The Benefits of Community Engagement for Your Business

Smart leaders know that to retain the talent pool in the workplace, there must be more on the offering plate than monetary compensation. A great salary is nice, but to this rising generation of workers, there needs to be a deeper sense of purpose. Rather than money, studies have shown that workers want their voices heard and want to be involved in things that matter. They want to make a difference. Having a sense of self-worth while performing their job is a much stronger motivator for many in today’s workforce.

Smart leaders also know that a happy and healthy workforce will produce a higher quality of performance. When a leader inspires the passion of employees and unleashes their talent, great things are bound to happen. One way to motivate, inspire, and validate the workforce is by developing a community engagement program.

Developing a community engagement program with your business offers many rewards for your workforce, your customers, and the community. Employee involvement with such programs allows companies to develop important staff skills such as teamwork, problem solving, and communication. Most significant is the development of a more positive company culture where morale improves, trust and respect improve, and company pride is fostered.

At my company, Drs. Gatty, LLC, I volunteer 5 hours per week with my Great Dane Therapy Dog, making a visit to the community hospital one morning and the community Veterans’ Administration community center one afternoon. I donate approximately 250 hours per year. In addition, we make monetary contributions to the Wounded Warrior Project monthly. We encourage our business clients to be actively engaged with local communities, so modeling our recommendation is important to us.

Another example of giving back to the community can be found at Salesforce.com. The company’s philanthropic model includes three elements. The company donates 1 percent of the employees’ time to community projects of their choosing. The company then donates 1 percent of the company’s equity and 1 percent of services and/or products to community needs. Such a community engagement program not only inspires the workforce; it benefits the community and provides an incentive for customers to support the business.

There are many different kinds of initiatives that a company can embrace including community partnerships with nonprofits, sponsoring student training, employee volunteering, and giving resources to identified causes. Creating such a community engagement program will help your company improve staff performance, reduce absenteeism, and increase your ability to attract and retain talented employees.