It is increasingly reported in various business publications that today's employees are entering the workforce with an expectation that volunteering will be a part of their professional careers.

Supporting this view is a recent PriceWaterhouseCoopers study that found 88 percent of Millennials gravitated toward companies with pronounced corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. The research further determined that 86 percent of respondents would "consider leaving if their present employer's CSR no longer met their expectations."

Further supporting this data is the 2011 Deloitte Volunteer IMPACT Survey which showed that 61 percent of Millenials said a volunteer program would be a factor "when choosing between two potential jobs with the same location, responsibilities, pay and benefits."

Broad-reaching studies and surveys are always helpful to employers like you in justifying new programs, or enhancing programs that have not been reviewed for their merit or impact in a number of years. Common sense, however, should be a sensible guide when looking at ways, like community volunteerism, to engage, involve and gain greater commitment from your employees. It should be no surprise, therefore, that the PWC and Deloitte studies both indicate the value proposition to employers in providing volunteering opportunities in their companies. Employees and the community will both gain value and satisfaction from your volunteer program initiatives, and so will you and your company.


Hedley Lawson, Contributing Editor
Managing Partner
Aligned Growth Partners, LLC
707-217-0979
hlawson@alignedgrowth.com
www.alignedgrowth.com