# Businesses and charities must work together on volunteering opportunities

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/12/02/businesses-charities-must-work-together-volunteering-opportunities/
- Published: 2015-12-02T11:26:54+00:00
- Author: Melanie May

**65% of workers would choose employers that support volunteering yet despite the
Conservative Party’s Election 2015 pledge to offer employees three days’ paid annual
leave for volunteering, businesses and charities aren’t working together, research
reveals.**

The study, [‘On the brink of a game-changer’,](https://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/research/brink-game-changer.aspx)
from [NCVO](https://www.ncvo.org.uk/) and the [CIPD](http://www.cipd.co.uk/) (Chartered
Institute of Personnel and Development), looked into employer-supported volunteering(
ESV) and the role of good collaboration between business and the voluntary sector
in achieving successful ESV placements.

It revealed a lack of understanding between charities and companies about the costs
and benefits involved in ESV. Not all companies are willing to contribute to the
costs involved in hosting volunteers, while charities can overlook the benefits 
of a one-off placement, such as the potential of sponsorship or support from the
company in the future.

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A further barrier revealed by the research was that while many charities benefit
from skilled volunteering, such as help in writing strategies, they feel people 
are less likely to volunteer in their professional capacity than for typically unskilled
volunteering tasks such as painting or gardening.

An additional survey of HR professionals by the CIPD backs up the business case 
for supporting ESV. It found that 81% of those who took part in volunteering reported
increased community awareness, 65% had increased communication skills, and 59% reported
an increase in confidence. There was evidence of unmet demand for volunteering opportunities;
although 65% of respondents would be more likely to work for an employer that encourages
and promotes volunteering, 39% said their employer did not support it.

Justin Davis Smith, executive director of volunteering at NCVO, said:

> “Employer-supported volunteering could potentially offer huge benefits for the
> voluntary sector and businesses alike – however, this research shows that without
> clear communication around expectations and the resources involved, many of those
> benefits could be lost. We need to recognise that volunteering isn’t free – there
> is a cost to the charity in terms of staff time, resources and supervision – yet
> the right kind of volunteering could outweigh those costs tenfold.”

 * **[Extra time for Volunteers’ Week 2016](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/02/03/extra-time-for-volunteers-week-2016/)**(
   3 February 2016)
 * **[Industry concerns raised over draft Charity Commission guidance](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/04/12/industry-concerns-raised-draft-charity-commission-guidance/)**(
   12 April 2016)
 * **[Overall sector income rises but smaller charities continue to struggle](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/04/14/overall-sector-income-rises-smaller-charities-continue-struggle/)**(
   14 April 2016)