Culture

As someone who finds giving back to my community important, I also feel it’s an employer’s responsibility to give back as a business. This is not only beneficial for the communities and causes they serve but for the overall well-being of a company’s culture and the environment they create for their employees.  

With that, I set out to organize Trilligent’s first Day of Service activity. As a virtual consultancy, the biggest hurdle to cross was finding a way to bring together employees from around the world in a way that was both engaging and impactful. Our team spans two continents and six cities with career backgrounds and interests that cover everything from green tech to youth and education.  

After sending out an initial interest survey to get a pulse check on the causes our employees were most passionate about, I then pulled together a team that represented each of our regions to support logistics and communications. We identified a virtual volunteer opportunity with the Missing Maps Project, an open, collaborative project that invites the public to improve digital maps by capturing key landmarks like roads, buildings and waterways to help rescue response and relief efforts around the world. We then coordinated a fun activity that allowed our volunteers to give back together despite many of us not being in the same location or even time zones.  

Over the course of two hours, 21 employees were able to connect with each other via video call while contributing to the same map for maximum impact. Those who could join in a local office location came together in person for comradery (and a little mapping competition). Together, the team was able to make 1,305 map edits in total with 1,108 buildings captured and 31 kilometers of roads tracked. Employees enjoyed the activity and the chance to spend time together outside of client work.  

“Our global team united, bridging distances in-person and online, by identifying vital community infrastructure needs. This was an engaging and impactful opportunity to give back in a way that matches the creative way we work with our global clients.” – Jon Maree, Berlin 

This was a great success for our first Day of Service and one that I hope we will continue to do on an annual basis. I appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit of Trilligent and that we are encouraged to take ownership of projects that excite us. We have the flexibility to develop activations that bring us together not just as co-workers but real people with real interests. This was a great learning opportunity and I look forward to not only bringing this initiative back but finding ways to expand our global philanthropic efforts moving forward.