Hays gets Neighbourly: over 6,600 hours of community volunteering across the UK and Ireland 

Doing the right thing is part of our DNA, and for over 50 years we’ve been supporting communities and charitable organisations spanning the UK and Ireland. Staying true to our roots, we teamed up with giving platform Neighbourly for the second year running, volunteering our time and skills to help provide support to those who need it most in our local communities. 

Volunteering is more important than ever 

Charities and good causes urgently require our help. In a 2024 survey by Neighbourly of 1,330 UK-based good causes, 78% say that demand has increased over the past three months, while 88% have seen communities negatively impacted following funding cuts. An ongoing cost of living crisis is only exacerbating the challenges charities face, reducing access to crucial funds. And it’s not just financial concerns hampering operations, with 6 in 10 charities struggling to recruit volunteers, according to a separate survey. 

Supporting charities isn’t just the right thing to do, but key to our collective responsibility to society. Giving back to our local communities has a far-reaching impact, with volunteering alone potentially worth £18.7 billion annually to the UK economy, one report estimates. It’s only through solving specific social issues, and empowering our neighbours to thrive, that we can together create a more sustainable society and a better tomorrow for us all. 

But when reaching out to the good causes that need our help the most, and to effectively engage and deploy our people, having the right partner can make all the difference. Following the success of our partnership with Neighbourly last year, we knew that teaming up with them again in 2024 was the right thing to do. 

Two Neighbourly campaigns, hundreds of good causes 

As part of a two-phase campaign, we’ve connected over 1,300 of our people to 190 events around the UK and Ireland, totalling over 6,600 hours of volunteering time during the month of May 2024. Using the average UK salary, this has equalled £116,000 worth of financial impact for our local communities by donating our time, skills, and support. At a time where charities are under increasing pressure due to high demand and challenging economic circumstances, our people’s volunteering efforts have provided much needed help. 

Underpinning our success with Neighbourly is the inspiring effect volunteering has had on our own people. Our extensive network across the UK and Ireland allowed us to support good causes at scale, while our local expertise has been crucial to building lasting relationships with individuals and communities. And by running two phases, we can reach out to more good causes and leverage our people’s unique skills in more meaningful, strategic ways.  

Finding the right opportunities 

Our first phase was distinctly community-driven, supporting 145 good causes who provide support to an estimated 53,000 people throughout the UK, with the top impacted demographics being those with disabilities (52%), families (45%) and young people (37%). Working alongside Neighbourly provided us the platform to drive positive outcomes for the communities who need it most, many of which being particularly vulnerable to economic concerns far from their control. 

And being experts in recruitment and workforce solutions, we had the operational experience of saving organisations time and resources while connecting them with the people they need, exactly when they need them. Of the 26 good causes who provided their feedback, 96% said their organisation saved time through our volunteering, while nearly half (46%) believed the support helped them save money.  

Our recently launched skills-based phase will see our people lend their specific areas of professional expertise to good causes in need of support, and this will include sharing valuable careers advice, IT skills, marketing and social media support and much more. We also joined Neighbourly’s ‘DigitalBridge’ remote volunteering campaign, which aims to provide more specialised digital skills and AI expertise to empower charities and help future-proof their operations.  

Supporting the good causes and communities who need it most should be the primary target of any volunteering campaign, but the positive impact on your own people and organisation’s culture shouldn’t be overlooked. 

The personal impact of volunteering 

The local and national impact of volunteering can be vast, but what do your own people have to gain? The answer to this question can be summarised in two words: purpose and connection.  

The hugely positive feedback our volunteering efforts received from our linked goods causes and communities, along with the lasting connections made along the way, has had a clear impact on our people. Of the Hays volunteers who provided feedback, 94% agree the experience gave them a sense of achievement or satisfaction, while 88% said they felt more connected to the local community.  

But how do you successfully engage your people and rally them around a volunteering campaign to begin with? Offering the freedom to choose is hugely empowering, and grants your employees the autonomy, and flexibility, to reach out to nearby causes that they may be more invested in. Our partnership with Neighbourly has shown when given the choice, and the opportunity to become part of something that matters to them, your people will indeed choose to do the right thing. 

Upgrade your EVP with volunteering 

The way an organisation interacts with society can reveal a great deal about their workplace culture – and it could be a key lever in your talent attraction efforts. Jobseekers are exhibiting broader expectations that go beyond just remuneration, and facilitating meaningful volunteering campaigns can differentiate your organisation’s employee value proposition (EVP); a factor that shouldn’t be underestimated when recruiting. Over two-thirds (68%) of professionals say an employer’s EVP and brand has positively influenced their decision to continue with a job application, according to our What Workers Want report. 

Up and coming professionals show a particularly strong appetite for helping good causes, with one survey showing that nine in ten (94%) of Gen Z respondents would be open to volunteering. Candidates are aware of volunteering’s reciprocal benefits, making the link between the networking and skill-enhancing opportunities, and appreciating the experience gained from being pushed outside their comfort zone.  

Volunteering that’s “always on”  

As seen with our most recent Neighbourly collaboration, a targeted campaign can be a great way of engaging your people and providing an immediate benefit for good causes. However, neither charities or good causes are seasonal, and they need our constant support. Connecting people is essential to what we do for a living, and we’ll continue to offer our time and expertise to the communities we work and live in. 

In our recently launched ‘always on’ campaign, we’re giving our people the time and choice to connect with more good causes throughout the rest of the year – and this time their skills are taking centre stage. Whether it’s improving the reach of charities with digital marketing and business support, or providing GCSE students expert careers advice and CV guidance, we’re excited to nurture more lasting relationships across the nation and generate a lasting impact. 

By capitalising on your people’s specific skills and interests, and providing access to a meaningful choice of volunteering opportunities, you’ll offer the greatest value for both your own people and society.