But volunteering – and broader CSR (corporate and social responsibility) initiatives – require careful planning and management. The best schemes reflect an organisation’s values and mission and make a meaningful difference to both employees and the charity itself. They are a powerful motivator for existing staff and a way to attract the best talent.
In the current economic climate when every sale or hour billed counts, businesses may think they cannot justify having people out of the office, even for a day. There are practical considerations too, especially for organisations where staff work shifts, or teams are already stretched due to labour shortages.
Which industries offer the most paid volunteer days?
While some organisations have established CSR strategies with volunteering opportunities, others might be more reluctant for the reasons outlined above. But how much does it vary across different industries?
To find out, we analysed the careers, CSR and charity pages (where applicable) of almost 1,000 businesses across 20 sectors to find out whether they offer employees paid leave to volunteer and, if so, how many days. From this, we calculated the average number of days per year each employee can take per industry.
Most days of paid volunteer leave per employee
|
Industry |
Volunteering options on careers site or CSR |
% of companies that offer volunteering paid days |
Industry average number of days per employee |
|
Legal |
39 |
78% |
1.5 |
|
Telecoms |
31 |
62% |
1.07 |
|
Building and construction |
31 |
62% |
1.07 |
|
Accounting and Finance |
25 |
50% |
0.8 |
|
Technology |
25 |
50% |
0.78 |
|
Fashion |
23 |
36% |
0.74 |
|
Retail |
27 |
54% |
0.67 |
|
Electronics |
25 |
50% |
0.62 |
|
Food and beverages |
20 |
40% |
0.57 |
|
Architecture |
16 |
32% |
0.5 |
The legal sector – which has a longstanding tradition of taking on pro bono work – leads the way, with well over three-quarters of firms offering paid leave for volunteering, at an average of 1.5 days per employee. Telecoms and building and construction ranked second, with 62% of companies running schemes with a day allocated per employee. Good relationships with the local community are critical for businesses in all of these sectors, which could explain why they have prioritised it.
Fewest days of paid volunteer leave per employee
|
Industry |
Volunteering options on careers site or CSR |
% of companies that offer volunteering paid days |
Industry average number of days per employee |
|
Travel and tourism |
0 |
0% |
0 |
|
Warehouse and logistics |
3 |
6% |
0.06 |
|
Transport |
5 |
10% |
0.1 |
|
Manufacturing |
5 |
10% |
0.1 |
|
Automotive |
5 |
10% |
0.1 |
|
Creative arts and design |
9 |
18% |
0.18 |
|
Healthcare |
6 |
12% |
0.18 |
|
Homeware and interiors |
12 |
24% |
0.23 |
|
Hospitality |
18 |
36% |
0.47 |
|
Energy and utilities |
5 |
10% |
0.48 |
One thing that jumps out about the industries that offer few or no volunteer days is that their workforces may be dispersed across various sites and working different shift patterns. A high number of industries that are labour-intensive – including warehousing and logistics, transport, manufacturing, healthcare, and hospitality – have also suffered acute skills shortages in recent years, and may have more temporary or agency workers who don’t take part in company activities beyond their work.
Giving back
While some businesses, and industries, have more barriers to overcome than others, there are steps you can take to make it more achievable.
Explaining more, Caroline Fanning, chief employee success officer at The Access Group said:
“Asking staff to nominate a charity is a good first step because it means they’re more likely to engage the cause, and any activities you run.
“This is something we’ve done at Access. Parkinson’s UK was our Charity of the Year in 2023 after being nominated by two of our employees, whose fathers were both diagnosed with the condition. The year before that, we supported Bipolar UK because it helped another employee to understand her daughter's illness better. This year, Magic Breakfast is The Access Group’s chosen charity of the year, embodying its commitment to addressing the critical issue of child hunger and its impact on learning.”
She added that technology can also support volunteering initiatives:
“Business management software is designed to reduce onerous admin and free people up to concentrate on the more rewarding aspects of their job, and also allow them to volunteer. It can also make it easier for HR teams to deliver initiatives, by providing a central hub for employees to nominate good causes and inspire and engage them to arrange or get involved in activities.”
5 ways to get the most from volunteer days
1. Harness employees’ passions
Survey employees to find out what organisations they want to support for the coming year. When people strongly believe in a charity's mission, their motivation and enthusiasm will be evident. They may even already have contacts who you can work with to set up activities.
2. Make a meaningful difference to the charity
Volunteer days are not just about improving cohesion and generating positive publicity in your company. Any work your team undertakes should make a meaningful difference to the charity’s mission, and not generate unnecessary extra work for them. Employees too are more likely to engage with activities if they know they’re making an impact.
So, ask your contact at the charity what they need most and go from there.
3. Offer flexibility
As well as organising group volunteering, empower employees to choose their own causes to support as individuals or small groups. Giving them the freedom and flexibility to choose allows them to manage their volunteering according to their workload and out-of-work commitments.
4. Applaud their efforts
Recognising the work of your volunteers internally and externally shows you appreciate their efforts and can encourage others to take part in your next event. Even better if you can show a mix of people from the company getting involved – from members of the c-suite to apprentices, as well as on-site and office-based staff.
5. Track success
Volunteering is a serious time commitment for companies – so you need to make sure it’s worthwhile for everyone, and utilise software to reduce admin burdens but keep on top of what your staff want. Just like not-for-profits use charity management software to track volunteer and supporter interactions all in one place, it may be worth including a question about CSR activities in any wider employee surveys you run, using your HR software to see how it impacts engagement. Running a staff survey after the event will help you find out what worked well and what didn’t, and help you to make any improvements.
Feedback from the charity can also motivate your staff when they see what impact they’ve made, and help you make improvements for next time.
Methodology
The Access Group analysed around 50 companies in 20 sectors (1,000 in total) to find out whether they offer employees paid leave to volunteer and how many days per employee this equates to. This data was taken from careers pages, charities pages and CSR pages, where there is a direct reference to staff having paid time out of the office. Researchers filtered out other fundraising activities that take place out of hours, like marathons, and fundraising on the job, like cake sales.
Data accurate as of December 2023.