As anyone in management will tell you, it’s difficult to get people to volunteer while off the clock. Their liberty is too important, and you must negotiate.
In many cases, when you ask employees to volunteer, they will be hesitant to give up their time off to do so, especially if they have plans already. Most people already have plans for the weekends long before they happen. So it can be difficult to know how to get employees to follow through with volunteer work. But the answer may not be as difficult as it seems.
Offer a Wide Range of Options
One way to kickstart anyone’s interest in volunteer work is to offer them things to do that interest them. Volunteer work isn’t all the same, and it shouldn’t be. If you divide up your team into sections based on what they like to do, you will have a more productive day overall. So it’s best to ask your employees what they are interested in and which type of volunteer job they would prefer. You will be glad you did once you see how hard everyone is working.
Give Leadership Opportunities
If you assign roles within the volunteer work, it might give certain team members a chance to show their leadership capabilities. This could be a means to assign more roles in the workplace to prepare interested individuals for management someday.
Provide Paid Time Off for Their Efforts
People love getting rewards for their good deeds, and that’s yet another reason why we are paid to do our jobs. Without an incentive, work can be lackluster and weightless. But with the right compensation, employees will do just about anything you ask them to.
The main thing to remember is to cater to the needs of your employees, and they will happily work for you in whatever capacity you want them to work. Remember that they aren’t working for free, even when they volunteer. They must feel appreciated and honored. Some of the best ways to get employees to follow through with volunteer work are by sharing the work and offering a gift of thanks and generosity from management to the employees.
