TIPS & TOOLS - Rewarding or Disappointing? What to consider when creating corporate volunteer opportunities
Excerpts from "Developing an Effective Corporate Volunteer Program: Lessons from the Ford Motor Company of Canada Experience", 2002

Ford Motor Company of Canada surveyed their employees who participated in its corporate volunteer program. This survey identified key factors that influenced the employees' volunteer experience:

Factors that made volunteering rewarding

1. the opportunity for team building/bonding with co-workers, creating a "family feeling" and working together towards a common goal outside of the workplace
2. contributed to a positive image of the company
3. feeling appreciated by the beneficiaries of the volunteer work, including agency representatives and clients of the agency
4. being able to see the direct results of their work and experiencing a sense of accomplishment in a non-work environment
5. having the opportunity to meet new people both within the company and in the community
6. "eye-opening" experiences that increased awareness of the needs in the community
7. working with people from "different walks of life", different cultures and all levels of people from the company, including senior management
8. bringing together different viewpoints and skills and allowing for the exchange of ideas
9. taking part in activities that were fun, interesting or different from their usual day-to-day routines
10. seeing first-hand the enthusiasm and commitment of the volunteers and staff of the organization being helped

Factors that made volunteering disappointing

1. overwork (being given more work than could be accomplished or feeling they were being taken advantage of)
2. lack of agency preparation, leading to underutilization of volunteers
3. less camaraderies when the employee volunteer group is split up
4. emotionally draining work
5. lack of appreciation from an agency representative
6. perceiving the cause being supported as not worthwhile
7. lack of an evident sense of need
8. apparent lack of effort among other employees
9. difficult working conditions
10. uneven distribution of work among the different volunteer groups