The key to solving the talent retention problem in the UK may be with charities, as 37% of Brits report they would stay at a company longer if it supported charities and local communities more and over a third (34%) say they deem their future employers charity initiatives as ‘important’.
These findings come from a Give as you Live survey of 2,000 employed people across the UK, who were asked about charities in the workplace and their business spending.
Among age groups, those aged 35-44 are the most philanthropic, with 48% saying they would be more likely to work at a company longer if it supported charities and local communities more, and one in 10 (8%) saying they take part in company fundraising every day.
Their younger peers appear to be charity-minded too, with six in 10 (56%) of 25-34-year-olds saying they believe the company they work for could do more for charity.
Men (46%) were more likely to have done a charitable activity in the past year than women (40%), but both preferred fundraising events such as bake sales (28%) as their charitable effort of choice.
Overall though, it seems companies could be doing more to support charities, as half of workers (48%) say they don’t know how much their company has donated to charity in the past year and 51% haven’t taken part in company charity fundraising in the past year.
Greg Hallett, Managing Director at Give as you Live, said, “It seems many UK businesses may be lessening their appeal by not doing more corporate charitable activities, and not giving more choice to the workforce about which charity a business supports. It’s common to think that charity efforts involve too much time and resource, but that’s certainly not the case. The digital age means that charitable initiatives don’t have to add pressure to people’s time and they can help to increase employee commitment and morale. Platforms such as Give as you Live can help employees donate money to a charity of their choice while making business purchases in just a few clicks and at no extra cost.”
Every time an employee shops through Give as you Live, a percentage of the purchase value is donated to the charity of their choice. This all happens at no extra cost, as Give as you Live makes the donation on the shopper’s behalf from the commission paid by the retailer. Give as you Live also offers price comparison, allowing users and businesses alike to get the best price for their purchases – whether it’s a train ticket, ink cartridges, office chairs or stationery supplies.
Through Give as you Live, a stationery order of £100 can raise up to £8 for an employee’s chosen charity. Additionally, many travel and accommodation companies – such as trainline, hotels.com and Expedia – are available to shop with, meaning a single business trip can raise a significant amount for charity.