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Corporate work days

"Let's have a corporate work day!"

Environmental program co-ordinators are sometimes given the opportunity to organise corporate work days. These are one off work days where corporate staff members join together with agencies that manage environmental projects, such as local councils or national park agencies. Corporate work days are usually held on a normal work day. The staff members are normally still paid to be there by the company so it is not "volunteering" (as defined in The National Standards for Volunteering). However because people are offering their services and labour for a day, issues regarding your organisation's duty of care, worker's safety and insurance still need to be considered. See Health and Safety and Insurance for volunteers

The benefits of corporate work days

  • The "people-power" can get jobs done at those sites on your "wish list" - clear weeds, remove rubbish, move mulch, move soil and plant trees.
  • People with little experience or understanding of environmental and restoration are exposed to positive strategies and proactive behaviours - tree planting, mulching and rubbish collection.
  • People from a part of the community that might not normally be targeted, have the opportunity to get involved to learn about and actively participate in the rehabilitation of natural areas, this could lead to ongoing personal volunteering for your project.
  • Corporate work days could lead to an ongoing partnership with the corporate, which may possibly include funding for future environmental projects.

Tips

  • Ask for several months' notice to have enough time to plan work, order materials and prepare site/s.
  • To make a bigger impact on work sites, encourage the corporate to make an ongoing commitment and be involved in the follow up maintenance work also.
  • Instead of a one off event, the corporate could be invited to work for a day at the same time each year.
  • Identify other ways that corporates can contribute, such as printing costs for brochures, banners and photos.
  • Corporate work days can take a lot time to organise. Organisations need not feel guilty about saying no to corporates if resources are limited at that time.
  • If you are going to decline the offer because of limited paid staff and resources, ensure it is a universal "No thank you" from your organisation, as a representative from the company may also speak to a Councillor, media relations person or general manager who say "Yes!" and nominate you to organise the day.
  • Corporate staff members may be unaccustomed to working in natural areas and a challenge can be to find suitable jobs. Sometimes the jobs that are suitable are not the jobs that are of greatest priority (for example in urban areas, tree planting is easy and popular, but weed maintenance in bushland may be more necessary). Another challenge may be to find suitable work sites, as areas under rehabilitation can be fragile and would not benefit from having large groups of people walking through them in a day.

Preparing for the Event
  • Liaise with the corporate to agree on the objective and outcomes of the work day.
  • Work out how much the day is going to cost - it may be appropriate to ask for funds to organise and supervise the day.
  • Cost the in-kind contributions - paid staff or volunteer time spent on planning, organisation, supervision and use of vehicles.
  • Cost the purchase price of new tools, plants and materials.
  • Cost the site preparation and maintenance by contractors.
  • Establish up front and in writing which organisation will cover the insurance for the day - normally corporate work days are held in working hours and insurance is covered by the corporate.
  • Large groups require resource intensive supervision - if you do not have available resources then small groups are more manageable (i.e. 5-15 people).
  • If there are a large number of volunteers, break them into small teams working on different tasks and sites (a recommended ratio of staff to volunteers is 1 supervisor to 5-10 volunteers, depending on the tasks). See Supervision
  • Choose sites that are safe, easy to access, relatively flat and with public toilets and a tap nearby.
  • Write a list of all tools, equipment and materials provided for the day.
  • Check the tools are returned at the end of the day.
  • Have a weather contingency plan - such as other tasks to perform or an alternative date.
  • Work out how to let everyone know if there is a change of plan.
  • Find out where the nearest shelter is in case it starts raining after work has commenced.
  • Plan a variety of activities so that groups can rotate tasks in the morning and afternoon.
  • Schedule snack breaks and lunch throughout the day.
  • If you are catering for the volunteers, give clear instructions on when and where food will be delivered and BBQ setup, and plan for rubbish disposal and recycling.
  • Provide information to participants just before the day - where and when to meet, what to bring, what to wear (these may include sensible shoes or boots, hat, tools, sunscreen, BYO water or mug).
  • Before work commences do a health and safety induction in small groups. See Health & Safety (Example of Health & Safety Induction)
  • Before work commences, do a site tour if possible - this builds context around the activity which helps connect the volunteers to the task at hand and provide them with a sense of satisfaction that they are helping to make a difference to their local environment.
Evaluating the day
  • Ask the participants to complete a short evaluation form about the day, preferably before they leave.
  • Keep records of the work that was done - the number of trees planted, the number of boardwalk planks laid, the number of garden beds weeded, the cubic metres of mulch laid etc. - the statistics will be useful for presentations and evaluations about the day.
  • Take photos, before, during and afterwards.
  • Provide collected feedback to the corporate as they will also be evaluating the activity.

More information

Corporate Volunteering Days Information Sheet www.volunteeringaustralia.org/sheets/corporate

Corporate Volunteering Booklet for community organisations www.volunteeringqueensland.org.au

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The Volunteer Coordinators Network (Natural Areas) Manual © 2004