Good better business

When Wanganui engineer Bob Smith floated the idea of volunteering his entire office to design and build a predator-proof enclosure for breeding injured kiwi birds, he got some queer looks.

Admittedly, it was a big ask – and a rather unusual mission – so he did the democratic thing and put it to a vote among the 40-plus staff at Opus' Wanganui office.

The end result – 15 months and at least 1600 manhours later – was an impenetrable 30m x 30m fence to protect injured birds, a residual sense of community goodwill and pride in a job well done.

"It went over a hell of a long time, but it really worked out well," says Mr Smith.

"We got a lot of kudos from the community."

But feel-good benefits aside, Opus – and growing numbers of businesses in New Zealand and overseas – have found another payback. Volunteering is good for business.

In Opus' case, four cadets who were new to the asset management and development firm were put in charge of the project and charged with getting the consents, designing the enclosure, sourcing the materials and building it. Remaining staff, and their families, helped where possible.

Mr Smith said it was experience the young cadets might not otherwise have got at that stage in their careers. Beyond that, it was a good public relations exercise that not only raised Opus' profile in the community, but helped to brand the company as a good corporate citizen.

And in a global sense it brought the company a real sense of cohesion. "It's team building," explains Mr Smith. "It gets you working together with people who you would not otherwise have worked with, you have fun together, you bring your families into it and you find out that people have skills you didn't know about."

Business, it would seem, has discovered that Good Samaritanism has its own kind of currency.

Though Opus ended up taking a hiatus from any large-scale volunteer projects after the completion of the kiwi enclosure, Mr Smith says staff remain involved in ongoing community initiatives on the company's dime and time. Every third Friday of the month, staff help deliver food for Meals on Wheels .

Mr Smith says the company's core values encourage it. "We have a philosophy that a good company looks after its staff, the community and the environment."

It is a sentiment that is catching on.

Employee volunteering is reportedly one of the fastest growing areas of volunteer activity among businesses in Britain, Western Europe and North America. Among companies touting themselves as good corporate citizens, it is not uncommon to give staff up to a week's paid leave to help with overseas relief efforts or local causes.

Massey University lecturer Dr Louise Lee says volunteer opportunities for workers in New Zealand may not be what they are overseas, but companies here are following the trend.

Dr Lee, who teaches management at Massey's College of Business, says it is difficult to measure businesses' Good Samaritanism commitment because there has been little research.

To fill in the gap, she studied New Zealand businesses that adopted employee volunteering programmes to find out why and what they are getting out of them.

She also surveyed community organisations to find out more about their experiences. This month she released the results of her research in a report, Employee volunteering: Observations from the front line.

What it confirmed was that businesses have more to gain through volunteering than good karma, and with the right approach and opportunity, community groups can also capitalise on a labour pool that has much to offer – free.

"They've [the business sector] discovered there are lots of different kinds of value, particularly with staff. They see improved staff morale, potential for attracting new employees, the importance of team building, giving people opportunities they might not otherwise get to grow professionally."

For community organisations, Dr Lee says employee volunteer programmes hold the promise of access to professionals with skills and knowledge they might otherwise have to pay big bucks for.

To take advantage of that Dr Lee says community organisations need to get creative about how to market and organise volunteer projects for the business sector.

"There needs to be a cross- sector understanding and you shouldn't assume that it's all about altruism. There can be a number of drivers. If a business wants it to be primarily about teamwork, you have to think about that, and think about whether it's something you need. It's definitely more than just having resources and people, it's that level of understanding."

For that, good communication is essential. "Not just between, but within," said Dr Lee, arguing that work-based volunteer programmes stand a better chance of succeeding if employees are actively involved in the decision-making process.

"It's really important that we should be thinking of ways that encourage participation of staff. It's not a one- way road. Employees should have input into the programmes. That's starting, but there's more opportunity for that to happen."

New Zealand has a network of more than a dozen volunteer centres, several of which have designated staff that match willing businesses with wanting community groups.

Dr Lee says proof of their value can be found in the pairings. In the first seven months of 2007, three such centres coordinated 92 team projects involving 887 volunteers from 37 businesses.

Patricia Ockwell, a "matchmaker" at Volunteering Canterbury in Christchurch, says demand continues to grow each year. She chalks it up to a growing awareness about the services provided by the centre, but also businesses' drive for corporate social responsibility. "We've had tremendous growth as the programme has become better known and businesses can see the value of it."

Employers supporting employee volunteer initiatives admit it does require an effort and commitment to get them off the ground, but argue the rewards are worth it.

Insurance company IAG is one of them. Four years ago, the multinational insurance company created its "Community Help Volunteering" programme as part of a wider sustainability strategy.

Last year, IAG recorded 307 volunteer days at its New Zealand offices, which equated to $61,000 in paid leave. It also donated more than $10,000 to regional volunteer agencies who support their community efforts.

Since IAG introduced its sustainability strategy – and with it the volunteer programme – employee "engagement" has risen from 50 per cent to 75 per cent.

- © Fairfax NZ News