Why Hays is giving back and getting Neighbourly this summer 

Recent figures released from the Charities Aid Foundation’s (CAF) UK Giving Report found that only 13% of people across the UK volunteered in the past year, compared with 17% pre-pandemic, resulting in around 1.6 million fewer people volunteering over the past five years.

Similar figures were released as part of the Time Well Spent 2023 report by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations noting dips in key volunteering activities such as those taking part in sponsored events, those raising money or those campaigning on behalf of a club or organisation.

It’s not just time spent volunteering or raising money which is proving challenging for the sector. Local charities and causes are also under pressure due to heightened demand for their services, rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis. In Neighbourly’ s March 2023 Community Survey, 86% of respondents from local charities and good causes across the UK&I said the demand for their services has increased over the past 3 months. Furthermore, total running costs such as food, energy, bills, rent etc have increased by an average of 56% since this time last year.

Where do organisations fit in and how can we help?

Organisations often have a charity partner or support a number of charities where staff will typically organise activities and participate in events to raise vital funds for different causes. Whilst this work remains really important, donating time and skills is becoming just as key for charitable organisations across the UK and worldwide.

Fitting in volunteering around work and home life can be challenging, so employers who are able to offer staff paid time off to volunteer can make a huge difference. In a recent poll we conducted on LinkedIn which received over 2,200 votes, just over two in five (43%) employers are offering staff paid days off to volunteer, whereas 44% of employers don’t currently offer this.

In 2020, we launched paid volunteering time for employees working at Hays in the UK&I and this launched globally in 2021. The paid volunteer day is just one part of our wider ‘Helping for your tomorrow’ initiative that runs globally where our mission at Hays is to use our core skills and expertise to help lift the employability of those who may not have the same opportunities as others, helping to create a better tomorrow for our local communities.

Staff across the UK&I have used their volunteering time in a number of ways, and for a variety of causes. Some people have been able to use their time to support our existing charity partners, Every Youth, Trees for Cities, the Irish Cancer Society and Paralympics Ireland, whilst others have conducted clean ups in their local areas, volunteered at local foodbanks and also used their skills to support charities in the day to day running of their organisations. Engagement with our volunteer days is growing all the time and as a leader, it’s fantastic to hear how staff are utilising the benefit and the enjoyment they’ve had from doing so.
 

Building upon doing the right thing

We want to make it easy for our staff to take the volunteering time that they have – and if you’re an employer thinking about doing the same it’s likely you’ll come across some challenges along the way such as difficulty sourcing a lot of local opportunities, if you are a large multi-site organisation.

This summer, we’re excited to be building upon the volunteering days our staff have utilised so far by adding a specific fortnight of volunteering between the 3rd and 14th of July. Working with our partners Neighbourly, our employees across the UK&I will be able to search the Neighbourly giving technology platform to find local opportunities to volunteer and help us achieve a target of 10,000 hours of giving back in just two weeks.

This will give everyone the opportunity to support local communities and worthy causes in an exciting and first-of-its-kind, inclusive activity for us with plenty of volunteering opportunities both remote and in-person.

We’re really looking forward to making a difference and given our office footprint across the UK&I we hope to reach plenty of local causes that need support. The data tells us this support is much needed.

If you are a leader looking to support your staff in driving volunteer opportunities, I’d love to hear from you, and if you are a cause who needs our help – let us know!