The impact of volunteerism on business engagement was discussed in Moscow

A meeting of the National Council for Corporate Volunteerism was held in Moscow at the site of the Mosvolonter resource Center, the press service of the event organizers reported.

The participants discussed the value of corporate volunteer programs as a tool for interaction between companies, their employees and the public in the territories where they operate, as well as the impact of volunteer actions on solving current social and environmental problems, employee engagement and business performance of companies. According to the audience, today corporate volunteerism contributes to business development by increasing employee loyalty and responsibility and helping to increase business performance.

"In a corporate environment, engagement is traditionally viewed in HR terms: These are employee loyalty, motivation, satisfaction with working conditions, and pride in their employer. However, the widespread development of social responsibility practices and corporate volunteerism gives this concept a fundamentally new meaning and scale. Today, we consider engagement as a multi-level system: not only in relation to employees, but also in the interaction of corporate volunteers and local communities, active citizens. The main challenge is to combine the enthusiasm and requests of employees, business goals, NGO expertise and the tasks of the city and the region," said Irina Zhukova, Chairman of the NSKV.

According to Vadim Kovalev, Executive Secretary of the NSKV, Advisor to the Director General for Government Relations and Sustainable Development of Ural Steel Management Company, the systematic development of corporate volunteerism determines the inclusion of related key indicators in the strategic assessment of business performance. "Practice shows that corporate volunteerism in our country is steadily becoming an important segment of volunteerism as such. Our joint work creates noticeable and sought—after trends that are reflected in approaches to assessing the operational effectiveness of a business and have a positive impact on team cohesion and corporate culture in general," he said.

According to Anna Bushlyakova, Deputy Chairman of the Council, the results of a survey among the 20 largest NSKV participating companies indicate an increase in the satisfaction of participants in corporate volunteer programs with their work. "90% of participants in corporate volunteerism projects report an increase in employee satisfaction with their work, 95% note an increase in initiative in work projects, and 100% emphasize the exceptional impact of volunteer projects on team spirit and cohesion. These initiatives are more effective than any team building in breaking down barriers between departments, strengthening emotional loyalty to the company and forming a corporate culture where employees feel their importance and work with full dedication," commented Bushlyakova.

Alisa Safronova, Project Manager for the sustainable development of the United Metallurgical Company, noted the importance of the involvement of corporate volunteers for the social environment of the cities where the business operates. "In Vyksa, we are developing an ecosystem of employee and resident engagement, where young volunteers act as drivers of participation and form an active environment in single-industry towns. And this helps us to create the effect of double involvement — both of employees and residents in the life of the city, and of the city in the life of the company," Safronova said.

Commenting on the importance of employee involvement in corporate volunteerism, Elena Kryuchkova, Deputy Chairman of the NSKV, Head of Social Capital and Charity Development at Norilsk Nickel, noted the high importance of employee involvement in corporate volunteerism programs. "Today, volunteerism can and should be considered as a tool for forming the social capital of a territory: it forms a pool of leaders both inside and outside companies — proactive citizens, opinion leaders, entrepreneurs and future social architects, creating a significant resource for the city and business," Kryuchkova said.

Alexander Levit, Director of the Mosvolonter Resource Center, spoke about the joint volunteer work of NGOs and businesses using the example of the Moscow municipal environment. "More than 50 corporate teams of large industrial, telecommunications and government corporations are constantly implementing socially significant initiatives with us. Every year, together with the business community, we implement more than 200 events in all areas of volunteerism - we help the city, develop the "soft" skills of company employees, inspire new achievements in the public and professional spheres, increase the loyalty and attractiveness of companies," said Levit.