Employee volunteering is becoming increasingly popular, both in larger and smaller companies. One of the oldest initiatives of this type is the Citi Employee Volunteering program. For 11 years now, the bank has been encouraging its employees to share knowledge, experience, and skills in organizing a variety of community projects. We have just finished celebrations of the 11th Global Community Day, in which over 3,200 volunteers, friends, and family members implemented 217 initiatives for 25,000 beneficiaries throughout Poland.
Citi’s Global Community Day is an initiative carried out by Citi volunteers in 93 countries. It is a festival of volunteering, during which Citi employees, together with their families and friends, act together for the benefit of local communities. They help those in need and support the development of a range of community groups. In 2016, over 14,000 volunteers were involved in activities in the EMEA region.
As Jeff French, EMEA Public Affairs Director at Citi, points out: Volunteering brings benefits to both sides. For the beneficiaries of help, the most important thing is that the projects carried out by volunteers should address concrete needs. Employees involved in volunteering appreciate diversity in projects – this enables them to get involved in activities close to their own inclinations and interests.
What do the company and its employees get in return for this involvement – besides a feeling of a job well done? Volunteering enables one to develop skills important for one’s professional life, such as project management and teamwork. This form of help to others also fosters self-reliance and creativity. Moreover, surveys conducted among Citi volunteers indicate that employee volunteering has a positive influence on the way the company is perceived as an employer, which translates into tangible business benefits in the field of human resources management. It also helps the company to build long-lasting relationships with customers and business partners, both at the local community level and on a global scale.
Krzysztof Kaczmar of The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation, coordinating the Citi Employee Volunteer Program in Poland, says: To persuade employees to volunteer, several conditions must be met. First, let them act independently: they themselves choose an organization for whose benefit they will work, they put together a team, and they formulate a plan of action. Second, give support, not only financial, but also organizational. For example, our employees have an opportunity to get one day off for volunteer activities.
An example of such planning of volunteer activities is the annual "Volunteer to Bank on" competition organized by The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation. Each Citi employee can propose a community project that he or she wants to implement as part of Global Community Day. The best proposals receive grants to cover the costs of their implementation, and the Foundation supports the organizers with regard to formalities and logistics.
