Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Cabinet approve plans for an Employee Volunteering Scheme.
A report was considered by Cabinet at a virtual meeting on 9th June where they approved the proposed Employee Volunteering Scheme and agreed to implement the Scheme with a review to be carried out in 12 months on the uptake and benefits of it.
The Employee Volunteering Scheme aims to increase volunteering opportunities for employees at CCBC, allowing the release of employees to volunteer and support the local community.
CCBC recognises many of its employees already volunteer in their local communities – this Scheme is a way the Council can provide support to them and encourage more of CCBC employees to participate.
Employee volunteering has numerous benefits such as contributing to improved employee job satisfaction, health and wellbeing, morale, and performance. Volunteering is a great way for employees to develop new skills, support a worthwhile project and to play a more active role in building a more robust and resilient society through opportunities that would not otherwise be met through the usual training routes.
The Scheme has been developed after research carried out on other public sector schemes operating in Wales and the rest of the UK.
Cllr. Eluned Stenner, Cabinet Member for Finance, Customer Service, Performance & Property Services, said: “The community response ‘buddy scheme’ was instrumental in ensuring that support was in place for anyone who needed it during their period of shielding or self-isolation last year. The success of the buddy scheme has allowed us to build on our understanding of the needs of our communities, and we’ve been able to build this initiative around those needs. I know that our staff are our most valuable asset, and this scheme goes someway to giving that recognition to staff, some maybe long standing volunteers or new volunteers.”
“Employee volunteering strengthens our relationships with residents, voluntary and community sectors and helps to deliver on the commitments set out in ‘Team Caerphilly – Better Together’ operating model.”
“I am very pleased with the approval of this Scheme as it will provide the opportunity for our employees to share skills, knowledge, and experience within the local community.”
