If you’re a human resources director or you’re planning on organizing an office volunteer day, you might be wondering how to get started. This article will give you some ideas on how to do just that. In this article, we’ll talk about some of the best practices you can use to organize a successful office volunteer day.
Start Planning in Advance
The sooner you start planning the event, the better. It can be challenging to schedule an event for your workers, especially since they might have other commitments, such as business trips and vacations. Ideally, you should have the volunteer day on a date most of your staff can participate.
To start planning the event, you can create a list of potential dates by sending it to your co-workers in a spreadsheet which can be accomplished using Excel or Google sheets, for example. This will help you choose the best day for everyone. You can also ensure that everyone can participate by having them rank the dates in order of preference.
Schedule around Corporate Events
You might also want to consider other corporate schedules when it comes to planning the volunteer day. For instance, if you’re planning on holding an event in June, but your company’s fiscal year ends in July, you might want to rethink this date. Most of your staff members will be focused on their work, and they won’t be able to participate.
One of the most common times you can schedule a volunteer day at your company is during the slow season, which is usually when the winter holidays are over. This will allow you to get as many people as possible and ensure that the event is successful.
Involve Executives and Managers
Most workers follow the lead of their managers and upper-level corporate colleagues when it comes to volunteering. If they can convince their superiors to participate, it will make it easier for other employees to join the event. This will allow you to build some momentum for the event.
Provide Incentives for Participation
Volunteer days can also be scheduled on weekends. However, to encourage participation, you should schedule the event on a weekday. Companies are starting to provide flexible work policies that allow employees to take up to two paid days off per year if they volunteer at a local organization. This can be a great incentive for workers to participate.
Choose the Right Nonprofit
Before planning a volunteer day, make sure you partner with a company that is committed to supporting a great charitable organization. Ask your employees to recommend other organizations that they can support. Also, ensure that your chosen organization aligns with your company’s standards and goals.
Provide Updates and Send Emails Encouraging Participation
Once you have settled on a date and the organization for your volunteer day, it’s time to start promoting it. Before you begin sending out announcements about the event, make sure that you have approval from your entire company. This will allow you to keep the prospective volunteers informed about the status of the event. You can also reach out to your entire company by sending out announcements about the event and letting everyone know about the status of the day.
Sends Reminders and Provide Sign-Up Sheets
You can also post flyers and sign-up sheets in various areas at the company, such as the meeting rooms and break rooms. These will allow you to keep the members of the organization informed about the upcoming volunteer day. You should also have at least one sign-up sheet in your building’s lobby or another central location, even if you’re encouraging people to sign up through email or online. Having this will allow you to inform the people interested in volunteering about the event.
Keep Communication Open
Make sure that all the volunteers know what’s expected of them when they volunteer on the day of the event. You can easily send out text messages or automated phone calls to all of them by using a service such as dialMyCalls. These types of messages should include important information about the event, such as the time and location of the event and any safety equipment they should bring. Each month, send out these reminders to the volunteers. They should also receive a final message before the event. This will allow you to make sure that everyone is aware of the event’s details.