Charity begins at work

Bosses paying staff to do charity volunteering during work time? It's happening in Auckland, reports ALICE SHOPLAND.

Paying your employees not to turn up to work might not sound like a sensible proposition.

But encouraging staff to work for charities during their paid work hours is paying moral and HR dividends for Starbucks NZ and the ANZ Bank. And it seems likely other businesses will catch on.

The eight hours a year that ANZ staff can do might not sound overly generous - but with 4000 employees, that's at least 32,000 possible hours of extra help for charities.

Cheryll Martin, regional manager of the Auckland Volunteer Centre, says corporate volunteering is a widespread business practice internationally: it began in the United States and a 1999 survey showed that 92 per cent of large US companies supported employee volunteerism.

In the United Kingdom, one-third of large companies have formal employee involvement programmes, and this trend is continued all over Europe.

Starbucks staff have chosen to support Women's Refuge and Youthline, through the company's Lend a Hand programme, which began in June 2001 - incidentally, International Year of the Volunteer.

Aasha Murthy, general manager of Starbucks Coffee NZ, says it is not just a coincidence - it's strategy driving the fact that the company has "joined hands with two organisations that do a tremendous amount of work with women and young people ... our two key customer groups.

"We also believe that in a less tangible but more significant way, we will be able to give our partners [Starbucks terminology for employees] the opportunity to broaden their outlook on life and to become truly caring and compassionate citizens."

Nick Wilson is coordinating the programme in Auckland, and has collected money for Women's Refuge during its annual appeal last year. He volunteers once or twice a month at the Youthline office.

"Last year the Youthline work was mostly making up information packs to be sent to schools around the country," Wilson says.

"But I've also done lots of filing and little admin things like putting photos in photo albums.

"Working there is fun - they're a really good bunch of people, and they're doing great work."

Starbucks NZ expects to donate a total of 2500 hours to Women's Refuge and Youthline, centred mainly around their annual appeal weeks.

So far, neither organisation has asked Starbucks get involved at the front line with counselling or working at refuges, but Wilson says that could be an option later on for staff who want to undertake the relevant training.

Staff at the ANZ can choose the charity to which they donate time.

Steve Fisher, public relations manager, says many staff teams are organising themselves to volunteer together.

One team has helped out the Mary Potter Hospice, and another spent a day packing and delivering smoke alarms for the Waiheke Volunteer Fire Brigade. Fisher's own team may help out at the SPCA.

The Auckland Volunteer Centre has helped match teams of ANZ volunteers with suitable charities. But there's also scope for individual volunteering, with a broad definition of charity.

"It doesn't include playing sport, obviously," Fisher says, "but volunteer work around your sports club would be fine.

"We're open to any non-profitmaking venture that's legal and not discriminatory or compromising in any other way.

"The idea is that they shouldn't be penalised for doing charity work.

"We also think it helps ensure that staff are happy, because we're recognising their wider contribution."

Fisher says that there's no pressure on staff to take up the volunteer option, but it has been widely welcomed by staff since it was announced in June last year.

The standard volunteer period with the ANZ is a day a year, although some business groups are doing double that or more.