Volunteer Service Improves Morale; and Markets Your Center Effectively

Marketing

People are inundated with advertising and it’s becoming more difficult than ever to break through the clutter. Volunteer efforts can be the old-fashioned, person-to-person form of marketing that businesses need.

“When we volunteer and get involved with the community, we typically do receive exposure from our participation,” Moynan said. “Whether it is having our logo on the back of a T-shirt, a link on a Web site, a mention in an organizational newsletter, or our presence on-site at the event, the groups we donate community service to usually find a way to thank us.”

Moynan is quick to point out though, that marketing is not the main focus — the community is.

At Solantic, the flu shot program enhanced public relations, and the other charitable events did too, Bowling said.

“Cause-related marketing and corporate giving are excellent ways to build business,” she said. “These events provide tremendous grassroots opportunities. In addition to making us feel good about what we are doing for someone else, we pick up great ideas and feedback from our participation. In general, I think people want to support businesses that [include] good community citizens and I think more people want to work for companies that care about their communities.”

Finding the Magic Balance

Many urgent care staffs are pulled in a thousand directions and are trying to make a business work with limited means. Therefore, it’s important that community outreach be a balanced part of a staff’s workload, and that it not take much away from regular operations. Focusing too heavily on volunteer activities could be bad for business, and overwhelm staff.

Giving employees the choice of what to be involved with is vital, Moynan said.

“With our ‘Employees Choice Program,’ we feel that giving an employee the ability to choose the organization or charity the whole company supports empowers them and gives them a sense of worth and a feeling of participation on a higher level within the company,” she said. “Fellow employees within the company have the option to participate in the support of the employee’s choice. If they do not wish to spend time outside of work and/or do not feel strongly about supporting the selected charity, there is no pressure or requirement to participate. For the most part, finding staff to help out is usually not a problem and most of our employees enjoy the volunteer work that we do.”

Since employees are busy outside of work too, the Rocky Mountain team members try to choose family-friendly volunteer events so that the staff members can enjoy the events with their loved ones.

Logistics

Even a small event can take considerable planning. For instance, a “simple” first aid station at a 5K run requires a booth (or a table at the very least), chairs, signage, materials, at least one person to work it, etc. It’s extremely helpful to have a designated person on staff who handles these details. Rocky Mountain Urgent Care employs a community outreach/marketing director who handles the logistics.

Volunteer work sometimes requires that all hands be on deck. If an urgent care staff is offering free services, for instance, the center could be overwhelmed by the response, and it’s therefore important that the facility be properly staffed.

“For example, we give free flu shots every year at each of our six clinics to the first 100 people who show up,” Moynan said. “With that many people showing up at our clinics all at once, we need our staff participating and keeping the clinics organized while the traffic comes in and out.”

It is helpful to choose small or medium-sized community events so that your presence is noticed more than it would be at a huge event. It’s also smart to only participate in events that are within reasonable driving distance to your facility. That way, you’re more likely to come in contact with your potential patients, and the short drive will be less of a toll on your staff than a long drive would.

“The city or group holding the event appreciates our help and it makes for a great relationship with them,” Moynan said. “When we help out the communities, they tend to send business back to us, so it’s a win-win for everyone. It also helps to have the exposure to the residents who live in and/or work in that community.”

Wenmark recommends that the best employees go to these events.

“These events are all ‘personality,’ Wenmark said. “You want people to have a good first impression, and the service you provide in urgent and convenience care is always personal. Then deliver on your promise, and you will have a customer for a lifetime who will spread the word to many others.”

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