Employee Volunteer Program EVP 101 connect inspire impact

Employee Volunteer Program (EVP) 101 connect. inspire. impact.

About Us • • Founded 1992 Purpose Membership Programming connect. inspire. impact.

What is an EVP? An employee volunteer program (EVP), sometimes referred to as a workplace volunteer program, is a planned, managed effort that seeks to motivate and enable employees to effectively volunteer under the official sponsorship and leadership of the employer. connect. inspire. impact.

Business Goals • • Recruitment Training/Development Marketing/Brand Identity Communications (External/Cross. Company) • Productivity/Morale • Government Affairs/regulatory • Leveraging philanthropy connect. inspire. impact.

Why do EVP’s Matter? • EVP’s boost corporate performance • EVP’s bolster cost efficiency • ROI of $2, 400 per employee connect. inspire. impact.

Where do they fit? • 33% internal units that are externally oriented (Community Affairs, Corp Citizenship) • 21% community oriented functions (Foundation/Corp. Philanthropy) • 8% internally focused departments (HR, Diversity, Work/Life) • 46% departments that combine internal and external orientations (Marketing, Community Affairs, Corp Communications) connect. inspire. impact.

Supporting Programs • • Dollars-for-doers Matching grants Flextime or release time Vacation/PTO Team project grants Outstanding volunteer recognition Charitable Walks/Runs/Races Resource Allocation (product donations, etc) connect. inspire. impact.

Getting Started Business Employee Community Needs Interest connect. inspire. impact.

Employee Interests • • • Surveys Creative voting Focus Groups Professional Associations Other? connect. inspire. impact.

Work With Partners • • Other CVC member companies Business partners/Clients Local Federations and Nonprofits Vendors connect. inspire. impact.

Choosing Focus Areas • What does company hope to accomplish by implementing an EVP? • Consider board relationships, potential business conflicts, funding recipients, policies (nondiscrimination, etc), and 501(c)(3) status of potential partners connect. inspire. impact.

Building Your Program • • Management Support Mission/Goals/Strategies/Objectives Tasks Timelines Communication Plans Budgets Evaluation connect. inspire. impact.

Policies Overview • • Release time or flex time? Disaster Volunteerism Skills Based, Direct Support or both? Micro-volunteering Family Volunteering Risk Management Employee Relief connect. inspire. impact.

Release Time • • • Flex time or paid time off? Who is eligible? How allocated and monitored? What constitutes as volunteer time? Which organizations qualify? connect. inspire. impact.

Disaster Relief • Take care of employees first • Consider partners in advance • What unique resources/skills can your company contribute to bring relief? connect. inspire. impact.

Friends and Family • Do you count company supported projects done on company time by employees only? • Family volunteering • Consider age limits/liability connect. inspire. impact.

Risk Management • • • Check on insurance Good Samaritan laws vary by state First Aid, Crisis management Background checks Waivers/Photo releases connect. inspire. impact.

Recruiting & Retention • • • Volunteer motivations Generational recruiting Building on success Staff Development Recognition – from coffee mugs to performance reviews connect. inspire. impact.

Project Planning • • • Engage your employees Determine project scope & budget Timeline, # of Volunteers Needed Contingency Plans Metrics connect. inspire. impact.

Communications Set communications plan & schedule • Types & frequency • Link to corporate citizenship initiatives Vary channels based on audience • E-mails, VM, flyers, posters, rallies, sign up sheets, ambassadors/team captains • Target hard to reach employee groups connect. inspire. impact.

Communications Engage Executives • “peer to peer” ask • give them an assignment Post-event Communications • follow up surveys • “impact” communication • newsletter articles, posters with photos from the day, etc. connect. inspire. impact.

Recognition • Old Faithfuls: t-shirts, pins, mugs, etc. • Post Photos (website or social media), office bulletin board • Send thank you notes • Share partner thank you notes connect. inspire. impact.

Evaluation 1) What is the ROI? 2) How does your performance compare to others? 3) What is the aggregated effectiveness and impact across EVP’s? connect. inspire. impact.

Budget • EVP budgets vary greatly, investing anywhere from <$15 to >$800 per employee (not per volunteer) • On average - Excellent EVP’s invest $179/per employee Information courtesy of the 2010 Trends of Excellence Series connect. inspire. impact.

Expenses to consider • Daily operations including website design/maintenance, printing, communications, travel, t-shirts, food, recognition items and supplies • Exclude salaries and community grants such as dollars-to-doers connect. inspire. impact.

Keep it fresh! • Share ideas with other companies through the CVC of Atlanta! • Consider partners like Volunteer. Match, Generation On, and Pebbletossers as you plan opportunities. connect. inspire. impact.

Skills Development • You are building skills. Track and share on your resume/performance review! • Consider professional development opportunities that support your work (Leadership Atlanta, RLI, LEAD, etc) connect. inspire. impact.

Questions? connect. inspire. impact.

Contact Us Cheryl Kortemeier Executive Director, CVC of Atlanta 1100 Peachtree Street, NE, Suite 2800 Atlanta, GA 30309 404 -745 -2458 or 404 -889 -5112 (cell) cheryl@cvcofatlanta. org Special thanks to Katy Elder, Points of Light for her support of this presentation. connect. inspire. impact.