It was an inspiring day at the CIPD TSA (Taking Social Action) conference today; I’m a big fan of ‘doing well by doing good’ and there are some messages that came across loud and clear to me through all the sessions today:

Volunteering/doing good can take many forms; it can be a huge investment and commitment but it can also take the form of a single, simple act of kindness.

Taking Social Action has lots of benefits, and makes a positive impact on:

1. The recipients/beneficiaries/those impacted
2. The volunteers: people get to hone their skills, build their wellbeing and happiness, find new meaning and purpose in things, and expand their network
3. The organisations that the volunteers work for (e.g. improved skills, and it can help to attract and retain people)

As individuals and organisations, we have a lot to give and I particularly liked the way The Breakfast Club focused on being resourceful in what they could give:

1. Professional skills (where volunteers use the skills that help them do their work)
2. Hidden talents (the things that people do outside work e.g. musician, film producer, designer)
3. The resources the organisation has (e.g. making physical space and other resources available)

One of many things that I enjoyed about today’s event was that it did a great job of sharing success stories. I don’t think taking social action is something that we can legislate for and drive though policy, rather we should seek to inspire people about the possibilities, articulate the benefits, and help people with practical advice. Sharing stories is a powerful way of doing this and I’d love to see us do even more of this!

I’ve already blogged about the opening session as has Perry Timms, and here’s some other snippets of the day, told through the tweets of the attendees:

The Role of Social Action – Curated tweets by KingfisherCoach