As a manager, you’re always looking for ways to help your employees become more resilient, adaptable, and creative. Crisis volunteering can give them opportunities to develop these capabilities while supporting communities in need. But simply encouraging employees to volunteer isn’t enough. How you support them before and after the experience can shape how much they grow from it.
Enable crisis volunteering. Give employees opportunities to respond to urgent community needs. Offer schedule flexibility, paid leave, or recognition for employees who volunteer independently. You can also build partnerships with relief organizations to connect employees with meaningful opportunities while managing risk.
Help employees reflect. Encourage volunteers to think about what they experienced and learned. Beforehand, explain the significance of the challenge and the difference their contribution can make. Afterward, create opportunities to discuss what they faced, how they handled uncertainty, and what they discovered they were capable of.
Build a compassionate culture. Create a workplace where employees can acknowledge the emotional weight of difficult experiences. Recognize their contributions and make it safe to discuss what they went through. This support can help employees process the experience and apply what they learned back at work.
