When you think of employee engagement, what comes to mind? It could mean having happy employees, employees who are invested in the work they’re doing for your company, or employees who feel good about what your company does as a whole.

In reality, all of those traits define employee engagement. And having high employee engagement levels comes with a lot of value.

Why is employee engagement important?

Employee engagement is important because it boosts productivity, profitability, and retention rates at your company. When employees are engaged at their company, it means they have an emotional investment in the work they’re doing and the work your business does overall.

But employee engagement takes many forms, and it takes effort from your company to foster an environment that encourages engagement. One of the most effective ways you can boost engagement at your company is through corporate philanthropy.

When companies take part in corporate philanthropy efforts, it reflects well on them as a whole and encourages employees to get involved. In this article, we’ll outline seven employee engagement ideas centered around philanthropy. Using these ideas, your company will be in a better position to increase engagement among your employees.

We’ll discuss:

1. Matching Gift Programs
2. Corporate Volunteerism
3. Corporate Volunteer Grants
4. Automatic Payroll Deductions
5. Annual Giving Campaigns
6. Cause Marketing Campaigns
7. Employee Engagement Software

Centering your efforts around corporate philanthropy is a great way to boost morale among your employees and keep them invested in the work you do. Let’s get started.

1. Matching Gift Programs

With the rise of corporate social responsibility (CSR), many companies are taking the initiative to do good in their communities. One of the most common ways companies do this is by implementing matching gift programs.

Corporate matching gift programs are a type of philanthropy in which companies financially match donations that their employees make to nonprofits.

Many companies match at a 1:1 ratio (dollar for dollar), but these ratios range anywhere from .5:1 to 4:1. That means nonprofits have the opportunity to receive at least double the amount of an initial gift.

How do matching gifts tie into employee engagement?

Matching gift programs are essential for employee engagement because those programs demonstrate to employees that your company cares about the same organizations and causes they do.

Even though matching gifts are common in terms of workplace giving programs, many employees don’t know their companies even offer a program.

That’s why your company should take the initiative to promote these programs to your employees. Whether it’s done through onboarding or regular employee communications, alerting employees to the fact that they can double their donations to their favorite charities can go a long way in terms of engagement.

Taking this initiative is also great for the nonprofits your matching gift program benefits, because the more you encourage employees to participate in these programs, the more nonprofits will raise for their causes. It’s a win-win!

2. Corporate Volunteerism

Just as matching gifts are one of the most common types of CSR programs out there, another common CSR initiative is corporate volunteerism.

Through corporate volunteerism, employees are encouraged to volunteer their time at local nonprofits they want to support. 

Companies encourage volunteerism in a number of ways, one of which is through offering paid time off during the year to volunteer. This is an extra incentive for employees because they get to support a charitable cause while still getting paid.

Many companies also offer volunteer days, such as a day of service, to promote team-building and give back to the community. This encourages coworkers to get together, get to know one another, and work as a team to help an organization.

Corporate volunteerism also benefits nonprofits because of the skills corporate employees bring to the table—which are often skills and expertise that the nonprofits may not otherwise be able to afford.

How does corporate volunteerism tie into employee engagement?

Companies that promote volunteer opportunities and actively encourage their employees to participate show that they care about giving back to the community, and are even willing to offer paid time off to do so. This reflects well on companies and even encourages consumers to continue purchasing products and services from them.

When employees see the good their companies are doing in their communities, they are more likely to participate, think positively about their role in the company, and be happier as a result.

3. Corporate Volunteer Grants

Corporate volunteerism doesn’t end with the time and effort that your employees offer nonprofits. There’s another type of workplace giving program directly related to volunteerism that can benefit nonprofits, reflect well on your company, and boost employee engagement.

Corporate volunteer grants turn non-monetary contributions—volunteer hours—into revenue for your nonprofit. When employees at a company devote a specific number of hours to volunteering with a nonprofit, participating companies provide a set dollar amount for those hours to the nonprofit.

For example, this could look like:

• $25 for every hour an employee volunteers
• $15 per hour an employee volunteers, with a minimum of 20 hours
• $500 after volunteering 20 hours with a nonprofit

Corporate volunteer grants essentially help nonprofits meet their fundraising and volunteer goals at the same time.

How do corporate volunteer grants tie into employee engagement?

Many volunteers and nonprofits are unaware that the volunteer’s employer even offers a volunteer grant program. That’s why it’s essential to actively promote these opportunities to employees—especially those who volunteer with nonprofits on a regular basis.

The more you encourage volunteerism and promote volunteer grant opportunities, the more employees will feel engaged with your company and its values.

Additionally, the easier you make it to participate in your volunteer grant program, the more you’ll get out of the program you’ve invested in. One way to make participation easier and more streamlined is by investing in employee engagement software. If you’re interested in the kinds of solutions available to you, jump to that section now!

4. Automatic Payroll Deductions

Another form of workplace giving that can lead to high employee engagement is automatic payroll deductions. 

An automatic payroll deduction allows employees to deduct a small portion of each paycheck to donate to a charity. 

Automatic payroll deductions are great options for employees because they can give to nonprofits in smaller increments—especially if they’re unable to donate a large sum at once. If their employer also offers a matching gift program, those donations can even be doubled.

Most organizations are generally vetted by companies to ensure their employees’ automatic payroll contributions are going to reputable nonprofits. This will reassure employees that their donations are going to a good cause. 

How do automatic payroll deductions tie into employee engagement?

By making it easy for employees to give to reputable organizations, your company accomplishes a few things:

• Employees get to make a difference for the causes they care about.
• The donations have no extra fees for the nonprofits (like credit card processing fees) and the donation is still tax deductible for employees.
• Employees will continue to participate in automatic payroll deductions long term because of the ease and security associated with the program.

The more options you offer as part of your workplace giving programs, the more likely employees will be to engage and participate in those programs. Automatic payroll deductions are an excellent option to consider as a company.

5. Annual Giving Campaigns

The year-end giving season (generally October through December) is the most popular time for nonprofit donations. During this time, donation numbers are higher than all year round.

Companies can use this time to encourage their employees to donate to important causes. This can be done via monetary donations or donations of time. When paired with matching gifts and corporate volunteer grants, the impact goes even further.

Many nonprofits run annual giving campaigns around this time of year to raise a large portion of the funds they need to continue serving their missions. Encouraging your employees to give during these campaigns is especially important for the nonprofits they support, but also for your company’s image.

How do annual giving campaigns tie into employee engagement?

If your company wants to boost engagement among its employees, be sure to encourage them to participate in annual giving. Promote specific opportunities to donate to nonprofits whose missions align with your company values. This reflects well on your company in the public eye, while also showing your employees that giving to worthy causes is an important component of your business practice.

6. Cause Marketing Campaigns

As a big part of CSR, companies will often launch a cause marketing campaign in conjunction with a nonprofit cause. During a cause marketing campaign, a company increases its own profitability while also doing good in the communities in which they operate.

Here are some examples of cause marketing:

• Businesses encourage customers to round up their purchases to donate to a specific charity or cause.
• Businesses donate a portion of their profits to a specific charity or cause. 
• Businesses accept donated goods to provide to specific charities.

Both the for-profit and nonprofit sides benefit from cause marketing. For-profit businesses can see an increase in sales and exposure, while nonprofits receive more funding and goods that can help them serve their constituents.

How do cause marketing campaigns tie into employee engagement?

Cause marketing is a great employee engagement idea because it actively encourages employee participation. After all, cause marketing works best if your company is helping a cause that your employees believe in. If your staff supports the idea, they’ll work harder and be more invested in helping.

7. Employee Engagement Software

For all of these employee engagement ideas, you’ll want to have an organized system in place to run it. With so many moving parts and workplace giving options, it can be challenging to consolidate donations, volunteer opportunities and hours, and matching gift requests in one place.

Employee engagement software is a must when it comes to organizing your workplace giving programs.

Using an employee engagement platform, you can:

• Track and review employee donations, including automatic payroll deductions.
• View and approve employee matching gift requests.
• Allow employees to log their volunteer hours.
• View and approve volunteer grant requests.
• Post and coordinate volunteer opportunities for your employees.
• Organize team volunteer events.

These are just some of the ways employee engagement software can help keep your company on track.

Be sure to invest in the right employee engagement software that will allow your company to benefit the most from the workplace giving programs you’ve already invested so much into.

Additional Resources

Looking for even more information about employee engagement ideas that can benefit your company? Start with the resources below:

• Employee Engagement: The Essential Guide for 2021. If you want a breakdown of the basics around employee engagement, check out our essential guide.
• Workplace Giving: The Guide for Nonprofits and Companies. Workplace giving is huge for both nonprofits and companies. Learn more about the different benefits it offers here.
• 8 Results-Driven Reasons You Need Employee Engagement. There are many reasons employee engagement is important. We’ve compiled some of the top reasons in this article!

As a company, managing employees and productivity can be a challenge. You want to keep your employees happy and feeling fulfilled in their work, and a lot of the time, their level of engagement with their job informs all of that.

That’s why keeping your employees engaged is so important.

High employee engagement is one of the top reasons employees stay at their jobs long term, are more productive, and feel fulfilled. In order to explore these ideas, we’re going to define employee engagement and dig deeper into why it makes a difference for your company.

What is employee engagement?

Employee engagement refers to the level at which employees are excited about and committed to their jobs. When employees are engaged, they are more likely to produce higher quality work and feel invested in what they do.

Employee engagement is different from employee satisfaction, but these terms are interconnected. Satisfaction simply means an employee enjoys their job, but isn’t necessarily engaged with it. Employee engagement, on the other hand, means employees are emotionally invested in the work they’re doing.

Consider the following questions as you look into ways your company can boost your employee engagement levels:

1. Why is employee engagement important?
2. What are effective employee engagement ideas?
3. How does employee engagement software help companies?
4. What are some additional employee engagement resources?

There are many benefits of employee engagement and ways to enhance it at your company. Let’s jump in.

1. Why is employee engagement important?

According to recent statistics, 85% of employees are not engaged in the workplace—which means a large number of employees might leave their current jobs for another.

On the other hand, studies indicate that companies whose employees are engaged are 22% more profitable.

Put simply, employee engagement is important because it leads to higher retention rates and productivity. As is implied, a higher retention rate also means your company doesn’t have to deal with as much turnover, hiring, and training, which saves you a lot of money down the road.

The takeaway? Employee engagement leads to happy employees, longer tenures with your company, and higher productivity levels.

So, how can your company build up its employee engagement rate? There are many ways to do this, but we’re going to focus specifically on one avenue that has a huge impact: corporate social responsibility programs. Read on to learn more!

2. What are effective employee engagement ideas?

If you’re looking for effective employee engagement ideas, consider corporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a term used to describe a company’s efforts to improve society. And with CSR comes many different initiatives companies take on to do just that.

Offering generous and inclusive CSR programs is one of the top drivers of employee engagement because employees are more likely to be happy working for a company that contributes to social good.

Employee Engagement and Corporate Social Responsibility

CSR is an umbrella term that covers everything from corporate philanthropy to positive economic and environmental efforts a company takes upon itself.

For the purpose of this article, we’re going to focus on some of the top philanthropic efforts a company can put forth that in turn boost employee engagement. These include:

Matching Gifts

One of the best ways to foster employee engagement is through corporate matching gift programs. Corporate matching gifts are a type of CSR initiative in which companies financially match donations their employees make to nonprofits.

When it comes to workplace giving and CSR, matching gifts are a common offering, and it’s important for companies to actively promote these opportunities to their employees.

Employees who understand how to request a matching gift for their donation will be more likely to go through the process and feel good that their company made their gift go twice as far.

That said, it can be challenging to inform employees of your matching gift program. That’s why you should also make a point to promote matching gift opportunities throughout the year in a variety of ways, including:

• New employee training materials
• End-of-year campaigns
• Internal employee communications

When you encourage employees to participate in your matching gift program, it not only benefits your company and helps you make the most of the giving program you’ve invested in, but also benefits the nonprofits those dollars go toward.

Volunteering

Now is the time to implement or enhance your employee volunteer program. That’s because offering volunteer opportunities within your company is a fantastic way to keep employees happy and fulfilled.

Whether you offer paid time off to volunteer, team-building volunteer opportunities, or a simple way for employees to access volunteer positions in your community, employees will be excited to step up and help the causes they care about.

When it comes to corporate volunteering and building up employee engagement, volunteering takes on a few manifestations:

• Volunteer grants. Corporate volunteer grants are another form of corporate philanthropy in which companies provide monetary grants to nonprofits where their employees regularly volunteer. This means nonprofits get two forms of support in place of one: valuable volunteer hours and financial contributions.
• Individual volunteer opportunities. Many companies offer paid time off for employees to volunteer at organizations they care about. This is a great incentive to boost employee engagement because they get paid while supporting an important cause. Add in a volunteer grant, and the benefits extend even further!
• Team volunteer opportunities. As a team-building activity, companies often plan a day of service or similar event to get their employees together to give back to the community. This can also result in team volunteer grants, increased camaraderie among coworkers, and deepened relationships with the nonprofits in their community.

Companies also tend to use employee engagement platforms to organize their volunteer activity, as well as manage matching gifts and employee donations. This type of platform helps companies track volunteer opportunities in the greater community around their business, get employees signed up, and keep them engaged in the company’s culture of giving.

Looking to learn more about employee engagement software? Jump to that section now!

Other CSR Initiatives

Beyond matching gifts and corporate volunteerism, there are several other types of CSR initiatives that encourage employee engagement and participation.

Among the most common are workplace giving programs like automatic payroll deductions, annual giving campaigns, and other opportunities to donate to good causes. 

Through these company-sponsored programs, nonprofits are vetted and can build solid relationships with companies and their employees. Employees can rest assured that they’re donating to a worthy cause, and nonprofits get the support they deserve. Meanwhile, companies can get the most out of the giving programs they invested in.

Out of all the employee engagement ideas out there, focusing on corporate philanthropy and workplace giving, as well as other corporate social responsibility programs, will help your employees feel fulfilled and happy working for your company. Knowing that your company cares about the same causes they care about will keep them engaged and invested in the work they do for you.

3. How does employee engagement software help companies?

Having highly engaged employees is great, right? When you offer opportunities for employees to get involved in helping important causes, everyone will benefit.

But how can you effectively keep track of and manage all of these programs?

Tracking workplace giving programs and volunteer opportunities might sound like spreadsheets upon spreadsheets and lots of data entry. But there’s another way your company can manage your employees’ activity, as well as the programs you’re promoting: employee engagement software.

Employee engagement software helps you keep track of employee donations, volunteering opportunities, automatic payroll deductions, grant requests, and more.

Let’s turn back to those employee engagement ideas we discussed earlier:

Matching Gift Programs and Employee Engagement Software

When you invest in software that helps you regulate your matching gift program, you’ll make it easier for employees to get their donations matched for any eligible nonprofit. This makes them more likely to participate and feel engaged with your company as a result.

Employee engagement software helps manage your matching gift program by:

• Allowing you to review or automatically approve matching gift requests that meet your company’s guidelines
• Helping you track employee donations and measure overall impact
• Tracking your goals and overall CSR-related progress

All of these features give your company a bigger picture of the impact you can make.

Corporate Volunteerism and Employee Engagement Software

Employee engagement software can also regulate your volunteer opportunities. The easier it is for employees to provide you with their volunteer activity information, the more likely they will be to participate in your volunteer program.

For example, employee engagement software helps manage your volunteer program by:

• Allowing your company to find or create new volunteer events
• Making it easy for employees to track their volunteer hours
• Helping you track and approve volunteer grant requests

Volunteering consists of many juggling tasks, but when you use software to streamline the tracking and approval process, you’ll save your team and your company a lot of headache.

4. What are some additional employee engagement resources?

Your employee engagement efforts shouldn’t stop here! Now that you have a basic understanding of how employee engagement works, check out these additional resources:

• Workplace Giving: The Guide for Nonprofits and Companies. Looking to learn more about workplace giving programs? Check out our guide!
• How Corporate Volunteer Grants Increase Employee Engagement. Intrigued by volunteer grants and employee engagement? We’ve built on that information here.
• Increase Employee Engagement With Corporate Giving. Corporate giving programs do a lot to increase employee engagement. Learn how in this guide.