Improving productivity growth is the decades old dilemma for UK business. Throughout my whole career, which I’ll be honest dates back to typewriters on desks, it seems that we’ve been trying to crack the code on how to increase work outputs.
I spent most of the 2010s, as a Learning Leader for EY, seeking that reboot, relentlessly focussed on growing our people to grow our business - developing their skills and enhancing their knowledge to improve their productivity. We achieved mixed results. Always seeming to be reliant on multiple catalysts arriving at the same time, whether that was market forces, technology disruption, labour market downturn, or even when reskilling became the ‘next big thing’.
Then came the pandemic which didn’t do us any favours. The rush to remote working, and then the U-turn by some businesses, caused complexity and distraction. Market volatility, supply chain disruption and geo-politics left us feeling that maintaining status-quo, without bluescreening, was hard enough, don’t even think about trying to increase productivity.
Now, we’re in a new normal, a multi-generational workforce each wanting different things from work, younger generations having broken free from feeling they have to climb the corporate ladder at all costs. They want something more, seeking to have positive impact and be able to live their purpose.
Sadly though, it’s not all just about seeking self-fulfilment, for many. They are juggling outside care responsibilities, dealing with stress, burnout, and mental health challenges. This has always been my concern about pushing hard for productivity improvements, it’s adding even more pressure to an already overwhelmed workforce.
Tempting as it is to focus on wellbeing initiatives, optimistically hoping that “fixing the people” will fix the organisation and its output crisis, this hasn’t delivered much in the way of return on investment. Once thought to be the obvious answer, yoga, meditation, habit tracker apps, relaxation classes are all failing to improve mental wellbeing.
There is, however, a solution, something which has existed since before my first typewriter on my first desk.
Volunteering.
I’ve loved volunteering for charities, using my professional skills to create a positive impact. Leadership coaching for charity CEOs, facilitation at team building events, giving guidance on talent strategy, all completely supported by my employer. Afterall, for a purpose-led business it was the right thing to do, together we were making a difference.
Turns out we all got more than we bargained for, growth in confidence, skills, and sense of fulfilment for me and a better more effective and productive leader for the organisation.
New findings
Research recently conducted by Pilotlight and Pro Bono Economics has some enlightening findings about workplace volunteering, when employers use policies and processes to support their employees to participate in volunteering during work time it creates a potential triple dividend. Improving employees’ wellbeing; increasing productivity for employers, while also helping charities to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing society.
Beyond this, workplace volunteering has been shown as likely to drive up productivity through better wellbeing and enhanced skills, as employees learn and grow from the experience of making a difference.
Even after deducting the costs of lost time and administration for volunteering schemes, these productivity benefits could amount to net productivity gains of between £1.6 billion and £2.8 billion to the UK economy. From the employers’ perspective, workplace volunteering schemes such as those run by Pilotlight could deliver between £1.50 and £3.60 of benefits for every £1 spent.
Skilled volunteering offers a wealth of untapped potential for employers, individuals and social sector organisations. A step change in employers working in partnership with charities to ensure that their employees have the opportunity to participate in volunteering activities makes good business sense for everyone involved.
As we navigate this new normal, standing at the crossroads of purpose and productivity, perhaps it's time to ask ourselves: Could the key to unlocking our workforce's true potential lie not in striving harder, but in giving back?
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