Volunteering in Organizations: A New Task for Human Resource Development?

Abstract

Volunteering is increasingly viewed as crucial for personal and organizational growth. Employers value volunteer experience, and scholarships frequently require proof of volunteering, underscoring its importance for skill development and career progress. This paper investigates the proposition that volunteering can be a valuable addition to human resource (HR) development. It begins by defining volunteering within an HR context and analyzing the advantages and challenges it presents to employees and organizations. The article then investigates the motivational structure of volunteering, which is shown to be driven by multiple motives, often overlapping with those in paid jobs. This finding indicates that similar psychological factors influence volunteering and paid work. The positive spillover effects of corporate volunteering in profit and non-profit organizations enhance its desirability. However, its implications for human resource development remain underexplored. Considering volunteering from an HR perspective allows organizations to better understand how voluntary engagement can contribute to skill development, value alignment, and long-term employability. Thus, this perspective enables a more strategic integration of volunteering into learning and development agendas, also to integrate volunteering in internal structures and culture. To preserve the voluntary nature of voluntary activities and avoid instrumentalization, a humanistic approach centered on empathy and unconditional appreciation for volunteers is recommended. Organizations should seek volunteering experience from job candidates while actively supporting and facilitating volunteer opportunities, taking responsibility for a robust system.