Purposeful giving in the workplace starts with integrating charitable initiatives into the core values of your company.
Payroll giving – which is a tax-effective way for employees to make charitable donations directly from their
pre-tax salary – is one powerful tool that your company can use to demonstrate its commitment to philanthropy and social impact. It can also help you to engage your employees, enabling them to feel more positive and productive as part of
your organisation's mission to make an impact.
Building on our work to support employers with their Give As You Earn (GAYE) schemes,
here are four steps to help you make your employee benefits offering purposeful, using payroll giving:
To effectively promote charitable giving, it is essential to align it with your company's mission and values. For example, if your company is committed to creating a positive environmental impact, you are more likely to offer ‘green’ benefits.
Similarly, if your company is invested in corporate citizenship, prioritising employee giving can strengthen your employee value proposition.
Here are some tips:
- Clearly articulate your company's vision and values to colleagues. Make sure they understand how payroll giving fits into the broader mission of the organisation and compliments other Responsible Business activities.
- Share stories and examples of how payroll giving has made a difference. This can help your colleagues see the tangible impact of their contributions and feel more connected to the company's mission.
- Make it as straightforward as possible for employees to participate in payroll giving and emphasise this when you are communicating about your scheme internally. By allowing automatic deductions from their salaries, colleagues can easily contribute
to causes they care about.
2. Promote payroll giving
Promoting payroll giving in a way that resonates with the values and vision of both individuals and the organisation is crucial. Read our Employee Engagement Guide and explore further guidance below:
- Use multiple channels, such as email, your intranet and company meetings to spread the word about your payroll giving scheme internally and ensure that the message reaches all employees. You can find messaging templates to copy in our Give As You Earn Activation Kit.
- Mark down key dates in the calendar that align with wider company initiatives. These dates could be charity awareness campaigns, employee network events or benefit enrolment windows. Explore our Awareness Calendar for global, local or national charity campaigns and religious festivals.
- Identify and empower senior leaders and other employees who are passionate about your company's charitable mission to act as advocates for your payroll giving scheme. By sharing their giving stories and impact they can inspire their colleagues
to participate too.
- Recognise and celebrate the successes of your organisation’s payroll giving. This could include highlighting top contributors and great impact stories, or hosting appreciation events.
- Incorporate payroll giving into your company's culture by making it part of the onboarding process for new employees and regularly reminding existing employees of the opportunity. This includes reinforcing how charitable giving contributes to
your broader mission.
3. Enhance your employees' impact with company contributions
To further embed charitable giving as part of your company’s purpose, consider implementing a matched giving programme or helping employees to give collectively via a pooled fund.
These strategies can amplify the impact of employee
contributions and demonstrate your commitment to make a difference together.
You can:
- Offer to match your employees’ donations to their chosen charities. This shows that the company appreciates and supports their philanthropic efforts. Regularly communicate about your matched giving programme to encourage colleagues to take
advantage of this benefit.
- Create a collective fund where both the company and employees can contribute. This fund can be used to support strategic charitable initiatives in line with your mission, such as a specific campaign or charity partner. By pooling resources, the
company and its employees can make a more significant impact together.
4. Let your culture be a differentiator
Putting purpose at the forefront of your employee benefits offering can create a more engaged and motivated workforce. By aligning employee benefits, such as payroll giving, with the company's social impact, you can promote a sense of shared purpose
that resonates with your employees and your organisation's values and vision. This approach demonstrates your company’s commitment to support the causes that matter to your colleagues, driving positive change, while enhancing the overall
employee experience. As a result, it helps your organisation attract and retain the top talent you need.
