We’ve all been stopped in the street and asked to give money to a certain cause. But have you ever been asked to donate your business skills to a charity?
Probably not, but giving time and skills to charities is becoming increasingly popular among senior business executives - and not just to give them a warm glow at the end of the day. Now more than ever, many companies are seeing engagements with charities, that involve an exchange of skills as a way to get their ‘high fliers’ thinking outside the box - developing their leadership skills, as well as engaging with their local community.
At Pilotlight we’ve been bringing together senior business people with charities for over ten years and, more important, making those connections work. In that time we’ve seen how companies value charity engagements that are well managed and give senior executives learning and development opportunities. Businesses tell us that they want to be more strategic in their Corporate Social Responsibility. While volunteer days have traditionally focused on carrying out worthwhile activities in their local community, many executives are increasingly looking for opportunities to use, and stretch, their business skills.
Many of the executives we work with have never worked with charities before, and are sometimes uncertain how to manage their time and skills to make a real contribution to charities. That is why we facilitate the process and measure the outcomes to ensure that time is spent efficiently and effectively. What’s particularly interesting is that, around six months into the year-long programme, (meeting once a month with the charity leadership team) the most common thing we hear is how much they have learnt, how they have honed their own skills by being placed in a team with executives from other companies and how working with a small charity has made them rethink the way they work. All skills they take back into the workplace. Elaine Maddison from Alliance Trust, the Dundee based investment and savings business, says she learnt a lot about herself from working with a charity in this way:
“It made me remember the passion that I have for what I do and I was able to take that back into my own organisation. It also gave me a fresh perspective and re-invigorated me when I went back to work.”
The charities gain too, of course.
As the charity sector continues to face a tough financial environment, many are looking for ways to gain business skills to enable them to grow and be sustainable. After a year of working with their business teams our charities increase their income by an average of 20% and are able to help 40% more people. So skills-sharing can be good for business and society.
By Gillian Murray, Chief Executive, Pilotlight
If you’re interested in our skilled volunteering programmes, please register your interest here.