A team that volunteers together is more likely to achieve together

It may seem that corporate service days are commonplace — just a given for any modern organization. But the truth is, more than 40 percent of companies don’t provide paid time off to volunteer, according to the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy.
This means that many of our friends and colleagues are not experiencing the myriad benefits of organized volunteer service, and they’re not bringing those benefits back to the Northeast Ohio business community.
Reinvigoration
As I volunteered along with more than 575 of my colleagues during this year’s EY Connect Day (our annual companywide day of service), I became reinvigorated about the importance of helping out in our community — not just for the sake of doing good, but because our business will improve as a result of this formative experience.
I spent the day with an EY volunteer team at Camp Cheerful in Strongsville, which since 1947 has offered outdoor recreation activities for children and adults with disabilities. We partnered as a team to clean the camp and prepare it for winter. Together, we turned our attention away from our computers and phones to focus on simple physical tasks like cleaning cabins and clearing trails. Others in our office spent the day in classrooms, community centers and other nonprofits.
The enthusiasm all around me was inspiring, and I thought: Wouldn’t it be wonderful if more Northeast Ohio businesses picked up this tradition of an organized, annual day of service? Wouldn’t it be great if we all joined together to do more for our community?
I know that enacting a structured day of service is a tall order because our work days are sacrosanct. We’re busy, with overflowing inboxes and endless to-do lists.
Count the benefits
Let’s look at just a few of the benefits that a companywide volunteering event could offer your business:

  • Planning and organizing service days and events can build and improve employees’ project management and leadership skills, equipping them to better tackle their professional assignments.
  • Teamwork is critical to corporate service days, and team building transfers back to the office — the team that volunteers together is more likely to achieve together.
  • Volunteering can help improve retention and limit turnover. Employees who receive the benefit of paid leave for volunteering are more engaged, happier and more likely to stick with your company.

I encourage my fellow Northeast Ohio business leaders to explore organized volunteer and service activities of their own. And don’t stop with a single day — look for ways to incorporate giving back into your professional and personal life year-round.
My work with Camp Cheerful doesn’t end with EY Connect Day; I act as chairwoman for Achievement Centers for Children, the camp’s parent organization, and I oversee many of the programs and services offered to Northeast Ohio-area families. I also go back to volunteer, along with my family, on a regular basis. The payoff — both professionally and personally — is more than worth it.
 
At Ernst & Young’s Cleveland Office, Julie Boland supports more than 1,300 professionals. She is responsible for developing talent, managing resources, creating high-performing teams and providing exceptional client service.