4 Tips for Exceptional Volunteer Management
Whether you celebrate Volunteer Month or Week, April is a time for the nonprofit sector to focus on those who give of their time freely. Volunteers provide an enormous benefit to the sector. For example, volunteerism offers a value of over $1.8 billion dollars to the U.S economy according to volunteerhub.com. However, you might find it hard to recruit volunteers and use them well. Below are four best practices for getting the most out of your volunteer program.
1. Treat volunteers more like staff
There are some key differences between volunteers and staff. For instance, volunteers provide occasional, free labor to nonprofit organizations. Unless properly vetted, they handle tasks that aren’t confidential in nature. Also, Volunteers self-select to partner with an organization.
While there are core differences between volunteers and staff, many aspects of volunteer management mirror staff management practices. For example, volunteers should be properly vetted for the task, they deserve clear expectations and goals, and you can remove them from service.
Effective management of volunteers starts with clearly defining the goals, tasks, and time requirements of the intended role. Just like staff, volunteers require meaningful job descriptions. You can find a sample volunteer job description on our resource page.
2. Recruit volunteers thoughtfully
As an Executive Director you want to think proactively about who you will recruit to volunteer, how you will find them, and then how you will develop the relationship.
There are numerous ways to recruit volunteers. It is wise to start by word of mouth. Utilize your Board and staff to recruit individuals from their networks. Additionally, you may want to use marketing techniques like social media and local ads. www.volunteermatch.org is also a resource.
Consider hosting an event to explain the role and allow people to get a taste of what the position entails. If you offer this event virtually you can record the session and leave it on your website for interested potential volunteers in the future.
3. Recognize volunteers for their contributions
Recognizing volunteers for their generosity is critical to maintaining positive volunteer relationships. Volunteerhub.com also informs us that 71% of volunteers give to only one organization annually; therefore volunteer retention is key!
Additionally, volunteers are perfect prospects for fundraising efforts because they are already connected to your mission and have an interest in offering support. Some great examples of how to recognize volunteers include highlighting a “Volunteer of the Month” in your newsletter or on social media, recruiting your Board members to sign volunteer thank you notes at each meeting, and hosting a volunteer recognition event like an awards ceremony or thank you dinner.
4. Offer comprehensive support
It is important to strategically support and manage volunteers in order to provide a meaningful experience for the volunteer and the organization. For instance, before you recruit volunteers you need to make sure you have the appropriate liability coverage. Be clear with your volunteers about what activities will and won’t be covered by your insurance.
Additionally, providing a volunteer handbook allows you to outline policies and practices important to the volunteer’s role. This is a great place to outline how and when you will supervise a volunteer, as well as what types of behaviors will result in the volunteer’s removal. Outlining these procedures beforehand helps provide clarity for the volunteer and confidence for the Executive Director. You can find a sample volunteer handbook here from the National Wildlife Foundation.
Other tips for comprehensive support include regular supervision and communication, collecting volunteer data on numbers of hours volunteered, training and professional development for volunteers, and training for paid staff in volunteer management.
Whether you use volunteers once a month to haul supplies from your storeroom or you provide in-depth volunteer support to clients, having proactive management practices will benefit your organization and encourage volunteer retention. If you’re interested in help designing your volunteer management strategy then contact us today at Spark Group Consulting.
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