunteering on employees’ skills andcompetencies.

We chose to look at employee volunteering ineducation. Not only is education the area mostsupported by City firms but it was also hoped thatthe research would be of use to the Education andEmployers Taskforce – an independent charity thataims to ensure that every school and college hasan effective partnership with employers.

The completed research provides a verysubstantial body of evidence that employeevolunteering can develop the skills and

competencies of staff in areas that are relevant tothe business. Not only has the research shown thatall forms of education volunteering can developstaff skills but it also provides evidence as to whichvolunteering opportunities afford the bestdevelopment in each competency area.

The research is particularly useful in furnishing adetailed breakdown of those skills which can bedeveloped through volunteering activities, howthey can be developed and to what level.

For itself, the City of London will use this research toincrease linkages between volunteering andLearning and Development, ensuring that stafftake advantage of the full range of benefits thatcommunity involvement offers.

But I hope that this research will also find a wideruse as a practical tool. Not only does it giveorganisations the evidence that they need tointegrate volunteering into staff developmentprogrammes, but it also provides the tools withwhich to measure skills growth.

In summmary, this research shows clearly thatvolunteering produces real tangible benefits forthe community, for business and for staff. It helpschallenge the perception that communityinvolvement is a corporate add-on and takes itright to the heart of the business – the people‘assets’ that firms employ.

Alderman Nick AnsteeLord Mayor of the City of LondonMay 2010

Foreword

2


The Purpose of the Research In recent months, companies operating in thefinancial services sector in the City of London haveexperienced unparalleled challenges. In the midstof a recession, the temptation might be to reducecorporate support for their local communities.Such a response would be short-sighted.

However, in order to maintain and build businesscommitment in this area, there is a need todemonstrate the business case for volunteering. Tomeet this, the City of London Corporationcommissioned Corporate Citizenship to undertakeresearch to examine the skills and competenciesemployees can develop through activeparticipation in employer supported volunteeringprogrammes in education.

The aim of the research was to investigate the realbusiness benefits that derive from a well-managedvolunteering programme. The research breaksnew ground by moving beyond the body ofevidence showing that employees feel morepositively about their employer if they perceivethem to be socially responsible. The explicitpurpose was to examine the financial value to thebusiness of the skills and competencies developedthrough volunteering.

Key FindingsThe research study draws on the experience ofemployees in 16 businesses operating in the City ofLondon. With their support, we were able to trackthe learning and development experienced by546 volunteers who support students and staff inschools and colleges across the UK.

The majority of respondents report thatvolunteering has developed their skills andcompetencies across a broad range of business-relevant areas. These competencies are stronglyrelated to an individual’s personal effectiveness intheir work role and include:

� Communication skills, including the ability tocommunicate clearly and concisely with awide range of people and listen actively.

� Ability to help others, set individual

performance goals, coach and counsel,provide training and development andevaluate performance.

� Adaptability and ability to be effective indifferent surroundings and with different tasks,responsibilities and people.

� Influencing and negotiating skills, includingpersuading others, resolving conflicts andnegotiating agreed solutions.

Importantly, the skills development observed byvolunteers in this research is not a self-reportedgain. The evidence is corroborated by theoverwhelming majority of line managers who saythat volunteers acquire useful skills from theirvolunteering experience. Line managers seemeasurable gains in the same business-relevantskills as those reported by the volunteersthemselves. It is also important to note thatdifferent volunteering activities are effective indeveloping different skills and competencies.

In addition, there is clear evidence that the skillsand competencies developed throughvolunteering assignments are of direct relevanceto the companies involved. Nearly all of these skillsfeature in the mainstream competencyframeworks used by companies to monitor andguide staff development; and all of the companiesare investing significantly in training anddevelopment programmes to build thesecompetencies in their staff.

The research found that the experiential nature ofthe learning achieved by the volunteers makes ithugely valuable in the skills development processand sets it apart from more traditional approachesto training. Volunteering requires employees tostep outside their normal working role and buildrelations with people who may have a verydifferent world view from their own. Respondentsreport that moving outside their “comfort zone” inthis way is extremely useful in both developing theirskills and transferring these skills back into theworkplace.

However, if companies are to harness the power ofvolunteering as a route to learning and

Executive Summary

development, they need to manage the processproperly. This research underlines the importanceof integrating volunteering activities intomainstream HR processes of appraisal anddevelopment.

With regard to the costs involved, it is clear thatemployee volunteering programmes can bedelivered for relatively modest costs. Overall, theresearch found that among respondent businessesthe average annual cost to support eachvolunteer involved in an education based activityin London is £381 per person per annum. This figurecomprises the full cost including directmanagement costs and all additional costs (forexample, transport expenses, time out of theoffice, volunteering budgets, training etc)involved in running an effective volunteeringprogramme.

The companies involved in this research aretypically investing at least £400 per person perannum to develop relevant skills andcompetencies in their staff – although data from abroader UK survey on training costs suggest thatthe typical training spend per employee could beconsiderably higher. This figure, however, is only thecost of a training opportunity and has not factoredin the additional support costs such as running alearning and development department and thetime lost by an employee being out of theworkforce. With these all taken into account, thecost would be substantially higher.

Hence, volunteering assignments represent ahighly cost-effective way to develop certain corecompetencies. However, the argument in supportof employee volunteering does not simply rest on adirect cost comparison with other forms of trainingand development. It is important to consider thewider benefits of volunteering as part of acompany’s community investment activities. Thisresearch has shown that, in addition to developingnew skills, the individual employee benefits fromimproved morale and increased motivation, jobsatisfaction and commitment to the company, allas a direct result of the opportunities afforded bytheir volunteering experience.

In addition, working to provide structured supportfor community partners delivers real social benefitsto the partner organisation which gains from theadvice, guidance, knowledge and experience ofthe volunteers. This research did not attempt tooutline or assign a financial value to all of theseadditional benefits associated with thevolunteering experience. These positive returnsshould also be taken into account when weconsider the costs and benefits of organising avolunteering programme.

Overall we believe the findings described abovegive a strong articulation of the business case forsupporting employee volunteering programmes.

Outputs and Next StepsAs well as investigating the business case forvolunteering, this research aimed to produce agenerally applicable and widely acceptedcompetency matrix and evaluation tool that willallow companies to gather hard data oncompetency development achieved throughvolunteering opportunities.

While the focus of this research was on assessingemployer-supported initiatives in education, it wasimportant that the evaluation tool used to assessskills and competency development could beapplied to a much broader range of volunteeringactivities.

Building on Corporate Citizenship’s previous workin this area, and by utilising the advice andguidance of the wide range of experts involved,the research developed an evaluation frameworkthat is both simple to use and highly effective indelivering robust measurement of thecompetencies developed through volunteering.

We would now encourage other companies toapply this competency framework and evaluationtool to their own activities to assess the positiveimpact their volunteers can have – not only on thelocal community but also on the business itself.

3


4


Key findings

1.1 Background to the Research 6

1.2 The Research Questions 6

1.3 Participating Companies 7

1.4 Developing the Assessment Process 8

1.5 Developing the Competency Framework and Evaluation Tool 9

1.6 Lessons from the Data Collection Process 10

1.7 Results and Analysis 11

1.8 The Companies Involved in the Research 11

5


1. Context and Methodology

1.1Background to the Research

During recent volatile times for the financialservices sector, companies operating in the City ofLondon have experienced a range of economicchallenges. In the midst of an economic down-turn, as companies come under increasingpressure on costs, corporate contributions to localcommunities may be affected.

However, to cut back on this important aspect ofCorporate Social Responsibility (CSR) would be amistake. Corporate reputations would suffer andcharities would be adversely affected at a timewhen demand for their services is rising.

With this in mind, the need to demonstrate thebusiness case for corporate investment incommunity support has never been more urgent.The City of London Corporation thereforecommissioned Corporate Citizenship to undertakea research study to:

� Examine the skills and competenciesemployees can develop through activeparticipation in employer supportedvolunteering programmes.

� Investigate the financial value of this process ofcompetency development by contrasting thecosts of skills gained through volunteering withthe costs of other forms of training anddevelopment.

� Develop a tool that companies can usethemselves to evaluate competencydevelopment in the future.

The research study draws on the experience ofCity-based companies operating in the City ofLondon which offer volunteering opportunities ineducation institutions. The focus on volunteeringinitiatives in the education sector was chosen as afocus because previous research undertaken bythe City of London “The Impact of City Businesses inAddressing Social Disadvantage” (March 2008)shows that this theme is supported by the majorityof large businesses based in the area. Educationwas also chosen as a result of the City of London’sinvolvement in the research sub-group of theEducation and Employers Taskforce, anindependent charity that aims to ensure that everyschool and college has an effective partnershipwith employers which helps provide young peoplewith the inspiration, motivation, knowledge andskills they need to achieve their potential.

For the purpose of this research, we wereconcerned with all volunteering activities

supporting young people from primary through totertiary education, but activities supporting youngpeople outside the education system (such astraining for employability) were not included.

In this opening chapter we:

� Consider in more detail the research questionsthis study sought to answer.

� Outline the process by which the research toolswere developed, concentrating on thecompetency matrix and evaluation tool usedto assess the skills developed throughvolunteering opportunities.

� Offer advice for companies in applying thiscompetency matrix and evaluation tool.

� Describe the characteristics of the sixteencompanies participating in the research andthe nature of the volunteering activities theysupport.

1.2 The Research Questions

Over the past ten years, there has been muchresearch into the “business case” for corporateinvestment into the local community where abusiness operates1. There are at least threecommon themes that tend to emerge whendescribing the business benefits related tocorporate responsibility and communityinvestment:

� Risk management – the way a companydischarges its social and environmentalresponsibilities in the local community canimpact on its “licence to operate”.

� Brand reputation – people’s direct experienceof the behaviour of a business in its localcommunity, which can be a powerful factorinfluencing whether or not one feels favourablytowards a company.

� Impact on staff – it is argued that positive viewsof the business are shaped by the company’scommitment to community investmentactivities, including support for employeevolunteering. A review of some research on thistopic is discussed in Chapter 3 of this report.

Alongside these themes, there are numerous otherbenefits involved in active community involvementsuch as new routes to market and greaterinnovation. This research study wanted to movebeyond these familiar statements of the businessbenefits of corporate responsibility and explores anarea about which far less is known.

6


1 See, for example:Weiser, J. Zadek, S.“Conversations withDisbelievers:PersuadingCompanies to AddressSocial Challenges”(2000) The FordFoundation.

1.The first step was to gather robust evidence of theskills and competencies employees can developthrough active participation in employersupported volunteering programmes in education.At this stage, we were seeking to answer thefollowing questions:

o Which volunteering opportunities in educationare routinely undertaken by financial servicesector companies in the City of London?

o Are companies currently assessing the skills andcompetencies that might be developedthrough these volunteering activities?

o How do companies define the desirablecompetencies that they look to develop intheir employees?

o Is there a link between the competenciesdeveloped through educational volunteeringand the competencies companies look todevelop more broadly among employees?

o What aspects of the volunteering programmeare important to developing skills andcompetencies in participants?

o Do companies make the experiences gainedfrom volunteering part of a formal job appraisalor development review process?

o What are the broader developmental benefitsassociated with volunteering activities?

o Is the skills gain observed by the volunteersthemselves corroborated by the views andopinions of their line managers?

2.The second step was to demonstrate the financialvalue of this process of competencydevelopment. In order to achieve this, theresearch compares the costs of developing skillsthrough volunteering with the costs of developingthese same skills through more traditional forms oftraining. This required answering the followingquestions.

o How does a company benefit from theincreased skills and competencies thatemployees develop through volunteeringactivities?

o Are the skills and competencies developedthrough volunteering assignments of relevanceand value to the companies concerned?

o Are the costs of developing these skills andcompetencies through volunteeringsignificantly different from more traditionalapproaches to training and development?

3.The third overarching objective was to produce agenerally applicable and widely acceptedcompetency matrix comprising the skills relevant tobusiness that can be developed throughvolunteering opportunities. This would for the basisof an evaluation tool that will allow companies togather hard data on competency developmentachieved by their employee volunteers.

While the focus of this research was on assessingemployer supported initiatives in education, it wasessential that the evaluation tool used to assessskills and competency development could beapplied to a much broader range of volunteeringactivities.

The research set out to engage with a wide rangeof companies, HR organisations and volunteeringbrokers to inform the development of thecompetency matrix and evaluation tool. Section 1.5 describes the process by which thisevaluation framework was developed. For themoment, we look at the characteristics of thecompanies involved in the core part of theresearch study.

1.3Participating Companies

Sixteen firms were recruited to participate in thisresearch study who offer a range of volunteeringopportunities in education. These companies areidentified in Table 1.

7


Aviva

Financial Services Authority

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

BDO LLP

HSBC

BNY Mellon

Investec

CMS Cameron McKenna

Nomura

Credit Suisse

Rothschild

Deutsche Bank

Santander

Ernst & Young

Société Générale

Table 1Participating companies

As can be seen, these organisations represent threebusiness sectors – financial services, law firms andconsultancies. In broad terms, the approach toeducation related volunteering activity undertakenby these sixteen firms can be described as follows.

� Support for employee volunteering ranges fromgiving four days paid time off per year toinformal, ad hoc support. The most commonpolicy is to provide one day per year paid timeoff for volunteering in support of the company’scommunity investment activities.

� The five most frequently offered educationrelated volunteering activities are:reading/number/language partnerprogrammes; individual student mentoring;providing enterprise workshops in schools;supporting an education related charity; andacting as a school governor.

� In terms of the characteristics of the volunteersthemselves, they were split fairly evenlybetween men (43%) and women (57%). Theywere drawn from across the age ranges, withthe majority in the 26 to 35 years age group. Interms of length of service, approximately onethird had been with their organisation for morethan ten years, while a similar proportion hadbeen with their organisation for less than threeyears.

� Respondents were also asked about theirseniority within the business. The results showthat volunteers are drawn from all levels of theorganisation – from graduate trainees to vicepresidents and directors.

� Before this research, very few of the sixteencompanies have attempted to assess in anyformal way the skills and competencies gainedthrough volunteering, although somecompanies are using informal processes of self-assessment feedback among volunteers.Typically, they use questionnaire surveys to askwhat skills volunteers feel they have developedas a result of their experience. Responseshighlight development in the following areas:communication skills, team working, planning,leadership and management, timemanagement, creativity and diversityawareness.

� While all of the sixteen companies use acompetency framework as part of theirmainstream people development processes,none of them make an explicit link between thisand the volunteering programmes.

� None of the sixteen companies involved in thisresearch had made any prior attempt tocalculate training costs saved through potentialskills gained in volunteering.

Section 1.8 at the end of this Chapter providesmore detail on the main activity of each businessand gives a brief overview of the educationrelated volunteering activity they support.

1.4Developing the Assessment Process

In conjunction with this background understandingof the approach to volunteering undertaken bythe sixteen companies involved in the research, it isimportant to examine the evaluation tools thatwould allow us to gather information on the skillsgained through volunteering.

The process for developing the main competencyframework and evaluation tool is discussed in moredetail in section 1.5. This evaluation tool took theform of a ‘retrospective’ survey, asking volunteersto reflect on whether they had developed skillsand competencies through their recentvolunteering experience. This type of backwardlooking survey is the most straightforward toadminister because it only requires the volunteer tocomplete it once at the end of their volunteeringassignment.

This main evaluation tool (shown in Appendix B)was distributed in September 2009 and sent to allvolunteers in education based initiatives in thesixteen companies. It remained ‘in the field’ untilJanuary 2010 during which time the research teamreceived 546 useable responses from employeesbased in London who are volunteering in a rangeof education related initiatives in the sixteencompanies. This data is reported in Chapter 2.

More detailed information can be gained from anassessment of an individual’s skills andcompetencies prior to starting the volunteeringassignment, and then following up again at theend of the programme. The research teamdesigned an evaluation assessment tool to assessvolunteers’ skills gain using this “before” and“after” approach (shown in Appendix C). Sixcompanies were able to send out this evaluationtool to a cohort of employees before they begantheir volunteering activity in September 2009. Intotal, 82 employees provided an assessment oftheir skills levels prior to the volunteering activity.

These employees were then invited in early 2010 torepeat the survey after they had beenvolunteering for some months. Only 31 respondentsin four companies provided useable data to thisfollow up assessment which could be a result of anumber of factors including finding the time totake the survey or difficulties in administering or

8


completing the survey. The results of this aspect ofthe research are reported in Chapter 4.

As well as obtaining data from volunteersthemselves, the research team gatheredcorroborating evidence from the line managers ofthese volunteers to gauge an independentassessment of the skills gained. The surveyinstrument used to assess line managers’ opinions isshown in Appendix D.

The results of this survey, which was distributedbetween December 2009 and February 2010, arealso reported in Chapter 4.

Another key aim of the research was tounderstand the relative costs to the companies ofproviding the volunteering opportunities for theiremployees. We also wanted to gather data on thecosts to these businesses of developing the sameskills and competencies through more traditionaltraining and development routes. The two surveyson cost data were completed by companiesbetween December 2009 and February 2010. Theresults of this strand of the research are reported inChapter 5.

The final strand of the data collection process wasthe in-depth telephone interviews with the CSRand HR managers within selected companies todraw together information for the case studiesreported in Chapter 6.

1.5Developing the CompetencyFramework and Evaluation Tool

As emphasised in section 1.2, a specific aim of thisresearch study was to create a competencymatrix and evaluation tool that any company canuse to assess the skills and knowledge developedthrough any employer supported volunteeringopportunity.

In order to achieve this, as well as working with theCSR and HR practitioners in the sixteen companiesalready identified, the research teamincorporated additional expert opinion byengaging with senior representatives fromprofessional bodies in the HR field2 andorganisations that represent the voluntary sectors3

by convening a series of workshops which ensuredthat the competency framework and evaluationtool would be relevant, meaningful andapplicable to a broad audience.

Thinking on the development of the competencyframework and evaluation tool was informed by

work that Corporate Citizenship had carried outwith some leading London Benchmarking Group(LBG)4 members in this area in 20095.

This project worked with a group of nineorganisations (Barclays, HSBC, L’Oreal, NationalGrid, npower, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP,Prudential plc, Shell UK and the Zurich CommunityTrust) to develop a consistent way of measuringthe outputs and impacts of their communityinvestment projects that enabled them to add upand communicate the results of their wholecommunity programme.

A key element of this work was the development ofa consistent approach to assessing the value ofemployee volunteering. This included thedevelopment of an evaluation tool to assess theresults for, and impact upon, employees ofvolunteering opportunities across different projectsand companies. It is this evaluation tool thatformed the basis of the evaluation tool used in thisresearch.

Some of the key lessons to come out of this originalproject, which were applied to the currentresearch, were as follows.

� The starting point for assessing thecompetencies developed throughvolunteering assignments must be aconsideration of the mainstream skills andcompetencies companies look to developmore broadly among employees. To this end,the research examined the competencyframeworks used by a range of leadingcompanies to steer the learning anddevelopment of employees across a widerange of different functions.

� In assessing the skills gained throughvolunteering, companies need to move theirfocus of evaluation from what they put intotheir community activities, to the impact thatthis investment achieves. This shift in emphasiscan help to demonstrate the value of thecommunity programme to the business, as wellas the broader societal benefits.

� In thinking about development gains fromvolunteering, it is important to consider some ofthe broader impacts on the individual in termsof increased self-confidence, pride in thecompany and motivation. In addition, it is alsouseful to look at wider behavioural impactssuch as the propensity to undertakevolunteering again in the future.

9


2 These included CIPD,CMI and the City HRAssociation

3 For example, NCVO,ACEVO, CSV andbrokerageorganisations that helpdeliver volunteeringprogrammes includingBusiness in theCommunity, CityAction andVolunteering England

4 LBG is the internationalstandard formeasuring,benchmarking andreporting communityinvestment. The LBGgroup is made up ofmore than 120companies who cometogether to use anddevelop the model.

5 Making a Difference,Corporate CommunityInvestment: A WholeProgramme Approachto Measuring Results(2009) CorporateCitizenship

The resulting evaluation tools developed for thisresearch will allow any organisation to:

� Gather robust evidence of the competenciesemployees can develop through activeparticipation in employer supportedvolunteering programmes.

� Track how employees engaged in specificvolunteering assignments develop specific skillsin business relevant areas.

� Assess the level of the skills gain through arobust process of assessment by the volunteersthemselves and the line managers to whomthey report.

� Demonstrate the financial value of this processof competency development and skills gain tothe employing organisation. At a minimum thiscould involve a cost comparison withalternative forms of skills development (e.g.internal and external training programmes) butcould be extended to include a moresophisticated cost benefit analysis.

In addition, it is important to note that although theevaluation tools developed for this research wereapplied to employees volunteering in initiativeslinked to the education sector, the competencyframework and evaluation tool are relevant,meaningful and applicable to any type ofvolunteering activity.

The workshops and discussions undertaken for thecurrent study produced some valuable insightsthat needed to be taken into account in refiningthe design of the competency framework andevaluation tool. These included the following.

� Colleagues from the HR function were keen toensure the evaluation tool looked at themotives behind an individual’s decision tobecome involved in volunteering, and whethertheir experiences gained through volunteeringwere assessed in appraisal processes. As we willsee in Chapter 2, both these issues have animportant impact on the learning gained fromvolunteering activities.

� Companies consulted for the current studywere broadly supportive of the evaluation toolthat had already been developed. There wasvirtually no disagreement with thecompetencies identified in the draftframework. The competencies were felt to beuniversally applicable and relevant to mostroles in all companies. However, it was felt to beimportant to include a new category onfinancial skills to reflect the experience ofvolunteers who act as school governors.

� The evaluation tool must address two majorchallenges usually associated with assessmenttechniques – resources and knowledge. Thisevaluation tool was designed to be simple tocomplete and practical so that filling it in wouldnot be time consuming for require any trainingto do it.

Building on Corporate Citizenship’s previous work,and by responding to the advice and guidance ofthose involved in the consultative process, theresearch team has created an evaluationframework that is both simple to use and highlyeffective in delivering robust measurement of theskills and competencies developed throughvolunteering assignments.

The competency framework and evaluation toolwas an innovative development, allowingcompanies to assess the impact of theirvolunteering activities in a way that none of themhad done before.

1.6 Lessons from the Data Collection Process

Finally, before moving on to consider the results ofthis research, it is worth discussing some of thelessons to emerge from the application of theevaluation framework:

� Many companies found that simplyconsidering how volunteers might develop skillsand competencies through volunteeringchanged attitudes within the business to acertain extent. Raising awareness of thisresearch with colleagues in HR made themmore willing to consider the potential ofvolunteering to improve skills.

� When applying the evaluation tool toeducation based volunteering activities, timingis important. In particular, incorporating it withinthe period across which volunteering is beingundertaken, for example the school term. Theresearch found that before and after surveys inparticular needed a long lead in time withincompanies, especially to reach thosevolunteering for the first time.

� The evaluation tool was designed to beadministered either in a Microsoft Excel formator online using survey software such as SurveyMonkey. Volunteers were comfortable usingeither approach; the decision often rested onwhether the companies involved were familiarwith and had access to the relevant software.

10


� Some companies were concerned that theevaluation tool might not be completed byvolunteers unless it was anonymous. Whilethere was no requirement on respondents toidentify themselves, we did ask if people wereprepared to be involved in follow-up research;10% of all volunteers gave their name andcontact details.

� The value of providing incentives to completethe survey was discussed by participatingcompanies. Only one (Aviva) chose to providea small incentive – respondents who identifiedthemselves were entered into a draw to win anipod. However, all the companies involvedreceived acceptable response rates to thesurvey from eligible employee volunteers,therefore it would appear that incentives arenot necessary to achieve a good response.

� Finally, several companies suggested thatusing the evaluation tool when designing newvolunteering projects would also be a usefulexercise. Mapping expected outcomes in thisway can help companies and their communitypartners to identify and agree on project goalsat the outset, as well as monitoring progressduring the programme and assessing skillsgained at the end of an assignment.

1.7 Results and Analysis

The main body of the report outlines the findingsfrom the research:

� Chapter 2 looks in detail at the skills andcompetencies developed throughvolunteering and considers:

o The motivations driving people to getinvolved in volunteering

o The skills and competencies developed bydifferent types of volunteering activity.

o The aspects of the volunteering experiencewhich are most important in the skillsdevelopment process.

� Chapter 3 examines wider aspects of thevolunteering experience including the impacton career development and the influence ithas on employees’ attitudes toward theiremploying organisation.

� Chapter 4 considers the corroboratingevidence from the line managers’ survey andlooks at the results from the “before” and“after” questionnaires.

� Chapter 5 looks at the data gathered from the

financial analysis. This section of the reportaddresses two specific questions:

o Are the skills and competencies developedthrough volunteering assignments ofrelevance and value to the companiesconcerned?

o How do the costs of developing these skillsand competencies through volunteeringcompare to more traditional approachesof training and development?

� Chapter 6 looks at the in-depth experience ofa sub-sample of companies involved in theresearch by presenting a number of casestudies that deal with the challenges andbenefits of employer supported volunteeringprogrammes.

� Finally, Chapter 7 draws together theconclusions from this research study.

1.8 The Companies Involved in the Research

The following paragraphs give more detail on thecompanies that participated in this study anddescribe the nature of the education relatedvolunteering activities they support:

AvivaAviva is the world’s fifth largest insurance group,and the largest in the UK. Its main markets areEurope, Asia Pacific and the USA, and its keyactivities are long-term savings, fundmanagement, and general insurance. Avivaemploys 59,000 people globally, and isheadquartered in London, employing 2,050people in the City.

In 2009, more than 2,300 Aviva employees wereinvolved in community activity in working time.Aviva has three national volunteeringprogrammes, which include the Global ActionPlan; working with primary schools onenvironmental issues. Other national programmesinclude the Citizenship Foundation, which Avivacreated by developing teaching modules oncitizenship with a focus on economics and finance.These Citizenship Foundation modules are nowdelivered by volunteers. The third nationalprogramme is the Learn and Thrive initiative, whichinvolves educating displaced adults about moneyand benefits.

Aviva was an early pioneer in this researchprogramme and sent the evaluation tool to all of itsvolunteers throughout the UK. This was received

11


very positively and the company obtained returnsfrom almost 400 volunteers. The data relating tothose involved in volunteering in education basedinitiatives in London (almost 100 employees) ispresented in Appendix A. This is separate from theresults reported in the main body of this report asthe draft survey used by Aviva was not entirelycompatible with the later version used by the othercompanies.

Bank of America Merrill LynchBank of America is one of the world’s largestfinancial institutions and is a global leader incorporate and investment banking and tradingacross a broad range of asset classes, servingcorporations, governments, institutions andindividuals around the world. Bank of AmericaMerrill Lynch is the marketing name for the globalbanking and global markets businesses of Bank ofAmerica Corporation. The company serves clientsin more than 150 countries.

Employees are given two hours a week tovolunteer, with manager approval. Volunteersengage in a range of activities, includingsupporting education, such as schoolgovernorship, becomingreading/number/language partners, studentmentoring and giving lessons and workshops onfinancial literacy and employability. Bank ofAmerica Merrill Lynch has 6,500 employees inLondon of which approximately 800-1000volunteer in any given year. The company’sprincipal community partners in London foreducation-related volunteering include TowerHamlets Education Business Partnership, the EastLondon Business Alliance, Young Enterprise,Mulberry School for Girls, Swanlea School, BowSchool and Osmani Primary School.

BDO LLPBDO LLP is an award-winning, UK member firm ofBDO International, the world’s fifth largestaccountancy network with more than 1,000 officesin over 100 countries. The BDO financial servicesgroup provides an integrated, full servicecapability to firms across the whole of the financialservices market.

In October 2006, BDO LLP introduced a communityvolunteering policy that allows employees six daysa year to use flexibly for volunteering. Individualsare free to choose the focus of their voluntary workwhether it be environmental responsibility orcharity fundraising. In the first year after the policyintroduction the company had over 7% employeeuptake. In 2007/2008 14% of employees used thepolicy.

Education related volunteering opportunities inLondon include secondary school student anduniversity student mentoring, as well as rugbycoaching, and local school enterprise days, where11 to 16 year olds undertake business linkedactivities. Employees at BDO LLP are alsoencouraged to become governors at localschools.

BNY MellonEstablished in 2007 from the merger of MellonFinancial Corporation and The Bank of New YorkCompany, BNY Mellon is a leading provider offinancial services for institutions, corporations andhigh net-worth individuals. Headquartered in NewYork, it has $22.3 trillion in assets under custody andadministration and $1.1 trillion in assets undermanagement. The company operates in 32countries and has around 42,000 employeesworldwide. In London, BNY Mellon employs 2,954people.

BNY Mellon’s Community Partnership Programmeoffers all employees two days paid volunteer timeannually. In London, the company engages with ahuge range of community partners, includingKeyworth and Culloden Primary Schools,Community Links, The Career Academy,Fairbridge, The Whitechapel Mission and ThePrince’s Trust.

Opportunities for employees to volunteer includereading partner schemes, CV workshops,mentoring and e-mentoring, interview skillsworkshops and business workshops. Volunteers canalso get involved with the internship programme,or can sit on the board of a local school as agovernor. In the EMEA region, 12% of the workforcevolunteered during 2009 while 225 employeesengaged in volunteering last year in London.

CMS Cameron McKennaCMS Cameron McKenna LLP is a foundingmember, and the UK headquarters, of CMS. CMSoperates in 27 jurisdictions, with 53 offices inWestern and Central Europe and beyond. CMSwas established in 1999 and today comprises nineCMS firms, employing over 2,400 lawyers. CMS isheadquartered in Frankfurt, Germany.

Volunteering opportunities are available for all staffand initiatives range from specialised pro bonolegal advice to general volunteering initiatives.London based, education related volunteeringopportunities at the firm include reading andnumber partners, mentoring students,photographic projects, CV and career planning

12


workshops and a twinning scheme, which links volunteers up with young people in schools tohelp them learn about law and current legal and moral issues. CMS Cameron McKenna workswith Whitmore and Hackney Primary Schools, theEast London Business Alliance and CitizenshipFoundation.

Credit SuisseCredit Suisse is an international investment bankand financial services company providingcompanies, institutional clients and high-net-worthprivate clients with a wide range of financialadvisory services. The business is active in over 50countries and employs more than 47,000 peopleworld wide.

Credit Suisse supports a range of philanthropicinitiatives across all of the countries in which itoperates. In addition to corporate philanthropy,the company encourages employees to becomeactive volunteers and donors through a variety ofschemes including the Charity of the Yearprogram, Professional Development in theCommunity programmes and various tutoring andmentoring initiatives with local partner schools.

Approximately 2,500 London-based Credit Suisseemployees were actively involved in volunteeringin 2009 of which 10% were engaged in educationalactivities. This encompassed a number of activitiesincluding working with the Tower Hamlets EBP,where more than 100 Credit Suisse volunteersspend half an hour per week over lunchtime with achild or small group of children leading reading,maths, IT, chess or music activities. They alsosupport day workshops and provide mockinterviews to local school children. In addition,volunteers provided support for employabilityworkshops at the University of East London; helpedthe Career Academy and Young Enterpriseprogrammes; and acted as school governors andboard members.

Deutsche BankDeutsche Bank is a leading global investmentbank, with a presence in Europe, North America,Asia and key emerging markets. Deutsche Bankemploys 77,053 people globally in 72 countries. The company policy is to grant each permanentemployee two days paid leave each year tovolunteer on the Bank’s programmes, at theirmanager’s discretion.

The Bank employs 8,500 people in London. Within the company’s UK operations, about 15% of Deutsche Bank employees are involved

in volunteering across 30 different programmesincluding team challenge events. In London, theprinciple community partners for educationrelated volunteering are CSV, Project Shoreditch, the University of Greenwich, YoungEnterprise, the British Museum, Youth Sport Trust,Brokerage Citylink, Spitalfields Together and ELBALegacy 2020.

Volunteering opportunities at Deutsche Bank inLondon, relating to education, include numberpartners, language partners and reading partnersin secondary schools, mentoring in a secondaryschool, homework clubs, Learn2Earn and PersonalEconomics workshops and school boardplacements.

Ernst & Young Ernst & Young is a global professional services firmand a leader in assurance, tax, transaction andadvisory services, employing 144,000 peopleglobally. It has 4,500 employees in its Londonoperations. The firm provides volunteeringopportunities around its main areas of focus:education; entrepreneurship and theenvironment. It gives its employees a minimum oftwo days paid leave a year to volunteer for acharity of their choice or through one of the firm’sorganised programmes. In its latest financial yearover 20% of its people across the UK volunteered.

Its award winning education programme focuseson supporting young people to achieve theirpotential by developing long-term partnershipswith state schools. Ernst & Young links its officeswith both primary and secondary schools. It iscommitted to developing deep rooted links withschools local to its offices, especially those withparticular challenges, providing a programme ofactivities over a sustained period of time aimed atbenefiting all aspects of a school. It believes thatby building deep, sustainable relationships it candeliver demonstrable long-term value to thestudents. In London it partners with six schools. AtAlma Primary School, for example, Ernst & Youngruns a stocks and shares club and a school literacyprogramme. The firm education programme alsoengages its employees in leadership coachingwith teachers, school governors, enterprisecompetitions, business skills workshops, readingpartners and language mentoring, careersexperience events and student mentoring. Atschools like Harris Academy or Bacons Collegevolunteers seek to use their business skills toengage and inspire students in the world of workand business.

13


Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerFreshfields is an international law firm with over2,400 lawyers in 28 offices around the world,operating in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and theUS. Freshfields policy is to grant employees one daypaid leave each year to volunteer, with manyemployees taking more time than this to volunteer,at their manager’s discretion.

There are 2,000 employees in the UK, with over 210involved in education related volunteeringinitiatives. Community partners engaged with thefirm through education related volunteeringopportunities include Redlands Primary School inTower Hamlets, Haggerston Secondary School inHackney, Cardinal Pole School, CareerAcademies UK, Sutton Trust’s Pathways to Lawinitiative, Teach First, Tower Hamlets EducationBusiness Partnership and the Inspire EducationBusiness Partnership in Hackney.

Potential volunteers at Freshfields are offered awide variety of education related initiatives,including language coaching, reading andnumber partners, school governor positions,student mentoring and Oxbridge interviewpreparation.

FSAThe Financial Services Authority (FSA) is anindependent non-governmental body, givenstatutory powers by the Financial Services andMarkets Act 2000. The FSA is a company limited byguarantee and financed by the financial servicesindustry.

Volunteering programmes organised by the FSAcover three areas: education, employability andregeneration. Employees are able to take up to 20days paid leave a year to volunteer, as well as anadditional 7 days for team challenge events.Approximately 20% of the organisation’s 3,000workforce are involved in volunteering.

FSA works with Tower Hamlets Education BusinessPartnership and focuses its volunteering efforts ona range of local schools including Cyril JacksonPrimary School, Bishop Challinor Girls School, HolyFamily and Tower Hamlets College. Volunteeringopportunities range from financial literacy lessons;reading, maths and computing partners; help withCV writing; mentoring young people on workplacement schemes; and supporting YoungEnterprise programmes.

HSBCHeadquartered in London, HSBC is one of thelargest banking and financial servicesorganisations in the world. HSBC’s internationalnetwork comprises around 8,000 offices in 88countries, including Europe, the Asia-Pacificregion, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa.There are 52,000 employees working at HSBC in theUK, and these people are able to take part in arange of volunteering activities, taking time off todo so at their line manager’s discretion.

In 2009, 16,400 HSBC employees in the UK wereengaged in volunteering. Nationally, the companyhas 2,500 employees volunteering on financialliteracy programmes, and these are delivered to1,400 schools which are registered to participate.In London, education related volunteering isfocused on two initiatives; Young Enterprise, a UKcharity, and Students in Free Enterprise,international non-profit organization. Otheropportunities for employees wishing to engage ineducation related volunteering organised by thecompany include: school governor positions,Teach First, and the What Money Meansprogramme, which aims to improve financiallycapability education in primary schools

InvestecInvestec is an international, specialist bankinggroup that provides a range of financial productsand services to clients in three principal markets(the UK, South Africa and Australia). It has 1,200employees in its London operations, and 30% ofthese staff have signed up to volunteer.

The company offers all employees one day peryear paid time off to volunteer for one of Investec’scharitable partners, although more can berequested through the individual’s line manager.Investec funds and supports five charities – all ofwhich are related to education, the environmentor enterprise. There are two initiatives particularlyrelevant to this research.

Arrival Education runs innovative projects to helpyoung people engage with education to developtheir life chances. Around 30 Investec volunteersare involved with two main programmes run byArrival, a coaching programme and ‘Success Skills’workshops.

Morpeth is a school in Tower Hamlets whichInvestec has supported over the last five years.Investec volunteers are involved primarily in aliteracy mentoring programme. Since February2009 13 volunteers from Investec have been visitingthe school every fortnight for an hour over lunch.

14


NomuraNomura is a leading financial services group withworldwide reach. Nomura EMEA forms a vital partof the global structure, providing services across 18countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.Nomura employs more than 13,000 staff in theregion, around 3,500 of which are based inLondon.

Nomura offers a range of volunteeringopportunities in which employees can take part attheir manager’s discretion. Education-relatedvolunteering activities in London include schools’partnership programmes with Oaklands Secondaryand Southwark Park Primary schools. Employeesvolunteer as reading partners, number partners,French partners and science partners. AtSouthwark Park, Nomura employees get involvedin the chess club, while at Oaklands, volunteers actas business mentors and run a Japanese club.There are also specific workshops arounddeveloping communication and employabilityskills for secondary students. Nomura is trulycommitted to the longevity and development ofthese partnerships, as part of this, members of thesenior leadership team sit on the school governorboards of both schools.

RothschildRothschild is one of the world’s leadingindependent investment banking organizationsproviding investment banking, corporate bankingand private banking and trust services togovernments, corporations and individualsworldwide. Rothschild operates globally in 49offices in 34 counties, including the Americas,Europe and Australia. The company employeesaround 2,000 staff around the world, and there are760 employees working at Rothschild in London.

It is company policy for employees to be able totake 2 days paid time off to volunteer, and in2008/9 and 2009/10 more than 30% of the Londonstaff were involved in volunteering opportunities.There is a Community Committee, chaired byAnthony Salz, Executive Vice Chairman and thecompany’s main education related volunteering isrun through relationships with two schools: BowSchool of Maths and Computing and SouthCamden Community School. Programmes includementoring, reading partners and Teach Firstcoaching.

SantanderOn the 11th January 2010 Abbey National plc,which included the Bradford & Bingley savingsbusiness, changed its name to Santander UK plc.

Santander is an international banking group withover 90 million customers and 180,000 employeesworldwide. It operates in three principal markets;continental Europe, UK and Latin America.

In the London head office, Santander employsapproximately 2,000 people. Santander supportsstaff volunteering through a matched timescheme where it gives up to 35 hours a year of paidwork time to enable employees to help theirfavourite causes. Through its Community Daysscheme, staff are encouraged to take a day outfrom the office to volunteer with a local cause,and in 2009, numerous employees supportedseveral educational schemes within schools.Santander engages with Young Enterprise, CareerAcademies, Barnet EBP and The CitizenshipFoundation as part of its education relatedvolunteering programmes in London. Volunteeringopportunities include mentoring, guru lectures andhelping pupils to understand more about running abusiness and the world of work.

Société Générale Société Générale employs 163,000 professionals in83 countries across Europe, Middle East & Africa,the Americas and Asia-Pacific. In London, theGroup employs 2,300 staff providing servicesacross corporate & investment and privatebanking, investment management and securityservices, plus car fleet leasing and equipmentfinancing. Corporate Responsibility activities arefocused mainly on environmental impactreduction to be carbon neutral by 2012, and on acitizenship programme aimed at meetingcommunity needs through charitable giving andvolunteering initiatives.

Société Générale engages in a range ofeducation related volunteering opportunities inLondon, including school partnerships providinghelp with maths, reading, French and computing.In addition, the company arranges schoolgovernor positions and mentoring for students andsenior staff at community organisations. SociétéGénérale works with the UK Career Academy, EastLondon Business Alliance, Business in theCommunity, the City of London and two EducationBusiness Partnerships in order to deliver itsvolunteering programmes.

15


16


2.1 Introduction 18


2.3 Motivations for Volunteering and the Impact on Job Performance 21

2.4 Developing Specific Skills and Competencies 22

2.5 Skills Development and Type of Volunteering 23

2.6 Aspects of Volunteering that Support Skills Development 27

2.7 Conclusions 30

17


2. Understanding the Skills Developedthrough Volunteering

2.1 Introduction

In this chapter we present the main analysis of thestudy and consider the extent to whichinvolvement in volunteering activities cancontribute to the development of specific skills andcompetencies. In addressing this issue, we alsoconsider a number of wider aspects of thevolunteering experience including:

� The motivations driving people to get involvedin volunteering

� The specific skills and competenciesdeveloped through the volunteeringexperience

� How different types of volunteering activity arebetter at developing certain types of skills andcompetencies

� Those aspects of the volunteering experiencewhich are most important in the skillsdevelopment process.

2.2 Existing Literature

While the current study aims to break new ground,it is important to recognise that there is a largebody of existing research relating to the skillsdevelopment process experienced by employeevolunteers. To date, much of this research hasfocused on three themes.

1. The motivations for individuals to volunteer. Thisresearch typically identifies a range of intrinsicmotives (e.g. satisfying the desire to givesomething back to society) and extrinsicmotives (e.g. gaining experience to boostcareer progression).

2. The process of competency developmentthrough employee volunteering. Much of thiswork identifies a similar set of competencieswhich are commonly developed throughvolunteering. In general, these tend to be‘people focused’ and include timemanagement skills, coaching skills,communication skills and leadership skills.

3. The business motives for supporting employeevolunteering programmes. This body ofliterature shows that the common businessbenefits associated with communityinvestment include risk management, brandreputation and improved staff morale andmotivation.

In each of these areas there is a wealth of existingresearch that provides solid evidence of the realreturns to the business and the individual of activeinvolvement in volunteering. In this section, weconsider the findings from some of the mostrelevant studies to answer three key questions.

1. Do employees develop skills andcompetencies through their volunteeringexperience?

2. If they do, which specific skills can bedeveloped through different volunteeringactivities?

3. What aspects of the volunteering experiencesupport the learning and developmentprocess?

2.2.1 Skills Development

The link between corporate supportedvolunteering and skills development is long-established. Research from the early 1990s, for example, shows that volunteering canassist in the development of valuable business skillsin employees. One such study from the USA foundthat employees who actively volunteer gainleadership traits regardless of the type of volunteer experience or profession they are in(Pidgeon, 1991).

More recent research from a variety of sourcesreinforces this link:

� According to one survey of businesses in theUSA, 60% of responding companies useemployee volunteering in developingemployee skills (Points of Light and AllstateFoundation, 2000).

� In a separate study, over 50% of corporateexecutives and CR managers interviewedbelieved that volunteering helps employeesbuild and/or enhance professional andleadership skills and abilities (LBG Associates,2004).

Such studies provide valuable evidence of thepotential value of volunteering in the skillsdevelopment process. However, none of thesestudies provide conclusive proof that thevolunteering experience is the direct factorcontributing to the acquisition of skills andcompetencies.

This criticism was reinforced in research undertakenby Peterson (2003) which suggested that manyexisting studies are not without bias. The problem is

18


that these studies report the perceptions andattitudes of those who have an interest in thevolunteering programmes – either the HumanResources or CSR managers who are responsiblefor the initiatives. The current research approachaddresses this criticism by examining directly theexperiences of the volunteers, and corroboratingthese findings with evidence from their linemanagers. These groups may have less of a vestedinterest in the success or otherwise of thevolunteering programmes.

The overwhelming evidence is that participation involunteering assignments can help employeesdevelop skills and competencies that are relevantto the business. Indeed, a recent survey by the SkillsEmployability Laboratory found that volunteering isincreasingly being linked to core business strategyin terms of up-skilling employees and boostingproductivity levels (Skills for Employability, 2008).

Other research has also found that organisationsare using volunteering to address businessobjectives, including providing an opportunity todevelop skills in employees. For example, a surveyfrom the USA by the Conference Board and Pointof Light Foundation (1993) found that:

� 31% of organisations used volunteering as partof their strategy to address critical businessissues

� Over 60% agreed that volunteering buildsteamwork skills in employees.

It is worth noting that this study is of particularrelevance to the current research as almost threequarters of programmes under considerationtargeted volunteering opportunities in theeducation sector.

Hence, at this general level, the research evidencesuggests that volunteering is becoming part ofmainstream corporate strategy and the links toskills development are increasingly being made.

2.2.2 Developing specific skills andcompetencies

Moving from these general findings, it is importantto consider which specific skills volunteeringassignments can help to develop. Researchundertaken via a national telephone survey of1,093 employed adults in the US by Deloitte (2005)shows that:

� 93% of those surveyed agreed that

volunteering offers the opportunity to enhanceleadership skills

� 89% agreed it helps enhance problem solvingskills

� 88% agreed it develops decision-making skills

� 82% agreed it helps enhance negotiating skills.

Another well-respected survey, commissioned bythe Chartered Management Institute in the UK(CMI, 2006), found that 60% of managers agreedor strongly agreed that international volunteeringassignments are an effective learning anddevelopment tool. More specifically, this researchsuggested that managers believe this type ofvolunteering can develop:

� Problem solving skills

� Communication skills

� Strategic understanding (e.g. in the educationsector by working as a trustee)

� Coaching skills

� Teaching and mentoring skills

� Networking skills

� Technical skills such as designing databasesand project management.

While this research examined the experience ofVSO business and management volunteers whocompleted overseas assignments, it neverthelesshas important lessons that are applicable tovolunteering assignments closer to home. In particular as discussed in section 2.3, the research provides valuable lessons on thedevelopment processes underpinned by thevolunteering experience.

A survey by the Institute of Volunteering Researchamong staff at Barclays Bank (IVR ResearchBulletin, 2005) found that managers saw thegreatest impacts on their staff in terms of increasedcommunication and leadership skills, with over 55%of managers reporting gains in both skills.

Again, the strength of these findings rests on therobust research methodology which includedfocus groups and interviews with both employeevolunteers and staff who had not volunteered.These findings were corroborated by evidencefrom Barclays’ managers and representatives fromthe placement organisations that helpedcoordinate the volunteering activities.

One final study is that undertaken in 1998 byCorporate Citizenship (Tuffrey, 1998). According to

19


the research reported in this study, the specificcompetencies which showed the mostdevelopmental gain were:


� Skills related to working together (e.g.collaboration, influencing and team work)

� Creative thinking.

Equally importantly, this study found thatemployee involvement is a flexible and effectivemethod in developing competencies as long asthe process itself is managed properly; suitableopportunities are identified and the outcomes areevaluated. This finding resonates strongly with theresults of the current study which shows theimportance of understanding two aspects of thevolunteering experience – both the motivations ofthe employee for undertaking the volunteeringassignment and whether the experience of thevolunteer is captured in a formal assessmentprocess after the event.

These aspects can have an important influence on the effectiveness of the learning process and are explored in more depth in section 2.3 ofthis chapter.

2.2.3The learning process through volunteering

As discussed, the research by the CMI providesuseful insight into those aspects of the volunteeringexperience that aid the learning anddevelopment process. Specifically, this studyfound that the following factors were important inhelping to develop new skills.

� Responsibility – the volunteering assignmentputs employees in a position of authority withaccountability for results.

� Communications – volunteers are required tointeract with all levels of management anddifferent types of people.

� Creativity – having to be resourceful and findways around problems.

The research highlights the fact that all three ofthese factors are not necessarily experienced bythe volunteer in their normal work role. Thesefindings mirror closely the results of the currentstudy, examined in section 2.6 of this chapter.

Similarly, a metastudy undertaken by the Point ofLight Foundation (2007) found that there are five

main factors that help ensure an employeevolunteer programme is successful at developingworkplace skills:

� A team based approach

� Effective support structures

� Adequate financial resources

� Robust evaluation procedures

� Full compliance with adult learner theory.

While most of these factors are self-explanatory,the last point merits further examination. It is worthconsidering what we can learn about thevolunteering experience from established modelsof adult learner theory, such as those developed inthe 1970’s by Malcolm Knowles who built on earliertheoretical work by John Dewey and Maslow. Thisbody of knowledge suggests there are several pre-conditions that are needed for optimal adultlearning. In broad terms, these are:

� Involvement in the planning and evaluation ofthe learning process

� Relevance of the content area to the job orone’s personal life

� Experiential activities

� Focus on problems rather than content.

Employee volunteering does not necessarily meetthe first two conditions, although it is not difficult todesign it so that is does. In particular, gettingvolunteers involved in the design and structure ofthe volunteering programme is straightforwardand can be very beneficial for the organisationitself.

In addition, ensuring the volunteering activity isrelated to the work that employees undertake isbecoming an increasingly standard feature ofmany employer supported volunteeringprogrammes. In this way, companies can maximisethe benefits to the individual, the business and thecharitable partner, by ensuring that the assignmentutilises workplace skills of relevance to all threeparties.

The final two conditions identified above arecertainly met by most skills-based volunteeringactivities. For example, the majority ofvolunteering, particularly in education, is practicaland experiential based; often providing anopportunity for volunteers to solve problems. Oneof the key lessons from this current study is theimportance of this experiential approach – insimple terms, learning by doing – in the skillsdevelopment process.

20


It is important to treat volunteering in the same waya company would treat any other learning anddevelopment processes. In other words,volunteering programmes should be given thesame care in design and evaluation of learningoutcomes as other corporate learning anddevelopment programmes.

2.3Motivations for Volunteering and theImpact on Job Performance

The main body of this chapter reports the findingsof the current study. The starting point for thisanalysis is the motivations for getting involved involunteering. The results show that the main driverfor participating in volunteering activities is thedesire to give something back to society. Thisshould come as no surprise given the nature ofvolunteering.

Respondents to this survey were however asked toprovide more than one motive for volunteering ifappropriate. As can be seen from Chart 1, twoother motives emerged as relatively strong drivers:

� The desire to do something different from one’snormal work role (cited by 37% of respondents)

� The opportunity to develop new skills – this wasconsidered to be an important factor by one infour of the volunteers.

This is a key finding in itself. It suggests that, eventhough the companies involved in the research donot currently make skills development an explicitcomponent of volunteering opportunities, asignificant minority of their employees who chooseto participate in these activities do so in order todevelop their skills and competencies.

21


0 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Encouraged to volunteer by colleague

Something different from usual day job

Meet new people

Give something back to society

Develop new skills

Chart 1The main motivation for volunteering

Respondents were also specifically asked if theskills and experience they had gained from theirvolunteering activity forms part of their formalappraisal process. The data show that 37% ofrespondents report that their volunteeringexperience has been or will be part of theirappraisal.

It is interesting to see how these two factors –whether a volunteer hopes to achieve skills gainfrom the start, and whether volunteering isrecognised in an employee’s appraisal – influencean employee’s assessment of whether or not thevolunteering experience has helped them performbetter in their job. The results are as follows:

� Across the sample of respondents as a whole,41% of respondents either agree or stronglyagree that the skills and experience gainedfrom their volunteering experience has helpedthem perform better in their job. A slightlysmaller proportion (35%) either disagrees orstrongly disagrees with this statement, while23% are neutral.

� In contrast, among those respondents who feltmotivated to volunteer to develop their skills,the proportion of those who agreed that theyare performing better in their job rises to 61%.

� In addition, among those whose volunteeringactivities are part of the appraisal process, 58%agree that this experience has helped themperform better in their job.

These findings suggest that the factors motivatingan individual’s or an organisation’s reasons toundertake or support volunteering can have animportant influence over perceptions of the valueof the experience to an employee’s work role.

Put simply, if people approach volunteering withthe aim of improving their skills, they are more likelyto report an improvement in their job performanceas a result of their participation.

In addition, if companies make the experiencesgained from volunteering a formal part of theappraisal process, employees are more likely toreport the positive impacts on job performance.

As highlighted by the case studies included in thisreport, those companies that make this link at theoutset of the volunteering assignments are moresuccessful in ensuring employees draw out thewider benefits of skills development.

2.4Developing Specific Skills and Competencies

The data in Table 2 shows the level of skillsdevelopment across the sample of respondents asa whole. As can be seen, the majority of volunteersreport skills development in the following areas thatcould be considered to be strongly related to theirindividual or personal effectiveness.

1. Communication skills (66% of respondentsasserted that their skills had undergone some development or significantdevelopment in this area)

2. Their ability to help others (65%)

3. Adaptability (54%)

4. Influencing / negotiating skills (45%).

5. Team working (43%)

6. Leadership skills (41%)

7. Willingness to continually improve (41%)

8. Planning and organisation (40%)

9. Decision making (39%)

10. Problem solving (39%)

11. Ability to build relationships and networks(39%).

Finally, it is evident that there are three areas ofskills or competencies that only a small minority ofrespondents believe can be developed throughvolunteering. These are technical or professionalskills; business awareness; and financial skills.

Cross referencing these results with thedemographic information outlined in Chapter 1, itappears that factors such as age, gender and theindividual’s seniority within the company do notstrongly influence the results. In the same way,whether the individual has previous experience ofvolunteering or not has very little influence on theskills they gain from taking part in the specificactivity they are currently involved in.

However, there is one variable that does have apositive influence on the process of skillsdevelopment. Across the board, among thoseresponding for whom volunteering is part of theappraisal process, proportionately more reportthat they have developed the skills andcompetencies identified.

This positive correlation reinforces the findings insection 2.3 suggesting that companies whichcreate a more formal link between volunteering

22


and mainstream HR practices reap the rewards asmore employees report seeing significantdevelopment in the skills they gain throughvolunteering assignments.

2.5Skills Development and Type of Volunteering

As we saw in Chapter 1, respondents to this surveywere involved in a range of different volunteeringassignments related to educational initiatives. Thetop five most common volunteering experiences indescending order were:

� Reading, language or number partners (38% of respondents were involved in this typeof volunteering activity)

� Student mentoring (17%)

� Enterprise workshops (11%)

� Supporting an education-related charity (10%)

� School governorship (9%).

In this section we consider the extent to whichthese different types of volunteering activity areeffective in developing specific skills andcompetencies. A summary of this analysis isprovided in a series of five tables in Appendix Ewhich give an overview of the skills developedthrough each of these different activities.

2.5.1 Reading, language or number partners

This type of scheme essentially involves volunteersworking with individual pupils in schools to helpthem develop their confidence and abilities ineither reading, languages or mathematics.Reading, language or number partner programmeinvolve anything from 30 minutes to one hourclassroom contact time per week. In addition,volunteers spend anything from 30 minutes to 2 hours in travel time to and from the school.Typically these programmes last for 10 to 12 weeks(per term).

23


Table 2Skills developed through volunteering

No difference A little Some

development

Significant

development

Not relevant to

this activity

Response

Count

Adaptability; being effective

in different surroundings 14.8% 27.4% 42.0% 11.6% 4.2% 526

Team working skills 25.7% 24.8% 32.6% 10.3% 6.7% 525

Communication skills 9.5% 21.9% 47.4% 18.9% 2.3% 525

Influencing & negotiation skills 24.4% 23.2% 32.8% 12.6% 7.0% 525

Problem solving skills 30.2% 23.2% 29.3% 9.3% 8.0% 526

Leadership skills 27.9% 22.2% 30.6% 10.6% 8.7% 527

Planning & organisation skills 30.0% 23.4% 29.3% 11.0% 6.3% 526

Decision making and

exercising judgement 29.6% 24.2% 29.8% 8.8% 7.6% 524

Helping others improve 13.1% 17.9% 39.2% 25.3% 4.6% 526

Financial skills 54.9% 8.6% 8.4% 2.1% 26.0% 526

Building relationships

and networks 23.5% 27.1% 29.8% 8.7% 10.8% 527

Willingness to continually

improve 24.4% 26.7% 31.4% 9.9% 7.6% 525

Business awareness 45.2% 15.7% 13.1% 2.5% 23.5% 527

Technical / professional skills 46.1% 14.5% 15.8% 3.0% 20.6% 525

A detailed analysis of the data shows that overallthis form of volunteering is appropriate todeveloping many of the skills and competenciesunder consideration in this research study. Inparticular, respondents report that they found thistype of volunteering activity was helpful indeveloping skills in two areas: communications;and influencing and negotiating. The followingquotes illustrate the type of developmentexperienced by these volunteers.

“The skill that I have used the most isinfluencing. It is very important to influencemy reading partner in a positive way of thebenefits of reading.”

“Communicating with a very differentaudience to those in a work context.”

“The Reading Partners scheme helps me tobe organised as I need to take time out ofmy week to prepare and attend once aweek during lunchtime. It challenges me tobe creative and gives me skills to deal withsituations that are new and oftenchallenging.”

Finally, despite this positive feedback of thedevelopment to be gained through participationin this type of volunteering activity, it is important tounderstand the limitations. In particular, a third ofvolunteers in this area reported they had notdeveloped team working skills as a result of theiractivities – perhaps not surprising given the one-to-one nature of the partnerships.

2.5.2 Student mentoring

Student mentoring is similar to a partnersprogramme in that it requires the volunteer to workwith an individual student to help in theiracademic development. What distinguishes amentoring programme is that it goes beyondproviding help in one narrow area to encompassbroader aspects of attendance, application andattainment of the pupil. As with any othermentoring relationship, the exact nature of thehelp and advice provided is determined jointly bythe student and the mentor.

A student mentoring programme can involveanything from two hours a month to two hours perweek. For example, a particularly intensivementoring programme working with a youth at riskin a leadership programme could take up to 40hours a year.

As we saw with the partners’ programmes,volunteering in a mentoring role is helpful in

developing many of the skills and competenciesoutlined in Table 2. However, proportionately morevolunteers involved in mentoring programmesreported skills gain in the following four areas:

� Adaptability and being effective in differentsurroundings (62% of mentors experiencedsome or significant skills development in thisarea, compared with 54% of the total sample).

� Influencing and negotiation skills (53% ofmentors reported skills gains in this area,compared with 45% of the total sample).

� Decision making and exercising judgement(47% of mentors reported skills gains in this area,compared with 39% of the total sample).

� Developing skills and ability to help othersimprove; and guide and evaluate theirperformance (79% of volunteer mentorsreported skills gains in this area, compared with64% of the total sample).

The observations of volunteers involved inmentoring schemes point to the benefits of thisactivity in terms of skills development.

“Gaining coaching skills and experience.”

“Planning and organising sessionsbeforehand prior to meetings with mystudent. Understanding the confidentialityis vital and will help in future formanagement roles. It improvedcommunication at all levels.”

“Working with teenagers you have to be firmbut also communicate in a way that relatesto them so it helped me understand theirperspective as well as my communicationskills.”

“Better at evaluating and carrying outappraisals.”

“Communication, networking and buildingrelationships are probably the most skills Ihave developed.”

Finally, it is worth noting that 99% of volunteersinvolved in a mentoring programme reported thattheir experience had increased theirunderstanding of and empathy with other people.

24


2.5.3Enterprise workshops

This type of volunteering activity supportsprogrammes such as Young Enterprise which aredelivered to schools and colleges across thecountry. The schemes aim to offer studentsexperience and insight into business and the worldof work. One of the principle activities is supportingstudents to work together to manage their owncompany.

Running enterprise workshops involves thevolunteers working with teachers to design anddeliver session which help students in all aspects ofthe scheme – including areas such as businessplanning, presentation skills and developing ideasto produce and sell products and services. Theamount of time volunteers spend organisingenterprise workshops varies greatly. Amongrespondents, the average time spent was threehours per session, with volunteers typically helpingto organise four or five sessions per term.

Volunteers who have participated in the planningand delivery of enterprise workshops reportedsome or significant gains in skills and competenciesacross all the areas under consideration by thisresearch. Indeed, in terms of reported skillsdevelopment, this activity proved to be one of themost effective types of volunteering assignment.Respondents particularly highlight skillsdevelopment in the following areas.

� Adaptability and being effective in differentsurroundings (72% of volunteers helping withenterprise workshops experienced some orsignificant skills development in this area,compared with 54% of the total sample).

� Team working skills (55% of volunteers onenterprise workshops report skills gains in thisarea, compared with 43% of the total sample).

� Communication skills (75% of volunteers onenterprise workshops report skills gains in thisarea, compared with 66% of the total sample).

� Influencing and negotiation skills (54% ofvolunteers on enterprise workshops report skillsgains in this area, compared with 45% of thetotal sample).

� Leadership skills (58% of volunteers onenterprise workshops report skills gains in thisarea, compared with 41% of the total sample).

� Planning and organisation skills (51% ofvolunteers on enterprise workshops report skillsgains in this area, compared with 40% of thetotal sample).

� Building relationships and networks (51% ofvolunteers on enterprise workshops report skillsgains in this area, compared with 38% of thetotal sample).

� Willingness to continually improve (52% ofvolunteers on enterprise workshops report skillsgains in this area, compared with 41% of thetotal sample).

� And finally, this area was one of the mosteffective in developing business awareness,with 23% of volunteers in enterprise workshopsreporting a skills gain in this area, comparedwith only 16% of the total sample.

Some of the quotes provided by respondents ontheir experience of enterprise workshops explainwhy this is such an effective method of skillsdevelopment for the volunteers.

“Working with younger people gave me thechance to test my leadership andinterpersonal skills in a non-workenvironment; this challenged me greatlyand improved me. Also listening to theexperiences of others who have beenthrough very challenging experiences wasinspiring and eye opening.”

“Working with students is challenging inmany ways and requires that you hone theskills mentioned in this questionnaire toensure that they get the maximum out ofthe sessions, whilst you grow at the sametime. By their questioning you, challengingestablished ideas and offering new insightseveryone gains. The volunteeringexperience for me has been an amazingtwo way growth experience.”

“Working with 11-16 year olds certainly helpsimprove your communication skills andgeneral confidence levels. Also, thestudents normally have to work in groupswith you as a business facilitator. You needto be a good team player and also goodat leading teams to get the most of thegroups.”

“Presenting in front of 30 teenagerssharpens your presentation skills andimproved my ability to interact withpeople.”

25


2.5.4 Supporting an education related charity

This heading encompasses a range of differentways in which companies can assist organisationsin the education sector with the skills, experienceand knowledge of their volunteers. For somebusinesses it will include providing pro bonoprofessional services such as legal advice,marketing expertise or help with financialmanagement. In other cases it involves more“hands on” support such as working with the BritishMuseum to organise educational initiatives. Again,there is a great difference in the amount of timevolunteers spend on this type of activity rangingfrom two to three hours per month to regularweekly assignments.

Volunteers involved in this type of activity reportedthat it was particularly helpful in developing skills inthree areas, as outlined below.

� Team working skills (52% of volunteers workingwith educational charities reported skills gainsin this area, compared with 43% of the totalsample).

� Building relationships and networks (47% ofvolunteers reported skills gains in this area,compared with 38% of the total sample).

� Financial skills (20% of volunteers, comparedwith 10% of the total sample working witheducational charities).

Perhaps most importantly, this was seen to beamong the most helpful type of volunteeringactivity for developing financial skills such asplanning budgets. Proportionately twice as many respondents who volunteered foreducational charities reported that they haddeveloped skills in this area, reflecting the natureof this type of volunteering assignment. It wassecond only to school governorships fordeveloping skills in this area.

2.5.5School governors

Taking on the role of a school governor is in some respects the most challenging volunteeringactivity considered in this research study. Those inthis role are expected to make importantcollective decisions about the running of theschool. As members of the school’s governingbody, governors are expected to provide strategic management advice, offer challengeand support to the school’s management

team and ensure accountability of decisions.

Acting as a school governor can be the most timeintensive activity depending upon the precise roleof the volunteer. Respondents to this surveyreported spending up to one day per month inundertaking the duties of a governor, although notall respondents devoted as much time as this. The average amount of time among the 50 respondents was six days per year.

The School Governors’ One-Stop Shop6 describesthe responsibilities of a governor as follows:

� Promoting high standards of education andachievement

� Planning the school’s long-term future

� Setting the school’s aims and values

� Appointing senior staff including the HeadTeacher

� Budgetary allocation and control.

Volunteers who are school governors clearly valuethe opportunities this role offers for developing theirskills and competencies. Respondents particularlyhighlight their development in the following areas.

� Team working skills (71% of school governorvolunteers reported skills gains in this area,compared with 43% of the total sample).

� Influencing and negotiation skills (67% of schoolgovernor volunteers reported skills gains in thisarea, compared with 45% of the total sample).

� Problem solving skills (55% of school governorvolunteers reported skills gains in this area,compared with 39% of the total sample).

� Decision making skills and exercisingjudgement (53% of school governor volunteers,compared with 39% of the total sample).

� Developing financial skills such as planningbudgets (39% of school governor volunteersreported skills gains in this area, compared with10% of the total sample).

� Business awareness (33% of school governorvolunteers reported skills gains in this area,compared with 16% of the total sample).

� And finally, this area was the most effective indeveloping technical and professional skillswith 33% of school governor volunteersreporting a skills gain in this area, comparedwith only 19% of the total sample.

Looking at the responsibilities of a school governorit should come as no surprise that volunteers in this

26


6 A charity whichrecruits volunteers tobecome governors inschools acrossEngland.www.sgoss.org.uk

http://www.sgoss.org.uk

role are reporting significant gains in their skills andcompetencies in these areas. This positive linkbetween volunteering and skills development inthese business related areas is reinforced byquotes from volunteers about the schoolgovernors’ experience.

“I was elected vice chair of the financecommittee, which helped build myconfidence in meetings when talking tosenior management and has helped mebecome more of a team member.”

“I gained exposure to a different way ofdoing things – giving me experience inmanaging people and problems in adifferent arena where skills can betransferred across and a differentapproach taken.”

“I became the Vice Chair of the financecommittee which was very important tome to develop that side of my businessacumen. I also am involved in thedevelopment of the Head Teacher andparticipate in their review, which is buildingpeople management skills I didn’t possess.”

2.5.6 Summary of skills development

The findings from this analysis can be summarisedas follows (see also Table 3 at the end of thisChapter for a visual summary of this information).

All of the five volunteering opportunities exploredin this Chapter show a development in skills.

� The most popular type of volunteering –involvement in reading, language or numberpartner schemes – is useful for developing awide range of skills and competencies. Inparticular, proportionately more volunteersreport developing their communication,influencing and negotiation skills.

� Acting as a student mentor is also a good wayof developing a wide range of skills. Four out offive volunteers report that this one-to-oneactivity is especially helpful in developing theirskills and abilities to coach people, and helpingthem to improve by guiding and developingtheir performance.

� Getting employees involved in helping schoolsrun enterprise workshops is a highly effectiveway of developing business relevant skills.Volunteers undertaking this activity reportsignificant development across a number ofareas – particularly leadership, adaptability,

team working and building relationships andnetworks. In addition, this is one of the mosteffective ways of helping employees toincrease their business awareness.

� Volunteers who supported educationalcharities reported that this activity wasparticularly helpful in developing team workingskills and the ability to build relationships andnetworks.

� Finally, volunteering as a school governorprovides significant opportunities for skillsdevelopment, particularly in team working,influencing and negotiation skills. In addition,this type of volunteering activity is extremelyuseful for developing hard business skillsincluding financial skills such as planningbudgets, business awareness and indeveloping technical and professional skills.

In summary, companies wishing to usevolunteering activities to support and encouragethe development of skills and competenciesamong their workforce need to look carefully atthe volunteering opportunities they offer.

There will always be important “trade-offs” thatneed to be taken into consideration. For example,some activities, such as a reading partnersprogramme, are less time intensive, easier toorganise and perhaps more appealing toemployees. Other activities such as a schoolgovernorship role are more challenging andrequire more commitment from employees.

However, the evidence here makes clear thatalongside these types of considerations, differentvolunteering activities have the potential to offergreater or lesser opportunities for skillsdevelopment. It is up to the company to decidehow it balances the different requirements of itsvolunteering programme to maximise the benefitsto its employees, its partners in the educationsystem and the business itself.

2.6Aspects of Volunteering that Support Skills Development

Having shown that participation in volunteeringoffers significant opportunities to develop a rangeof skills and competencies, in this section we go onto explore what is it about the volunteeringexperience that helps the skills developmentprocess? Respondents were invited to reply to thisopen-ended question which generated over 160responses which were analysed to identify theissues and draw out common themes. It is clear

27


that there are four major factors that are stronglyinfluential in the skills development process. Indescending order of importance these are:

� Being exposed to a new environment

� Having the opportunity to interact with a widergroup of people

� Being required to take on a leadership role

� Developing empathy and understanding.

2.6.1Exposure to a new environment

Many respondents cited this aspect as beinghighly influential in the skills development process.For some, this was simply the opportunity todevelop new skills and competencies byundertaking activities that are not available in theirnormal working role. The following quotes aretypical of many that highlighted this aspect of thelearning process.

“Working with younger people gave me thechance to test my leadership andinterpersonal skills in a non workenvironment, which challenged me greatlyand improved me.”

“Volunteering gave me the opportunity todevelop skills by undertaking activities thatwere not available in the work context, oronly available in a limited way.”

For others, being thrown into a new environmentmeant they had to establish relations with andbuild trust among a new group of people –whether they were the students or teachers. Thisprocess was cited as an important aspect indeveloping their skills and competencies.

“Having to continually appraise and adaptto situations that are outside of my normalday to day job putting me outside my"comfort zone". These situations forced meto develop these skills more than otherwisethey would have been.”

“The reading scheme required me to adaptmy skills in a completely differentenvironment and was an insightfulexperience.”

“Being in a different situation to that which isnormal in my day to day job. This newenvironment allows you to develop certainskills.”

Finally there were those who found the biggestchallenge – and so the biggest learning point –was interacting with the pupils and studentsthemselves. For these people, the volunteeringrequired them to make meaningful connections ina different way; encouraging the development ofnew approaches to and styles of communication.

“It is a totally different set of requirementsinfluencing an 8 year old boy and helpinghim rather than helping an adult, most ofwho are already confident roundedindividuals.”

“My communication and influencing skillsimproved as I had the different experienceof trying to establish trust with childrenrather than adults.”

“Having to interact with children who arenot always well-behaved is a good test formy patience and problem-solving.”

2.6.2 Interacting with a wider group of people

The second most frequently cited learning pointwas the opportunity that volunteering gives forworking with new people. In some cases this isrelated to the benefits afforded by workingalongside colleagues from the volunteer’s owncompany who they would not normally work with.

“Going to a school once a week withcolleagues from other departments that Idon’t work with allowed me to meet newstaff and learn about other roles.”

“Through the volunteering I did a lot ofnetworking which has helped me progressinto my current role of coordinatingnetworks within the bank.”

For others, the learning came from workingalongside new teams of people in the organisationwhere they were volunteering.

“Interacting with a wider circle of peopleand learning from others and thechallenges they face.”

“Volunteering gave me the experience ofworking with people from another social,educational and professional sphere.”

28


2.6.3Taking a leadership role

For a significant minority of respondents theirvolunteering experience allowed them to take ona leadership role. For some, this was the first timethey had been offered such an opportunity; forothers it allowed them to develop their leadershipskills in a new setting.

“Volunteering gave me the opportunity towork within a team of people that weresenior to myself and showed me that I didhave all the abilities and skills required; andmore in some cases!! I learnt how to applyand assert them – and have theconfidence to become a team leader in asafe environment which built andincreased my self confidence no end.”

“As someone who does not normally like totake the lead I found that the volunteeringexperience helped me develop myinteracting skills and become moreconfident when working with others. I feltmore inclined to put my views and opinionsforward with the rest of the group ofvolunteers when I was personally involvedwith the process and mentoring activities.The more you interact with others helpsyour confidence to grow.”

“Being in a different environment, out of mycomfort zone. Meeting new people in anon-structured environment where I had totake initiative myself and had opportunityto develop my leadership style.”

2.6.4 Empathy and understanding

Finally, a significant minority of respondentssuggested that the most important aspect of thelearning gained from volunteering is the need torelate to people in very different circumstances toone’s own. To a certain extent, such responses arerelated to the process of coaching and mentoringskills development we identified in Section 2.6.

However, many respondents went further andsuggested the challenge of working with youngpeople required the development of a verydifferent approach to managing, leading andengaging with people – something which they areable to apply back in the workplace.

“I had to gain the trust and interest of agroup of relatively underprivileged childrenof varied ethnic and social backgrounds.

This required me to gain some empathy,adjust the tenor of my ‘mentorin’ to gainengagement and willingness toparticipate. It also required me to developpatience with participants who were lessable and also to build some motivation skillsto keep the children’s attention andexcitement. These skills do read across intonormal business life.”

“The experience taught me how to adapt ina multi-cultural group and highlighted thedifferent social backgrounds in our localcommunities that we must all try and giveto however we can.”

“Entering the alien environment of a schoolwas quite a challenge (it’s been a longtime since I attended!). I had to liaise with avariety of pupils and staff of differing levelsand understand their issues andchallenges. I am a better listener as a resultand definitely have a greater appreciationfor different cultures to my own. Thisdefinitely assists in my day to day workinglife.”

2.6.5Summary of the learning process

We have seen that respondents highlighted fourspecific aspects of their volunteering experiencesthat have helped them to develop and learn skillsand transfer them back into the workplace. Theserelate to operating in a new environment;interacting with different people; having theopportunity to take on a leadership role; and theneed to develop empathy and understanding.

It is clear that there is a certain degree of overlapbetween these four areas. All four relate to the factthat volunteering requires individuals to stepoutside their normal working role and buildrelations with people who perhaps have a verydifferent “world view” from their own.

The strong message from the individuals who havedirect experience of volunteering is that thesechallenges provide a powerful impetus to thelearning process. Skills and competencies that areacquired and honed through working in a newand different environment are more readilyassimilated and seem to be more easily transferredback into the workplace.

This finding resonates with theories of learning thatwere briefly explored in section 2.3 of this chapter.The qualitative comments of respondents supportthe fact that volunteering is a valuable experientiallearning process. It allows the volunteer to develop

29


skills, adopt new approaches and experiment withnew management styles.

However, as previously discussed that for agenuine learning experience to occur, thevolunteer does need to have the opportunity toreflect on the learning and have the properanalytical skills to apply their experience. This againplaces a responsibility on the employingorganisation to integrate the volunteeringprogramme into mainstream HR processes ofappraisal and development in order to derive themaximum benefit from the experience.

In summary, those involved in this researchreinforce the message that volunteering can be apowerful experiential development process thatallows the individual to learn and develop skills andcompetencies. It differs strongly from traditionalapproaches to classroom-based managementeducation that focuses more on teaching ratherthan learning.

2.7Conclusions

This chapter has examined the skills andcompetencies that are developed throughvolunteering activities. The key findings are:

1.The majority of the 546 respondents to this surveyreported that volunteering has developed at leastsome of their skills and competencies across abroad range of business relevant areas. Thespecific competencies that are most frequentlydeveloped by all types of volunteeringassignments are strongly related to an individual’spersonal effectiveness. These are:


� Ability to help others

� Adaptability

� Influencing and negotiating skills.

2.It is very clear that different types of volunteeringactivities are better suited to developing particularskills and competencies. Some of the keyobservations are as follows:

Student mentoring is particularly helpful indeveloping the volunteer’s skills and abilities incoaching and helping others to improve byguiding and developing their performance.

Evidence from those who have participated inrunning enterprise workshops reveals significantskills development across a number of areas –particularly leadership, adaptability, team workingand building relationships and networks.

The role of school governor is perhaps the mostchallenging volunteering activity considered in thisresearch study and the one which delivers verysignificant skills gains. Respondents particularlyhighlight their development in team working,influencing and negotiation skills. In addition, thistype of volunteering activity is extremely useful fordeveloping hard business skills including financialskills such as planning budgets; businessawareness; and in developing technical andprofessional skills.

The most common volunteering activity, reading,language and number partnering, was particularlyhelpful in developing many of the skills andcompetencies studied here and particularlyhelpful in developing skills in the area ofcommunication and influencing and negotiating.

Supporting an education-related charity wasparticularly helpful in developing team workingskills, building relationships and networks, andfinancial skills.

3.Companies need to think carefully about theirrationale for supporting employee volunteers. A balance needs to be struck between supportingvolunteering programmes that deliver real socialbenefits, are attractive and engaging foremployees, and offer returns to the business itself.

When skills development is a key consideration forcompanies, the evidence from this researchclearly demonstrates which type of volunteeringactivities are best suited to the development ofspecific competencies. These findings aresummarised in Table 3 at the end of this chapter.

4.There are distinctive features of the learningprocess associated with the volunteeringassignment that sets it apart from more traditionalapproaches to training and development.Volunteering often requires employees to stepoutside their normal working role and buildrelations with people who may have a verydifferent world view from their own. Respondentsreport that moving outside their “comfort zone” inthis way is extremely useful in both developing theirskills and transferring these skills back into theworkplace. The results confirm that volunteering isa valuable experiential learning process that

30


allows the volunteer to develop skills, adopt newapproaches and experiment with newmanagement styles.

5.The motives behind an individual’s decision toundertake volunteering have an important impacton the benefits they perceive to get from theexperience. Among the significant minority (25%) ofthose who seek to develop new skills throughvolunteering, almost two thirds believe they areperforming better in their job as a result of theirinvolvement.

6.In a similar way, among those whose volunteeringactivities are part of the appraisal process, themajority (58%) agree that the experience has

helped them perform better in their job. Inaddition, for this group, proportionately morereport that they have developed the skills andcompetencies considered by the research.

7.These findings reinforce the importance ofintegrating volunteering activities into mainstreamHR processes of appraisal and development.Companies that make serious efforts to use thevolunteering activities to develop the skills andcompetencies of their employees reap realbenefits from so doing.

31


Adaptability � � � � �

Teamworking – � � � �

Communication � � � � �

Influencing negotiation � � � � �

Problem solving � � � � �

Leadership � � � � �

Planning & organisation � � � � �

Decision making � � � � �

Helping others improve � � � � �

Financial skills – – – � �

Building relationships � � � � �

Willingness to improve � � � � �

Business awareness – – � – �

Technical / professional skills – – – – �

Table 3Developing skills through different volunteering activities

Reading, language

or number partners

Student

mentoring

Enterprise

workshops

Supporting

an education

charity

School

governor

� Very effective in developing this skill/competence

� Useful for developing this skill/competence

– Less effective in developing this skill/competence

32


3.1 Introduction 34


3.3 Impact on Career Development 34

3.4 The Personal Impact of the Volunteering Experience 35

3.5 Additional Benefits of Volunteering 36

3.6 Conclusions 37

33


3.The Wider Personal Benefits of Volunteering

3.1Introduction

In this chapter we turn to the wider benefits of thevolunteering. Specifically:

� The impact of the volunteering experience oncareer development

� The personal impact in terms of improved selfconfidence, well being and job satisfaction

� Broader personal benefits associated with volunteering.

Before presenting the findings of our analysis, it isworth considering briefly what previous researchstudies have to say on these issues.

3.2Existing Literature

While employees volunteer for a variety of reasons,career development can be cited as an importantfactor. According to a Home Office survey7 23% ofemployees who volunteered listed the opportunityto ‘experience career benefits’ as an incentive toparticipate. This finding is in line with the results ofthis research reported in section 3.3.

Interestingly, the research evidence from Americasuggests that more employees see careerdevelopment benefits in volunteering. Accordingto a Deloitte Volunteer IMPACT Survey referred topreviously 86% of the 1,093 employees surveyedbelieve that volunteering can have a positiveimpact on their careers.

Employers too agree that volunteering canenhance the career prospects of their staff. Thereis strong research evidence from the USA whichsuggests that carefully selected volunteeringopportunities can accelerate employees’ routesto managerial roles in organisations asvolunteering can be both a training ground and aproving ground for employees wishing to developtheir careers (Pidgeon, 1998).

Much of the research shows that, as well asenhancing career prospects, the experience ofvolunteering often positively changes participants’perspectives about their job and the companythey work for. Although employees’ generalattitudes about volunteering are not the focus ofthis research, it is worth mentioning these briefly, asthey can translate into business benefits throughimproved morale, motivation and retention.

For example, research undertaken by MORI in 2003found that 60% of employees involved inemployee volunteering felt more positive abouttheir employer, and 45% stated that theirmotivation and likelihood of staying are increased.

These findings are replicated by researchundertaken in the USA which shows that whenemployees feel good about volunteering, they feelgood about the company they work for. In onesurvey (Points of Light / LBG Associates, 2000) 94% of companies surveyed believed employeevolunteering provides a way to raise employeemorale.

In addition, a study undertaken by the Council onFoundations and Walker Information in 1996 foundthat employees involved in employer-sponsoredcommunity events are 30% more likely to want tocontinue working for that company and help it bea success.

More broadly, there is research evidence thatsuggests successful volunteering programmes canhelp in recruitment and retention:

� Nearly three out of four executives and CRmanagers interviewed in one study believedthat a corporate volunteer programmesignificantly impacts a company’s ability torecruit and retain talented employees andenhance the company’s image as an“employer of choice” (LBG Associates, 2004).

� An employee benchmark survey found that70% of employees with a favourableperception of their company’s communitycommitments planned to stay at thatcompany for the next two years, comparedwith 50% of those with a less favourableperception (Walker Information, 2003).

TThe following sections consider the findings fromthe current research.

3.3Impact on Career Development

Respondents were asked whether the skills andexperiences gained through the volunteeringmade them better able to apply for more seniorpositions. As the data in Table 4 shows, only aquarter (24%) agreed that volunteering is helpfulfor career development.

However, it is worth noting that among the groupof respondents who have their volunteeringexperience assessed as part of their appraisal

34


7 Home Office survey of10,015 people in 2001.

process, the proportion who agree that they arebetter able to apply for more senior positions risesto 42%. This reinforces the point made in Chapter 2of the additional value of linking volunteeringactivity to the formal processes of assessment andcareer management within companies.

3.4The Personal Impact of the Volunteering Experience

In addition to the development of skills andcompetencies, volunteering also has the potentialto improve the personal development of theindividual. For the vast majority of respondents tothis survey, it is clear that the overall experiencewas positive, as reflected in Table 5.

These positive responses present a powerfulargument for businesses to support theiremployees in volunteering activities. As a result of their experience, the vast majority ofrespondents report:

� More pride in the business (74% of respondentsagree or strongly agree)

� Increased motivation (73%)

� Higher job satisfaction (69%)

� Greater commitment to the company (66%).

In addition, not only do the volunteers suggest thattheir experience was positive, they are alsooverwhelmingly more likely to:

� Undertake more volunteering in the future

� Recommend volunteering to a colleague

� Talk positively about their company as a resultof their volunteering.

It should be noted that these positive benefits areattributable across the board in the sense that theyapply to all the different volunteering activitiesrespondents are involved in.

35


Make me better able to

apply for more senior positions 5.5% 42.4% 21.1% 3.0% 27.9% 526

Table 4Volunteering and career development

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Agree Strongly

agree

Not

applicable

Response

Count

The skills and experience gained

from the volunteering activity

Self confidence 1.7% 10.3% 66.3% 12.9% 8.7% 526

Sense of well being / happiness 0.6% 4.2% 56.7% 34.6% 4.0% 526

Understanding of and empathy

with others 0.8% 2.9% 59.3% 35.4% 1.7% 526

Awareness of wider social issues 1.0% 3.0% 48.3% 45.4% 2.3% 526

Job satisfaction 2.1% 12.9% 50.7% 18.0% 16.3% 527

Pride in the company 1.1% 9.4% 50.4% 23.5% 15.6% 524

Commitment to the company 2.1% 16.0% 48.1% 17.9%) 16.0% 526

Motivation 1.9% 13.2% 53.7% 19.7% 11.5% 523

Table 5The personal impact of volunteering

The volunteering activity

improved / increased my...

Strongly

disagree


agree

Not

applicable

Response

Count

Finally, it is worth recording that for 35% ofrespondents, this was their first experience ofvolunteering. For this group, the overall experiencewas also positive and there were no significantdifferences between the responses of people whowere new to volunteering and those who hadvolunteered before.

These results indicate that our sample of volunteerswere generally positive about volunteering. Wehave no way to tell whether those who did notrespond to our survey were less positive.Nonetheless, the research demonstrates clearpotential benefits from volunteering and thepattern of selective skills development shown inchapter 2 suggests a good degree of discernmentand realism from the respondents.

3.5Additional Benefits of Volunteering

In this final section, we consider some of theadditional benefits of the volunteering experienceby analysing the qualitative responses to the openended question – have you benefited in any otherway from the volunteering activity?

It is possible to identify three broad areas in whichvolunteers feel they have benefited. These arelisted in descending order reflecting the frequencywith which they were mentioned. Each of these isconsidered in turn:

� Increased motivation

� Improved networking

� Intrinsic rewards

3.5.1 Increased motivation

As we saw in section 2.2, much of the existingresearch on the benefits of volunteering highlightsthe increased morale and motivation reported bythose involved. While this was not a focus of thestudy, many respondents used the open endedquestion to speak about how their engagement involunteering increases their loyalty towards andappreciation of the company they work for. Thefollowing quotes are typical of many others.

“Only a few of the top companies do thissort of thing. With my skills I could work forany company, but I would choose one thatran this sort of programme. It sets [THECOMPANY] apart in the communities as acompany that is doing their bit for society.”

“Personal fulfilment and satisfaction with myjob and the company.”

“It’s given me greater pride in myemployer.”

3.5.2 Improved networking

As we saw in Chapter 2, volunteering assignmentsoften involve mixing with new groups of people,inside and outside the employee’s company. Thisaspect was highlighted by many as one of thebenefits of involvement.

“Networking and meeting like-mindedcolleagues in the bank that I may not havemet otherwise.”

“Volunteering increased internal networkingopportunities for me.”

“I saw skilled professionals from other partsof the business I would otherwise not havemet or had the chance to talk to.”

“I had the opportunity to network and buildrelationships with many other peopleoutside of my normal work environment –which in turn has lead to otheropportunities and events which I havebeen invited to and enjoyed greatly.”

3.5.3 Intrinsic value

One of the big benefits of volunteering highlightedby respondents was the opportunity it gives to dosomething worthwhile that is of real benefit toother people. This was mentioned time and againby respondents as the following quotes illustrate.

“It gave me a sense of well being,contributing actively towards a socialcause.”

“I value the personal happiness in givingback to society.”

“There is a personal sense of achievementand good feeling I have made adifference.”

In addition, it is important to recognise that it is notjust the individual who benefits from the intrinsicvalue of helping others. Several respondentsreported that this “feel good factor” transferspositively into the workplace.

36


“No matter how bad a day you are having,once you have visited the school youcome back much happier and can have amore productive afternoon’s work.”

3.6Conclusions

In this chapter we have considered some of thewider benefits reported by volunteers. The positivepattern of results sheds light on other aspects ofvolunteering programmes that may benefitemployer and employee, supported by previousresearch.

Previous research highlights the benefits to theindividual of involvement in volunteering in terms ofcareer development. While some respondents tothis survey reported this as a benefit, this was notthe case for the majority. In contrast, the majorityof respondents reported that their experience ofvolunteering made them feel more positive acrossa range of measures including:

� Self confidence

� A sense of well being / happiness

� Understanding of and empathy with others

� Awareness of wider social issues

� Job satisfaction

� Pride in and commitment to the company

� Motivation.

In addition, volunteers stated that they gaingreatly from the opportunity to do somethingmeaningful that helps others; and that through thisexperience they feel better about themselves andabout the organisation they work for.

While the main focus of this research is on the skillsdeveloped through volunteering, it is veryimportant that these wider gains are not forgottenor discounted. There is a large body of research8 inthe HR field that shows there is a strong correlationbetween employee satisfaction and workbehaviours such as absenteeism, turnover and jobperformance. This current study does not attemptto explore in any depth the nature of theserelationships. However, the fact that a largeproportion of volunteers report improved moraleas a result of their activities is likely to have apositive impact on their work role.

These findings highlight that a well managedvolunteering programme can bring multiplebenefits to the business and to the individualemployee. In Chapter 2 we saw the volunteeringexperience is valuable in developing a series ofbusiness relevant skills and competencies. In thisChapter we have seen that volunteeringadditionally brings tangible gains in terms ofincreased job satisfaction, motivation andcommitment to the company. Whilst it would beextremely difficult to quantify the value of thesebenefits for an employer, they should be kept inmind when considering the costs and benefits ofrunning a volunteering programme.

It would be an extremely complex task to assign afinancial value to these “softer” benefitsassociated with the volunteering experience thathave been discussed in this chapter. However, it isvital that these positive returns are taken intoaccount when we consider the costs and benefitsof organising a volunteering programme.

We return to this issue in Chapter 5 when weconsider in more depth the relative costs ofrunning a volunteering programme with othermore traditional approaches to training anddevelopment.

37


8 Judge, T. A., Thoresen,C. J., Bono, J. E., &Patton, G. K. (2001).The job satisfaction-jobperformancerelationship: A qualitative andquantitative review.Psychological Bulletin,127(3),

38


39


4.1 Introduction 40

4.2 Line Managers’ Overall Impressions 40

4.3 Assessing Skills Before and After Volunteering 42

4.4 Conclusions 44

4. Corroborating the Skills Gain

4.1Introduction

In Chapter 2 we saw that volunteering assignmentscan be a valuable tool to develop the skills ofvolunteers. Among our sample of 546 respondents,a significant proportion reported that they haddeveloped skills across a range of competenciesrelevant to their work role.

Although these results provide a strong body ofevidence, they have been gathered through aretrospective self-reporting approach. In thischapter we seek to corroborate the findings in twodistinct ways:

1.Questioning the line managers of this same groupof volunteers to ascertain an external view of theskills developed.

2.Looking at a smaller sample of respondents whoassessed their skills before the volunteeringassignment and then again after their experience.

4.2Line Managers’ Overall Impressions

Much existing research in this field relies on the self-reported observations of the volunteersthemselves, but it strengthens the research tocompare this with an external perspective onthese observations, where possible – here via thevolunteers’ line managers.

The questionnaire surveys were only completed bya small number of line managers, but the findingsare nonetheless relevant.

Collectively, the line managers participating in thispart of the research were responsible for 169 directreports, of whom 25 people had been activelyinvolved in volunteering activities during the pasttwelve months. Line Managers were asked both toassess the specific skills developed and to answersome more general questions about the value ofvolunteering.

One of the key questions asked of these linemanagers was simply: ‘Do you feel the experiencegained by volunteers helps them to develop skillsand competencies that are useful to yourbusiness?’ A large majority responded positively:86% of line managers feel that volunteers do gainuseful skills from their volunteering experience.

This is a very positive finding. Here are a group of linemanagers who have no direct involvement in thevolunteering programme attesting to the value ofthese activities in terms of developing businessrelevant skills.

Building on this, the survey looked in greater detail atthe line managers’ opinions about the value ofvolunteering. We asked, of those that felt volunteersdo gain useful skills, what aspect of the experience isimportant in the development of thesecompetencies. The answers strongly reflect the viewsof the volunteers themselves that were reported inChapter 2, as the following examples illustrate.

“Planning events with external bodies andnegotiating for resources. These skills helptowards successfully managing similar tasksat work.”

“Being aware of the context in which ourbusiness operates is important.”

“Communication skills, teamwork and widerawareness of the business environment.”

“Volunteering has developed their ability todeal with other people, and in potentiallydifficult situations.”

Similar to those identified by the volunteersthemselves, one of the themes to emerge is thevalue of developing and applying skills andcompetencies in new situations outside theworkplace. This not only presents an additionalchallenge for the volunteer, but allows them to learnmore about the community in which the businessoperates.

We also asked line managers if there were anyaspects of volunteering that are not helpful for thebusiness. The only responses we received to thisquestion concerned the overall effectiveness ofvolunteering as a means of developing skills, alreadyseen to be a minority view. The following responseillustrates this point well.

“I believe it might be possible for volunteers todevelop new skills, but I have yet to see theevidence from the people who report intome.”

No line managers reported serious concerns aboutthe value of volunteering to the business. This is notsimply due to a response bias, with managers onlyresponding favourably – as can be seen in thefollowing sections looking at their perspectives onthe specific skills developed, they were verydiscerning in judging the effectiveness and value ifvolunteering.

40


4.2.1 Developing specific skills andcompetencies

As can be seen from Table 6, a significantproportion of managers reported that, for certainskills and competencies, they saw no difference inthe development of their line reports who hadbeen volunteering. At first sight, this may appear tobe disappointing – especially for thoserespondents who had themselves reported apositive skills gain from their volunteeringexperience. However, a closer examination of theresults reveals an important pattern of evidence.

Line managers recognise that their direct reportsare developing their skills in five key areas as adirect result of the volunteering experience. Theseareas are:

� Adaptability (57% of line managers assertedthat their direct reports had undergone someor significant skills development in this area)

� Team working (52%)

� Willingness to continually improve (47%)

� Ability to build relationships and networks (37%)

� Communication skills (31%).

It should be noted that there is a strong overlapbetween these five skill areas and those identifiedas areas of development by the volunteersthemselves in Chapter 2. In addition, it is possible toexamine the responses in more depth at the levelof the individual company. This shows that withinthe same company, both line managers andvolunteers are reporting that they have observedskills gains in the same areas – particularlyadaptability, team working and communicationskills.

For other areas such as leadership, influencing andnegotiating, problem solving, and planning andorganisation skills, the picture is similar. Linemanagers report that between one in five and onein three of their staff are developing their skills inthese areas through their volunteering experience.

It is also worth noting that the three areas whereline managers noticed the least development orwere unlikely to be relevant were the sameidentified in Chapter 2 by volunteers as the leastlikely to be developed through volunteering:technical / professional skills, business awareness,and financial skills. It should also be noted thatthere may be improvements in skills that would notbe externally observable in a volunteer’s work role,if these are not regularly called upon or displayedin their job.

41


Adaptability 37% 5% 47% 10%

Team working 37% 10% 21% 31%

Communication 47% 21% 26% 5%

Influencing / negotiation skills 37% 37% 21% 5%

Problem solving skills 42% 37% 21%

Leadership skills 42% 16% 21% 21%

Planning & organisational skills 47% 21% 31%

Decision making 58% 26% 5% 5% 5%

Helping others improve 53% 10% 10% 16%

Financial skills 63% 37%

Ability to build relationships 42% 10% 21% 16% 10%

Continual improvement 47% 5% 31% 16%

Business awareness 58% 16% 21% 5%

Technical / professional skills 63% 5% 16% 10% 5%

Table 6Line managers’ assessment of the skills gain in their reports

No

difference

A little

development

Some

development

Significant

development

Not relevant/

Don’t know

The pattern of findings from line managersprovides very important evidence. Although the sample size is small, this offers externalcorroboration of the self-reported results and addsweight to the business case for volunteering. Theresults support the finding that, for a significantnumber of employees, volunteering offers realopportunities to learn and develop specific skillsand competencies that are important to their work role.

4.3Assessing Skills Before and After Volunteering

Another way to get a more complete picture ofthe skills gained through volunteering is to askemployees to rate their skills before they begin thevolunteering activity as a baseline measure andthen to repeat the exercise after some time spentvolunteering, here a few months. Whilst thisapproach provides perhaps a stronger set ofevidence, it is also considerably more timeconsuming for the companies involved, and as aresult a much smaller cohort of volunteersparticipated in this way – 31 volunteers in fourcompanies9.

As can be seen from Figure 1, these volunteerswere predominantly involved in reading, numberor language partners schemes, or other types ofstudent mentoring.

Looking at some of the other characteristics of thisgroup of employees who assessed their skills beforeand after their involvement in the volunteeringactivity, the following observations can be made.

This cohort of volunteers is representative of thesample as a whole in terms of their age, genderand seniority within the organisation. However, it isnotable that proportionately more of thesevolunteers had been with their organisation for lessthan three years. Perhaps related to this, is the factthat many of these people were volunteering forthe first time.

The employees were quite confident about theirskills and competencies prior to undertaking thevolunteering assignment. On a scale of 1 to 10(where 1 = minimal ability and 10 = a fullunderstanding and ability) the majority ofrespondents thought their skill level was 7 or 8 for allof the areas under consideration.

Even though respondents reported a relativelyhigh level of competence in these different areasbefore they began the volunteering assignments,they were still able to recognise some realimprovements in their skills and competencies as aresult of their experiences.

Some three months after their original assessment,having undertaken the volunteering activities foran academic term, the employees reported skillsgain in the following areas.

42


0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Mentoring or other support to school staff

Student mentoring

Reading/language/number partner

School governor

Figure 1Volunteering activities

9 Bank of America MerrillLynch, CMS CameronMcKenna, DeutscheBank and Nomura.

� Adaptability – prior to undertaking thevolunteering assignment, 55.8% of respondentsrated themselves as scoring 8 out of 10 orabove in this area. After the volunteering, thisrose to 82.1%.

� Influencing and negotiation skills – in this area,while 72.1% of respondents scored themselves7 out of 10 or more before volunteering, 82.1%scored 7 out of 10 or more after volunteering.

� Problem solving skills – the volunteering processsaw the skills assessment rise from 63.9% ofemployees scoring 8 or more, to 82.2% scoring8 or more.

� Leadership skills – in this area, the assessmentrose from 62.3% scoring 7 or more, to 71.5%scoring 7 or more out of 10.

� Helping others to improve – in the firstassessment, 67.2% of respondents rated theirskills as 7 out of 10 or more. After three monthsof volunteering, 71.4% of respondents ratedtheir skills as 7 out of 10 or more.

� Building relationships and networks – in thisarea, the assessment rose from 52.5% scoring 8 or more, to 71.4% scoring 8 or more.

Hence, it can be seen that the skills gain tookplace across two dimensions. First, for these sixareas, more employees rated themselves at thehigher end of the spectrum as a result of thevolunteering experience. Second, in two specificareas (influencing and negotiation skills, andhelping others to improve) not only were morepeople rating their skills highly, but the mode scoremoved up from 7 to 8.

It is particularly noteworthy that the skills gained inthree specific areas correspond with the skills gainreported by the larger sample of volunteers whoundertook the retrospective survey. These threeareas are:

1. The ability to help others improve (i.e. coaching skills)

2. Influencing / negotiating skills

3. Adaptability

This finding provides corroborating evidence thatthe more robust process of a “before” and “after”assessment confirms the picture of real skills gainamong the larger population of volunteerssurveyed retrospectively.

4.3.1 Other aspects of the volunteering experience

The survey also questioned these volunteers onwhich aspects of the volunteering experience theyfound most valuable in building or developingthese skills and competencies. Again, the resultsfrom this group reflect the views of the widersample, as the following quotes illustrate.

“Dealing with people who had such vastlydiffering backgrounds to myself and wereof a different age meant I had to veryquickly learn to put myself in their shoesand understand where they were comingfrom.”

“Definitely working with others and helpingthem to learn about new things. This hashelped me with assisting and guiding teammembers in work.”

“It has made me more confident inadapting my style to different audiences, Ithink I am more conscious now of the forumI am addressing when I am presenting.”

“Being the leader of our sessions and beingfully responsible for planning events.”

Similar themes emerge to those reported by thelarger sample as being important factors inreinforcing the learning process associated withthe volunteering experience. These are: beingexposed to a new environment; having theopportunity to interact with a wider group ofpeople; and being required to take on aleadership role.

Finally, this cohort of volunteers was asked in whatother ways they had benefited from theirexperiences. Again, the themes to emerge werevery similar to those reported by the larger sample,as the following quotes illustrate.

“It is good to be able to help out in this way,it provides fresh perspective and a way tochange your outlook on life.”

“Gives a sense that you are helping thewider community and giving somethingback.”

“It has made me more aware that as well asbeing focused on developing keytechnical/financial skills needed for my jobthat I also need to work on my soft skillstoo.”

“Increased confidence, extended mynetwork within my company.”

43


44


“Volunteering is a great way to contributesomething back to the community. Italways makes you feel that much moresatisfied that you are being given theopportunity to help someone a little bittowards a better outlook in life!”

4.4Conclusions

In this chapter we have looked at volunteers’ skillsdevelopment in two additional ways, using asurvey of line managers and a before and aftersurvey with volunteers. The results support thefindings from the retrospective survey, discussed inChapter 2.

It is clear that the overwhelming majority of linemanagers feel that volunteers do gain useful skillsfrom their volunteering experience. They observemeasurable gains in the same business relevantskills as reported by the volunteers themselves.

In addition, the experience of a sample ofrespondents who assessed their skills before thevolunteering assignment and then again after theirexperience, further confirms significant skills gain inbusiness critical areas.

45


5.1 Introduction 46


5.3 Our Approach to the Research Question 47

5.4 Building Skills through Training and Development 47

5.5 Building Skills Through Volunteering 51

5.6 Comparing the Cost of Developing Skills Through Training and Volunteering 53

5.7 Observations on the Findings 54

5.8 Conducting a Full Cost / Benefit Analysis 56

5.9 Conclusions 57

5. Understanding the Financial Costs of Development Gains

5.1Introduction

The previous chapters have provided evidence ofskills gains through volunteering in a range of areasrelevant to business, which supports the businesscase for employers to run volunteeringprogrammes. This business case can be furtherstrengthened by considering the corporatebenefits of these activities and the costs that theyincur.

In this chapter we therefore consider howcompanies benefit from the increased skills andcompetencies that employees develop throughvolunteering activities. We address this byinvestigating two central questions:

� Are the skills and competencies developedthrough volunteering assignments of relevanceand value to the companies concerned?

� How do the costs of developing these skills andcompetencies through volunteering comparewith more traditional approaches to trainingand development?

To put these questions in context, we first considerwhat can be learned from previous research intothese issues.

5.2Existing Literature

As reviewed in previous chapters, both our ownand previous research provides evidence fromcompanies and individual employees as to thepotential benefits of volunteering. The key questionnow reviewed is to what extent the skillsdevelopment gain by an employee volunteercontributes to the commercial success of theorganisation. There is relatively little researchevidence that moves beyond demonstrating theskills gained through volunteering to address thisissue of the value to the business of the skills gain.

One study which does offer some evidence of thelink between volunteering, skills development andthe potential business benefit was undertaken byMSS Market Research (1992), on behalf of the UKAward for Employee Volunteering. This researchquestioned 101 senior directors and managers inmajor companies and found that 65% ofrespondents believed that employee volunteeringprogrammes yield business benefits because theyoffer training opportunities for employees.

Another relevant study (Tuffrey, 1995) sought todevelop a competency matrix that could capturethe skills development achieved throughvolunteering assignments. The competency matrixwas completed by a sample of 52 employeevolunteers drawn from seven UK companies. Theresults suggest that volunteering activities can bothdevelop staff and impact positively on businessperformance. Specifically the research found that:

� Three quarters of the sample (78%) said theirown performance back at work had beenenhanced.

� Just over half (56%) also reported that theoverall performance of their business unit wasimproved as a result of the skills gained.

� Where corroboration of these findings by linemanagement was possible, they generallyagreed that performance was enhancedthrough the skills developed by volunteers.

While this is an interesting finding, the report doesrecognise that the sample size is too small to offer adefinitive conclusion of the business benefits fromthis volunteering activity.

The research makes reference to internal studiesundertaken by two companies – Marks & Spencerand the Nationwide Building Society. These studiesfound that volunteering development assignments(typically involving staff being released for 100hours during working time over three months toundertake a specific project in a communitygroup) both improved skills and allowed volunteersto perform better back in the workplace. Mostimportantly, the volunteers in these studiessuggested that they were able to make a positivecontribution back at work as a result of the skillsthey had developed.

Research from the USA also offers evidence thatAmerican employers believe employeevolunteering yields business benefits. In 1992, theConference Board surveyed 2,500 executives in1,800 US companies (with 454 responding) abouttheir volunteer programmes, and then followed thisup with detailed reports on 30 companies(Conference Board, 1993).

The findings suggest that volunteer programmescan contribute to competitive advantage throughcost savings in production, human resources andcommunity relations. The vast majority ofrespondents (86%) either “strongly agreed” or“somewhat agreed” with the statement that,“volunteering provides training for employees”. Inaddition, three quarters of respondents (74%) said

46


that volunteering seems to lead to increasedproductivity of employees.

These studies highlight the potential value of usingvolunteering as an alternative to, or in conjunctionwith, more traditional approaches to training anddevelopment. Another study looking specifically atthe relative merits of volunteering versus otherforms of training, questioned HR managers on itsperceived value in skills development (IVRResearch Bulletin, 2005).

The research found that only two percent of HRmanagers felt that incorporating volunteeringactivities that draw upon business skills andexpertise in the company’s training anddevelopment programme would cost more thanother development opportunities currently onoffer. The largest proportion of respondents (28%)felt this would cost the same as traditionaldevelopment activities while 16% felt it would costless.

It is worth noting, however, that the majority of HRmanagers participating in this research (54%) feltthey were unable to provide any insight into thecost effectiveness of using volunteering as amethod of skills development compared to othermethods of learning, probably because the costsof volunteering were unknown.

The findings reported in the following sectionsaddress precisely this question about the relativecost effectiveness of different skills developmentapproaches – how does the cost of developingskills through volunteering compare to the cost ofdeveloping the same set of skills through traditionaltraining programmes?

5.3Our Approach to the Research Question

Before analysing the data gathered fromparticipating companies, it is important to make afew observations about the methodologicalapproach to calculating and comparing the costsof skills gained through volunteering and the costsof more traditional forms of training anddevelopment.

Whilst the previous chapters have demonstratedperceived skills gains in volunteers, it is important torecognise that any observed improvement doesnot necessarily constitute a benefit to thecompany per se. Therefore it is necessary to firstestablish whether the skills developed contribute tothe success of the business.

To address this issue, we asked HR professionals inthe companies involved in the research threequestions:

� Are the skills gained through volunteeringrelevant to your business?

� Do these skills feature in your core competencyframework?

� Do you offer training and developmentopportunities for people in these skills andcompetencies?

Clearly, any potential business benefits aredependent on companies responding positively tothese questions.

The second question addressed here is how thecosts involved in developing skills throughvolunteering compare with the costs involved inenhancing these same skills through moretraditional training and development routes.

The research was designed to calculate the fullcost of the volunteering route to staff developmentaccurately, and so that it could stand comparisonwith an assessment of the costs of other routes ofstaff development. Hence companies were askedto provide data on the costs of running a trainingand development department and the cost ofrunning an employee volunteering programme. Itshould be noted that this includes the full cost ofmanaging and running volunteering programmes(as it is not possible to separate out only those partsrelevant to skills development, for example).

The research asked companies to provide detailedand commercially sensitive information. For thisreason, the results in this Chapter are reported atan aggregate level. Where individual returns arereferred to, the companies in question are notidentified. In total, we received information fromseven of the companies involved in the research.

The following sections look in more detail at theresponses to the research questions laid out here.

5.4Building Skills through Training andDevelopment

In this section, we look at the data we receivedfrom HR managers on how they develop skills andcompetencies through traditional training anddevelopment routes.

47


5.4.1 Relevance of the skills developed

We received the data returns from four HRdepartments. These provided the followinginformation:

� HR managers reported that all of the skills andcompetencies identified in our survey are ofrelevance to their businesses, which was to behoped, given the involvement of HRprofessionals in the design and testing of thecompetency matrix.

� Three of the four companies also reported thatall of these competencies feature in their ownframeworks. The fourth company, amultinational organisation, reported that itdoes not have “a distinct competencyframework for all [of the company]” but thedifferent frameworks they use “will cover manyif not all of these areas”.

� To reinforce the importance of thesecompetencies to the business, training wasprovided in nearly all of the skill areas by mostof the companies. The only exceptions wereone company which did not provide training in“adaptability”; and another which did notprovide training in “adaptability”, “helpingothers to improve” and “continuousimprovement”.

It is interesting that two of the four companies donot provide training in adaptability, defined hereas being effective in different surroundings andwith different tasks, responsibilities and people. It islegitimate to question the extent to which it ispossible to develop this skill through a traditionaltraining programme. It might well be that

undertaking a volunteering assignment offers avaluable development opportunity in this respect.

In summary, the responses here support the casethat the skills employees develop through theirvolunteering experience are of real value to thebusiness in driving forward aspects of individualperformance that are of relevance to theirmainstream role within the company.

5.4.2 Number of people trained

Three of the four companies were able to providedata on how many UK-based employees receivedtraining in these relevant areas. In one company,85% of the staff (23,226 people) “undertook someform of classroom based or online learning duringthe past twelve months” in the skills areas relevantto this research.

Another firm calculated that 1,880 employeeswere trained in relevant skills areas, representing23% of the total UK workforce. The third companyhad 99 employees undertaking training anddevelopment in the skills areas identified,representing 6% of their UK employees.

From the data available, the following four skillsareas are the most frequently developed in termsof the proportion of employees attending trainingprogrammes:

� Building business awareness – understand thecontext in which an organisation operates, themission/vision and external constraints(undertaken by 42% of all employees inparticipating companies).

48


Costs of supporting volunteering

Management time in running volunteering programmes

Costs of any brokerage service

Other costs (e.g. CRB checks)

Expenses paid for volunteers to travel to

and from schools/colleges, etc.

Costs of training undertaken to prepare the volunteers

Lost time due to absence from work

Costs of training and development

The direct costs of delivering the specific training event

Incidental costs like travel and subsistence

Costs of evaluation

Lost time due to absence from work

Table 7Comparing the costs of skills development10

10 This is an indicative listof data thatcompanies wereasked to provide.However, differentcompanies provideddifferent sub-sets ofthis information.

� Influencing / negotiation skills – influence andpersuade others, resolve conflicts andnegotiate agreed solutions (22%).

� Planning and organisational skills – set priorities,define targets, plan work so results areachieved on time and within budget (16%).

� Communication skills – communicate clearlyand concisely with a wide range of peopleand listen actively (7%).

5.4.3 Nature of the training provision

As might be expected, training was providedthrough a combination of:

� formal in-house training programmes

� external courses and programmes

� other training provision (including mentoring,online and on-the-job training).

The relatively small sample size of companiesproviding data on this issue means thatcomparisons cannot be made about the costeffectiveness of these different approaches totraining and development, and indeed nor wasthis the point of the research. Rather the aim is tocompare the costs of “traditional” forms of trainingand development with the volunteeringapproach.

5.4.4 Costs of training

It is important to note that we received informationon the costs of providing training in five of theseven areas that were reported as offering thegreatest gains in skills development. These were:communications, influencing skills, buildingrelationships, continuous improvement, andleadership. The two areas where there is evidenceof significant skills gain but we have no data ontraining costs are the “ability to help others” and“adaptability”.

Within the companies responding, the yearly costsof training an employee are shown in Table 8.

These figures relating to the average costs ofproviding training courses in specific areascomprise the costs of both in-house and externaltraining provision. It should be noted that they areconservative estimates of the overall costsinvolved as they do not appear to include the staffand management time of people in the HRdepartments who are responsible for organisingthe training provision.

As an alternative way of considering the costs, weasked participating companies to provide data onthe overall costs of training provision during thepast twelve months to develop the skills relevant tothis research. The responses were as follows:

� One company spent almost £140,000 toprovide training in these skill areas, representingan average spend of approximately £1,500 peremployee.

49


Table 8Reported costs of providing training and development

Competence Average (mean) cost Range

Highest cost Lowest cost

Communications £485 £620 £350

Influencing £375 £470 £305

Planning £510 £670 £350

Building relationships £325 £350 £300

Problem solving £180 n/a n/a

Continuous improvement £300 n/a n/a

Leadership £2,550 £3,500 £1,100

� The second company spent almost £400,000 toprovide training, representing an averagespend of approximately £400 per employee.

� The third company that provided data statedthat its total learning spend for the year was£9.2 million, again representing an averagespend per employee of just over £400.

As these are overall figures, the extent to which they capture HR and management time is unclear.

5.4.5 Training cost data from other sources

Given the small sample of companies respondingto this part of the research, it is important toconsider broader sources of information about theamount companies typically spend on trainingand development.

The most comprehensive report on this issue ispublished by the UK Commission for Employmentand Skills11. This draws together many existingdatasets from reliable sources across Europeincluding the most recent data on training anddevelopment spend which was produced by theChartered Management Institute (CMI) in 2004. Ascan be seen in Table 9, this data shows theaverage spend on management developmentacross seven European countries, including the UK.

The average training spend per manager in the UKin 2004 was €1,625, or £1,470 at the time of writing.This is clearly significantly above the figures quotedby two of the companies providing data for thisstudy, but in line with the third. It should also benoted that the CMI data refers to training anddevelopment for managers, where this study

considers training spend across the company as awhole.

It is, however, reasonable to consider that theaverage total training spend per person perannum in the UK may be considerably higher thatthe £400 figure reported in our study. This is animportant consideration to bear in mind whencomparing this data with the information on thecosts of providing volunteering opportunities forstaff.

5.4.6 Summary of the costs of training and development

The following findings and conclusions can bedrawn from the research:

1.It is important to recognise that although theresearch survey instrument was the same for allrespondents, the data supplied by each companydiffered slightly. However, despite thesedifferences, there is a degree of consistency in theresults of the analysis suggesting the data providedby the companies provides a relatively robustpicture of the current situation.

2.There is clear evidence that the skills andcompetencies developed through volunteeringassignments are of direct relevance to thesebusinesses. Many of these skills feature in themainstream competency frameworks used bycompanies to monitor and guide staffdevelopment.

50


12 Mabey, C andRamirez, M.,“DevelopingManagers: A EuropeanPerspective” (2004)

Country Training spend in Euros per manager12 (average per year)

Germany €4,438

Denmark €3,387

Norway €2,734

France €2,674

Spain €1,803

UK €1,625

Romania €424

Table 9UK average costs of training and development

11 “UK Commission ForEmployment And Skills – Ambition 2020” (2009)

3.In addition, all of the responding companies areinvesting significantly in training and developmentprogrammes to build these competencies in theirstaff – through a combination of in-house, externaland on-the-job training.

4.The costs of providing this training vary accordingto the skills area – ranging from a typical cost of£180 for a programme to develop problem solvingskills; to an average of £2,550 for a leadershipdevelopment programme.

5.Among companies responding to this survey, theaverage (mean) training spend to developemployees in the relevant competencies is £400per person per annum, although one of the smallerorganisations in our study (with approximately1,700 employees) is spending considerably moreper capita. In addition, UK data from wider sourcessuggest the training spend might be much higherthan this figure of £400 per person per annum.

5.5Building Skills Through Volunteering

In this next section we examine the costs ofdeveloping this same range of skills andcompetencies through the volunteering route,using data from six of the companies in our study.

5.5.1 The extent of volunteering

Among the six companies completing this part ofthe survey, just over 4,200 employees are activelyengaged in volunteering programmes across thecountry. Of these, 737 are involved in educationbased volunteering in London, with the numberper company ranging from 51 to 255, a medianfigure of 102, and an average (mean) of 123.

5.5.2 Management time devoted tovolunteering programmes

The number of people directly involved inmanaging volunteering programmes in these sixcompanies varied across organisations – from oneperson to four people. Interestingly, there is nodirect correlation between the size of thevolunteering programme (in terms of the numberof participants) and the number of peopleinvolved in managing these activities. For

example, the largest programme (involving almost1,100 volunteers across the UK) is managed by justone person.

However, this crude measure of the number ofpeople involved in managing the volunteeringprogramme provides little indication of the actualcosts. To assess this figure, we first askedrespondents to calculate the full-time equivalent(FTE) measure of staff running education-relatedvolunteering programmes. This more meaningfulmeasure revealed the following data:

� The average (mean) management time spentorganising employer supported volunteeringinitiatives in education is a FTE of 0.72 (thisequates to almost three quarters of oneperson’s full-time role).

� The lowest figure for management time was an FTE of 0.2 and the highest was an FTE of two people.

5.5.3 Management costs in runningvolunteering programmes

The next step is to calculate the costs to thebusiness of employing the people who undertakethis role.

We asked the companies to provide data on thetotal costs of the staff who devoted time tomanaging and administering the educationrelated volunteering programmes over the lasttwelve months. This figure was derived from salariesplus additional employment costs (e.g. NIcontributions, pension contributions, etc.).

The responses to this question show that the costs(salaries plus on-costs) of those involved inmanaging volunteering programmes range from£18,000 to £80,000 with a median value of £45,000and a mean of £50,000. These costs, provided byparticipant companies, included a couple ofoutlying figures, which distort the meancalculation. For this reason, and given the smallsample size of respondents, the median averageof £45,000 has been used in further calculations toensure a more representative average figure ofthe sample as a whole.

It is possible to verify how representative thesefigures are by contrasting them with data from awider survey about pay scales in the CSRprofession in general. The latest such survey13

produced by Acona, Acre Resources and EthicalPerformance shows that the median salary in the

51


13 “The CSR SalarySurvey 2008/2009”

profession is in the region of £45,000 to £50,000. Itwould seem then that the salaries paid to peoplemanaging employee volunteering programmes inthe companies involved in this research arebroadly in line with those of people in the widerCSR profession.

The figures here refer to the total annual costs,however, and hence need to be adjusted for theamount of time people devote to the task ofmanaging volunteering programmes. Multiplyingthe median management costs (£45,000) by theaverage time spent organising employersupported volunteering initiatives in education(0.72 FTE) gives the actual costs among the firms inour sample of £32,400 per annum.

By way of comparison, it is worth noting that thetypical salary costs of an HR practitioner at a“manager” grade is between £36,000 and £56,000according to a recent benchmarking report froma specialist HR recruitment company14. This showsthat HR salaries range from £22-27,000 at theAssistant/Admin Officer grade to £77,000+ at theDirector level.

5.5.4 Additional costs in running volunteering programmes

As well as calculating the direct managementcosts of running volunteering programmes, it isimportant to consider all other costs involved insupporting volunteers. Table 10 sets out thesepotential costs; the figures shown represent theaverage costs among all respondent companies.

It is important to note that no single companyreported incurring costs for all of these elements –indeed many companies have few additional

costs beyond the management costs describedabove. As such, these figures could be consideredto be an over-estimate of the average costsinvolved.

In summary, the data provided by thosecompanies participating in this research suggestthat the typical costs for supporting an employeevolunteering programme is £14,475 per annum. Thisis in addition to the direct management cost of thepeople involved in running the programme, whichwas calculated in section 5.5.3 as £32,400.

5.5.5 Management costs per volunteer

The final stage in the process is to look at theoverall costs involved in supporting volunteers on aper capita basis – in other words, how much docompanies spend to support each volunteer incarrying out their activities?

This figure can be derived by the simplecalculation:

� Management costs + additional costs /average number of volunteers = per capita spend

The actual figures are:

� £32,400 + £14,475 / 123 employees = £381.10

Hence, for the companies participating in thisresearch, the average cost to support eachvolunteer is £381.

We can also look in more detail than simply theaverage costs across the sample as a whole. It ispossible to make the same calculation for each ofthe six companies providing data for this elementof the research. Table 11 shows this information atthe individual company level.

52


14 “Michael PageHuman ResourcesSalary Survey 2010.”

15 Only one companysupplied data on thiselement. This statedthat the total costs forprovidingcommunicationsabout all volunteeringopportunities acrossthe whole EMEAregion (Europe,Middle East andAfrica) wereapproximately£20,000. We have notincluded this in ourcalculations ofaverage annualspend as it is notpossible to attributethis cost in ameaningful way togaining support forvolunteering activitiesin education basedinitiatives in London.

Items of expenditure Average annual spend

Costs of any brokerage service fees related to education based volunteering

(e.g. fees paid to Business Action on Education or other brokers) £3,000

Direct costs involved in supporting the volunteers in education programmes (e.g. CRB checks) £2,725

Expenses paid for volunteers to travel to and from schools/colleges, etc. £8,400

Costs of any training undertaken to prepare the volunteers before they began their

assignments in education initiatives £350

Costs of delivering internal communications campaigns to encourage employees to

take up volunteering activities see footnote15

TOTAL £14,475

Table 10Additional costs of supporting volunteers

This data is derived through the samemethodology described here. Figures are collatedfor the management costs and additional coststhat are attributable to supporting employeesengaged in education-based volunteeringactivities. The sum of this data is then divided bythe relevant number of volunteers in eachcompany.

5.5.6 Summary of the costs of supporting volunteers

The following conclusions can be drawn from thisanalysis of the data on the costs of supportingemployee volunteering activities:

1.The direct management cost of staff who organiseand administer the employee volunteeringprogrammes is a substantial element of the cost tothe business. On average, this accounts for two-thirds of the total costs.

2.There are, however, important additional costsinvolved in running an effective volunteeringprogramme, especially one that involvesinteraction with children and young people ineducation. Brokerage fees, travel expenses anddirect costs such as Criminal Record Bureau (CRB)checks all need to be accounted for. Togetherthey represent about one third of the total costs.

3.Within the sample of companies providing data forthis research, there is a relatively large variation inthe overall costs of administering a volunteeringprogramme. The most “costly” programme in percapita terms uses over three times the resources

(time and expenses) of the most cost-efficientprogramme.

4.Despite this variation, among respondentbusinesses the average annual cost to supporteach volunteer involved in an education basedactivity in London is £381 per person per annum.

5.6Comparing the Cost of Developing SkillsThrough Training and Volunteering

In this section, we move on to make a directcomparison between the cost of developing a setof skills and competencies through the traditionaltraining and development route, with the costsinvolved in developing these same range of skillsand competencies through volunteering.

An analysis of the data provided by theparticipating companies shows that the cost to thebusiness of both processes of skills development isbroadly the same:

� In section 5.4 of this chapter we saw that thelowest estimate of the average training spend,among the small sample of companies in thisresearch, to develop employees in the relevantcompetencies is £400 per person per annum.

� In section 5.5 we found that the averageannual cost to support each volunteer who isdeveloping the same skills and competencies is£381 per person per annum.

Hence it appears that both routes to skillsdevelopment use a similar level of resources.Indeed, a strong argument can be made that thevolunteering route to developing skills is

53


16 The data for thiscompany includes thecommunications costsof £20,000 excludedfrom the aggregatecalculation.

Bank 300 50 £484

Law firm 800 255 £338

Bank 970 100 £33516

Bank 700 100 £321

Law firm 500 75 £220

Bank 1100 150 £147

Table 11Per capita spend on supporting volunteers in education

Business No. of volunteers in the

UK (approx)

No. of volunteers in

education (approx)

Per capita spend on

volunteers in

education

considerably less resource-intensive as the datafrom a broader UK survey on training costs suggestthe typical training spend per employee could beconsiderably higher, and also because thevolunteering figures used in this research havebeen very conservative and include the full cost ofan employee’s involvement in volunteering,including time out of the office and management.In addition, as noted previously, the data on costsfor training and development do not necessarilyinclude the staff and management time of peoplein the HR departments who are responsible fororganising this training provision.

In addition, as noted previously, the data on costsfor training and development do not necessarilyinclude the staff and management time of peoplein the HR departments who are responsible fororganising this training provision.

Hence, it is clear that for those companies seekingto develop core competencies the cost of doingso through volunteering assignments is potentiallyfar less expensive or resource intensive than otherapproaches to training and development.

This is clearly a very significant finding:

� In Chapter 2 we showed how employees areconfident that they develop skills andcompetencies through their volunteeringassignments; and that this skills development isuseful and applicable to their work in thebusiness.

� In Chapter 3 we showed that there are a rangeof significant additional benefits across a rangeof factors including increased job satisfaction,motivation and commitment to the company.

� In Chapter 4 we showed how the evidence ofrelevant and valuable skills gain iscorroborated by the line managers of thesevolunteers.

� We have now shown that this business-relevantskills gain can be attained throughvolunteering programmes at a lower cost tothe company than more traditionalapproaches to training and development.

This finding is the strongest articulation of thebusiness case for supporting employeevolunteering programmes that we have seen inresearch published on this subject to date.

5.7Observations on the Findings

Given the significance of this finding, it seemsappropriate to raise a few challenges to test thereliability and robustness of the results presentedabove. Specifically we consider two importantissues:

1.Have we accounted for all the costs involved inthe different approaches to skills development?

2.Are we comparing like with like in considering thecompetencies acquired through the differentroutes to skills development?

5.7.1Accounting for all costs

As far as possible, the research survey askedrespondent companies to collect information onthe total costs involved in running volunteeringprogrammes and organising training anddevelopment programmes.

Most companies were able to provide a fullbreakdown of the costs – both directmanagement time and indirect expenses –associated with running their volunteeringprogrammes. We are therefore confident that the average costs for supporting volunteersoutlined in section 5.5 of this chapter areaccurate.

In considering the costs of training anddevelopment, all companies were able toprovide data on the direct costs of trainingprogrammes – whether these were provided in-house or externally. It could be argued, however,that the fixed costs associated with the overallprovision of training and development (i.e. thatproportion of the management costs of the HRdepartment that organises staff development)were not explicitly identified or accounted for.

It is possible that such costs are charged to acentral staff development budget and do notappear in the figures supplied by respondents tothis survey. If this is the case, this reinforces theargument that developing skills throughvolunteering programmes is less costly to thebusiness than other forms of training anddevelopment.

In addition to these “overhead” costs, there is onefurther element that could be included in the

54


calculations. This relates to the time lost due toabsence from work – whether this is to attend atraining programme or participate in avolunteering assignment.

The survey instrument used for this research did askcompanies to account for the number of hoursemployees spent on company supportededucational volunteering activities during worktime. In addition, it also asked companies toindicate the average hourly costs of employees(salaries and on-costs). Complete data on thesetwo elements were provided by four companies,as shown in Table 12 below. In total, these fourcompanies have 484 employees activelyengaged in education related volunteeringactivities.

This shows a wide variance in the “lost” time spentvolunteering. These data can be interpreted in anumber of ways:

� The average (mean) number of hoursemployees spend volunteering is no more than11 hours per year – approximately one and ahalf days.

� Using an average salary figure of £28.20 perhour (the mean of the salary data provided byrespondent companies, as shown in Table 12),the per capita value of time spent away fromwork during volunteering assignments is £310.

� Among this small sample, the average totalcosts for employee time spent volunteering ineducation programmes is £41,220 per annum.

While these figures are interesting, it was notpossible to ascertain how much time (or the valueof that time) employees spent participating inother training and development activities and thisremains an area for further investigation.

5.7.2 Comparing like with like

Turning to the second issue for consideration, it islegitimate to ask the question whether the skills andcompetencies developed through volunteeringthe same as those acquired on traditional trainingprogrammes?

The analysis throughout this chapter hashighlighted specifically which skills andcompetencies are under consideration. To a verylarge extent, the respondent companies wereclear that they are concerned about thedevelopment of precisely the same set ofcompetencies.

However, when we consider the costs of skillsdevelopment, it is clear that certain competenciesare more difficult, time consuming and costly todevelop. For example, we saw in Table 8 the widedifference between the cost of a typicalleadership programme and the cost of a typicalprogramme on problem solving.

Such differences come as no surprise and simplyreflect the different factors that contribute towardsthe costs of training and developmentprogrammes. These include:

� The nature of the subject matter being taughtand whether the aim is to impart knowledge(e.g. problem solving techniques) or developbroader competencies (approaches toleadership)

� The length of the programme

� The skills and experience required of the traineror facilitator.

While this research has captured the different costsof training programmes which develop skills andcompetencies in specific areas, it has not beenpossible to ascertain the costs of organising and

55


2,345 £42.00 £98,490

1,409 £21.43 £30,194

877 £24.50 £21,486

591 £24.85 £14,711

Table 12Approximate value of time “lost” to volunteering

Cost per hour Total annual costTotal hours spent volunteering in work time per annum

administering different types of volunteeringactivities. That is, it has not been possible todifferentiate the costs of organising a schoolgovernorship, for example, with those of running areading programme. (It should not be forgottenthat in Chapter 2 we saw that differentvolunteering activities are better at developingdifferent skills and competencies).

However, the fact that we are only able to presentdata at the aggregate level, by showing theaverage costs for managing all types ofvolunteering activities, does not invalidate in anyway the conclusions of this research. This simplyflags up another area for further investigation if weare to present a more complete picture of theoverall cost effectiveness of the various alternativemethods to developing skills and competencies.

5.8Conducting a Full Cost / Benefit Analysis

In this penultimate section, we consider how futureresearch can build on the findings from this study.The analysis undertaken in this study is obviouslybased on a cost comparison alone. One cleardirection for further investigation is to movebeyond the comparative costs of differentapproaches to skills development to conduct acomplete analysis of the costs and benefitsinvolved.

In other words, do the benefits of the skills gainedoutweigh the cost of their development? Bylooking more closely at this issue, one can create amore complete picture of the relative costeffectiveness of acquiring skills throughvolunteering assignments and trainingprogrammes.

Obtaining an understanding of the benefits of skillsdevelopment is relatively straight forward inprinciple, but can potentially be extremely difficultin practice. In theory, the approach to calculatingthe benefits derived from any training anddevelopment intervention would typically involvethe following four steps:

1.Measure an individual’s ability to perform a task orcarry out their work role prior to undertakingtraining

2.Individual participates in the training intervention

3.Reassess the person’s ability to perform the task orcarry out their work role

4.Isolate the improvement in the individual’sperformance attributable to the skills andcompetencies gained through the training.

Assuming steps one to four can be achieved, itwould then be necessary to assign a financialvalue to the performance improvement observed.The precise nature of the financial benefits will varyaccording to someone’s role within theorganisation, but examples might include:

� increased productivity

� higher sales

� better quality output and/or lower error rates

� improved customer satisfaction rates.

Where the training outcome is not so clear, forexample an improved general management skillsuch as leadership, an alternative approach isneeded based on estimating the value added bythe training intervention. The research evidencesuggests that understanding the tangible benefitsof training and development requires assumptionsto be made and can be largely a question ofjudgement.

Not surprisingly, this whole area of assessing thereturn on investment from training anddevelopment has exercised academics for manyyears (Charlton, 200517). While it is relativelyuncomplicated to determine the costs ofdeveloping skills, the benefits are often diffuse, areonly realised over time and cannot always becosted. Because of this, many would argue thatconventional approaches to training anddevelopment are often inadequately assessed. It is simply widely accepted that training is a “good thing”.

It is clear that the difficulties in assessing thebusiness gains of skills development apply equallyto volunteering assignments as to traditionalapproaches to training. As such, while it would bevaluable to assess both the costs and the benefitsof developing skills through volunteering, one mustbe careful to avoid setting higher standards forassessing this area of activity than applies totraditional training and development.

56


14 Charlton, K. (2005)Seeking The Holy Grail of Return onInvestment,Communique, p. 2, Summer

5.9Conclusions

Much of the research to date has offeredevidence that employees are able to develop andacquire skills through volunteering assignments. Thisevidence has been confirmed by the currentstudy.

In addition, in this Chapter we have moved a stepfurther in the analysis by addressing two specificquestions:

� Are the skills and competencies developedthrough volunteering assignments of relevanceand value to the companies concerned?

� Are the costs of developing these skills andcompetencies through volunteeringsignificantly different from more traditionalapproaches to training and development?

In addressing these questions we have shown:

� There is very clear evidence that the skills andcompetencies developed throughvolunteering assignments are of directrelevance to the companies involved. Many ofthese skills feature in the mainstreamcompetency frameworks used by companiesto monitor and guide staff development; andall of the companies are investing significantlyin training and development programmes tobuild these competencies in their staff.

� There are variations in the costs of developingspecific skills and competencies in certainareas (e.g. leadership skills are more costly todevelop). Despite these understandabledifferences, the companies involved in thisresearch are typically investing at least £400per person per annum in direct costs todevelop relevant skills and competencies intheir staff. However, data from a broader UKsurvey on training costs suggest the typicaltraining spend per employee could beconsiderably higher.

� In comparison, we found that the averageannual cost to support each volunteer who isdeveloping the same skills and competencies is£381 per person per annum.

� Hence, for those companies seeking todevelop core competencies – such asinfluencing and negotiation skills; planning andorganisational skills; and communication skills –the cost of doing so through volunteeringassignments is less expensive than traditionalapproaches to training and developmenteven using the most conservative estimates.

In conclusion, a strong argument can be made insupport of employee volunteering.

� It delivers real social benefits to partnerorganisations which gain from the advice,guidance, knowledge and experience of thevolunteers.

� Employees themselves report improved moraleand increased job satisfaction, motivation andcommitment to the company as a direct resultof the opportunities afforded by theirvolunteering experience.

� Most importantly, this research hasdemonstrated that volunteering is a highly costeffective route to skills development thatcompares very favourably with moretraditional approaches to training anddevelopment.

57


58


6.1 Introduction 60

Case Study One – Deutsche Bank 61

Case Study Two – Accenture 64

Case Study Three – BNY Mellon 66

Case Study Four – Nomura 69

Case Study Five – Investec 71

Case Study Six – Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP 73

Case Study Seven – Société Générale 76

Case Study Eight – Financial Services Authority 78

6.2 Lessons learned from the Case Studies 80

59


6. Case studies

60


6.1Introduction

In this Chapter we turn to a series of case studiesfrom eight companies that participated in theresearch. In addition, we include a case study onAccenture, which has an interesting example ofskills based volunteering in its Accenture BusinessClass Programme.

Thus far, the research study has largelyconcentrated on a quantitative analysis of thesurveys that showed the skills gained throughvolunteering and the value of this skills gain to theemployees and the company they work for.

These case studies move beyond this data drivenapproach to consider a more qualitative analysisof the direct experience of a selection ofcompanies running successful volunteeringactivities. Specifically, we sought to understand inbroader terms what lessons can be learned indesigning and delivering an effective volunteeringprogramme which promotes real skillsdevelopment.

To obtain this information, we spoke to the CSRprofessional responsible for the volunteeringprogramme, and a senior HR colleagueresponsible for training and development withinthe organisation. These interviews were informedby a structured discussion guide.

In broad terms, all the interviews followed a similarformat and covered the following issues:

The business case – The perceived businessbenefits of supporting employees’ volunteering in education.

The link between volunteering and skillsdevelopment – The extent to which volunteeringassignments contribute to staff development.

Collaboration between CSR and HR functions –How the two areas of the business work together to ensure volunteering can support skills development.

Measurement and evaluation – How the skillsdeveloped through volunteering are assessed and measured.

Challenges and lessons – How others can learnfrom the case study companies.

Case Study One

61


Current activities Within the company’s UK operations, about 15% of Deutsche Bank employees are involved involunteering across 30 different programmesincluding team challenge events. The companypolicy is to grant each permanent employee twodays paid leave each year to volunteer on theBank’s programmes (at their manager’sdiscretion).

Focusing primarily on education-basedvolunteering programmes, Deutsche Bank workswith a number of partners to organise almost 20 different volunteering schemes including:

� Number partners, language partners andreading partners in secondary schools

� Mentors in secondary schools (involving face toface and e-mentoring)

� Senior management mentors

� Homework clubs

� A Saturday Supplementary School

� Learn2Earn and Personal Economics workshops

� Two school board placements.

The partners helping to organise these activitiesinclude CSV, Project Shoreditch, the University ofGreenwich, Young Enterprise, the British Museum,Youth Sport Trust, Brokerage Citylink, SpitalfieldsTogether and ELBA Legacy 2020.

Programme designIn designing each volunteering programme, thefirst priority is to identify a real community need inthe area where Deutsche Bank wants to takeaction – including pinpointing gaps which havenot been filled by other initiatives. For example, thecompany found that in London there is asignificant amount of mentoring activity alreadytaking place in primary schools, but relatively littlein local secondary schools. It therefore chose tofocus its efforts on the latter where there isinsufficient resource.

When designing volunteering opportunities,Deutsche Bank also seeks to establish what type ofactivity is of interest to employees, as well asascertaining what is possible in terms of time andresource available. Where there is limited time andresource, an important recent development hasbeen the introduction of e-mentoring. This is lesstime intensive for employees and enables the Bankto assist children at schools which are oftenoverlooked because they are located furtheraway from businesses.

Deutsche Bank is clear that community needscome before business needs in the design ofvolunteering programmes but there are examplesof programmes that are driven initially by businessrequirements. One such example is the workcarried out by the MBA intake. A two week gapwas identified in the MBA training programme,which the Corporate Citizenship team was askedto fill with appropriate volunteering activity. Theteam developed a volunteers’ consultancyservice for community partners, where the MBAstudents provided support on areas for whichcommunity partners needed help. The MBAvolunteers carried out a variety of work for thepartners including feasibility studies, marketingprogrammes and reviewing HR strategies. Throughthis volunteering, the students were able todevelop skills and competencies, whilst thecommunity partners benefited from freeconsultancy services.

Case Study OneDeutsche Bank

Case Study One

62


Working with HR colleaguesStaff at Deutsche Bank working on volunteeringprogramme development tend to work directlywith business units rather than going through HR.However, the Corporate Citizenship team isconscious of the broader development needs ofemployees and aims to find the right opportunityfor current and potential volunteers.

This means the company adopts a very personalapproach to matching the employee withvolunteering opportunities, and CorporateCitizenship staff within Deutsche Bank sit down on aone-to-one basis with employees and establish:

� The objectives of the employee

� What the employee has to offer

� Particular skills that the employee wishes to develop

� Areas of interest to the employee.

The results of this process are presented by theCorporate Citizenship team to HR colleaguesformally at least twice per year.

In addition, members of staff at the middle andsenior management level are mapped in terms oftheir performance and development requirementsin a talent review process. Key individuals havetalent development programmes establishedwhich seek to identify and fill gaps in their skills andknowledge. Volunteering experience comes intothis process, and the Corporate Citizenship teamat the Bank will work to develop programmeswhich can fill those identified gaps.

In a similar way, line managers are able toapproach the Corporate Citizenship staff atDeutsche Bank, and ask for team buildingvolunteering events which aim to improve the waytheir team works together.

Business benefitsDeutsche Bank’s well established approach tovolunteering emphasises the benefit of skills-related volunteering to both employees and thecommunity partners involved. The Bank has foundthat volunteering can improve morale andretention and that it provides a great opportunityfor staff to develop key skills.

In addition to skills and competenciesdevelopment, the Bank believes that its CSRstrategy as a whole is a key differentiator within thefinancial sector, and that volunteering is anintegral part of this commitment to responsiblebusiness.

Volunteering has been found to be particularlyrelevant to recruitment – the Bank finds it isincreasingly asked what volunteering opportunitiesit can offer recent graduates – and believes that avaried and carefully designed communityinvolvement programme ensures Deutsche Bankcontinues to recruit the best talent.

MeasurementIn order to measure business benefits, there is adegree of evaluation for all volunteerprogrammes. The level to which volunteers areasked to evaluate their volunteering activity variesbetween programmes, but usually involves asurvey. Frequently asked questions include:

� “What skills have you developed as part of yourvolunteering experience?”

� “Has your perception / opinion of the bankchanged since volunteering?”

Some programmes are followed up by face-to-face interviews, carried out by Deutsche Bank’smain volunteering partner, CSV (a UK basedvolunteering and training charity) which providesthe bank with a summary report of the interviewscarried out.

Deutsche Bank plans to integrate volunteeringmore formally into employees’ appraisals andpersonal development plans and to buildawareness amongst employees of how they cando this.


63


Challenges and lessons learnedSuccess in volunteering programmes at DeutscheBank is closely linked to five important factors.These are as follows:

1. The quality of partners and intermediaries is vital.Currently, the Bank’s main intermediary is CSV,along with the East London Business Alliance andYoung Enterprise. Deutsche Bank believes thatevery effort should be made to communicate andinteract successfully with these partners.

The company has had both positive and negativeexperiences with its community partners, includingthe schools themselves, and has found that theserelationships have a direct impact on the qualityand success of the volunteering itself. In particular,Deutsche Bank has found that a good, engagedhead teacher will have a significant impact on thesuccess of a partnership.

2.It is important that community partners really needthe assistance that volunteers are offering. In thissense, it is imperative that the partnershipascertains exactly what is needed in thecommunity, as well as identifying what thecompany can offer to that community.Companies which are serious about volunteering,and recognise the contribution it can makeinternally and externally, need to recognise thatthis comes with resource implications, and theyneed to be prepared to commit that resource.

3.Obtaining internal buy-in is another importantcriterion for success. At Deutsche Bank there isgood support from senior levels; the Director ofCorporate Citizenship in the UK reports to theExecutive Committee once every two months onCSR activity, which includes volunteering. Inaddition, members of senior management areinvolved in volunteering themselves.

4.Engaging employees early in their careers can alsobe linked to future success. The CorporateCitizenship team within Deutsche Bankencourages participation of new employees byholding a presentation to new recruits everyfortnight, and emailing new employees upon theirarrival at the Bank. In addition, there are monthlyvolunteering newsletters, emailed to the wholecompany, and volunteering lunch drop-in sessions.

5.Finally, in terms of the programmes sustainabilityover the long term, it is vital that employeesreceive feedback on their activities and know thattheir contribution has made a real difference.There needs to be a positive internal culture, wherepeople feel they can utilise their two dayallowance without negative reactions from peersor line managers about time taken off to volunteer.It is important to communicate across the wholecompany the positive contribution volunteeringmakes to community partners and the business.


Case Study TwoAccenture

Current ActivitiesAccenture has a large volunteering programmeand allows three days paid leave per year foremployees wishing to take part. Generally, thecompany chooses to focus its support on skills basedvolunteering; trying to make the best use of theknowledge, experience and expertise of its people.As such, Accenture’s overarching theme for itscorporate citizenship programmes is ‘Skills toSucceed’, which refers both to skills developmentinternally (amongst employees) and externally(within the community).

Last year, 2000 people volunteered at Accenture –which was 21% of its UK workforce. The companyworks with a range of community partners, includingthe Prince’s Trust and Young Enterprise, and hasidentified five drivers for its volunteeringprogrammes. These are:

1. Inspiring and engaging young people.

2. Enhancing the Accenture brand and reputation.

3. Driving strategic skills development in localcommunities and among employees. The mainskill areas volunteering programmes atAccenture aim to improve are presentation,coaching and leadership.

4. Showcasing the ability of Accenture as abusiness.

5. Ensuring Accenture is considered an employer ofchoice amongst top graduates.

One specific “flagship” initiative that has beendeveloped is the Accenture Business ClassProgramme (ABC). This was launched in June 2009and aims to share skills through professional businessvolunteers. The programme offers free capacitybuilding sessions to community organisations to helpbuild their skills and improve their organisationaleffectiveness and efficiency. All of the materials andworkshops are developed by Accenture volunteersand tailored to respond directly to what thecommunity partners need.

In addition, the ABC Programme seeks to addressspecific areas of need within the company.Currently, the plan is to focus on the company’smain areas of expertise, namely employability, IT skillsand business skills. For example, in 2010 Accenture islaunching a leadership development academyspecifically for women. The academy will focus onskills which women are traditionally perceived to

struggle with, such as presentation. In order tocomplete the course and graduate from theacademy, participants will have to deliver apresentation for the ABC Programme, therebybenefiting the community too.

Working with HR colleaguesInterestingly, the team organising volunteeringacross Accenture sits within the HR function, ratherthan community investment or corporateresponsibility. This reflects the fact that Accenturebelieves volunteering and employee developmentare closely linked.

Accenture is increasingly treating volunteering as aform of training, sometimes supplementing formaltraining programmes with volunteering activities.Furthermore, when undertaking training for avolunteering experience, employees can chargethe time to their ‘training’ job code.

A key champion of the ABC Programme is the Headof HR, who is seeking to fill skill gaps internally,through the programme. A recent example of thislink involved a group of trainees, who were posed areal business challenge as part of theirdevelopment by one of Accenture’s ABCcommunity partners.

At more senior levels, the ABC programme hasenabled employees recently moving to leadershippositions to sit on the boards of community partners,giving them the opportunity in improve their skillsand widen their experience.

Whilst including volunteering as part of employees’appraisal process is not mandatory, there is aspecific box on the appraisal form for volunteeringexperience to be outlined.

Perhaps the clearest evidence of this link betweenemployee development and volunteering is thatthe promotional material on volunteering producedfor employees includes details of the key skills whichwill be improved by particular volunteeringopportunities.

In this way, Accenture outlines core areas which allemployees are rated on as part of their personaldevelopment, and then maps these skills againstspecific types of volunteering (for instance pro bonowork or mentoring with Young Enterprise). Thisenables employees to choose volunteering

64


Case Study TwoAccenture

experience which will be most useful to them – andfill skills gaps by picking the appropriate opportunity.

Specific skills which can be improved byvolunteering, outlined by Accenture, includedelivering value in a non-traditional clientenvironment, project management, innovation andevent planning, among many others.

Measurement and business benefitsAfter volunteering, all employees are surveyedabout their experience and asked a range ofquestions, including some around skills developmentand engagement, such as:

� Did the volunteering increase job satisfaction?

� Did it improve job related skills?

� Does it encourage you to recommendAccenture as an employer to family and friends?

These surveys have enabled Accenture to puttogether some compelling evidence of the businessbenefits associated with its volunteering activities.Statistics gathered include:

� 92% of volunteers say they develop core businesscapabilities through Accenture’s time and skillsvolunteering programmes.

� 87% of volunteers say that volunteering throughthe company programme increases their pridein Accenture

� 84% of volunteers say that participation involunteering programmes increases their jobsatisfaction.

Challenges and lessons learnedAccenture has a long tradition of supportingvolunteers by providing time off during working hoursfor employees. The current level of engagementwith volunteering awareness clearly benefits fromthis. Some of the key lessons to emerge fromAccenture’s experience are as follows.

1.The company places a strong emphasis onmeasurement. For example, the ABC Programme issubject to monitoring in terms of inputs, outputs andimpacts of the activities. The whole programme wasdesigned with measurement included from the start.Generally, Accenture believes that volunteering

should be a shared experience for employees,something which they can all draw a commonbenefit from.

2.To ensure long-term sustainability of volunteeringprogrammes, Accenture prefers to build long-termassociations with a few key strategic communitypartners. Accenture then engages with thesechosen organisations in a multifaceted way – forinstance interaction between the two groups in oneyear could include fundraising, mentoring, readingpartners and cash giving. Most of the communitypartnerships Accenture has established have beenin place for between five and ten years.

3.Accenture finds that the more strategic thevolunteering activity, the more resource it requires.As the company chooses to take a very strategicand integrated approach to its volunteering, thereare therefore significant resource implications. Arelated challenge is the changing nature andavailability of resource requirements. In 2008/2009,when the economy was slowing down, there wasplenty of time for people to devote to volunteering.However, since business has picked up, it hasbecome increasingly difficult to recruit forvolunteering programmes.

4.Accenture has a good level of buy-in from seniorfigures within the organisation. The ManagingDirector is very vocal in his support for volunteering,and the corporate approach is to lead by example.Some company executives are developing masterclasses in their particular areas of expertise, as part ofthe ABC Programme for community partners. Thecitizenship team believes that clarity in howvolunteering is relevant to the business is of theutmost importance, and once this has beenestablished, there will be good buy-in from seniorstakeholders.

5.Finally, good communications are vital. To promoteinternal knowledge of volunteering opportunitiesand encourage buy-in, the citizenship team marketsvolunteering through community events andnewsletters, which are sent out by the heads ofdepartments. The team also ensures that all newemployees are informed of volunteeringprogrammes at induction.

65


Case Study ThreeBNY Mellon

Current activitiesBNY Mellon’s Community Partnership Programmeoffers employees two days paid volunteering timeeach year. Across the company, participationlevels in volunteering are very good. For example,in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)region, 12% of the workforce volunteered last year,which was up from 4.5% the year before.

Traditionally, the focus of BNY Mellon’svolunteering activities has been contributing to thelocal community and ensuring the programmesresonated with causes and activities thatemployees are enthusiastic about. The mostpopular choices have been in education-relatedvolunteering such as reading partner schemes andCV workshops.

In the past, skills development was not necessarilya core focus when developing the volunteeringprogrammes. However, it became clear thatcertain opportunities, such as being a team leaderfor events, offer great development opportunitiesfor employees in leading and coordinatingprojects. The company now actively seeks ways tofurther engage people and use volunteering as anadditional platform to broaden and deepenemployees’ leadership skills.

An excellent example of innovation in this area iswork carried out by BNY Mellon volunteers as partof an external e-mentoring programme involvingyoung people who are currently not inemployment, education or training (NEET). Thisinitiative enables employee volunteers with heavyworkloads to keep up their commitments to theirmentees by engaging with them online.

Another initiative involving NEET individuals is theopportunity to visit the company’s offices andlearn about different roles within the organisation.The aim is to build their knowledge about the worldof work and raise aspirations.

Working with HR colleaguesCommunity partnership and volunteeringopportunities are now incorporated in BNYMellon’s talent development framework, as anadditional means for employees to develop their‘transferable skills’ or leadership competencies.The partnership between HR and the CorporateSocial Responsibility Committee is key to this.

Currently, community teams map out whatopportunities their charity partners offer and thenwork with business and HR managers to identifyhow these activities may be valuable for groups orindividual employees in skills, competency orknowledge development, as part of their ongoingdevelopment programme.

From an HR perspective, BNY Mellon believes thereare many benefits from volunteering that arealigned with, and can complement, existinglearning and development activities, includingtraditional course-based approaches.

A volunteering exercise not only exposes anindividual to new challenges but does so in a verydifferent environment from their normal businessactivities. As such, HR at BNY Mellon recognise thatvolunteering can be a valuable and powerfullearning experience that has positive personal andprofessional development outcomes – a win-winfor the individual and for the company.

Employee volunteering is not a mandatory part ofemployee appraisals at BNY Mellon, althoughthere is opportunity for employees to includevolunteering in their annual personal developmentplans.

66



Measurement and business benefitsCurrently, the volunteering programme ismeasured using largely quantitative means. Thehours of volunteer time donated by employeesand the value of this time in wages is calculatedmonthly.

However, BNY Mellon recognises that the truevalue of volunteering is often more subjective.Given this, before employees undertakevolunteering activities, they are encouraged tothink about the skills which they might be able toimprove or develop during the course of thevolunteer programme.

In addition, employees receive a feedback formafter completing volunteering assignments, andthere are a number of questions in the annualemployee engagement survey relevant tovolunteering. Both these methods seek to establishhow the volunteers have benefited from theirexperience.

The company finds that volunteering has a hugeimpact on the way employees feel about thecompany, raising engagement levels andimproving employee morale. It is also thought tohave a positive impact on staff retention.

For the past three years, the annual, global BNYMellon employee engagement survey has seen anincrease of 17% in employees’ positive perceptionsof the value of volunteering activity in theEuropean region, and a 13% lift in positiveperceptions of the company’s general work in thecommunities in which it operates in Europe – bothstatistically significant increases.

In terms of the business benefits derived fromvolunteering, skills development is evidently a keybenefit. There are also internal networking benefits,as employees can meet others from within thecompany who they might not have met in theoffice.

Employee engagement levels also benefit fromvolunteering activities. There is a significantincrease in engagement levels among employeeswho volunteer, with 89.6% of those involved ineducation-related volunteering activities inLondon reporting that the activity improved theircommunication skills. Over 80% of those surveyedalso felt that their pride in the company hadincreased and their motivation had improved.

Having an effective volunteering programmehelps to increase the company’s visibility and canalso generate positive PR.

The Community Affairs programme is an integralelement of BNY Mellon’s business strategy.

67



Challenges and lessons learned

1.A key requirement when implementing asuccessful volunteering programme is a strong,multi-faceted internal communication strategy.Awareness of the available opportunities and howthese can be accessed is vital, especially foractivities requiring a longer-term commitment,such as reading partners for school children.

As the Community Affairs team is part of CorporateAffairs (which includes Internal Communications),the two departments have been able to work inclose partnership on communicating volunteeringinformation to internal staff. Last year, the twodepartments worked together on a film which wasshown on the screens in the main reception areaand sent to all the company’s offices. Otherpromotional activity included poster campaigns,desk drops and details of volunteering activitiesappearing in a weekly e-newsletter for staff. Thereis also volunteering information available on thecompany’s intranet.

2.A second, related requirement is the need toreach out to middle management to ensure theyhave the information and tools they need in orderto promote volunteering opportunities within theirteams and communicate the business andpersonal development benefits. This is addressed insome part by a strategic internal communicationcampaign. The company also heavily publicisessenior management engagement in volunteeringactivities which helps to encourage participation.

3.This engagement of senior management has beenappreciated as one of the strengths of BNYMellon’s volunteering programme. TheInternational Community Affairs Manager holds amonthly meeting with the regional Chairmanwhich includes details on volunteering activity. Theheads of various company businesses and sharedservice groups also participate in volunteeringeach year and many participate in the BNY MellonCSR Steering Committee meetings for the EMEAregion which occur every six weeks.

4.Finally, in order to ensure the continuing success ofits volunteering activities, BNY Mellon providesrobust training for employees who participate involunteering activity. This training is often deliveredby community partners such as the localeducation business partnerships. For example,volunteers engaging with students for interviewpreparation will first have a face-to-face sessionwith the project leader in the community group, inorder to establish what the key priorities andlearning objectives are for the student and thevolunteer.

68


Case Study FourNomura

Current activities Volunteering within Nomura benefits from a verypositive culture which places a strong emphasis onmaking a positive contribution to society and seescommunity involvement engrained into themainstream business.

Looking particularly at education-basedvolunteering programmes, Nomura works with anumber of partners to organise a range ofvolunteering programmes including:

� Reading partners, number partners, Frenchpartners, science partners and Japanese clubin a secondary school

� Business mentoring for students in a secondaryschool

� Chess partners and reading partners in aprimary school

� School governors in a primary school and asecondary school

� Team challenge days

� Tours of Nomura

� Specific workshops around developingcommunication and employability skills forsecondary students

These opportunities were arranged in partnershipwith the schools involved, principally SouthwarkPark Primary School and Oaklands SecondarySchool.

Some volunteering activity has been designed byNomura’s Community Affairs team with skillsdevelopment in mind. This includes the Japaneseclub which was recently created with OaklandsSecondary School. It is hoped that this club willenable volunteers to improve their facilitation andcommunication skills.

Annual events recognise volunteeringachievement by Nomura employees, with prizesfor those who have made a significant contributionto the local community.

Working with HR colleaguesIn general, there is close interaction betweenhuman resources (HR) and the volunteeringdepartment at Nomura. The company has justundergone a significant acquisition and will be

investing strengthening closer alignment with theHR team in the year ahead.

The Community Affairs team is in close contactwith HR when developing graduate volunteeringschemes. Key areas for skills development havebeen identified, such as leadership andcommunication, which are targeted in the projectdesign.

For example, the graduate Charity Challengeinvolves team based fundraising for selectedcharities. In order to be awarded seed capital forthe challenge, graduates have to make apresentation to an internal board. Part of theprogramme is aimed at team building amongstthe graduates and encouraging them to buildcontacts within the wider firm. The initiative alsoaims to improve presentation skills and generallybroaden the graduates’ horizons.

In addition to this specific programme, seniorindividuals within the company have on occasionengaged in volunteering activities as part of theirpersonal development, where specific needs havebeen identified. However, this type of trainingthrough volunteering is done on an individual, adhoc basis.

Going forward, Nomura recognises that someinvolvement with the community for leadershipprogrammes is extremely valuable, but at themoment the programme is focussed on buildingsustainable volunteer programmes across eachbusiness area and EMEA coverage.

Measurement and business benefitsA significant driver for Nomura’s volunteeringactivity in neighbouring schools is to establish aconnection with the local community. Thecompany wishes to make a positive impact andrecognises the benefits to staff and its business. Arecent example illustrated 240% Return onInvestment in terms of business benefits from anevaluation based on volunteering alone. Withheadquarters in Japan, there is a cultural emphasison enriching society, and the concept ofcompanies being part of their local communities isan important one for Nomura. Another driver forthe programme is ‘community’ as a core elementof Nomura’s vision and value statements.

Despite this strong emphasis on supporting

69


Case Study FourNomura

volunteering for its own sake, Nomura does seek toassess the effectiveness of its volunteeringactivities. The company tracks participation ratesof employees, sends out surveys to volunteers afterthey have completed their programmes, andattempts to assess the impact their volunteering ishaving on the local community. There are plans toestablish mechanisms whereby skills developmentis measured specifically and the team areexploring options with senior management.

There are recognised motivational and skillsdevelopment benefits from volunteering atNomura, with employees who are new tomanagement within the company encouraged totake part in the student business mentoringprogramme.

In addition, the company aims to recognisevolunteering through line management,encouraging employees to discuss theirvolunteering activity during appraisals as part ofthe corporate performance managementframework. This should feed through into thepromotion process, where volunteeringexperience is considered favourably. Thecompany believes that engagement with thecommunity shows that an employee is committedto Nomura and is not only concerned aboutthemselves as an individual.

Challenges and lessons learnedAccording to Nomura’s experience, the keyelements which support the uptake of volunteeringat the company are as follows.

1.All volunteers are provided with training whichincludes sessions on why Nomura is involved inparticular activities and subject specificinformation. Volunteers are provided withguidance on the students’ curriculum andmethods of teaching, along with child protectionissues. The training is usually carried out byNomura’s partner organisations, who share furthermaterial with the volunteers throughout the year.

2.Ongoing support is also important for a successfulprogramme, often involving the volunteercoordinator checking up with their partner schoolonce a week. In addition, there are formalmeetings every academic term to ensure activities

are running smoothly and to raise areas forimprovement. The coordinator’s role is importantto ensure programmes are monitored throughout.

3.Nomura begins recruiting for volunteers in August,when the school is closed for the summer, but thisensures volunteers have been identified andtrained in time for the new academic year.Furthermore, the workload of volunteers oftenchanges during the course of an academic year.In order to overcome this problem Nomura pairedup volunteers, so they could attend on alternateweeks, and created a pool of back up volunteers,called reserve buddies, who are able to fill in ifvolunteers are unable to make sessions.

4.An element of competition is often introduced, forinstance, communication workshops facilitated ina Dragon Den’s format and sponsoring a bookdesign competition as part of the reading scheme.

5.Nomura recognises that for a programme to besuccessful, a suitable community partner needs tobe identified and selected. Part of the process isensuring the volunteers are working with studentswith real needs, who will make the most of theopportunity.

6.Senior level buy-in at Nomura is very good. Thereare senior executives on the board of OaklandsSecondary School and Southwark Primary School –the company’s two school partners. At the annualvolunteering event, senior partners present prizesand promote volunteering.

7.Finally, the community team at Nomuracommunicates volunteering opportunitiesthroughout the company using a variety ofdifferent channels, including leaflets, a company-wide newsletters, posters, emails and championnetworks. The company also markets volunteeringon digital screens which have been installed inseveral of the offices, and through success storiesoutlined on the intranet. In addition, Nomuraencourages its charity partners to go to thecanteen at lunch time and be available to answeremployee questions.

70


Case Study FiveInvestec

Current activities As part of its investment in the community, Investecsupports five charitable organisations which are allrelated to education, the environment orentrepreneurship. These are Arrival Education, theBromley by Bow Centre, Community Links, MorpethSchool and Starfish (AIDS education in Africa). Forthe purposes of this research, the two mostrelevant partnerships are those with ArrivalEducation and Morpeth School.

� Arrival Education is a social enterprise whichengages 42 Investec employees in coachingand helping to deliver “Success Skills”workshops which are carried out in theworkplace.

� Morpeth School, located in Tower Hamlets, hassince February 2009 worked with thirteenvolunteers from the company who spend 1.5hours per fortnight mentoring students onliteracy skills.

It is worth noting that Investec has only relativelyrecently (in the last two years) engaged ineducation related volunteering.

When the volunteering programmes weredesigned in 2008, there was no considerationmade for the business benefits involved. The rangeof volunteering opportunities that were createdfocused totally on the benefits to the students.Investec was keen to get involved in volunteeringin order to have a positive impact on the localcommunity because it was deemed “the rightthing to do”.

More recently, the concept of business benefitshas come to the fore. This does not mean thecompany plans to completely redesign thevolunteering programmes on offer, but in futurethere will be a more focused approach, with fewer,more specific opportunities.

Working with HR colleaguesAt Investec, the Organisational Developmentdepartment and Social Investment team arecurrently working together to develop a summerscheme for young people, which will involvevolunteers spending two days off-site on theinitiative. Initially this will be piloted as a small project,aiming to achieve wins on both sides. It will bedeveloped into a more ambitious programmedepending on the level of success.

Measurement and business benefitsIn order to measure the benefit of volunteering toindividuals, Investec asks each volunteer tocomplete a feedback form. This form is due to beexpanded in the near future to include more in-depth questions. The intention is to design onequestionnaire for short-term projects and another forlonger-term volunteering experience. The latter willask specific questions about skills development.

Investec recognises the inherent challenge indesigning this type of questionnaire as someemployees might not have thought of skillsdevelopment as a benefit before, so the survey willneed to introduce the concept without askingleading questions.

When Investec began designing volunteeringprogrammes, it did not set any targets. More recently,it has been outlining objectives relating to thenumber of people impacted by certain programmesand it plans to implement skill development targetstoo. Investec believes that volunteering enablesemployees to develop skills which the companywould otherwise have to pay for through traditionaltraining. In particular, it has found that volunteeringimproves the following skill areas:

� Presentation skills

� Engaging with people from differentbackgrounds

� Confidence building

� Communication – on a number of differentlevels

� Reading an audience

� Networking – volunteers help students to do thisand thereby strengthen their own skills in thearea

� Team work.

71


Case Study FiveInvestec

Challenges and lessons learnedSuccess in volunteering programmes at Investec isclosely linked to five important issues. In brief theseare as follows.

1.Good communication is fundamental. Thepartnership between Arrival Education andInvestec ultimately works well because of goodconsultation between the two sides.

2.Flexibility and similar approaches are important.The partnership with Arrival Education is particularlysuccessful because both sides were relatively newto volunteering, with small, flexible teams. Thisenabled Investec to plot opportunities, pilotseveral small scale experimental projects, and tryout different ideas. Investec recommends thatSMEs pick small charities to work with, as theretends to be better engagement andcommunication, and the benefits of projects tendto be realised more quickly.

3.Successful marketing is also an important area,including good communication with employeeswho will become enthusiastic champions bytalking about their volunteering experiences withother colleagues. Internal promotion ofvolunteering principally takes the form of monthlynewsletters which are sent to all employees whohave expressed an interest in volunteering. Thisgroup currently makes up about 30% of theworkforce. In addition, there is one volunteeringemail sent out per quarter to the whole company.Once a year there is a big, coordinated drive onvolunteering involving leaflets drops, posters andpresentations to business units.

4.The person responsible for volunteering reports intoan executive director on the Board, which ensuresa good link to a high-level support for programmes.Recently, two directors at Investec signed up tovolunteer at a forthcoming project. To further raiseawareness, the volunteering team also regularlysubmits reports outlining recent success stories tothe Board.

5.Recently winning a Dragon Award helped raise theprofile of Investec’s volunteering programmesboth internally and externally. The award broughtrecognition and increased buy-in from senior levelswho began to understand the benefits of theprogramme.

72


Case Study SixFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

Current activities Freshfields education based volunteeringprogrammes have, in many cases, been operatingfor the past ten years. A large proportion of thesebegan as the result of a partner at the firm buildinga working relationship with a particular communityorganisation.

When designing or reviewing a programme, theinitial emphasis is on ensuring that young peoplewill benefit from Freshfields’ investment in aparticular community initiative. The two key aimsfor projects are to raise young people’s levels ofachievement and aspirations to seize opportunitiesfor growth. A secondary focus is how Freshfields’volunteers can benefit from the programme, bothpersonally and professionally.

Currently, the firm’s key education-relatedpartnerships are as follows.

� Redlands Primary School (Tower Hamlets). Thisinvolves reading and number partners with 60employees each spending one hourvolunteering every other week in term time, anannual careers day and an annual cultural tripfor the whole school. In addition, there arethree members of staff on the governing bodyof the school.

� Haggerston Secondary School (Hackney).Among other activities, this partnership involvesa mentoring programme, an annual virtualParis and Madrid day to assist those about totake their GCSE oral exam, the CitizenshipFoundation Lawyers in Schools programme,hosting work experience visits and having twomembers of staff on the governing body.

� Cardinal Pole School, where Freshfieldsvolunteers work with students on “Oxbridge”interview preparation.

� Career Academies UK, which involvesvolunteers running a number of workshops andhosting work experience events. A partner fromthe finance team also sits on the CareerAcademies UK advisory board.

� Sutton Trust’s Pathways to Law initiative hasseen Freshfields host a number of workexperience students from state schools who willbe the first in their family to attend universityand whose parents are in non-professionaloccupations, all in the hope that they willconsider a career in law as a result.

� Teach First, where Freshfields runs a summerwork experience programme to assist thoseexceptional graduates who are currentlyteaching in challenging schools across thecountry. As a result of their time at the firm,these graduates help to raise awareness of themany opportunities the legal professionpresents.

Working with HR colleaguesTraditionally, those involved in the design andimplementation of Freshfields’ volunteeringprogrammes have had limited engagement withthe Learning and Development team. It isinteresting to note, however, that since becominginvolved in this research study, there has been animproved relationship between the twodepartments.

While Freshfields does recognise that volunteersdevelop skills and competencies as a result of theiractivities, this has not been formally articulateduntil now. Going forwards, Freshfields wants to findout more about which skills can be developed andfrom what volunteering opportunities.

This will build on initial work the firm has undertakenwhich identified what particular skills aredeveloped through specific volunteering activities.For instance, mentoring programmes have beenfound very beneficial to first- time line managers,helping them to develop active listening skillswhich improve empathy. In a similar way,Freshfields has found that acting as a readingpartner has resulted in volunteers feeling a greateraffiliation with the firm, which has increase jobsatisfaction.

As yet, there is no structured programme regardingthe integration of volunteering experience intoemployee appraisals within the firm. Somevolunteers do outline their activities in the appraisalprocesses, but the majority do not.

73



Measurement and business benefitsA survey is sent out to all employees when theyhave completed a volunteering programme inorder to assess the success of the programme andestablish suggestions for future opportunities. Inbroad terms, the questions included in the surveycover the following areas:

� Whether the volunteer has developed new orexisting skills from participating in the initiative.This is assessed in terms of communication skills,leadership skills, teamwork and other skills.

� Whether the volunteer feels they have gainedfrom taking part in terms of a sense ofachievement; broadening their horizons,improving skills etc.

� The broader benefits of the volunteeringinitiative in terms of its positive impact on thecommunity, motivating employees, benefitingthe firm’s reputation and so on.

Going forwards, the firm plans to ask employeesmore questions around skills developed during thecourse of their volunteering experience.

Beyond these issues, another important benefit ofthe volunteering programme is the opportunity itprovides to build internal networks, by gettingpeople from across the business together andencouraging them to interact. This is particularlybeneficial in bringing together people from thefee-earning side of the business with those inbusiness services.

In addition, volunteering is perceived to improveretention, through improved job satisfaction, and agreater feeling of affiliation with the firm.

Freshfields believes that the business also benefitsfrom an improved ability to recruit good staff, asthe firm is finding that high-calibre graduates wantto work for a more socially responsible firm. CSRand volunteering are seen to be an integral part ofattracting the best talent. While there is no formalmeasurement of this, there is significant anecdotalevidence to suggest that volunteering activitiesare a key attraction to new recruits.

“We want to recruit people who are aware ofwider social issues, and are willing and able tomake a positive contribution to the communities inwhich we live and work.” Kevin Hogarth,Freshfields’ Global Human Resources Director

A related aspect of this is the potential linkbetween recruitment and the schools Freshfieldshas partnered with. The community programmesaim to raise aspirations of local students and it ishoped that in the future, students who havebenefited from Freshfields volunteers might wish toapply to the firm when beginning their owncareers. In recent years as a result of Freshfields’broader work experience programme, 15 peoplehave taken up a permanent role within the firm.

Finally, measurement of the community benefits ofvolunteering programmes includes knowledge ofthe inputs and outputs for the programmes, suchas how many hours have been contributed by thefirm. However, the firm would like to measure thefull impact of that investment in the future, forexample how reading partners have not onlyimproved literacy levels in a school but led toimproved attendance at school.

74



Challenges and lessons learned1.Freshfields believes that stakeholder engagementis a key part of the success of a volunteeringprogramme. Communication amongst thepartners involved, including education brokerssuch as Tower Hamlets Education BusinessPartnership (THEBP) and the Inspire EducationBusiness Partnership in Hackney ensures that allparties understand the aims and purpose of thevolunteering.

Freshfields ensures there are regular meetings withthe schools involved in the volunteeringprogrammes, and finds that partnerships are muchmore successful where there is someone at theschool with a clearly defined role for exploitingrelationships with the business sector, and who isproactive.

2.Sustainability over the longer term is enhanced bycommunicating regularly with volunteers andkeeping them up to date with progress. Prior togetting employees involved, there are tailoredinternal communications plans for each of theprogrammes, which are sometimes targeted atspecific groups. For instance, when recruiting forlanguage partners, the firm will email all knownmodern language speakers. In order to encourageup-take, emails are often sent by the partner incharge of the relevant programme. Other meansof promoting volunteering include ‘lunch andlearn sessions’, often involving presentations byexternal brokers and current volunteers.

At the end of assignments, as already indicated,volunteers are surveyed about their experience.They also receive a summary of what wasachieved and a ‘thank you’ email from the partnerinvolved on that programme. In particular,Freshfields has found that providing informationwhich shows how volunteers are making adifference is a great way to keep momentum up.

3.A key challenge experienced by the staff atFreshfields is around managing expectations. It isimportant that potential volunteers understandthat the programme often involves a long-termcommitment. The community investment teamneeds to make sure that schools are not let down,but at the same time, the firm ultimately exists tomake a profit, and there will be limitations to whatcan be offered. In order to ensure thatprogrammes run smoothly, it can be helpful tohave a single point of contact at the school, and agood relationship with them.

4.Freshfields recommends establishing clear aimsand objectives, to ensure that corporate andcommunity partners have a clear understandingfrom the outset. The firm has found that it isimportant to establish what the corporate partneris able to offer, and over what period of time.Companies should outline what resources areavailable for the programme, and what the charityis entitled to regarding time and financialassistance. Companies should be creative aboutwhat they offer their community partners, forinstance, management or legal advice for schools.Likewise, Freshfields has found that it is best toclarify what the firm expects in return for thevolunteering, for instance, key numbers andquotes for publication in the annual CorporateResponsibility report.

5.Finally, Freshfields has always benefited fromextremely good buy in from senior figures. Allrelationships have a partner involved, for examplea partner from the corporate team is currentlychair of governors at Haggerston SecondarySchool (a main community partner).

75


Case Study SevenSociété Générale

Current activitiesWithin the company’s UK operations, SociétéGénérale is relatively new to corporateresponsibility, having established its strategy in thisarea in 2006. The Corporate Responsibility agendawithin the company was almost entirely driven byemployees, with more than 50% of potential newrecruits asking questions about Société Générale’scommunity activity in interviews. As a result of this,the majority of Corporate Responsibility activitywithin the company is focused on employeeengagement, including volunteering programmes.

Société Générale engages in a range ofeducation related volunteering opportunities,including school partnerships involving help withmaths, reading and French. In addition, thecompany arranges school governor positions andmentoring for students and senior staff atcommunity organisations.

When initially designing volunteering programmes,the priority for Société Générale was to start smallwith an activity which would meet communityneeds whilst appealing to employees’ interestsand be easy for them to engage in. At the outset,there was no consideration of engaging involunteering opportunities to improve skills andcompetencies amongst employees.

As the programme became established,employee personal development became a moreimportant driver. As a result, Société Généralebecame involved in mentoring opportunities withthe UK Career Academy, which were moredemanding and provided greater benefits toemployees.

In terms of priorities, Société Générale is equallyconcerned to ensure that volunteering benefitsthe local community and the business. In additionto the UK Career Academy, the company relies onthe East London Business Alliance, BiTC andEducation Business Partnerships in order to identifyreal community needs. The company thenconsiders community opportunities in light of itsbusiness needs and what it is able to offer. Inseeking to match employee interest andrequirements with community needs, SociétéGénérale aims to give equal weighting to each.

Going forwards, Société Générale plans to add toits involvement with primary schools, movingtowards more challenging activities which will

result in greater business benefits in terms of skillsand competency development. Its plans alsoinclude a closer partnership with one secondaryschool and an increased programme of mentoringopportunities.

Working with HR colleaguesThe corporate responsibility team at SociétéGénérale engages with the HR department withregard to the development of trainingprogrammes. Typically, the head of CR will look atprogrammes which have been developed by HRand see if there is scope to add a CR element.Training which tends to lend itself to this kind ofinput includes leadership, presentation,confidence, listening and innovationdevelopment.

Discussions between the two departments havebegun regarding individual development linked torealising managerial potential. HR identifies areasfor development for individuals and volunteeringcan sometimes be used creatively to fill that need.

For example, the company sees volunteering as anopportunity to add a colourful and creativeelement to the development programmes of thoseemployees earmarked as ‘high flyers’. SociétéGénérale believes that activities such as mentoringand enterprise development can inspire and adddepth to an employee’s experience in a way thattraditional training cannot.

While there is a recognised synergy between thetwo departments, Société Générale has beenworking in this way for a relatively short amount oftime, and has not yet developed a significantnumber of real success stories.

Regarding appraisals, there is no formal strategyfor encouraging employees to utilise theirvolunteering experience to meet personaldevelopment objectives. When this does happen,it is on an ad hoc basis, and mainly amongst the HRdepartment. This is due to wider awareness of thepotential synergies in this department and strongtop down encouragement, which is currently thesubject of a ‘Leaders to Lead’ project to ensure allsenior managers are active in CR activities.

76


Case Study SevenSociété Générale

Measurement and business benefitsSociété Générale does not measure the outcomesor impacts of its volunteering programmesextensively, but where groups of staff are involved,reviews are conducted with the beneficiary, thesupplier and the appointed leader of thevolunteering team to monitor progress and learnlessons for the future. This is supplemented byinterviews and email feedback for individualvolunteers. First time volunteering opportunitiestend to be more closely reviewed.

Currently, there are no set questions or formalisedsurveys sent out to volunteers upon completion of a programme, but in the future, SociétéGénérale intends to follow up the Corporation ofLondon/Corporate Citizenship surveys with its ownquestionnaire to volunteers, as well as evaluatingtheir learning through line managers.

From the available evidence, Société Générale’sapproach to volunteering emphasises the benefit to staff engagement, morale andproductivity. The company also believes thatvolunteering can improve certain skills such asleadership, presentation, listening and thinking‘outside the box’.

The company also believes that volunteering canprovide a real benefit to employees who havereached a plateau in their career. In this context,volunteering can improve or maintainengagement in the company, and enrichemployees’ working lives in a way that otherrewards such as salary and bonus might not.

Société Générale also values the reputationalbenefits of volunteering, finding that employeesappreciate the opportunity to ‘give back’ to thecommunity. Société Générale finds thatvolunteering often improves employees’ pride inthe company, and believes that offeringvolunteering opportunities will increase thecompany’s position as an employer of choice.

An example of a Société Générale volunteeringprogramme with business benefits is thepartnership with ELBA’s ‘Represent London’initiative. Société Générale employees developedand ran seminars on CV and interviewing skills foryoung people, involving group activity andstudent training. Volunteers were given theopportunity to work with and develop a group ofpeople very different to their colleagues or clients,

and this enabled them to improve their creativity, confidence and also their generalpresentation skills.

Challenges and lessons learned1.The corporate responsibility team at SociétéGénérale is small, and it is not always easy toallocate resources to the ongoing citizenship,environment and governance issues which fallunder the team’s remit. The UK team is also theleader for the Group worldwide in citizenship, sothere are demands to share best practice withteams in other countries.

2.Addressing external communication is a realchallenge. Previous thinking has been that this wasnot a good idea as staff could take a negativeview of the Bank using their efforts as volunteers toboost the Société Générale reputation. The currentview is that staff in general and volunteers inparticular would take some pride in well craftedpublicity of volunteers’ efforts to helpdisadvantaged communities, so the CR team islooking into how best to achieve this.There is currently no external communication ofthe company’s UK CR activity other than via thelimited information available on the Groupwebsite.

3In practical terms, Société Générale’s volunteeringactivities tend to be located near to its offices inCanary Warf and the City, i.e. in Tower Hamletsand Hackney. This is done in an effort to reducetravelling distance, and therefore the timeemployees are required to spend away from theirdesks.

4.The community team at Société Générale hasfound that encouraging participation at thebusinesses’ smaller offices is particularlychallenging. There tends to be more reluctance toallow employees time off in smaller units, whereabsence can impact more heavily on colleaguesthan it might in a larger office where there is moresupport. The company finds that more work isrequired in these type of environments to create amore positive culture regarding volunteering.

77


Case Study EightFinancial Services Authority

Current activitiesVolunteering programmes organised by theFinancial Services Authority (FSA) cover threeareas: education, employability and regeneration.Employees are able to take up to 20 days paidleave a year to volunteer, as well as an additional 7days for team challenge events. Approximately20% of the organisation’s 3,000 workforce areinvolved in volunteering.

Specific volunteering initiatives related toeducation include: financial literacy lessons;reading, maths and computing partners; help withCV writing; mentoring young people on workplacement schemes; and supporting YoungEnterprise programmes. The FSA has outlined twopriorities for its volunteering programmes:

1. Engagement with the local community(external)

2. Development of skills and competenciesamong staff (internal).

In practice these two elements are given equalattention in programme development and bothare key throughout the design process.Furthermore, every volunteering programme hasto be aligned with the FSA’s core business, which iswhy volunteering opportunities are often related toconcepts such as financial literacy.

Working with HR colleaguesResponsibility for volunteering programmes at theFSA used to be within the HR department, and thevolunteering team previously reported to themanager for learning and development. Thisstructure facilitated a close partnership and clearlinkage between the two activities. There is a newemphasis on diversity with regards to volunteering,and the team now reports to the manager ofemployee relations, which has lessened the focuspreviously given to ensuring skills andcompetencies are developed throughvolunteering.

However, all volunteering activities continue to bemonitored and tracked on an internal systemalongside training courses; therefore employeesare encouraged to think about volunteering as alearning and development opportunity.

Volunteers are encouraged to include

volunteering experience alongside otherdevelopment activities in their appraisal forms.They are also encouraged to talk to their managerabout what skills they have improved or acquiredand what elements need further development.This is then mapped out on a personal learning anddevelopment plan. Generally, it has been foundthat longer term activities (for example mentoringover an academic year) tend to be better for skillsdevelopment than short, ad hoc activities.

Measurement and business benefitsThe FSA seeks to establish the impact of itsvolunteering programmes on the local communityand on employees. Because of the nature of thefunding which the FSA receives, it is not allowed toengage in philanthropic activity. Therefore, withinthe organisation there is a real emphasis on thereturns to the business of volunteering.

The measurement process is currently still underdevelopment, but generally involves gatheringdata on the inputs and outputs of eachvolunteering activity, which are then reported tothe Operating Committee. This type of informationis obtained through working with communitypartners and asking for employee feedback. Thisfeedback is gathered through surveys whichexplicitly asks what skills volunteers were hoping orexpecting to develop, and those skills which havebeen improved through volunteering.

The FSA recognises that the main business benefitof volunteering is skills and competenciesdevelopment. Volunteering at the FSA is linked tothe employee competency framework. The FSAalso uses its volunteering activity to promote theorganisation as a potential employer in the localcommunity.

Internal awareness of the benefits of volunteering isgood. Managers sometimes approach thevolunteering department for suggestions toparticular challenges they are facing. For instance,if a certain employee needs to improve theirproject management skills, or listening skills, theirline manager might ask if there is anythingappropriate.

78


Case Study EightFinancial Services Authority

Challenges and lessons learnedOverall, the FSA recommends that companiesembarking on volunteering for the first time beginby establishing an agreed strategy. Theorganisation should then establish what needsthere are in the local community, either throughdiscussions with a broker, or through generalresearch. Companies need to talk to employeesand find out what they are interested insupporting, as well as establishing senior level buy-in. More specifically, success in volunteeringprogrammes at the FSA is closely linked to thefollowing important issues.

1.Effective community partners are an integral partof the success of volunteering programmes. TheFSA works with Tower Hamlets EPA (educationbusiness partnership), which is a particularlypositive source of support, with good accountmanagers. Tower Hamlets also provide training forvolunteers and help with problems encounteredduring the course of volunteering.

2.Good communication with partner schools is vitalfor the success of a volunteering project.Companies should develop strong, two-wayrelationships with their community partners – theFSA finds it is key to have a designated schoolcoordinator for each programme.

3.Companies should be clear from the outset aboutwhat can be offered and what needs to beachieved by the programme. The FSA has foundthat it can be particularly useful to outline up frontany important ground rules. For instance, before amentoring session, the FSA has stipulated that thechildren need to have had lunch, and anappropriate classroom needs to have beenbooked.

4.The FSA found that focusing on a particular area ororganisation can be especially effective, andrecently moved from working with a large numberof schools to concentrating efforts on a couple ofkey institutions.

5.When marketing the volunteering opportunitiesinternally, it is often very useful to get staff whohave already completed a volunteeringprogramme to talk to potential new recruits. It isalso important to celebrate success stories. The FSAvolunteering department reports monthly to theOperating Committee and includes details ofimpacts in the presentation, for instance howmany children have been helped by a particularactivity.

6.The pressures of work can be a real challenge,especially where a regular commitment isrequired. For instance, mentors are often importantbecause they provide stability in children’s lives,and can act as role models. Missing anappointment with a mentee can have adetrimental effect on the relationship. in order toprevent children from missing out when volunteersare particularly busy, the FSA has arranged abuddying system, so that volunteers can alternate,and reduce their commitment to once a fortnight.There is also a pool of reserves in case both‘buddies’ are unable make it.

7.The FSA spreads awareness about its volunteeringopportunities through word of mouth, noticeboards and a dedicated intranet site, along withinformation posted on the ‘usual’ website. Inaddition, there is a Community Affairs Committee,which is made up of champions for volunteering.Committee members generate new ideas andaim to refresh existing programmes, as well ashaving a responsibility for raising generalawareness of volunteering.

79


6.2Lessons from the Case Studies

In this final section, we draw together some of thekey messages from the case studies featured inChapter 6 on how to design and deliver aneffective volunteering programme. These lessonsapply to the different stages of the process bywhich volunteering initiatives are planned and run.

Selecting Partners – When entering into avolunteering partnership several companiesemphasise the importance of selecting the rightpartners and intermediaries. Deutsche Bankstresses that every effort should be made tocommunicate and interact successfully with thesepartners at the outset.

Freshfields recommends establishing amemorandum of understanding, with clear aimsand objectives, to ensure that corporate andcommunity partners have a clear agreement fromthe outset. Companies should outline whatresources are available for the programme, whatthe partner should expect regarding time andfinancial assistance, and what the communitypartner requires from the initiative.

Furthermore, it is important that communitypartners really need the assistance that volunteersare offering. In this sense, it is imperative that thepartnership ascertains exactly what is needed inthe community, as well as identifying what thecompany can offer to the community.

In addition, to ensure the sustainability ofvolunteering programmes, Accenturerecommends building long-term associations witha few key strategic community partners, ratherthan trying to set-up too many different initiatives.

Pre-engagement training – Many companies havefound there is real benefit in ensuring volunteersare properly briefed and prepared. BNY Mellon, forexample, provides training for employees which isoften delivered by community partners such as thelocal education business partnerships. Volunteersworking with students have a face-to-face sessionwith the project leader in order to establish whatthe key priorities and learning objectives should befor both the student and the volunteer.

In much the same way, all volunteers at Nomuraare provided with training which includes sessionson why the company is involved in particularactivities. Volunteers are provided with guidanceon the students’ curriculum and methods ofteaching, along with child protection issues. The

training is usually carried out by Nomura’s partnerorganisations, who share further material with thevolunteers throughout the year.

Engage volunteers early in their careers – Althoughrespondents to the survey were drawn from all agegroups, several case study companies suggestthere is value in getting new recruits involved in thevolunteering programme. According to DeutscheBank, getting people involved early in their careerscan be vital to future success. The communityteam encourages participation of new employeesby holding a presentation to new recruits everyfortnight, and emailing new employees upon theirarrival at the bank. In addition, there are monthlyvolunteering newsletters, emailed to the wholecompany, and volunteering lunch drop-ins, wherethose interested can come and find out more.

On-going communications – The need to keeppeople involved and informed is an essentialrequirement for a successful volunteeringprogramme. The case study companiesrecommend a variety of creative measures tomaintain employee engagement.

At BNY Mellon, the volunteering team is part ofCorporate Affairs and works closely with thecommunications team. Last year, they produced afilm on volunteering which was shown on thescreens at reception areas and sent to all theBank’s offices. Other promotional activity includesposter campaigns, desk drops, and details ofvolunteering which appears in the corporate e-newsletter and intranet.

At Nomura, interest in volunteering is enhanced bycommunicating regularly with employees andkeeping them up to date with the outcomes of theprogrammes. There are also tailoredcommunications plans for each of theprogrammes, often targeted at specific groups.For instance, when recruiting for languagepartners, the firm will email all known modernlanguage speakers. In order to encourage up-take, emails are often sent by the senior partner incharge of the relevant programme. Other meansof promoting volunteering include “lunch andlearn sessions” involving presentations by externalbrokers.

On-going support – Most volunteering assignmentsin education require a regular commitment fromthe employee. For instance, mentors are oftenimportant because they provide stability inchildren’s lives, and can act as role models.

80


Missing an appointment with a mentee can havea detrimental effect on this relationship. This canpresent a real challenge for volunteers when theyare confronted with tight deadlines and thepressures of work.

In order to address this issue and prevent childrenfrom missing out when volunteers are particularlybusy, the FSA has arranged a “buddying” system,so that volunteers can alternate with others, andreduce their commitment from once a week toonce a fortnight. To ensure the system never fails,there is also a pool of reserves in case both“buddies” are unable to make a particularmentoring session.

Developing the business case – All companiesagreed that this is a vital element of a successfulvolunteering programme. One aspect of buildingthe business case is a strong emphasis onmeasurement and evaluation.

Accenture’s flagship volunteering programme(Accenture Business Class Programme) is subject tomonitoring in terms of inputs, outputs and theimpacts of the activities. The whole programmewas designed with measurement included fromthe start. At Accenture, the Citizenship Teambelieves that clarity in communicating howvolunteering is relevant to the business is of theutmost importance, and once this has beenestablished, there is good buy-in from seniorstakeholders.

A related challenge is to reach middlemanagement, who can be reluctant to supportvolunteering within their teams. At BNY Mellon, thevolunteering team makes sure middle managersare informed about the business benefits ofvolunteering. This is done through a strategicinternal communication campaign aroundvolunteering and publicising senior engagement inand support for volunteering activities.

End of assignment evaluation – To ensurevolunteering programmes are sustainable over thelong term, it is vital that employees receivefeedback on their activities and know that theircontribution has made a real difference.

At Deutsche Bank they emphasise the need for apositive internal culture, where people feel theycan utilise their two day volunteering allowancewithout negative reactions from peers or linemanagers about taking time off. To achieve this, itis important to evaluate the impacts of theprogramme and communicate across thecompany the positive contribution volunteering

makes to community partners and the business.

In a similar way, Freshfields has found thatproviding information which shows how volunteersare making a difference is a great way to maintainmomentum and ensure good levels of employeeengagement. Again this can only be done byensuring that volunteers are surveyed about theirexperience at the end of assignments. They alsoreceive a summary of what has been achievedcollectively by the volunteers and a ‘thank you’email from the senior partner involved on thatprogramme.

External recognition – Finally, a valuable way ofconfirming the success of the volunteeringprogramme is to gain external recognition.Recently winning a Dragon Award has helped toraise the profile of Investec’s volunteeringprogrammes both internally and externally. Theaward brought recognition and increased buy-infrom senior managers who understood better thebenefits of the programme.

81


82


83


7.1 Introduction 84

7.2 Lessons from the Research Findings 84

7.3 Lessons from the Research Process 86

7.4 Concluding Remarks 86

7. Conclusions

7.1Introduction

Here we draw together the main findings from thisextensive study:

� How volunteering contributes to skillsdevelopment.

� Lessons on the evaluation tools used to assessskills development.

7.2Lessons from the Research Findings

The starting point is that the research has shownthat employee volunteers engaged in educationbased initiatives do experience tangible skillsdevelopment through their volunteeringexperience.

1.As we saw in Chapter 2, the majority of the 546respondents to this survey reported thatvolunteering developed their skills andcompetencies across a broad range of businessrelevant areas. These competencies are stronglyrelated to an individual’s personal effectiveness intheir work role and include:

� Communication skills, including the ability tocommunicate clearly and concisely with awide range of people, and to listen actively.

� Ability to help others, set individualperformance goals, coach and counsel,provide training and development andevaluate performance.

� Adaptability and ability to be effective indifferent surroundings and with different tasks,responsibilities and people.

� Influencing and negotiating skills includingpersuading others, resolving conflicts andnegotiating agreed solutions.

Very importantly, the skills development observedamong volunteers in this research is not simply aself-reported gain. The evidence wascorroborated by the overwhelming majority of linemanagers who felt that volunteers acquired usefulskills from the volunteering experience. The linemanagers observed measurable gains in the samebusiness-relevant skills as those reported by thevolunteers themselves.

There is also very clear evidence that the skills andcompetencies developed through volunteeringassignments are of direct relevance to thecompanies involved. Most of these skills feature in

the mainstream competency frameworks used by companies to monitor and guide staffdevelopment; and all of the companies areinvesting significantly in training and developmentprogrammes to build these competencies in their staff.

2.As well as understanding which skills andcompetencies can be developed throughvolunteering, it is important to consider how theseskills are developed.

Both volunteers and their managers valued theexperiential nature of the learning . Indeed it is thisthat sets it apart from more traditional approachesto training. Volunteering requires employees tostep outside their normal working role and buildrelations with people who perhaps have a verydifferent world view from their own. Respondentsreport that moving outside their “comfort zone” in this way is extremely useful in both developingtheir skills and transferring these skills back into the workplace.

3.However, if companies are to harness the power ofvolunteering as a route to learning anddevelopment, they need to manage the processproperly. This research underlines the importanceof integrating volunteering activities intomainstream HR processes of appraisal anddevelopment. There are two distinct aspects to thisprocess of integration.

First, prior to starting the volunteering, it is importantthat the employee is made aware of the potentialopportunity for skills development. This will involve a proper briefing of the aims and objectives of what the company is expecting to achievethrough the volunteering assignment – for the host organisation, the volunteer, and thebusinesses itself.

The findings suggest that companies which makeserious efforts to use the volunteering activities todevelop the skills and competencies of theiremployees reap real benefits from so doing. Wesaw that among the minority of those employeeswho seek to develop new skills throughvolunteering, almost two thirds believe they areperforming better in their job as a result of theirinvolvement.

The second aspect of integration involves a formalappraisal and evaluation process after completingthe volunteering assignment. The findings show thatamong those whose volunteering activities are partof the appraisal process, the majority agree that

84


the experience has helped them perform better intheir job. Evidence of this can be seen in the casestudies. In addition, proportionately more of thesevolunteers report that they have developed theskills and competencies considered by theresearch.

4.It is also important to note that differentvolunteering activities are more effective indeveloping specific skills and competencies. Someof the key observations are as follows:

Student mentoring is particularly helpful indeveloping the volunteer’s skills and abilities incoaching and helping others to improve by guidingand developing their performance.

Evidence from those who have participated inrunning enterprise workshops reveals significantskills development across a number of areas –particularly leadership, adaptability, teamworkingand building relationships and networks.

The role of school governor is perhaps the mostchallenging volunteering activity considered in thisresearch study and the one which delivers the mostsignificant skills gain. Respondents particularlyhighlight their development in team working,influencing and negotiation skills. In addition, thistype of volunteering activity is extremely useful fordeveloping hard business skills including financialskills such as planning budgets; business awareness;and in developing technical and professional skills.

The most common volunteering activity, reading, language and number partnering, wasparticularly helpful in developing skills in the area of communication and influencing and alsonegotiating.

Supporting an education-related charity wasparticularly helpful in developing team workingskills, building relationships and networks, andfinancial skills.

5.Turning to a consideration of the costs involved, it isclear that employee volunteering programmescan be delivered for relatively modest costs.Overall, the research found that amongrespondent businesses the average annual cost to support each volunteer involved in aneducation based activity in London is £381 perperson per annum. This figure is the full costincluding the direct management costs and alladditional costs involved in running an effectivevolunteering programme.

In contrast, the companies involved in this researchare typically investing at least £400 per person perannum to develop relevant skills andcompetencies in their staff – although data from abroader UK survey on training costs suggest that thetypical training spend per employee could beconsiderably higher.

Hence, for those companies seeking to developcore competencies – such as communication skills;influencing and negotiation skills; and planning andorganisational skills – the cost of doing so throughvolunteering assignments is certainly no moreexpensive than traditional approaches to trainingand development, and might be considerably less.

6.However, the argument in support of employeevolunteering does not simply rest on a direct costcomparison with other forms of training anddevelopment. It is important to consider the widerbenefits of volunteering as part of a company’scommunity investment activities.

o This research has shown that, apart fromdeveloping new skills, the individual employeebenefits from improved morale and increasedjob satisfaction, motivation and commitment tothe company as a direct result of theopportunities afforded by their volunteeringexperience. In addition, volunteers assert thatthey gain greatly from the opportunity to dosomething meaningful that helps others; andthat through this experience they feel betterabout themselves and about the organisationthey work for.

o In addition, we know from previous researchthat there are many benefits accruing to thebusiness itself from a well managed communityinvestment programme. As well as the positiveimpact on staff reported above, benefitsinclude building and maintaining thecompany’s “licence to operate” and theadvantages that accrue from improved brandreputation.

o Most importantly, working to provide structuredsupport for community partners delivers realsocial benefits to the partner organisationwhich gains from the advice, guidance,knowledge and experience of the volunteers.

This research did not attempt to assign a financialvalue to any of these additional benefitsassociated with the volunteering experience.However, it is vital that these positive returns are taken into account when we consider the costs and benefits of organising a volunteering programme.

85


7.Overall we believe the findings described aboveare the strongest articulation of the business casefor supporting employee volunteeringprogrammes that we have seen in researchpublished on this subject to date.

7.3Lessons from the Research Process

As we reported in Chapter 1, very few of the 16 companies participating in this research haveattempted to assess in any formal way the skillsand competencies gained through volunteering,although some companies are using informalprocesses of self-assessment feedback amongvolunteers. As such, the research process itself wastaking these companies into unchartered territory.

However, the research was designed to build onexisting practice among these companies toensure that the results – and more importantly theresearch tools – are widely applicable tocompanies in any sector or any location that areseeking to assess the impact of their volunteeringactivities.

As such, the starting point for assessing thecompetencies developed through volunteeringassignments was a careful consideration of themainstream skills and competencies companieslook to develop more broadly among employees.The aim was to ensure that the evaluation toolwould measure development in skills andcompetencies that are directly relevant to thebusiness.

In addition, it became clear that when consideringthe development gains from volunteering, it isimportant to include some of the broader impactson the individual in terms of increased self-confidence, pride in the company and motivation.

Equally, it is not enough to simply assess the skillsand competencies developed through thevolunteering experience; it is also important tounderstand what happens to the individual beforeand after the event. As such the evaluation toolwas designed to consider the motives behind anindividual’s decision to become involved involunteering, and whether their experiencesgained through volunteering were assessed inappraisal processes.

Finally, the team was concerned that theevaluation tool must address two major challengesusually associated with assessment techniques –resources and knowledge. Building on CorporateCitizenship’s previous work, and by responding tothe advice and guidance of those involved in theconsultative process, the research teamdeveloped an evaluation framework that is bothsimple to use and highly effective in deliveringrobust measurement of the skills andcompetencies developed through volunteeringassignments. Whilst this developed for use ineducation programmes but it could be appliedmore broadly.

Overall, it was felt that the research was “breakingnew ground” for all of the organisations involved inthe study. The competency framework andevaluation tool was an innovative development,allowing companies to assess the impact of theirvolunteering activities in a way that none of themhad done before.

7.4Concluding Remarks

The research team hopes that other companiescan learn from the evidence gathered with thehelp of all the businesses which took the time,trouble and effort to assess the impact of theirvolunteering programmes by getting involved inthis study.

With their help the research has demonstrated thatvolunteering can develop skills and competenciesacross a broad range of business relevant areas.These companies have also shown thatvolunteering delivers wider benefits for itsemployees and the business itself.

Perhaps most importantly, working to providestructured support for community partners deliversreal social benefits to the partner organisationwhich gains from the advice, guidance,knowledge and experience of the volunteers. It isthis potential for both partners to benefit thatunderlines the real business value of supportingemployee volunteers.

86


87


88


Acknowledgements

Corporate Citizenship would like to thank thefollowing people and organisations for theirinvolvement in this research study:

Kevan Baker, AvivaCamilla Fletcher, Bank of America Merrill LynchJoanne Dooley, BDO LLPKaren Green, BNY MellonBryony Scragg, BNY MellonGeoff Lane, Business in the CommunityPetra Wilton, Chartered Management InstituteDavina Pilkington, City ActionAndrea Eccles, City HR AssociationMelanie Beskin, CMS Cameron McKennaZoe Humphrey, Community Service Volunteers Joanna Keefe, Credit Suisse Kate Cavelle, Deutsche Bank Louise Muller, East London Business AllianceNicky Major, Ernst & YoungJames Daffurn, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Linda Harris, Financial Services AuthorityFiona Rawes, Heart of the CityDonna Ore, HSBC Alison Gardner, Investec Anthony Harte, NomuraVictoria Hoe, Nomura Caroline Pyke, Rothschild Sheralee Morris, SantanderSteve Acklem, SGOSSMichael Collins, Société GénéralePatsy Francis, UBS

In addition, the authors of this report would like tothank colleagues in Corporate Citizenship for theirhelp, advice and guidance throughout theresearch project. These include Mike Tuffrey, Jon Lloyd, Chad Rogerson, Sue Woolcott andNicole Clucas.

89


References and Bibliography

Allen, K (2003) The social case for corporate volunteering.

Australian Journal on volunteering, Vol.8, No.1.

Benjamin, Dr E J (2001) A Look Inside Corporate Employee

Volunteer Programs. The International Journal of Volunteer

Administration Volume 19 (2), pp 16-32

BLG Associates (2005) Can Corporate volunteering

support the bottom line? The Challenge. The Opportunity.

The Case for Investment.

Brown, W.A (2005) Corporate Employee Volunteer

Programs: Considering the Interests of Multiple

Stakeholders. The International Journal of Volunteer

Administration, Vol 23 (2), pp.15-19

Charlton, K. (2005) Seeking The Holy Grail of Return on

Investment, Communique, p. 2, Summer 2005.

Chartered Management Institute (2006) Valuing

Volunteering: a route to professional development : views

from VSO volunteers and managers. Cook, P and Jackson,

N, London

Conference Board and Point of Light Foundation (1993),

Corporate Volunteer programmes: Benefits to Business,

Report No 1029, New York, USA

Corden, A and Sainsbury, R (2005) Volunteering for

employment skills: a qualitative research study. University

of York, Social Policy Research Unit, York.

Corporate Citizenship, Making a Difference, Corporate

Community Investment: A Whole Programme Approach

to Measuring Results (200) Corporate Citizenship.

Deloitte (2005) Volunteer IMPACT Survey

Deloitte (2008) Volunteer IMPACT Survey

Deloitte and IVR (2004) Benefits of participation in

corporate volunteer programs: employee’s perceptions

Dubinsky, James. (2006) The Role of Reflection In Service

Learning. Business Communication Quarterly. Sep. Vol.69,

Iss. 3; pg. 306, in Point of Light Foundation (2007), details as

above.

Gay, P (1998) Getting into work: Volunteering for

employability. Voluntary Action, volume 1 Number 1,

Winter 1998.

Hirst, A (2001) Links between volunteering and

employability. Research Brief: Department for Education

and Skills; no 309.

Home Office (2001) Employer-supported volunteering and

giving: findings from the 2001 Home Office Citizenship

Survey, 2004, Home Office, London.

IVR Research Bulletin (2005) Community Investment: the

impacts of employee volunteering at Barclay’s Bank

IVR Research Bulletin (2009) Volunteering and

employment: What is the link for unemployed volunteers?

IVR Research Bulletin (2008) Regular and occasional

volunteers. How and why they help out.

JA Worldwide (2009) The Benefits of employee volunteer

programs: A 2009 summary report

Judge, T. A., Thoresen, C. J., Bono, J. E., & Patton, G. K.

(2001). The job satisfaction-job performance relationship:

A qualitative and quantitative review. Psychological

Bulletin, 127(3), 376-407.

Kotler, P and Lee, N (2005) Corporate Social Responsibility:

Doing the most good for your company and your cause.

John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA

LBG Associates, (2004). Measuring Corporate

Volunteerism, LBG Associates.

Mabey, C and Ramirez, M., Developing Managers: A

European Perspective (2004)

Mook, L, Richmond, B and Quarter, J (2009) Calculating

the Value of Volunteer Contributions for Financial

Statements. The Philanthropist, Volume 18, No. 1

MORI (2003) Corporate Social Responsibility study, in

Volunteering (2000).

Muthuri, J, Moon, J and Matten, D (2006) Employee

volunteering and the creation of social capital.

International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility,

Nottingham, UK

National Centre for Social Research and the Institute of

Volunteering Research (2007) Helping Out: A national

survey of volunteering and charitable giving

Pidgeon, W,P Jr (1998) The Universal Benefits of

Volunteering, John Wiley and Sons, New York, USA.

Point of Light Institute (2007) Skill-Based Volunteering Holds

for Employee Skills and Nonprofit Partner Effectiveness: A

Review of Current Knowledge

Points of Light Foundation and Allstate Foundation (2000),

The Corporate Volunteer Program as a Strategic

Resource: The Link Grows Stronger, Washington, D.C.: The

Points of Light Foundation

Skills for Employability (2008) Skills for Employability

Laboratory study

Swisher V., (2008), Using the Company as the Classroom,

Business Week Online.

The Morgan Inquiry (2008) [online] Accessed from:

www.morganinquiry.org.uk

Tuffrey, M (1997) Employees and the Community, how

successful companies meet human resource needs

through community involvement

Tuffrey, M (1998) Valuing Employee Community

Involvement.

UK Commission For Employment and Skills (2009) UK

Commission For Employment and Skills – Ambition 2020

(2009)

University of Bath (2008a) Governing our Schools, October

2008 commissioned for Business in the Community.

University of Bath (2008b) The School Governance Study

October 2008 commissioned by BITC Education Team and

funded by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP.

Wall Street Journal (1993) Non profit training for Profitable

careers, New York Times, August 1993, USA.

Welsh Assembly Government (2006) An introduction to

employee volunteering in the public sector, Crown

Copyright, London.

Weiser, J. Zadek, S. Conversations with Disbelievers:

Persuading Companies to Address Social Challenges

(2000) The Ford Foundation.

90


http://www.morganinquiry.org.uk

APPENDIX A – Aviva UK Volunteer Research Results 92

APPENDIX B – Retrospective Survey 94

APPENDIX C – Before and after survey 97

APPENDIX D – Line Manager Survey 100

APPENDIX E – Skills Developed Through Specific Volunteering Activities 103

91


Appendices

92


Appendix A – Aviva UK Volunteer Research Results

Volunteering has improved my…

… adaptability 5.2%(5) 8.3% (8) 33.3% (32) 42.7% (41) 10.4% (10)

… teamworking skills 11.7% (11) 9.5% (9) 18.0% (17) 44.6% (42) 15.9% (15)

… communication skills 3.1% (3) 6.1% (6) 16.4% (16) 54.6% (53) 19.5% (19)

… influencing / negotiating skills 15.4% (15) 13.4% (13) 13.4% (13) 47.4% (46) 10.3% (10)

… problem solving skills 16.8% (16) 13.6% (13) 25.2% (24) 33.6% (32) 10.5% (10)

… leadership skills 12.2% (11) 17.7% (16) 30.0% (27) 22.2% (20) 17.7% (16)

… planning & organisation skills 10.0% (10) 20.0% (20) 28.0% (28) 25.0% (25) 17% (17)

… decision making 15.2% (14) 23.9% (22) 23.9% (22) 26.0% (24) 10.8% (10)

… maximising performance of others 8.6% (8) 9.7% (9) 32.6% (30) 20.3% (27) 19.5% (18)

… financial skills 66.6% (58) 24.1% (21) 5.7% (5) 3.4% (3) 0

… customer focus 32.2% (29) 14.4% (13) 31.1% (28) 16.6% (15) 5.5% (5)

… excellence & continuous improvement 34.0% (30) 14.7% (13) 25.0% (22) 21.5% (19) 4.5% (4)

… business awareness 50.0% (44) 27.2% (24) 17.0% (15) 5.6% (5) 0

… technical / professional skills 53.4% (47) 23.8% (21) 14.7% (13) 7.9% (7) 0

Table 1Personal Impact

Not relevant No Difference A little

Improvement

Some

Development

Significant

Development

Volunteering has improved my…

… self confidence 0.9% (1) 5.9% (6) 55.4% (56) 32.6% (33) 4.9% (5)

… sense of well being and happiness 0 2.4% (2) 53.6% (44) 41.6% (34) 2.4% (2)

… understanding & empathy with people 0 2.8% (3) 49.0% (51) 45.1% (47) 2.8% (3)

… awareness of wider social issues 0 3.8% (4) 44.6% (46) 47.5% (49) 3.8% (4)

… job satisfaction 3.1% (3) 6.3% (6) 51.5% (49) 22.1% (21) 16.8% (16)

… pride in Aviva / my job 2.0% (2) 5.0% (5) 56.5% (56) 25.2% (25) 11.1% (11)

… commitment to Aviva 1.9% (2) 8.7% (9) 52.4% (54) 23.3% (24) 13.5% (14)

… motivation 1.0% (1) 9.3% (9) 53.1% (51) 29.1% (28) 7.2% (7)

Table 2Personal Outlook on Aviva / job

Strongly

Disagree


Agree

Not

Applicable

93


Since volunteering I am more likely to …

... undertake more volunteering 0 9.0% (9) 50.0% (50) 40.4% (40) 0

… recommend volunteering to a colleague 0 4.9% (5) 40.5% (41) 53.4% (54) 0.9% (1)

… talk positively about Aviva 0.9% (1) 4.9% (5) 52.9% (54) 29.4% (30) 11.7% (12)

Table 3Impact on behaviour

Strongly

Disagree


Agree

Not

Applicable

Skills and experience gained through volunteering …

… has helped me perform better in my job 1.2% (1) 20% (16) 43.7% (35) 13.7% (11) 21.2% (17)

… helps me apply for more senior roles 2.2% (2) 37.7% (34) 23.3% (21) 13.3% (12) 23.3% (21)

… has been / will be used in my review 5.8% (6) 25.4% (26) 39.2% (40) 12.7% (13) 16.6% (17)

Table 4Impact on career development

Strongly

Disagree


Agree

Not

Applicable

About the volunteering opportunityVolunteering opportunity name

Volunteering opportunity description (select from list)

School governor


Student mentoring


Enterprise workshop

Work experience programme

Support education related charity

Other

School / Education partner name (write name in box)

Date volunteering opportunity started (e.g. DD/MM/YYYY)

Date volunteering opportunity ended (e.g. DD/MM/YYYY)

How many paid working hours did you contribute?

(write hours in box)

How many non-working hours did you contribute?

(write hours in box)

Date you are completing this questionnaire (e.g. DD/MM/YYYY)

ObjectivesWhat was the main driver behind you volunteering?

(select one from list)

Develop new skills


Meet new people

Something different from usual day role


Other

94

Appendix B – Retrospective Survey

Employee volunteer impact assessment form

You have recently taken part in an employeevolunteering activity.

This survey has been created in order to assessthe skills and competancies you have gainedthrough volunteering.

All answers are strictly confidential. We wouldbe very grateful if you could please take amoment to answer the questions below

95


Please answer the following questions by indicating the degree to which you feel the statement relates to your volunteering experience

1. Impact on job-related skills Descriptions:

a. Your personal effectiveness The volunteering activity improved my…

(tick relevant descriptions)

adaptability

teamworking skills

communication skills

influencing / negotiation skills

problem solving skills

b. Management effectiveness The volunteering activity improved my…


leadership skills

planning & organisation skills

decision making

maximising performance of others

financial skills

c. Your business effectiveness The volunteering activity improved my…


relationship building

willingness to continually improve

business awareness

technical / professional skills

2. Personal impactDescriptions: Strongly Disagree Agree Strongly agree Not

disagree applicable

a. Personal The volunteering activity improved my…


self-confidence

sense of well-being / happiness

understanding of & empathy with other people

awareness of wider social issues

b. Outlook on company/jobThe volunteering activity increased my…


job satisfaction

commitment to the company

motivation

3. Impact on behaviourSince the activity I am more likely to…


undertake more volunteering

recommend volunteering to a colleague

talk positively about the company

Not relevant

to this activity

No

difference

A little:

e.g. improvement

in my awareness

of my ability

in this area

Some

development:

e.g. demonstrable

improvement that

I can use in my work

or personal life from

time to time

Significant

development:

Significant

improvement in

my ability that

I can apply on

a regular basis

4. Impact on career developmentThe skills and experience gained from the volunteering activity…

Strongly Disagree Agree Strongly agree Not

disagree applicable

(tick relevant description)

have helped me perform better in my job

make me better able to apply for

more senior positions

have been/will be assessed in my

appraisal process

5. Additional InformationHave you benefited in any other way from

the volunteering activity?

Yes

No

(if yes, write a brief description in this box)

96


About the volunteerWhat is your job grade/level?

Admin

Supervisor

Line manager

Senior manager

MD/Partner

Other

What is your gender?

Female

Male

How long have you worked in this company?

Less than 1 year

1-3 years

3-6 years

6-10 years

More than 10 years

Is this your first experience of volunteering?

Yes

No

How old are you?

25 or under

26-35

36-45

46-55

56 or aboveThank you for taking the time tocomplete this survey.


97

Appendix C – Before and after survey

1. About the volunteering opportunityVolunteering opportunity name

Volunteering opportunity description (select from list)

School governor


Student mentoring


Enterprise workshop

Work experience programme

Support education related charity

Other

School / Education partner name (write name in box)

Date volunteering opportunity started (e.g. DD/MM/YYYY)

Your details; in order to track your response when we survey you

again in December, please provide your first name and surname in

the boxes below. This information will be held in the strictest

confidence and is for research purposes only. Your name and

individual response will not be disclosed to your employer.

First name

Surname

ObjectivesWhat was the main driver behind you volunteering?

(select one from list)

Develop new skills


Meet new people

Something different from usual day role


Other

New employee volunteer impact assessment form

This research takes the form of twoquestionnaires with the same format – the firstwill be carried out before you begin yourvounteering , to provide a self-assessment of your current level of skills and / or knowledge ina particular area. You will be asked to fill outthe same questionnaire again at a later dateto see whether you feel that youhave noticed an improvement in any of theseareas.

We anticipate that each of the questionnairesshould take no longer than 10 minutes tocomplete. The results that we collect will bevery useful in assessing volunteering learning and development throughvolunteering- we also hope that these will beuseful to you in monitoring the impact thatvolunteering is having on your personal development. All answers are strictlyconfidential.

Please answer the following questions by indicating your ability / skill level in the followingcompetencies.

For the following questions, please indicate your ability using a 1 – 10 scale. This should reflect yourcurrent skill level and you will be asked again in December whether there has been any change tothis rating. 1 indicates minimal ability and 10 indicates a full understanding and ability in that area.

2. Job-related skills

a. Your personal effectiveness

(tick relevant scale box) not applicable

adaptability; being effective in

different suroundings

teamworking skills

communication skills

influencing / negotiation skills

problem solving skills

b. Management effectiveness


leadership skills

planning & organisation skills

decision making and exercising judgement

helping others improve; guiding

and evaluating their performance

Financial skills; eg planning budgets

c. Your business effectiveness


building relationships and networks

willingness to continually improve

business awareness

technical / professional skills

3. Personal attributes

a. Personal


self-confidence

sense of well-being / happiness

understanding of & empathy with other people

awareness of wider social issues

Job satisfaction

Pride in the company

Commitment to the company

Motivation

98


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

99


4. Additional Information

What aspect of the volunteering experience do you/did you expect

to help you build or develop new/existing skills and competencies?

Yes

No


Do you anticipate the volunteering activity will benefit you in any other way/did

you anticipate that the volunteering would benefit you in any other way?

Yes

No


About the volunteerWhat is your job grade/level?

Admin

Supervisor

Line manager

Senior manager

MD/Partner

Other

What is your gender?

Female

Male

How long have you worked in this company?

Less than 1 year

1-3 years

3-6 years

6-10 years

More than 10 yearsThank you for taking the time tocomplete this survey.

Is this your first experience of volunteering?

Yes

No

How old are you?

25 or under

26-35

36-45

46-55

56 or above

Line manager assessment of the impact of employee volunteering

Many of your colleagues, some of whom report to you (your ‘reports’), have completed a surveylooking at the skills and competencies they have gained through volunteering.

This questionnaire seeks YOUR views on the potential of volunteering activities to help employeesdevelop skills and competencies.

In providing your responses, please think about the skills development you have observed in yourdirect staff reports who you know have undertaken volunteering activities.

As far as possible, please try to assess the skills gain that you think can be directly attributed to thelearning and development employees have experienced through volunteering.

We would be very grateful if you could please take a moment to answer the questions below.

ALL ANSWERS ARE STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL.


100

Appendix D – Line Manager Survey

2. Impact of volunteering activity on skills development

EXAMPLE RESPONSE:

Think about the number of staff who report to you that you know have been involved in volunteering in education programmes.

How many people and to what extent, did they develop skills in the following areas:

Example: I have 15 people who report to me that have been involved in volunteering in education programmes. They have developed skills as

follows:

No A little Some Significant Not Don’t

difference development development development relevant Know

Adaptability;

being effective in different suroundings 3 4 6 2

Teamworking skills 2 5 5 3

For the following questions, please indicate the degree to which

you feel each statement relates to your staff who have been

involved in volunteering in education programmes.

1. Your role as line manager

Approximately how many people report into you?

Of these people, approximately how many have been actively

involved in your company’s volunteering activities during the past

12 months?

Of these volunteers, approximately how many were engaged in

volunteering in schools, colleges or other educational initiatives?

Thinking about the staff who report to me that have been involved

in volunteering in education programmes, I believe the following

number of people have developed skills to the following extent in

these areas:

No A little Some Significant Not Don’t

difference development development development relevant Know

Adaptability;

being effective in different suroundings

Teamworking skills

Communication skills

Influencing / negotiation skills

Problem solving skills

Leadership skills

Planning & organisation skills

Decision making and exercising judgement

Helping others improve; guiding and

evaluating their performance

Financial skills; eg planning budgets

Ability to build relationships and networks

Willingness to continually improve

Business awareness

Technical / professional skills

3. Impact of volunteering activity on career developmentThinking about all those staff who report to me, I feel that the experience

they have gained through volunteering in education has:

(Please insert "X" in the appropriate box for each statement)

Helped them to perform better in their job

Made them better prepared to apply

for more senior positions

Been/will be assessed in their appraisal process

101


4. Additional InformationOverall, do you feel that the experience gained by volunteers

helps them to develop skills and competencies that are useful to

your business?

Yes

No

If yes, what aspects of the volunteering experience do you think

are most important in helping staff to develop their skills and

competencies?

(Please write a brief description in the box)

Are there any aspects of employee volunteering that are NOT helpful for the business?

(If yes, please write a brief description in the box)

102


Thank you for taking the time tocomplete this survey.

103


Appendix E – Skills Developed Through SpecificVolunteering Activities

Impact on job-related skills. The volunteering activity improved my…

… adaptability; being effective

in different suroundings 16.0% (32) 30.5% (61) 40.5% (81) 8.0% (16) 5.0% (10) 200

… teamworking skills 33.0% (66) 23.0% (46) 27.0% (54) 6.5% (13) 10.5% (21) 200

… communication skills 10.0% (20) 26.4% (53) 42.8% (86) 17.9% (36) 3.0% (6) 201

… influencing / negotiation skills 28.5% (57) 23.5% (47) 26.5% (53) 10.5% (21) 11.0% (22) 200

… problem solving skills 34.5% (69) 19.5% (39) 26.5% (53) 8.0% (16) 11.5% (23) 200

… leadership skills 36.3% (73) 17.4% (35) 25.9% (52) 8.0% (16) 12.4% (25) 201

… planning & organisation skills 37.0% (74) 22.0% (44) 25.5% (51) 7.5% (15) 8.0% (16) 200

… decision making and exercising

judgement 36.0% (72) 22.5% (45) 23.5% (47) 6.5% (13) 11.5% (23) 200

… helping others improve; guiding

and evaluating their performance 13.1% (26) 16.6% (33) 39.7% (79) 25.6% (51) 5.0% (10) 199

… financial skills; e.g. planning budgets 57.5% (115) 2.5% (5) 5.0% (10) 1.0% (2) 34.0% (68) 200

… building relationships and networks 23.5% (47) 31.0% (62) 30.0% (60) 10.0% (20) 5.5% (11) 200

… willingness to continually improve 28.5% (57) 24.0% (48) 33.0% (66) 8.5% (17) 6.0% (12) 200

… business awareness 52.2% (105) 9.0% (18) 10.4% (21) 0.5% (1) 27.9% (56) 201

… technical / professional skills 51.0% (102) 11.5% (23) 12.5% (25) 0.5% (1) 24.5% (49) 200

Table 1Reading / language / number partners


development

Significant

development

Not relevant to

this activity

Response

Count

104



… adaptability; being effective in

different suroundings 11.2% (10) 24.7% (22) 50.6% (45) 11.2% (10) 2.2% (2) 89








judgement 19.3% (17) 26.1% (23) 35.2% (31) 11.4% (10) 8.0% (7) 88








Table 2Student Mentoring


development

Significant

development

Not relevant to

this activity

Response

Count

105












judgement 23.2% (13) 26.8% (15) 30.4% (17) 14.3% (8) 5.4% (3) 56








Table 3Enterprise Workshops


development

Significant

development

Not relevant to

this activity

Response

Count

106



… adaptability; being effective

in different suroundings 24.1% (13) 25.9% (14) 37.0% (20) 7.4% (4) 5.6% (3) 54








judgement 29.6% (16) 22.2% (12) 35.2% (19) 5.6% (3) 7.4% (4) 54




Table 4Supporting an Education Related Charity


development

Significant

development

Not relevant to

this activity

Response

Count

107


Impact on job-related skills The volunteering activity improved my…










judgement 16.3% (8) 30.6% (15) 34.7% (17) 18.4% (9) 0.0% (0) 49








Table 5School Governors


development

Significant

development

Not relevant to

this activity

Response

Count

108


The City of London Corporation

The City of London is exceptional in many ways, not least in

that it has a dedicated local authority committed to

enhancing its status on the world stage. The smooth running

of the City’s business relies on the web of high quality

services that the City of London Corporation provides.

Older than Parliament itself, the City of London Corporation

has centuries of proven success in protecting the City’s

interests, whether it be policing and cleaning its streets or in

identifying international opportunities for economic growth.

It is also able to promote the City in a unique and powerful

way through the Lord Mayor of London, a respected

ambassador for financial services who takes the City’s

credentials to a remarkably wide and influential audience.

Alongside its promotion of the business community, the City

of London Corporation has a host of responsibilities which

extend far beyond the City boundaries. It runs the

internationally renowned Barbican Arts Centre; it is the port

health authority for the whole of the Thames estuary; it

manages a portfolio of property throughout the capital, and

it owns and protects 10,000 acres of open space in and

around it.

The City of London Corporation, however, never loses

sight of its primary role – the sustained and expert promotion

of the ‘City’, a byword for strength and stability, innovation

and flexibility – and it seeks to perpetuate the City’s position

as a global business leader.

Date post:	25-Apr-2020
Category:	Documents
Upload:	others
View:	2 times
Download:	0 times

Volunteering – The Business Case - Corporate Citizenship · 2012-03-06 · Volunteering – The...

Documents