1. Happy staff gleaming with knowledge. Lesley Nicholls, the employee volunteering development manager at CSV, a volunteering organisation, says that employees can learn skills such as negotiation, leadership and time management through their volunteering experience. A recent study found that 61 per cent of managers at Barclays Bank felt that volunteering had improved their staff’s communication skills.

2. Employer of choice. Graduates are increasingly interested in potential employers’ attitudes to CSR when they’re job hunting. Then there’s the benefit of happy staff telling their friends about the company’s positive approach to the world, Nicholls says. “They get a better view of their company and they’re more likely to recommend it to other people.”

3. Teambuilding heaven. People working in teams on volunteering projects will develop bonds that they will bring back to the office.

4. Photo opportunities at every turn. Volunteering isn’t about getting good press coverage, but it is a good spin-off. Pictures of local lawyers reading to primary-school children look good in any parish paper.

5. Feeding a (company) need. Katie Stewart, the director of corporate communications at the financial recruitment consultants the Blomfield Group, says that her company’s involvement as mentors at a London girls’ school serves their needs as well as those of the community. Clients want recruits drawn from a wide range of backgrounds: young people from those backgrounds need support. “We are raising awareness of financial services careers . . . as well as providing additional support for the pupils,” she says.

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6. New business. A Corporation of London survey of 200 companies found that nearly a third of them believe that community work helps them to attract new business. Download the report from www.cityoflondon.gov.uk

7. Local heroes. “Targeting something like the environment can be a good place to start, for example by cleaning up a local park or canal,” Nicholls says.

8. Start small. While long-term commitments are good for the voluntary sector, it makes sense to start with a one-off to get the hang of it. “All time is worthwhile,” says Nicholls. “A day a year is good, an hour a week is good.”

9. Time isn’t a problem. “Initially it takes a while doing the training to be a volunteer, but once that’s in place it shouldn’t impact on your work at all,” Stewart says. Some 10 per cent of her company volunteers — but this hasn’t affected their ability to manage their workload.

10. Help is available. Learn from corporate volunteering success stories. CSV can organise informal chats between execs, Nicholls says.

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