ESV Opportunities

Employer Supported Volunteering (ESV) is a term used to describe when businesses and organisations support the people that work for them to volunteer in various ways. Where you work, this might be called corporate volunteering, employee volunteering, workplace volunteering or something else! Not only are there different names for it, there are many ways to do it. You might do it as a team building experience or as part of your learning journey, you might get time off work to take part and you might even get paid for some of that time. This could be in the form of a day litter picking, a regular trustee position or a few weeks pro bono support - there are endless ways to volunteer.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of employers offering support for employees to volunteer in Scotland has increased to over half of all employers. It provides many benefits to the employer and to you, the employee, such as mental wellbeing and skill development. For the organisation who hosts these volunteers they gain the opportunity to meet and engage with new volunteers who may continue to support them in different ways. This is particularly valuable when the ESV is based on a longer-term relationship and when there is a skills based volunteering aspect.

Does your work have an employee volunteering policy?

To find out more, check out these websites: Employer-supported volunteering | NCVO and Employer Supported Volunteering | Go Volunteer Glos or email us at info@thirdsectorpk.org.uk.

You may volunteer to make an impact on a cause or issue that you care about. In contrast to individual volunteering activities, ESV has additional benefits for employers and management. ESV provides community impact, development opportunities and employer reputation as well as many other benefits. 

Employee - training and skills development; team building; personal achievement; health and wellbeing; networking.

Employer - organisational productivity; improved employee health and wellbeing including less absences; community relationships, CSRD and ESG; employee engagement; brand reputation.  

Community - capacity to achieve ambitions; additional resource; answering the gap in volunteer numbers; access to expertise and skills; fundraising. 

To ensure your ESV activity is an enjoyable, safe and rewarding experience, follow this outline:

• Check your employers ESV policy, if they have one
• Secure management’s support and consent
• Start small - a small but successful programme can be scaled up
• Create an action plan including a risk assessment
• Identify an activity coordinator
• Involve participants and create ownership of the programme
• Celebrate and recognise your efforts and achievements
• Shout about your activity both internally and externally
• Develop your new community relationships 
• Review activity to ensure successful growth of programme, and to assess impact
• Have fun!