Turnover is expensive. Really expensive.
Companies spend thousands of dollars every time a good employee leaves them. What’s worse is that most retention strategies have little effect. However, there is one strategy that most HR teams forget about…
Employee giving programs.
Companies tend to view them as a “nice-to-have” benefit. Recent studies suggest they’re actually one of the best retention tools available. When implemented correctly, employee appreciation initiatives help businesses:
- Reduce turnover by huge margins
- Boost engagement across the team
- Build a workplace culture people don’t want to leave
Workers these days don’t just want a paycheck. They want their work to matter. Mission-driven giving programs provide just that.
Let’s dig in…
The breakdown:
- Why Employee Giving Programs Improve Retention
- What Makes A Giving Program Actually Work
- 5 Employee Giving Program Ideas That Move The Needle
- Rolling Out Your Program The Right Way
Why Employee Giving Programs Improve Retention
Modern employees want purpose. Giving programs deliver it.
Ideally, programs allow employees to support causes important to them through payroll deduction, matching gifts, or a giving website. Increasingly, employers are establishing an online donation portal where employees can learn about and donate to trusted nonprofits — such as organizations working on disability inclusion internationally — with just a few mouse clicks.
Here’s why it works:
Employees feel proud when their employer gives back to the same causes they believe in. That pride creates a sense of belonging. And belonging leads to loyalty. Loyalty leads to retention.
The stats prove it. Percent Pledge’s research showed workplace giving programs reduced turnover by 57% among employees who give and volunteer. That’s not chump change. That’s cutting your turnover rate in HALF.
What Makes A Giving Program Actually Work
Not every giving program works. Some are just window dressing.
The programs that move the needle share a few key ingredients. They’re:
- Employee-driven: Staff pick the causes, not the CEO
- Easy to use: Signing up takes minutes, not weeks
- Financially supported: The company puts skin in the game (usually through matching)
- Regularly promoted: Employees actually know the program exists
The biggest mistake companies make?
Implementing a program and never referencing it again. If your staff isn’t aware that it exists, it can’t improve retention! Keep your program top of mind. Reference it during onboarding, staff meetings, and employee newsletters.
One other error you can make is only providing staff with one or two causes they can support. Allow choice. Some employees may care about the environment while others are passionate about supporting mental health initiatives. Some may have ties to international development or want to focus on disability inclusion. Letting employees choose which cause they want to support is what will make this feel personal to them.
5 Employee Giving Program Ideas That Move The Needle
Ok now for the goodies. Below are 5 giving program ideas that promote retention – sourced from best practices used by leading companies today.
Matching Gift Programs
This is the classic – and it works.
Here’s what happens: An employee makes a donation to a charity. The company matches that donation. Some companies will do a dollar-for-dollar match. Others may match 2:1, or even 3:1. It means so much more to employees because their donation can stretch further.
Best of all, gift matching demonstrates to employees that your company walks the talk. Trust = retention.
Payroll Deduction Giving
Payroll deduction is one of the easiest ways to run a giving program.
Employees choose a small amount to have deducted from each paycheck and sent to the charity of their choice. It’s automatic. It’s easy. And employees seldom turn it off once it’s started.
How does this improve retention? It has become a habit. Every payday, employees realize they are donating. That reminder reinforces an emotional connection to the company.
Volunteer Time Off (VTO)
Money isn’t the only way to give.
Paid volunteer time off allows employees to take a day (or more) away from work each year to volunteer for an organization they care about. Salesforce, Deloitte and Patagonia have been offering this for years. And it’s proven to be successful.
VTO tells employees you value their time and their causes. That message sticks.
Online Donation Portals
An online donation portal makes giving simple.
Employees can log in, select a charity, and donate in less than 60 seconds. Some portals even track donations for tax record purposes. Take the friction out of why people don’t donate.
The more convenient you make giving blood, the more people will follow through. The more they give blood, the more they feel affiliated with the workplace.
Cause-Based Employee Committees
Giving doesn’t have to be top-down.
Allow employees to self-organize into committees based around causes they are passionate about. These teams can manage their own fundraisers, select their own charity partners, and plan their own events. This allows employees to have buy-in to the program.
Ownership is one of the strongest drivers of engagement – and engagement drives retention.
Rolling Out Your Program The Right Way
Launching a giving program is only half the battle.
Here are a few tips to make sure your program actually moves retention numbers:
- Begin with one or two of the suggestions above and refine them.
- Track participation: Measure how many staff join and adjust from there
- Recognize impact: Share stories, photos and results so employees know what their gifts are accomplishing.
- Ask for feedback: Staff know what works. Ask them.
Why do some companies realize retention benefits from giving programs while others do not? They make it part of the employee experience – not an HR initiative that happens every once in a while. Fidelity Charitable reports that 8 in 10 employees who work at a company with a giving program believe their company’s values align with their personal values. That number drops down to 56% at companies without a giving program.
That’s a massive gap.
Values alignment is what keeps people around. Giving programs help create it.
Final Thoughts
Employee giving programs are one of the most underrated retention tools available.
Retention programs increase engagement, strengthen culture, and give employees something to stay for besides a paycheck. And the best part – they don’t require enormous funding. Something as basic as a matching gift program or an online donation platform can begin shifting retention metrics.
To quickly recap:
- Employee giving programs can cut turnover by up to 57%
- The best programs are employee-driven, easy to use, and well-promoted
- Try matching gifts, payroll deduction, VTO, online donation portals, or cause-based committees
- Track your results and celebrate impact
Retention can be simple. Sometimes it’s just about enabling your employees to pay it forward.
