Volunteer Time Off (VTO) or Paid Volunteer Hour (PVH) Programs are a great way to incentivize employee participation in your Social Impact mission. Offering paid time off to volunteer shows employees that your company is invested in giving back to your communities and underscores the partnership between employees and the company in deciding how to do good.
Review the Frequently Asked Questions below to gain insights about successful paid VTO policies.
Stay consistent with other benefits, but best practice would be to offer the benefit to all employees. Potentially pro-rate if offering to part time employees.
A huge range exists. We have seen from 4-40 hrs per year. Also note, just because you offer the benefit, it will probably take some time before a large number of employees take advantage of it. Some companies go as far as offering international sabbatical programs.
Typical parameters are around asking manager permission in advance and coordinating work responsibilities and schedules.
If you want to encourage employees to volunteer at specific organizations, you could consider offering Dollars for Doers grants only to identified NGOs. Also consider organizing volunteer events at high priority non-profits where there is a strategic connection.
You can also consider the parameters that you use when deciding which organizations your company supports with grants or donations in other areas outside of the volunteering program.
Not only is it important to have executive buy-in, but you need executive participation. Leaders need to be walking the talk and inviting their teams to join them in participating.
Additionally, you should ensure supervisor support that clearly enables employees to participate and include volunteering in their complex schedules.