Volunteering: an unexpected tool for training, development

San Diego Business Journal, June 16, 2008 by Theresa Drew

It's no surprise that chief executive officers often say acquiring and developing the right talent is their No. 1 challenge.

As a result, training is paramount to corporate success, which is why the business community spends heavily on it--upward of $100 billion a year, according to the American Society of Training & Development.

Yet most human resources managers say their budgets are fiat or shrinking, and they are under increasing pressure to do more with less.

New research suggests that innovative companies may find a solution to this conundrum in an unlikely place--their corporate volunteer program.

That's because volunteering can be a highly developmental experience for businesspeople. And nonprofits are clamoring for just this type of specialized support.

According to the 2008 Deloitte Volunteer Impact Survey, HR managers believe volunteering can be a powerful tool for cultivating critical business and leadership skills.

Yet while the Deloitte study suggests that skilled volunteer service would be a valuable training option, only 16 percent of Fortune 500 companies regularly offer volunteering for this purpose.

This and other findings in the survey suggest a big opportunity for corporate America.

Must Acknowledge

First, companies must acknowledge that community involvement can be leveraged to satisfy business needs. In the case of training and development, volunteering intellectual capital and professional insights to a nonprofit is effective because of the authenticity of the work.

Second, companies must integrate community involvement in a way that produces measurable returns. As it relates to training and development, community involvement and HR must determine which skills can be enhanced by volunteer service (such as negotiating, delegating, or motivating others), which volunteerism opportunities can help deliver results (such as nonprofit board service or pro bono work) and how the outcomes can be measured.

Third, companies should encourage learning opportunities across the board.

The Deloitte survey found that companies that do offer skills-based volunteering for training purposes, it is mostly upper executives who get to take advantage of it.

Nonprofits have told us they need volunteers who can offer professional knowledge and business expertise, so companies that leverage volunteerism for talent development have much to offer.

Long considered an employee perk, volunteerism can also be a powerful, cost-effective training and development method that produces tangible results for employees, companies and the community.

Theresa Drew is San Diego managing partner of Deloitte & Touche LLP.