Your company has decided to pay employees for doing charity work. Employees can spend 1 hour working with a charitable on nonprofit group for every 40 they work. Employees will be paid for this hour, so their salaries will not fall. People who choose not to participate will work and be paid for the same number of hours as before. Supervisors are responsible for ensuring that essential business services are covered during business hours. Any employee who will be away during regular business hours (either to volunteer or to take off an hour in compensation for volunteering off-shift or on a weekend) will need to clear the planned absence with his or her supervisor. Your office is collecting a list of organizations that would welcome volunteers. People can work with an organized group or do something informal (such as tutoring at a local school or coaching kids at a localplayground). People can volunteer 1 hour every week, 2 hours every other week, or a half-day each month. Volunteer hours cannot be banked from one month to the next; they must be used each month. The program starts January 1 (or June 1). The various groups that people work with will be featured in company publications. As Vice President of Human Resources, write a memo to all employees announcing this new program.
Hints:
Pick a business, government, or nonprofit organization that you know something about.
What proportion of your employees are already involved in volunteer work?
Is community service or “giving back” consistent with your corporate mission?
Some employees won’t be able or won’t want to participate. What is the benefit for them in working for a company that has such a program?
Will promoting community participation help your organization attract and retain workers?