With your programme goals defined and policies established, the next focus will be on effectively launching the initiative across your organisation. A strategic introduction and rollout will drive awareness, understanding and excitement to ignite participation from day one.
This section covers best practices for announcing and promoting your volunteering programme to employees so it gains early momentum.
Step 1 - Get buy in from leaders
Secure leadership buy-in at every level before company-wide launch. Provide leaders and managers with a preview of the programme's policies, objectives and community impact goals. Encourage them to align departmental plans, so teams are empowered to integrate volunteering into their working week. Managers can be active advocates who embrace the programme as a meaningful way to engage colleagues and communities alike.
Information to share with your managers:
- An email or meeting invite to introduce the programme
- Information on the benefits to the business, employees and the community
- Introduction to Neighbourly
- Your volunteering policies and goals
- Email/messaging templates to use within teams
- Encouragement to lead by example and be one of the first to get involved
Pro tip: Having company leaders volunteer, especially alongside employees, powerfully demonstrates organisational unity and strengthens calls to action for the programme.
Pro tip: Stress to department heads and middle management that they should not pressure employees to make up work or work overtime to compensate for time spent volunteering, as this is a common barrier that can undermine engagement.
Resources
Copy the email templates below in pink
Request for Executive Volunteers
Team,
As part of our new employee engagement strategy, we will be launching a company-wide volunteering programme in partnership with Neighbourly.
A key component of driving participation is having our executives and leaders volunteer first to set the example. I'm asking for 2-3 senior leaders to commit to an upcoming volunteer activity in our community. You can browse opportunities on the Neighbourly platform after registering.
By volunteering and sharing your experience, you will help to demonstrate our company's commitment to this programme and inspire others to get involved too.
If interested, please contact [name] by [date] to sign up. I appreciate your support in launching this impactful initiative.
[Your name]
Gaining Alignment on Volunteering Across the Organisation
Hi team,
We're excited to be launching our new volunteering programme in partnership with Neighbourly that will positively impact our community.
To set these efforts up for success, we will be distributing a company-wide announcement covering our goals and supporting policies. This will ensure alignment across the organisation.
In addition to the company-wide email, we need help cascading this message through face-to-face team meetings and to any groups with limited email access. As a department lead, please take the time to review the attached goals and policy documents in order to provide assistance should your teams have questions.
On [date], connect with your teams via email or in person to communicate the volunteering strategy using the attached presentation template.
Strong understanding across all levels is key to effective participation. Please let me know if you have any questions after reviewing the programme details. Thank you for helping relay this important initiative to your teams!
[Attach Goals document]
[Attach Supporting policies document]
[Attach release communication template - Find in following section]
Step 2 - Launch & ongoing comms
Strategically time the official programme launch for maximum impact. Consider aligning the announcement with other company initiatives or employee engagement efforts already underway.
Opt for a multi-channel approach which consists of a coordinated launch followed by regular reminders. For each company, internal communication channels will be different, but here are some suggestions;
Channel suggestions:
- Dedicated email
- Internal chat channels
- Weekly/monthly newsletter
- Employee intranet/portal
- Internal social media
- Digital screens
- Office posters
- Company meetings
- Team meetings
Information to share with employees;
- An email or meeting invite to launch the programme
- Introduction to Neighbourly and how the platform works
- Information on why volunteering is important, why the company is launching the programme and the benefits to them and to the community
- Your volunteering policy and goals
- Any relevant incentives
- How to sign up and find opportunities
- Volunteering tips e.g. volunteer with friends to get started
- Details on how to share feedback and content (see next stage)
- Key links & contacts (including any Charity Champions)
Pro tip: Bi-weekly or weekly nudges, reminding them of the sign up links and highlighting a local charity or two is an effective way to keep the programme top of mind. Once employees sign up on the platform, Neighbourly take care of ongoing communications to smooth their volunteering journeys.
Pro tip: Let employees know that for group volunteering, an ideal team size is around 5. This number is easy for the charity to coordinate compared with much larger groups. Encourage friend referral as peer-to-peer comms are an effective way to get people to take action.
Resources
Download Newsletter section template
Copy the email templates below in pink
Our new volunteering partnership with Neighbourly
Hi team,
Exciting news! We are launching a new employee volunteering program in partnership with Neighbourly. This platform connects us with over 30,000 local charities and causes needing support. Neighbourly has over 10 years experience delivering volunteering and giving programmes to some of the biggest brands in the UK such as Samsung, Virgin Media O2, B&Q, Coca Cola, Hays & M&S.
From [date], we will begin organising volunteer events. Based on your feedback, we have set goals to improve and focus on [impact themes/programme goals] in our community. You will be able to volunteer for any cause you are passionate about through Neighbourly's local network.
We have also organised some supporting policies to make your experience as easy and rewarding as possible based on your feedback.
Goals
We aim to have tangible impact in the following area:
[themes / metrics]
Supporting policies
To support volunteering, we are providing:
[policies]
Charity champions
We have selected [names] as volunteer champions. They will help organise events, answer questions and communicate about the programme. We are fully committed to success by leaning on existing knowledge and expertise in volunteering.
For those new to volunteering, Neighbourly has created a guide that summarises how the platform can empower you to support local good causes & the immense value of volunteering for our communities, company and you. I encourage you to read it!
[Attach volunteering intro PDF] [Download]
Our communities need help now more than ever. By volunteering through Neighbourly, we can collectively make a positive local impact. Please reach out to our volunteer champions or [contacts] with any questions!
How to sign up:
Please visit [Insert unique link] to register and start searching for volunteering opportunities.
Use this guide [Attach employee volunteering journey PDF] [Download] to familiarise yourself with how volunteering works functionally on Neighbourly.
Let's do this - our communities are counting on us!
[Your name]
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This material is part of the Neighbourly Volunteer Engagement Success Plan, for use by Neighbourly partners only.