setting up your staff and volunteers for success
TRANSCRIPT
SETTING UP YOUR STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS FOR SUCCESSBETSY HOLBROOK & STEVE WEISZ AUGUST 2016
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The relationship between an organization and a volunteer is
at times…best described as alove-hate relationship.
VOLUNTEERS VS STAFF
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What a volunteer isn’t…
• Free labor
• Non-essential
• Part of a barter
• A mind reader
• Held to lower professional standards
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Is this your brain?
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Three important concepts
RECRUIT
RETAINRECOGNIZE
RECRUIT
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Prepare Evaluate, assess and prioritize needs
Develop position descriptions – Determine roles not suited for volunteers if
expertise or time commitment is not a fit
Articulate benefits to volunteers
Identify skills, proficiencies required and training needs
Develop questions to gain insight into technology comfort and proficiency
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Volunteer Match
Idealist.org
All for Good
Utilize Volunteer Specific Sites
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Connect with the Community
College Career Centers
Farmers Markets
High Schools
Other Events
Word of Mouth
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Leverage Social Media
NextDoor
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Choosing VolunteersIt’s okay to be picky
Be specific about what you are looking
It’s okay to ask for short term volunteers
Goal is to match person with role
RETAIN
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TrainingBe clear with information that can be shared
Allow legacy volunteers the opportunities to train (or mentor) new volunteers
Offer small ongoing training opportunities
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Steps for success
Clearly define roles and expectations
Create and maintain a searchable online Volunteer Handbook with time contribution, hours, dress code – provide the roadmap/GPS prompts
Make job descriptions and code of conduct available online
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Do you know what #voluntinesday is?
RECOGNIZE
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During your eventVolunteer Coordinator – Dedicated person on site
without five other jobs – Volunteers will care more
with a role model
Identify Volunteers – Dress, name badge
Be aware of HALT – Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired
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Take care of basic needs and offer perks
Water and caffeinated beverages
Snacks - healthy and junk food
Letters of reference and certificates - people use these on resumes
Incentivize volunteers to get other great volunteers - small things like a Starbucks or Lyft card, slice of pizza, free tickets, t-shirts
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Recognize volunteersin newsletters
Let your volunteers tell their story
Let their stories motivate others
Make them feel like part of the family
REMEMBER
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Penultimate thoughts
May need to offer a carrot to make volunteers become self-auditing
Having patrons/fans provide feedback on experience with volunteers
With high demand events, reward volunteers who discover unethical activities
As needed providing transparency about operations and budget
RESOURCES
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Resources Free volunteer management websites – signupgenius.com – volunteersignup.org – signmeup.com
Free scheduling tools – meetingwizard.com – needtomeet.com – calendly.com – doodle.com
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Resources The Seven Deadly Sins of Recruiting Volunteers – By Thomas W. McKee – www.volunteerpower.com/articles/7sins.asp
The New Breed: Understanding and Equipping the 21st Century Volunteer – www.volunteerpower.com/
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