# Businesses urged to embrace skills-based volunteering as report highlights mutual benefits

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2024/06/03/businesses-urged-to-embrace-skills-based-volunteering-as-report-highlights-mutual-benefits/
- Published: 2024-06-03T08:54:00+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**Skills-based volunteering has the potential to revolutionise corporate social 
responsibility, providing significant advantages to businesses, employees, and charities,
according to a new report from Lloyds Bank Foundation for Volunteers Week.**

Volunteers’ Week starts today, running until Sunday 9 June, and with this year its
40^(th) anniversary. It is organised by the UK Volunteering Forum, a partnership
between NCVO, WCVA (Wales Council for Voluntary Action), Volunteer Scotland and 
Volunteer Now.[](https://www.lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk/)

_[Skills Based Volunteering: A Win, Win, Win](https://www.lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk/)
__ _analyses mutually beneficial rewards offered by skilled volunteering to businesses,
employees, and charities. It highlights the value added when employee volunteering
goes beyond a one-off physical activity, to volunteers sharing professional expertise,
such as management, finance, IT, HR and marketing, to help charities strengthen 
and develop their work.

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The report aims to encourage businesses and charities to work together to embrace
skilled volunteering as an opportunity for mutual growth that offers potential for
helping transform communities. It provides insights and evidence of the benefits
of skills-based volunteering for charities, volunteers and their employers: 

 * Skilled volunteers empower charities to navigate strategic challenges, access
   in-demand skills and knowledge, and unlock new connections and networks. 91% 
   of charities reported improvements in professional skills, a third of which were
   significant improvements.  
 * Having the chance to share skills and expertise through volunteering enriches
   employees with professional development opportunities, builds confidence and 
   connection. Skilled volunteers said they were able to apply and develop transferable
   skills and widen their perspectives. 
 * Skills-based volunteering helps engage employees and enhance the pride and sense
   of purpose they feel for their workplace, which in turn helps improve retention
   and build connection.  

Holly Quincey, Talent Acquisition Director, Lloyds Banking Group, said:

> “Skills-based volunteering is a brilliant way for professionals to deepen expertise
> and develop new skills; connect with a community and learn about some of society’s
> most complex issues. The impact to the organisations supported is often immediate
> too, with genuine expertise and knowledge in areas such as finance, marketing 
> and project management helping to support long-term solutions and creating a lasting
> impact. I’d encourage more businesses to build this into their employee development
> planning and recognise the power of skills-based volunteering for all involved.”

The report also shares learnings and recommendations for developing impactful skilled
volunteering programmes, including: 

 * Choice and variety matter for volunteers and charities; skilled volunteering 
   can be flexible with varying levels of commitment, in person and online options,
   and working as a group or individual. 
 * Seeking skilled volunteer partnerships with small and local charities can maximise
   the impact of volunteers and charity. 
 * Volunteers from businesses need support in translating their skills to a different
   sector.  
 * Support for volunteering should come from leadership and be embedded in an organisation’s
   culture. 
 * Relationships take time, but getting the right match and investing in the partnership
   generates long term payoff. 
 * Identifying the needs of charities and where volunteers can have the biggest 
   impact is important. 

André Clarke, Director of Charity Development at Lloyds Bank Foundation, said:

> **“**Often, when businesses want to help a charity, they opt for a team day and
> some form of physical activity. Our experience shows there is another way: providing
> opportunities for employees to share their professional skills that can be of 
> mutual, even greater benefit for employers, charities and volunteers themselves.
> We’ve seen from the 700 charities we support each year that they are overstretched
> and find it difficult to find or afford professional skills. Skills-based volunteering
> offers huge payoffs not only for charities tackling complex issues, but for businesses
> themselves and their employees working together to help communities thrive.”