Volunteering (1 Viewer)

[Cjw_55106]

What are some negatives to paid time off for volunteering? Think of this from the perspective of a larger company (over 20,000 employees). I'm talking like one day per quarter. Doesn't have to be a team effort. One employee could be out on a random day doing his/her thing. 

• The obvious cost to the employer
  
• Some departments simply don't have the manpower.
  

Try to view this as something you want to do while listing the obstacles as opposed to looking for reasons to shut down the idea...if that makes sense. 

 

[Joe Summer]

I hear that Higgs would love to volunteer for Meals On Wheels, if only the government would allow it.

 

[E-Z Glider]

Probably HR obstacles since its outside of the workplace, but still on company time. What happens if someone gets hurt/harassed/offended/etc while volunteering?

eta - my wife works for J&J and they do this once a year around the holidays (more of a team thing and they dont get to choose the charity - which probably helps with some of these issues) 

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

The only negatives or internal objections I can think of are administrative, so the above by EZGlider.

I would expect objections from the people who have to do the accounting for time spent off site.

Also I would not be surprised if there is some controversy about approved orgs. I could see some political types asking why their extreme left/right org or group isn't on the approved list, which causes a headache for management.

But again the objections would be from the administrative side of things. It's hard for me to imagine any employee complaining about getting out during the day.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

The obvious cost to the employer

Resolved by the added goodwill and promotion of the business name in the community.

Some departments simply don't have the manpower.

Employee clears it 2 weeks in advance with the manager.

- Again however this raises an administrative headache for the manager who has to keep track of who is out and what the needs will be x days out.

 

[ZenMaster]

There would need to be a system to verify the employee actually did the volunteering. Otherwise I could volunteer at the golf course.

 

[brun]

Would it be possible to start the program with just 1 day per year? 1 per quarter seems like a big leap.

Keep in mind that there are many ways to participate. I've seen lots of options, from working at a soup kitchen to playing in a charity golf tournament.

 

[Cjw_55106]

Thanks all. I appreciate the input. I agree that at least to start, we would have to limit the groups we could volunteer towards.

I get the admin part of it, but the good news is, we have plenty of managers and most have less than 20 employees directly reporting to them. I think this would make the verify the employee actually did the volunteering doable. 

 

[Cjw_55106]

Resolved by the added goodwill and promotion of the business name in the community.

This was my main thought. We actually have over 20K employees, but I accounted for the fact that some simply wont participate and went with easy math:

20,000 X 8 hours X 4 times per year is over 600,000 hours of volunteering a year! The amount of good that can be done in that time is immeasurable. 

 

[glvsav37]

There would need to be a system to verify the employee actually did the volunteering. Otherwise I could volunteer at the golf course.

or at a strip joint, you know, voluntarily contributing to that nice young lady's college fund. 

 

[Bull Dozier]

Thanks all. I appreciate the input. I agree that at least to start, we would have to limit the groups we could volunteer towards.

I get the admin part of it, but the good news is, we have plenty of managers and most have less than 20 employees directly reporting to them. I think this would make the verify the employee actually did the volunteering doable. 

My employer gives employees one day a year to volunteer.  It probably depends on the type of employee we are talking about, but in my office, it is generally an honor system.  We are office workers, and many in my group have 15+ years of service with the company.  I would find it insulting if management told me I had a day to volunteer for a cause I was interested in, then was asked for some kind of documentation to prove I had actually volunteered.

 

[Ilov80s]

Thanks all. I appreciate the input. I agree that at least to start, we would have to limit the groups we could volunteer towards.

I get the admin part of it, but the good news is, we have plenty of managers and most have less than 20 employees directly reporting to them. I think this would make the verify the employee actually did the volunteering doable. 

My wife's company doesn't do it for hourly employees because of the risk of something happening while the employee was on the watch of the company. However, they do encourage salaried employees to some time off for volunteering. 

 

[Cjw_55106]

My wife's company doesn't do it for hourly employees because of the risk of something happening while the employee was on the watch of the company. However, they do encourage salaried employees to some time off for volunteering. 

Ah, maybe salaried only is a good route to take.