A successful medical practice requires employees who are competent, hardworking and loyal. Attracting, hiring and retaining that type of employee can be a challenge. One solution to this problem may be in transforming your corporate culture by championing volunteerism. Recent studies suggest that volunteering can boost individual employee performance and, ultimately, the bottom line. Here are 4 key reasons why:
Talent Acquisition and Retention
According to a 2015 study on workplace volunteerism, corporate culture is everything for Millennial workers. Sixty-three percent of female employees and 45% of male employees said their company’s charitable cause influenced them when accepting a job. Once employed, Millennials want to volunteer together and feel connected with their company’s cause, ideally through initiatives that help their surrounding community. Other recent studies show that non-Millennial employees also feel the importance of volunteering in the workplace; almost three-quarters of employees who volunteer through work report feeling better about their employer, and 91 percent believe it is important for an employer to allow employees to volunteer on paid time.
Office Culture
Volunteering as a group is a way to build a stronger team that strives to work together, as well as giving them an individual sense of purpose. Seventy-four percent of working Americans say that volunteering provides a sense of purpose at their company. A Statistics Canada study found that employees feel that volunteering helps them improve their work performance and enrich their social network and well-being. Volunteering allows employees to break from the day-to-day, be outside the office and work together to achieve a collective goal.
Health and Wellness
Volunteering allows an employee to see their work as meaningful creating a happier and, as you will read, healthier employees. The United Health Group found that 78% of people who volunteered reported lower levels of stress levels in their lives. The Corporate Council on Volunteering says that volunteering gives employees a feeling of making a positive impact in the communities in which they work and live. A Deloitte Volunteerism Survey also found that 70% of respondents believed volunteering improves their overall morale and happiness. A Carnegie Mellon University study found adults over 50 who volunteered on a regular basis were less likely to develop high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart attack, stroke, heart failure and metabolic syndrome.
Profits
While it may seem impractical to release your employees during the workday, the results can more than offset the investment. This was the case for SAP in 2014. Their report on volunteerism in the workplace found that “for each percentage point our employee engagement index goes up or down, the impact on our operating profit was between €35 million and €45 million.” Your medical practice or clinic can reap some of the same benefits that large corporations like SAP do, with increased employee engagement, reduced absenteeism and friendlier customer service among the primary benefits.
Finding the right volunteer opportunity for your medical practice is important. It is important to look for something that matches your interests, personality and expertise. Once identified it will allow you to create a culture of volunteerism in the workplace may boost morale, workplace atmosphere, and brand perception. When it comes to giving back, everybody wins.
2Ascribe Inc. is a medical transcription services agency located in Toronto, Ontario Canada, providing medical transcription services to physicians, clinics and other healthcare providers across Canada. Having recently introduced WEBscribe, a client interface portal for document management, 2Ascribe continues to implement and develop technology to assist and improve the transcription process for physicians and other healthcare providers. As a service to our clients and the healthcare industry, 2Ascribe offers articles of interest to physicians and other healthcare professionals, medical transcriptionists and office staff, as well as of general interest. Additional articles may be found at www.2ascribe.com.
