Many companies have some form of corporate giving incorporated into their business model, but there are varying degrees of company commitment to giving back. While any amount of charity is a step in the right direction, providing more opportunities for employee involvement in the process has increasingly greater benefits for the company itself, including improvements to employee satisfaction, morale, and retention.
Increased Employee Satisfaction
Employees value working for a company that places importance on the idea of giving back to the community. The greater the opportunities for direct employee involvement, the higher the potential for increased employee satisfaction. Experts on company growth, such as Eyal Gutentag, understand that giving back provides arguably just as much benefit to the giver as the receiver. Offering employees ample opportunities to be involved in giving back to causes that are important to them potentially improves the overall level of employee job satisfaction.
Increased Company Morale
Organizing events for employees to help the company give back to the community not only improves the company’s reputation within the community, but it also increases employee morale in the workplace. Company-wide volunteer events can help create a sense of community within an organization, thereby raising overall company morale. Entrepreneur.com asserts that higher morale leads to an increase in employee productivity and corporate growth, thus benefiting the organization along with the employees and community.
Increased Retention Rates
Happy workers are more likely to be loyal to the company for which they work. Loyal employees are less likely to seek jobs elsewhere. Creating an environment in which people are engaged in charitable causes has the potential to lead to more pride in the company and the job a person does, thereby increasing retention rates and reducing the costs of hiring and training new employees and the loss of experience in the workforce.
For organizations interested in improving employee satisfaction, company morale, and higher retention rates, now might be a good time to re-examine corporate charity practices to examine where improvements can be made.
