Encouraging employees to take part in Pro Bono O.R.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting the BAE Systems offices in Farnborough and talking to the O.R. analysts at CORDA about Pro Bono O.R.

The CORDA senior management have been very supportive of the Pro Bono O.R. scheme and have actively encouraged their staff to get involved. 

The benefits of taking part are threefold:

• The third sector organisation benefits from free support;
• The volunteer(s) who carry out the project gain many benefits (see below)
• The organisation who the volunteer works for benefits from their staff talking part.  There are a range of benefits including:

1.  higher staff retention
2. increased staff morale and reduced sick leave
3. increased work performance
4. building strong teams  
5. training and developing
6. reputation and credibility

(Data taken from Business in the Community and NCVO)



That is why CORDA are supportive of employees carrying out the projects in company time as they see how valuable taking part in the scheme can be.

Having spoken to many of the volunteers here are just a few of the benefits they list:

• Taking part in the whole project cycle
• Unique opportunities
• Use soft skills
• Develop current skills
• Learn new skills
• Make a real difference
• Build your CV
• Get to know new people
• Team building opportunities
• Project management
• Work in a different sector
• Positive learning expereince

So what's holding you back...?  To hear about projects that require volunteers please sign up here  (no commitment required).