Giving Hours SG

Why teams volunteer

Before choosing a partner or a date, it helps to be clear about why your organisation wants to volunteer at all. A stated purpose gives colleagues a reason to take part, gives partners a reason to trust you, and gives you a way to judge later whether the effort was worthwhile.

The reasons organisations give time

Workplaces in Singapore volunteer for a mix of reasons, and most programmes have more than one. Some want to support a cause that is close to the business or to the communities their staff come from. Some want to give employees a meaningful way to spend time together outside their usual roles. Others see volunteering as part of a wider sustainability or social impact commitment, and want it to sit alongside giving campaigns and community partnerships.

None of these reasons is better than the others. Problems tend to appear when the reason is unspoken or when it changes from one event to the next. If one year's activity is chosen for team bonding, the next for a reporting requirement and the next because a senior leader suggested it, colleagues notice. A short, written purpose that the programme returns to each year keeps things steady.

The forms giving can take

It is worth separating out the main forms of workplace giving, because each suits different goals and different partners.

Many programmes combine two or three of these. A common pattern is a yearly group day that introduces colleagues to a partner, followed by smaller ongoing roles for people who want to stay involved.

Writing a purpose people will believe

A good purpose statement is short, specific and honest about who benefits. Compare "we give back to the community" with "we support a small number of partners working with seniors in the neighbourhoods around our offices, through regular volunteering and a yearly giving campaign". The second tells colleagues what to expect, tells partners what kind of help is on offer, and makes it easier to say no to ideas that do not fit.

When drafting, involve a few colleagues from different teams. People closer to the ground often know which causes matter to staff, which partners already have links with the business, and which ideas will be seen as box-ticking. Their input also helps the programme sound like your organisation rather than a template.

Avoiding tokenism

Volunteering can go wrong when it is designed mainly for the people giving help. Signs to watch for include activities chosen because they photograph well, visits to vulnerable people that are short and one-off, and tasks invented for volunteers that the partner would not otherwise need. Partners may be too polite to say so, which is why it is worth asking directly what would be most useful and what would be a burden.

The National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre publishes resources on good volunteering practice that are worth reading with your planning group, especially if your programme is new.

Making room for colleagues to take part

Purpose on paper means little if people cannot find the time. Many organisations offer volunteer leave or let staff count some volunteering towards working hours. Whatever your approach, make it clear and simple to use, and make sure managers understand it. Colleagues in shift-based, client-facing or operational roles can find it harder to step away, so offer a mix of dates, times and formats rather than a single weekday afternoon.

It also helps to be clear that taking part is a choice. Volunteering works best when people come because they want to, and some colleagues may prefer to give in other ways.

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