Five Reasons Volunteerism Attracts Loyal Employees

In just a couple of weeks, Greater Des Moines (DSM) business, Athene, will host one of my favorite community events – our annual Stuff the Bus sponsorship with United Way of Central Iowa. Stuff the Bus is a community-wide initiative to collect children's books and provide them to child care centers and educational programs that serve low-income children to encourage and improve reading development and literacy. Increasing access to books is the most successful way to improve the reading achievement of low-income children.

One of my biggest professional focus areas is to attract and retain top talent at Athene. I firmly believe part of building a strong employee base comes from an active and engaging culture of volunteerism. Not only is volunteering good for the community, it makes sound business sense. In fact, 88 percent of employers believe effective employee engagement programs help attract and retain employees.

If you still need convincing, here are five more reasons volunteerism attracts loyal employees.

1. Strong Company Culture

One of Athene’s Corporate Values is “Engage Actively.” Not only do we encourage employees to actively engage with each other, we provide a number of community engagement opportunities where team members can work together for a greater good throughout the year.

2. Increased Happiness and Productivity

Studies have shown that happiness at work can increase productivity from 12% to 20%. What better way to feel good than to DO good?

3. Skills Development

We have many volunteer committee leaders at Athene who are individual contributors on their teams. Our volunteer programming provides an opportunity for all Athene associates to take a leadership role in the planning and execution of our volunteer events throughout the year.

4. Increased Brand Awareness

Active employee volunteers are some of our best brand advocates! Using volunteer efforts as an additional conduit to make connections in the community is a great way to bolster corporate recognition and equate a spirit of giving back with your company (no matter what your business is).

5. Sense of Accomplishment

Volunteering time to a worthy cause provides a deep sense of pride and personal accomplishment. It’s an important reminder that what we do really matters, no matter how small the action, and we really do have the power to make a difference in our community.

So, now that you’re ready to grab some team members and volunteer your time, consider partnering with Athene on this year’s Stuff the Bus event. The registration page link has a toolkit to help your organization run your book drive, as well as a recommended book list. Then, join us at Athene, 7700 Mills Civic Pkwy in West Des Moines, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 30 for a celebration and to drop off your books.

We hope to see you here!

Learn more about workplace wellness and how to give back to the local DSM community.

Greater Des Moines (DSM) has one of the best business climates in the country. The region is nationally recognized for having a talented and educated workforce, a cost of doing business 17 percent below the national average, a low cost of living and an exceptional quality of life.