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5 Ways Fundraising and Charitable Activity Encourages Teamwork

While fundraising is a great way to demonstrate a business’ values, it can offer more than that by helping to improve company culture as it provides an opportunity to put the team on a level playing field away from workplace hierarchies. Looking at the benefits, Nigel Smith, HR Director for new homes housebuilder Miller Homes, discusses the five ways charitable work can bring a team closer together.

  1. Foster creativity

    Many companies favour the tried-and-tested methods of various social activities or sponsored runs to raise money but some take the opportunity to get creative and try something new that reflects their product or service.

    Gathering the team together for a discussion can help get the ideas flowing and offer some of the less experienced or new employees the opportunity to showcase their talent and creativity. They may also express an interest in taking on a supervisory role or even organizing an event in order to put it towards their professional development. Once the event is over, these skills will transfer into their working life adding value to their role and the company.
     
  2. Connecting office and out-of-office workers

    Large companies can span multiple departments, offices and, in the construction industry, developments – fundraising is an opportunity to break down these barriers and get everyone together. If a company establishes an official charity partner and sets a national goal, it can bring people together who wouldn’t usually meet. Members from each team or office can join forces to take on a challenge and raise money towards one unified goal, or get together to organise their own smaller fundraising event.
     
  3. Senior management buy-in

    Day-to-day, the relationship between the management team and their employees is generally purely professional. If senior managers get involved in fundraising efforts, it not only encourages the rest of the staff to take the events seriously and increases participation; it places everyone in a situation away from job roles and titles. This allows employees to see their managers in a new light and can help build relationships based on mutual respect and having a shared goal.
     
  4. Challenging themselves

    By partnering with a charity, employees can find their inner strength and work together to overcome challenges. We have experienced and encouraged this through our partnership with global housing charity, Habitat for Humanity GB.  Our staff have had the opportunity to take part in a global village trip, building new Habitat Homes in Malawi, transforming the lives of some of the poorest people in the world. In addition we are participating in the Hope Challenge, where companies from the construction industry compete against one another during a weekend in the Peak District, participating in a range of activities to help raise money and awareness of the charity.

    Promoting and participating in events such as these can really encourage engagement amongst staff at all different levels and across all locations as well as having the added benefits of promoting good health and wellbeing. It also demonstrates the company’s active commitment, which can have a really positive impact on workplace culture and morale.
     
  5. Understand the value of achievement

    Activities such as the global village trip, where companies genuinely put their fundraising into action so that staff can experience it first-hand and truly understand the impact of their support, can have a profound effect on those involved.

    Providing these opportunities also helps develop a sense of pride for the business, achievement for the individual and promoting the company’s commitment to give something back to society.

    Staff will often use the fundraising activities to tell their own stories, filming the event and taking pictures to share with their friends, on social media or with other employees. This can encourage others to join in next time, increasing the impact of your efforts and helping you meet your fundraising goal.

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