Shut the office for the day* and go to work

If you want to get ahead at work, get out of the office and volunteer. Thatís the message from new research showing that more companies than ever before are encouraging their employees to volunteer as one of the most effective ways to build their skills and further their careers. Initial findings from research by HR management company Abeceder Ltd. for Cares * the employee volunteering initiative of Business in the Community - show that companies recognise the need to measure the success of their volunteering in key areas of performance like skills and knowledge, recruitment, motivation and retention of staff.

Just as healthy high streets need healthy back streets, so successful businesses need successful employees. Volunteering schemes are key to this, said Julia Cleverdon, CEO of Business in the Community. The findings are published as the third National Cares Convention meets in Birmingham, following the target set by HRH The Prince of Wales at the first Convention for companies to have 25% of their workforce engaged in volunteering.

The research findings also indicate that everybody involved in volunteering * broker, beneficiary, employer and employee * would welcome easier methods of assessing the impact of volunteering on their employeesí development, and further research to establish what types of volunteering activities are most appropriate to the development of skills, knowledge and attitudes.

2005 is the Year of the Volunteer.