Royal Voluntary Service launches consultancy service
As one of the UK’s largest volunteering organisations, Royal Voluntary Service has long worked to help the country get the most from volunteering. Now, the group has launched a consulting team, which will help clients deploy volunteering to boost employee productivity and wellbeing.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of international business self-regulation. By undertaking CSR projects, private companies look to make themselves socially accountable to their staff, stakeholders, and the public – contributing to the goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in pro bono programs, community development, raising funds, or administering monetary grants to non-profit organisations for the society or the planet’s benefit.
But beyond this, studies suggest there are key benefits which companies could avail themselves of, if they take CSR more seriously. The majority of firms which adequately engage in volunteering schemes report that their workforce is more motivated, healthier and better engaged in their usual work too. As a result, recent analysis from the Centre of Economic and Business Research (Cebr), for example, estimated that employee volunteering could unlock £32.5 billion – £5,239 per employee – in productivity gains for the UK economy annually.
In spite of this, further research from Royal Voluntary Service and Cebr suggests that while 62% of businesses offer volunteering to employees, uptake remains low. 140 million hours went unused in the last year alone.
Founded in 1938, Royal Voluntary Service is a voluntary organisation concerned with helping people in need throughout England, Scotland and Wales. Operating from 67 hubs across the UK, modern services it provides include Meals on Wheels, Good Neighbours and community transport; as well as running hospital shops and cafés, where any profits are returned to the hospital.
Looking to put this expertise to good use, and to help the UK do more with its voluntary potential, Royal Voluntary Service has launched a new consultancy service. The offering is designed to support organisations harness employee volunteering as a strategic lever for tackling key productivity, wellbeing and employee engagement and retention challenges, while delivering measurable social and ESG impact.
New consulting service
The consulting service, which is available immediately, is tailored to each client, whether they are just starting out or scaling an existing programme. Services encompass business case development, policy design, internal engagement and partnership strategies, as well developing robust reporting frameworks for clients to track and evidence impact and meet stakeholder expectations.
Emma Gervasio, chief operating officer, Royal Voluntary Service, commented, “Our new consultancy service is about helping employers transform their volunteering programmes and those millions of unused hours into wellbeing gains, stronger engagement and meaningful ESG outcomes. Even better, companies that choose to work with us will be giving back from day one. All profits from our commercial services will be reinvested into the platform and our community support activities.”
In addition, Royal Voluntary Service has designed an innovative diagnostic tool, to conduct data-driven, deep dive assessments of the maturity of client’s volunteering programmes and alignment with company goals and strategy. Insights are used by Royal Voluntary Service to develop a strategic roadmap to support clients embed volunteering more deeply across their organisation and build a stronger case for senior leadership buy-in and investment.
Saima Rasool, consultant at Royal Voluntary Service, who served as development lead for the diagnostic tool, added, “More and more organisations are recognising employee volunteering as not just a nice-to-have but a commercial opportunity. It’s an effective way to build employee engagement, strengthen resilience and drive social impact. Our consultancy and Diagnostic Tool are designed to help businesses harness more of that great potential, creating volunteering programmes tied to their organisational goals, that deliver value to employees and communities and contribute to commercial outcomes.”
