Ways You Can Support Your Employees’ Causes
Among the many ways you can promote a better workplace culture within your business is supporting those causes that your employees support. By showing your employees that the charitable and good-works efforts important to them are important to you, you’ll be boosting morale and demonstrating that your brand is one that thinks about the big picture — you’re all about improving the community around you in addition to fulfilling the goals of your business operations.’
ASMM Digital Organized Burgers & Bands for Suicide Prevention.
What Are Your Employees’ Causes
So, what does it mean to support your employees’ causes? First, consider how you can find out about their chosen causes in the first place. Some employees will be more open about it — which is great, because this makes your job easy. They come directly to you, tell you about the cause they are supporting, and share with you how you can help.
But what about those employees who aren’t as open or forthright? How do you find out what’s important to them? Moreover, how do you encourage employees who don’t have a cause to support? Is there a way you can help connect them with something that fires them up?
One easy way is to work with an organization that helps people find causes that speak to their hearts. ASMM is proud to partner with Charity Connect for this purpose.
Don’t be afraid to have an occasional brainstorming session with your team — you could do it quarterly and have it coincide with a team lunch. Have everyone on your team bring a charitable or nonprofit mission that means something to them, and encourage them to share with everybody why it means so much.
This accomplishes several goals. First, you find out about the values an employee has, and you learn about them in very personal ways. Secondly, this introduces employees to new ways of serving their community. Maybe the charitable effort that John talks about will resonate with Jane, who has been looking for volunteer opportunities but not having any luck finding one that clicks up until that point.
These team building exercises will give everyone on staff an opportunity to recognize the value of volunteering and donating. The next step is for you as the boss to follow through on showing your support for these endeavors in whatever way you can.
But That’s A Lot Of Time & Money
Do you have to support all of them in the exact same way? No, of course not! You have only so much time and so much money. But showing an interest and providing encouragement will boost morale and make employees feel appreciated.
Here are some ways you can support your employees’ causes:
Pay for volunteer time
Many people have causes they support, but they feel as if they don’t have time to volunteer for them during a 40-hour work week. One bonus you can offer is up to five paid volunteer hours a month (or whatever amount of time is realistic for your company). Employees have the opportunity to go volunteer or serve on a committee during office hours or while they’re on the clock.
Volunteer with them
Your employees will feel supported to an even greater extent if they have not only your blessing and encouragement to go volunteer but also you standing right next to them while they do it. This will give you and your employee a chance to learn about each other outside of your work environment while you do something practical and collaborative.
Hold a fundraiser or match donations
Maybe your business can hold a fundraiser for an employee’s charitable cause. If you’re a restaurant, you could plan a night where 10% of all sales go to a nonprofit organization, or you could offer a raffle ticket for a basket of free products to any customer who makes a purchase during a designated week. Feeling really generous? Why not offer to match any funds that are raised?
Use your platform to spread the word
You know your business has a strong following on social media, so why not use that to benefit your employees? If they are raising money or awareness for a cause, post about it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn. Let people know what your team members are doing and that you’re proud of them. Not only will you demonstrate that volunteering and donating are part of your company values — you’ll also be directing more members of your community to get involved with the cause.
Create an employee newsletter highlighting volunteer efforts
Even if you don’t have team meetings regularly to discuss what volunteer efforts and fundraising projects your employees are taking on, you can still keep everyone aware and in the loop. Put together a monthly newsletter covering the latest updates within each charity or nonprofit organization an employee is supporting, and send it out to the whole staff. Be sure to include details on how others can get involved if the mission excites them.