CorpComms Magazine

VOLUNTEERING could be the answer to Monday morning blues. If the routine of your job seems to be getting too much then rather than searching for a new employer, the answer may be in changing direction.

It is possible to swap a job in a UK press office dealing with irritating journalists for a debate with the head-man of an African village over where a water pipe should be situated. Or, for those looking for a home-based fillip, then a few hours every week helping out a local charity may prove more suitable.

Volunteering is becoming more popular with corporate communications professionals who recognise that their well-honed skills are in demand by charitable organisations both here and abroad. Less altruistically, volunteering is also a great way of adding to a rather basic curriculum vitae.

It seems that if you can sell your company to a jaded media, then your expertise is needed by organisations which cannot afford communications departments of their own.

And, more importantly, many employers will welcome the idea of voluntary work as they realise that the skills learned will ultimately benefit them on your return.

A recent report by the Corporate Citizenship Company backs this up. It claims that companies which get involved in local charity projects, known in the trade as Corporate Community Involvement (CCI), benefit from their employees' improved skills.

The report states: 'There is clear evidence to suggest that employees' community involvement does have a real impact on morale and motivation...Engagement in CCI can help boost employees' skills development, an area of real potential gain.

'In particular, CCI projects are recognised as improving team working ability and developing new and better communication channels within the business.'

Last year, about 9,000 Britons volunteered with Community Service Volunteers (CSV) through employer-supported programmes. CSV, the largest UK volunteering charity runs a special Journalists Network which enables media professionals to give time to help charities with their press and PR skills.

A spokesman for CSV said that, while many of its projects require communications skills, 'many volunteer to get away from their day jobs, and prefer not to use their skills. Others use volunteering to develop new skills.'

Alan Oliver, acting head of employee communications at Britain's biggest building society, Nationwide, did just that. He went on a week-long trip to the Gambia, looking after a group of British schoolchildren who were also involved in the scheme. He raised the funding needed for the trip through donations and sponsorship - including £1,000 for having his back waxed.

Oliver had no teaching experience (so looking after a group of teenagers was challenging) and while there were no chances to use his communications expertise on the trip, he says many useful skills were gained.

'The idea of the project was to visit remote villages with the group and decide which deserved financial help. Dealing with a group of teenagers certainly made me more assertive. And negotiating with the locals over their needs really improved my communications skills,' says Oliver.

The scheme, called Project Gambia, is still going. Every year, least one member of Nationwide's management teams makes the trip.

Volunteering is not just for those who want to add the feelgood factor to their CVs. It can also lead to new work opportunities.

Kate Brothers had spent ten years working in print and broadcast media and public relations when she signed up for a Raleigh International project. Raleigh runs expeditions to far-flung parts of the world. Participants pay to take part - through sponsorship from friends or employers - and the typical cost of a ten-week trip, without flights, is currently £1,950. Raleigh is a popular choice for gap-year travellers, but anyone aged 25-75 can apply to be a volunteer manager. Expeditions are to Borneo, Costa Rica and Nicaragua or India; on each there will be about 120 young people, as well as between 25 and 40 volunteer managers. Once there, you could be helping build schools, working to preserve the elephant population or sorting out the water supply for a village.

Brothers went to Borneo where she worked as Raleigh's press and communications officer for the region. She says: 'On the strength of my volunteering with Raleigh, I was able to change direction in my career. I am now director of communications and development for Turquoise Mountain in Afghanistan.'

Brothers is now based in Kabul, the location of Turquoise Mountain, and is involved in the regeneration of the city's historic centre, including rebuilding the bazaar and workshops for traditional Afghani crafts.

Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) is the best-known volunteer organisation for Britons wanting to go overseas for long periods. It is keen to recruit PR professionals. A spokesman for VSO says: 'Generally, we're looking for people with broad PR and communications experience. That includes experience in running media and publicity campaigns, developing and implementing communications and media strategies.

'Many of the organisations we work with in Africa and Asia are small and operate with very limited resources, both in terms of staff and finances. Therefore a volunteer will get involved in a wide range of communications, marketing and PR activities, so broad skills and experience in this are important.'

Past VSO PR professionals who swapped their UK jobs for volunteer roles overseas include a director of communications. In the UK she worked for a lobbying group, and her volunteer placement was with an educational non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Cambodia. Her job was to highlight the views of local teachers in order to bring about change in educational policy.

However, it is not necessary to be at director-level to find a volunteer job in PR. VSO claims that, often, just two years' experience of the communications business is sufficient. Current posts which need to be filled include a communications adviser for an HIV and Aids organisation in India, developing internal and external communications processes and a communications and PR professional for a disability organisation in Kenya. The successful applicant would have to set up and support a press office in Kenya which would work to promote disability issues in the local media and with the public.

The VSO spokesman adds: 'Volunteering overseas for 12-24 months is a great opportunity for both personal and professional development. Volunteers return to the UK with new energy, skills and insights. A joint research project with the Chartered Management Institute showed that 94 per cent of employers agreed that long-term overseas broaden skills and experiences, and 48 per cent claim it increases employability.'

It seems that volunteering, whether at home or abroad and whether for short or long periods, can only help progression up the career ladder. But it might just set you on a new path altogether.

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