Many companies organise charity events in order to give back to communities. As we’ve previously discussed, these events allow businesses to establish their social values while also boosting the physical and mental health of the volunteers.
For that reason, many companies opt to package charity events as team building programmes for their employees. The sense of purpose and fulfilment derived from performing good deeds translates into a deeper relationship with team members, which thus results in better productivity and performance.
While the right connections and planning helps, teams can only go so far without the right leadership. One reason why leadership has become more demanding is that there is now an extra emphasis on areas such as humanity and purpose. The good news is that leaders are responding to this shift by creating new social initiatives. This became particularly prominent during the pandemic. Good leaders proved themselves to be empathetic, implementing flexible work policies or remote setups to keep up with the demands of the industry, as well as the workforce.
The pandemic highlighted that many challenges can only be overcome through resilient bonds amongst community members, which is why giving back has become a common goal in business. To get your company started, here are a few ideas for events that focus both on charity and effective team building.
Volunteer days off
Instead of a monetary donation, companies can choose to donate their time to a cause. This can be done by providing employees a day off their regular schedule every month to volunteer at a soup kitchen, take part in a charity run, or help at a homeless shelter. The Trussell Trust is a good food bank to start with due to its numerous centres across the UK.
These service events make use of assembly lines to guarantee efficiency, which will build communication and trust amongst team members. The repetitive nature of the work also provides plenty of opportunities to fine-tune your employee’s coordination skills. Everyone works as a team to avoid any supply chain interruptions, which can disrupt the entire process.
This also assists charity service organisations that often struggle with a lack of manpower, and employees may be encouraged to volunteer even outside of official work-endorsed events.
Corporate fundraising
It’s normal for companies to hold regular team building activities such as game nights. To take these game nights to the next level, you may want to transform them into a fundraising activity for social causes that require monetary support.
For your next company bingo night, a small donation can be required at the door for each bingo card received. Organising this type of event will require different departments to work together, and this can be a good way to get people who may not usually have much contact with each other to work as a team. You could also use this event to get team members to swap roles in order to get a better understanding of the different departments.
Or, if you’re doing a team bowling tournament, pledges can be set for every strike made. The fun and team building aspect of the games remain, while the funds collected can help with supplementing the company’s CSR and be donated to a chosen charity afterwards.
Charity drives
Companies can also coordinate directly with charities to launch a charity drive and start a collection for a particular cause. This can be useful in cases where a business can lack the means to raise funds internally.
For example, companies can partner with Wheels to Heal to address the need for wheelchairs for disabled adults in England. Disabled adults were found to make 26% fewer trips than those without a disability, and fundraising for wheelchairs could improve their quality of life. Launching a charity drive would utilise the marketing and project management skills of team members for a social cause. It would also make use of the company’s consumer base, which in turn would demonstrate to them how the company is working together to be a better community business.
A combination of the different kinds of events that focus on charitable giving is the best way to maximise the benefits of team building while helping the community. Investors in Community is a digital platform that can help companies coordinate, track, and verify these initiatives so that employees see the value in their workplace and co-workers, while employers benefit from happy, productive, and socially responsible employees all year round.
Exclusively for investorsincommunity.org by Jacqueline Fox