Employer supported volunteering

Employer supported volunteering is a major component of CCI and describes the various ways in which employees can participate in community projects with their employer's support. Examples include mentoring pupils in secondary schools, secondment to a charity, acting as a trustee and participating in team challenges.

In addition to bringing valuable benefits to the host organisation, employer supported volunteering is an excellent way of building morale in the workforce, as well as developing skills and competencies such as leadership skills, team building, innovation and time management.

Employer supported volunteering can vary from one-off events such as team challenges to longer-term one-on one volunteering such as mentoring. Employer supported volunteering can take place during work time or out-of-hours.

The following Complete Beginners Guides are available to view:

• Read the Beginners Guide for employers
• Read the Beginners Guide for SMEs
• Read the Beginners Guide for public sector organisations
• Read the Beginners Guide for voluntary sector organisations

• Read a Beginners Guide for organisations who would like to involve employer supported volunteers in the work of their organisations
  

Although not strictly speaking “volunteering” the following forms of employee community involvement are often incorporated into ESV, and are offered as a means to complement volunteering activity and add value to local communities as well as providing a tangible way to measure benefits in terms of the interpersonal and skills development that employees have gained.

• Secondments
  Secondments to another organisation, either a voluntary organisation or public sector body are for an agreed time limit of usually between 6 months and 2 years. The salary of the secondee is paid by their employer. Secondments can be used as a development tool for younger members of staff, to provide an employee with new energy and focus in mid-career or to prepare the way for retirement.

• Development Assignments
  Development Assignments are essentially short-term secondments and provide intensive development of personal skills and complement more traditional approaches to staff training. They are often for a duration of 100 hours which can be used flexibly.

- More information on secondments and developments assignments

In-house training and placements

These are a popular way of working with community organisations by opening up in-house training and offering work place visits and work experience to members/clients of community organisations or projects.