11 Ways To Thrive In Business Through Volunteer Work

What is one way that volunteering can help grow a business? To help you understand the benefits of volunteering for business, we asked successful small business owners and CEOs this question for their best insights. From building camaraderie to inspiring word-of-mouth referrals, there are several ways that volunteer work may help you connect with your community and grow your business.

Volunteering creates a community in the workplace where the employees have a sense of camaraderie and trust. With this, they can work better towards a common goal. With solid teamwork in a workplace, employees are more engaged with each other. This influences their productivity which helps grow the business in the long run.

Paw Vej, Financer.com Ltd

Volunteering can help grow a business by providing opportunities for networking and building relationships with potential customers, clients and partners. It can also help businesses develop a good reputation and visibility in the community, leading to more customers and clients. Finally, volunteering can help build employee morale and loyalty, leading to increased productivity and profitability.

Maneesh Sharma, Alpha Network

Volunteering is good for the team. It allows employees to feel good about their company. We have observed this positive attitude regarding volunteering when assessing employee satisfaction. We see how our employees view the company as “good” and “humane” because of such efforts. We are also using volunteering to encourage loyalty toward the company. An employee has an opportunity to endorse their charity of choice or propose an action for volunteering.

Stephen Keighery, Home Buyer Louisiana

For regional organizations looking for cost-effective advertising, volunteering can be a great avenue. Although the altruistic reasons for volunteering are certainly important, you can’t overlook the lift you’ll get from having your employees do some good in the community. This can be particularly useful if you can post banners and wear shirts that prominently feature your company name as you do the volunteer work. People will see your name associated with the good deed, and you’ll get some instant lift. Also, you can maximize this marketing angle by posting pictures and videos on social media, letting your volunteer work make its way into your followers’ feeds.

John Ross, Test Prep Insight

Attract the right employees! People who want to be part of something bigger than themselves are looking for a company that cares about the greater good of the world around them, not just corporate profit. Millennials and Gen Z tend to put a high value on social responsibility when looking for a job. Volunteering brings your company closer and unites you behind a common cause.

Sumeer Kaur, Lashkaraa

One way that volunteering can help grow a business is by inspiring communities. Businesses are staples of our daily lives—people seek everything from services, products, and insight, but they also support those with good reputations. The power and purity of volunteering prove that when people care and come together, change is more than possible. This inspires others and encourages more participation in charities and other endeavors to help our communities. Volunteering rallies people together and breeds leaders who lead by example. Businesses that volunteer are heavily involved in the communities they serve and establish themselves as trustworthy brands that people want to support.

Michelle Arnau, Rowan

When you support other businesses through volunteering, those businesses may want to return the favor by supporting your business through positive mentions online. Volunteering is an effective way to build positive ties with other organizations, and this is a great way to boost your business’s public relations.

Drew Sherman, RPM

Volunteering adds a positive connotation to the brand and resonates with consumers on a much larger scale. It shows that the company is interested in more than just making money and is concerned about the environment, the society, or the minority groups it supports. Volunteering also helps reach a wider audience across different platforms. It will make potential clients eager to learn more about a brand and raise awareness of their products/services.

John Gardner, Kickoff

Volunteering provides actionable insight. Small and medium-sized businesses want to serve their community, and the only way to do that is by knowing what the community needs. Through volunteer work, organizations can build relationships with community members and learn what products and services they can offer to support them. Businesses serve the community directly as they volunteer and provide better services in the long run.

Ankur Goyal, Coterie

Volunteering expands the skills of both team members and managers. How? It puts them in positions and situations they haven’t necessarily experienced. Volunteering gives a chance for people to learn a variety of new skills or further develop ones like decision-making, communication, adaptiveness, problem-solving, etc. While employees may have a chance to develop these abilities in the business itself, these are skills that can evolve from different angles. Boosting innovation, creativity, and sharp problem-solving and consequently growing the business by building talent and capable leaders.

Nicole Ostrowska-Cobas, LiveCareer

Word-of-mouth referrals happen quickly when a small business engages with its community. In a business capacity, when you volunteer at local fundraisers or lend a hand in community projects, customers see how much your brand cares about them and where you all live and work. And when these same community members share photos and videos of your efforts on their social media channels, they’re endorsing your good works. At the same time, they are also providing social proof that can influence potential customers to like and trust your brand and purchase your products.

Chris Gadek, AdQuick

This article was written by Brett Farmiloe and originally appeared on Score.