You don’t have to climb mountains to boost employee engagement – but it helps

Here at Ultimate Finance, we’re delighted to be partnering with the Motor Neurone Disease Association as our charity of the year. Having supported multiple charities on a smaller scale over the years, in 2024 we decided to partner with the MNDA in an effort to maximise our fundraising for a cause close to the collective hearts of our employees.

And our employees were at the heart of this decision – it was through a company-wide vote that our charity of the year was chosen, following suggestions being made by our employees. And so, our partnership with the MNDA was formed!

The benefits of giving something back

There’s undoubtedly a powerful connection between giving something back as a business and the feeling and emotions this evokes in employees. According to an industry review by Blackbaud, a leading provider of software for powering social impact, the correlation between these two things is on the rise:

“Companies are evaluating their social impact strategies and looking for ways to capitalise on the momentum of increased employee engagement while making sure their programmatic offerings align toward trends for year-round giving programs, disaster relief initiatives, and a diverse volunteer portfolio that includes a balance of in-person and virtual engagement opportunities.”

Across their industry review, they saw over 8.5 million volunteering hours logged across the year and the uplift in employee engagement scores of the businesses that took part followed suit.

It’s a pattern that we recognise here at Ultimate Finance, having seen subsequent year on year increases in our own employee engagement score (84% in 2024) following the initial roll-out and development of our CSR proposition. Our employees clearly value this element of our People Promise as well – in our most recent employee survey, employees scored us at 88% for our approach to supporting charities. As well as flagship fundraising initiatives (more on this shortly), our charity approach also sees employees able to take paid days for volunteering at a local level, Ultimate Finance contributing towards our employees’ own individual fundraising efforts and regular collections and donations to foodbanks close to our offices.

We were absolutely delighted to be able to raise almost £12,000 for the MNDA in support of the incredible work that they do. We’re hosting a joint webinar with the MNDA on Tuesday 5th November at 11am where we’ll be finding out more about how funds raised are deployed across the charity, the disease itself and the real-world impact on the families and those suffering with Motor Neurone Disease. This webinar is open to all and if you’d like to attend, you can register here: Ultimate Finance & the MND Association

Relationships matter

We’re delighted to have been able to raise such an amazing amount for the MNDA and   would like to thank all of those who donated or otherwise supported our fundraising. However, undoubtedly, one of the best things to come out of the Ultimate Three Peaks Challenge has been the deepening and strengthening of relationships across our business as a result.

Climbing a mountain together is no small thing and the bond created between the groups of employees who took part, who encouraged and supported each other and battled on through the torrid conditions, is a special thing. As one of the newest members to the Ultimate Finance team put it, “Relationships have gone from ‘Hi, how are you?’ to a real warmth and camaraderie. Every time I bump into those people in the future, we’ll have a better connection – which is invaluable”.

And it’s not just limited to those who stepped foot on the mountains: across Ultimate Finance, there’s genuine pride amongst all employees for what we’ve achieved as a business and the sense of accomplishment is one that all can share in. As a business that prides itself on the quality of our relationships, it’s fantastic to know that the relationships across our teams are just as strong as those we hold with our valued clients and introducers.

In summary, giving something back feels good. When it’s done together, as a business, great things can happen. Whether it’s something small like a bake sale, sponsored silence or a collection in an office the result will always be greater than the sum of its parts. Better engagement, greater connection between employees and pride in the business they work for – that’s definitely worth giving something back for.