volunteer management essentials - cpf home...volunteer management can be considered as a cycle...

Workbook for

Volunteer Management Essentials

Facilitated by Maria Lahiffe

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© 2017 Volunteer Ottawa - All rights reserved

Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Volunteer Program Audit .......................................................................................................................... 1 The Volunteer Management Cycle ........................................................................................................... 1

Planning ......................................................................................................................... 1 Know why your organization wants volunteers ........................................................................................ 2 Develop quality volunteer assignments .................................................................................................... 2 Four-step job design process ................................................................................................................... 2

Recruitment ................................................................................................................... 4 Targeted Recruitment ............................................................................................................................... 7 Market your Volunteer Opportunities ........................................................................................................ 8

Screening ..................................................................................................................... 11

Orientation and Training ............................................................................................. 11 Orientation .............................................................................................................................................. 12 Training ................................................................................................................................................... 12 Training Session Design ......................................................................................................................... 12

Supervision and Monitoring ....................................................................................... 14

Retention ...................................................................................................................... 16

Recognition ................................................................................................................. 17 Recognition Practices Audit ...................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. How do people want their efforts recognized? ....................................................................................... 17 Achieve Ontario ...................................................................................................................................... 18 Volunteer Recognition Ideas .................................................................................................................. 18

References ................................................................................................................... 20

Appendices .................................................................................................................. 22 Appendix A: Volunteer Program Audit .................................................................................................... 23 Appendix B: Function Analysis Template and Examples ....................................................................... 25 Appendix C: Job Description Template and Example ............................................................................ 27 Appendix D: Statistics Regarding Volunteerism in Canada ................................................................... 29 Appendix E: Sample Achieve Ontario Certificate ................................................................................... 33

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Figure 1: Volunteer Management Cycle .......................................................................... 1 Figure 2: The Full Performance Management Cycle (Seel, 2016) ................................ 15

Figure 3: The Volunteer Recognition Gap ..................................................................... 17 Figure 4: Where People Volunteer ................................................................................ 29 Figure 5: Top volunteers and hours contributed ............................................................ 30 Figure 6: Volunteer Contributions by Age Cohort .......................................................... 30 Figure 7: Volunteers' Education Levels ......................................................................... 31

Figure 8: Volunteers' Employment Status ..................................................................... 31

Table 1: CCVI Audit - Volunteer Recognition (Volunteer Canada, 2006) ................ Error! Bookmark not defined. Table 2: Volunteer Program: High-Level Audit (Volunteer Canada, 2006) .................... 24 Table 3: Function Analysis Template ............................................................................ 25

Table 4: Component Analysis Template ........................................................................ 25 Table 5: Functions and Components: Three Examples ................................................. 26

Table 6: Job Description Template with Example ......................................................... 27 Table 7: Blank Job Description Template ...................................................................... 28

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Introduction

Volunteer Program Audit

You won’t build a world-class volunteer program overnight. It is a good idea to start by identifying your areas of strength and greatest need. Once you know that, you can prioritize which areas of need to work on. It will probably be best to work on one at a time, to really focus on it and get it right, before moving on to improvements in the next area of need.

Appendix A shows an audit tool which can give you an overall view of your volunteer program. See the Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement (CCVI) Audit Tool for a breakdown of volunteer involvement into 14 standards, each of which is divided into a number of elements. (Volunteer Canada, 2006)

The Volunteer Management Cycle

Volunteer management can be considered as a cycle

Figure 1: Volunteer Management Cycle

Planning leads into recruitment, which leads in turn into Orientation & Training. After a volunteer is onboarded, supervision and monitoring is necessary to a successful volunteer placement. Lessons learned throughout the process feed into future planning. All of these practices, done well, contribute to volunteer recognition and retention.

Planning

(Ellis S. J., 1996)

A lot of us fall into the trap of thinking that we need to start by recruiting volunteers to help us get work done. Then we wonder why it is hard to find and keep good people. Effective recruitment and retention actually starts further back, with planning.

Planning

Recruitment

Orientation & Training

Supervision

& Monitoring

Recognition

Retention

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Know why your organization wants volunteers

This may seem obvious, but it usually is not. Often, we treat volunteers like a poor second choice, as if we would actually prefer to hire paid staff, but we’ll make do with volunteers because we can’t afford better. This is hardly a welcoming attitude!

Turn things around, and consider the unique values volunteers bring. Here are some possibilities:

Volunteer support shows that the community really values what you do and how you do it

Volunteers provide diversity of approaches and viewpoints to our team

Clients often really like that volunteers help because they want to. They may perceive that staff help only because it’s their job

Volunteer contributions allow you to stretch your limited budget, to reach more stakeholders and help them more effectively

What unique benefits do volunteers bring to your organization? Jot your ideas here:

Develop quality volunteer assignments

The next step, before you recruit anyone, is to decide what you need people to do for you. If you want to attract and retail quality people, then you need to develop quality assignments, where they can do real work which has a real impact on your organization’s mandate.

There may be no getting away from the fact that you need volunteers for a tedious task, but if it is central to achieving your organization’s mandate, make sure that connection is clear. (If it is not central, do you really need the work done? Why?)

Make sure you get to know your volunteers. Someone who did a great job of stuffing envelopes for you last month might also be a perfect leader for that after-school program you want to expand in September.

Four-step job design process

(Volunteer Canada, 2001)

1. Review Mandate

Review the mandate or mission of your organization or your group. Evaluate if the mandate is still relevant. Be ready to challenge assumptions. Just because your

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mandate has been achieved in a particular way all along, does not mean that it should continue that way. Times change.

What is the mandate of your organization? Jot it down here:

2. Functions, Components, and Tasks

Identify the functions and tasks that your group does to help you achieve this mandate. Documents that can help with this include strategic plans, budget documents, contracts and promotional materials.

What are some functions which your organization performs? Jot some down here. Refer to Appendix B for some examples

Pick a function which you noted in the last step. What are the components of this function? Refer to Appendix B for some examples

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Pick a component which you noted in the last step. What are the tasks which need to be completed in order to fulfil this component? Refer to Appendix B for some examples

3. Necessary Skills

Look back at the tasks you noted in the last step. What are some skills required to complete each task successfully? Think of technical and non-technical skills.

4. Identify and describe volunteer assignments

Now you are ready to develop assignments which will

a. Help your organization achieve its mission, b. Have clearly defined functions and tasks, and c. Outline the skills and abilities the volunteers will need.

Turn now to Appendix C for a job description template. Use the tasks and skills you identified above to create a job description for something you need done.

Recruitment

Following are some key aspects of an effective volunteer recruitment plan

1. Manage your volunteer program effectively Recruitment strategies may bring volunteers to your door; however, the management of your program will contribute to its overall success. You need to be ready to incorporate volunteers into mission-critical work very soon after they sign up.

2. Identify trends Determine how you can use the trends and current events to increase recruitment success. Appendix D contains some statistics related to volunteerism in Canada. Some highlights of the data are:

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People volunteer the greatest amount for social services organizations, followed by sports and recreation. The types of organizations which receive the fewest volunteers hours are business/professional associations and international organizations.

Volunteers in Canada give about 150 hours per year on average, but that masks a lot of variability. The top 10% of volunteers contributed over half of all volunteer hours.

Youth volunteer in the greatest numbers, while seniors give the greatest number of hours.

People with university education volunteer in the greatest numbers, followed by people with less than a high school diploma. (That latter group is probably mostly high school students.)

People who are in the labour force volunteer in greater numbers, while those who are not, donate a greater number of hours.

People who practice a faith volunteer in greater numbers, and for a greater number of hours, than those who do not.

People who were born in Canada volunteer a little bit more than people who were born elsewhere.

What does all of this mean for your volunteer recruitment plan? It may depend on the skills and the commitment you need from your volunteers. Can you fulfill your mandate with a large number of people giving a few hours each? Or do you need people who will be with you for the long haul? Do you need people with specialized training? Can you re-think any of these requirements, to attract the people who volunteer in greater numbers?

Another way to look at it could be to see the lower-represented demographics as untapped opportunities. For example, it is likely that more seniors or new Canadians would volunteer if the environment was tweaked a bit. Volunteer Ottawa has white papers on engaging specific demographics who are currently under-represented, available to members.

Look at the job description you created. What demographic(s) would be best suited to fill this position? Does the position fit with identified volunteer trends? Can it be modified to be a better fit? Make your notes here or on the job description in Appendix C.

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3. Discover motivation Understand what people need/want and what turns them on/off to community involvement, and then refine your recruitment strategies to address those issues. (McCurley & Vineyard, 1988)

In his acquired-needs theory, which draws on Murray's model, David McClelland proposed that an individual's specific needs are acquired over time and are shaped by one's life experiences. Most of these needs can be classed as achievement, affiliation, or power. A person's motivation and effectiveness in certain job functions are influenced by these three needs. McClelland's theory sometimes is referred to as the three need theory or as the learned needs theory.

Achievement

People with a high need for achievement seek to excel and thus tend to avoid both low-risk and high-risk situations. Achievers avoid low-risk situations because the easily attained success is not a genuine achievement. In high-risk projects, achievers see the outcome as one of chance rather than one's own effort. Achievers need regular feedback in order to monitor the progress of their achievements. They prefer either to work alone or with other high achievers.

Affiliation

Those with a high need for affiliation need harmonious relationships with other people and need to feel accepted by other people. They tend to conform to the norms of their work group. Individuals with a high need for affiliation prefer work that provides significant personal interaction. They perform well in customer service and client interaction situations.

Power (influence)

A person's need for power can be one of two types – personal and institutional. Those who need personal power want to direct others, and this need often is perceived as undesirable. Persons who need institutional power (also known as social power) want to organize the efforts of others to further the goals of the organization.

Look at the job description you have created. Match each job to the need(s) it is likely to fill. You may want to tweak the language on the job description to make it clear which needs will be filled. For example, someone who needs personal power will likely be happiest in a coordinator position: emphasize that the position will involve responsibility for others. To attract people who need achievement, perhaps emphasize that the job is both challenging and central to your mission. Make your notes here or on the job description in Appendix C.

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Targeted Recruitment

You’ll likely tailor your recruitment campaign to a particular group or type of person now that you have a well-defined volunteer position which requires a particular ability, for example a specific skill, higher-than-usual commitment, or specific attitude. (McCurley & Vineyard, 1988)

It helps to work through these questions:

What do we need for this job to be done successfully?

skills required

time commitment necessary

psychological traits desirable

Also think about …

who currently has this position or does this work, maybe in a paid position in another organization

who did it once

who would like to do it

who could learn how to do it

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What would motivate them to consider volunteering for this position?

psychological needs met through this position

personal concerns related to this position

community concerns addressed by this organization

How can we communicate with them?

where they live, work, shop, play

what they watch or read

who/what they relate to

Market your Volunteer Opportunities

The essential first step is to tell your story — why volunteers are needed, why your cause is worthwhile, why volunteering is beneficial and why your organization is a good choice. As one volunteer noted, “the lack of volunteerism is not about time, it’s [about]

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lack of awareness … once people know more, and [if] the process to apply is easy, they will find the time.” (Philips, Little, & Goodine, 2002)

Here are some ways you can find potential recruits to your volunteer pool.

1. Referrals

Recruiting by satisfied volunteers, clients, staff – This is the most effective way

People in a position to identify likely prospective volunteers e.g. clergy, association officers, public affairs personnel, college professors

2. Internet and Social Media

Organization’s web site, video testimonials, Facebook, Twitter, Volunteer Ottawa or other recruiting sites, e-mail campaign. This is where you will find most people under 30.

3. Mass Media

Television, radio, newspapers, billboards (includes feature stories, news stories, interviews, public service advertising, community bulletin board, paid advertising, shared ad space, regular volunteer recruitment “columns”)

4. Public Speaking

Organized (comprised of member groups e.g. churches, clubs, service clubs, professional groups, special interest groups such as horticulture) and random groups (not committed as a member but probably share an interest in your topic because they’ve chosen to attend); create a speakers bureau (develop a pool of trained volunteers prepared to speak on behalf of your organization

5. Booths and Exhibits

Focus your message, communicate clearly, and ensure that visitors have printed materials to take away with them.

6. Special Events

Piggybacking (collaborate with another organization doing a special event in your community), or creating events (arranging opportunities to gain visibility for volunteer involvement in your organization). Examples: bring a friend day, open houses, spring cleaning

7. Partnerships

Private sector, public sector, schools/institutions, etc.

8. Pre-Application Orientation

Schedule regular orientation sessions to which anyone expressing an interest in volunteer opportunities is invited (gives people an opportunity to self-screen their involvement)

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9. Group Volunteering

Day of Caring, Timeraiser, youth event, corporate or employee volunteering

10. Special Publications

Regularly-produced newsletters that are published for specific audiences, e.g. in-house newsletters, foreign language newspapers, association newsletters and bulletins, school newspapers, professional newsletters and journals.

11. Direct Mail

Mass mailing to a targeted list, special letter or flyer in a mailing being produced by someone else, personalized letters to selected individuals

Add your own ideas:

Volunteer Ottawa website

Volunteer Ottawa members can post unlimited opportunities on our website, which receives over 10,000 unique site visits every month. You also have access to our volunteer pool of over 5,000 people (and growing), to search out exactly the skills you need, and contact the people directly. www.volunteerottawa.ca

Tips for Completing Your Volunteer Postings:

Select only the categories that are relevant for the volunteer opportunity.

Include a photograph or your organization logo. Postings with pictures get more clicks.

If this opportunity is for an event, indicate the date of the event in the title as well as the description

Write short sentences or bulleted paragraphs in the description

Consider limiting the content of your description to approximately 200 words

Include relevant information about the application process, such as the need for police records checks or if you will be holding an interview.

Ensure your contact information is up to date so the volunteer can easily contact you.

http://www.volunteerottawa.ca/

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Screening

Screening is the process of confirming that a candidate is suitable for a volunteer post. Volunteer Canada identifies 10 steps of a high-quality screening process, many of which overlap with other stages in the volunteer management cycle. (Volunteer Canada, 2012)

The most important thing about screening is that screening policies and procedures should be well-communicated and consistently applied.

The Ten Steps of Screening are as follows:

1. Assessment

2. Position description These align with planning, described above. They are applicable to screening because you cannot assess a candidate’s suitability for a post unless the post itself is well-defined.

3. Recruitment Recruitment aligns with screening because your recruitment methods and channels will likely be driven by some qualities of your ideal candidate. For example, if you are looking for someone to help you with your social media, then one of the best places to look will be online. If you are looking for someone who is excellent with children, you may or may not find the best possible candidates online.

4. Application Forms

5. Interview

6. References

7. Police Checks These steps are exclusively involved with assessing the suitability of an individual for a specific role.

8. Orientation and training

9. Support and supervision

10. Follow-up and feedback These will help a candidate develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to be successful on the job, i.e. to become an excellent match to the needs of the post. In addition, many volunteers will self-screen once they fully understand what the job entails, if they realize they are not suitable.

Orientation and Training

Volunteer orientation and training are the first line of support after placing volunteers in their positions. They give the dual benefit of helping volunteers develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to be successful on the job, as well as making the volunteers feel supported and valued by the organization.

Training does not just have to happen when a volunteer starts with your organization. Training and professional development can be offered to volunteers who are interested

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to grow in their roles, and as a reward for excellent service. Research shows that this contributes to volunteer retention. (Seel, 2016)

Orientation

All volunteers should receive a standard orientation to your organization, regardless of their position. Much of the detailed information related to orientation can be provided in a volunteer handbook. Orientation is likely to cover the topics listed below. (Seel, 2016)

A tour of the location where the volunteer will be working

The history of the organization

The mission, vision and values of the organization

The organization’s programs and services – not just for the program the volunteer will be contributing to, but rather, a holistic view of the organization and what it does.

The staffing and departmental structure in the organization

The organization’s funding sources and annual budget

The organization’s philosophy on volunteerism and volunteers, including o The volunteer program policies and procedures o Any internal procedures such as

Reporting volunteer hours Dress codes Volunteer space allocations Use of phones Lunch facilities Parking Etc.…

Any information or policies which are specific to, and generalized throughout the organization. For example, organizations which work with sensitive information or vulnerable populations will likely have strict policies regarding confidentiality. In other organizations, confidentiality policies may only apply to people in certain roles.

Training

Whereas orientation provides volunteers information which is general to the organization, training offers volunteers the opportunity to develop specific skills and competencies. These may be generally applicable to the organization (e.g. Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, or AODA) but are more likely to be job-specific.

Training Session Design

It is best to start with a needs assessment, which should answer the following three questions: (Seel, 2016)

1. What do the volunteers need to know? (as determined by the organization) 2. What do the volunteers already know? 3. What do the volunteers want to know?

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These needs can be used to develop learning objectives for a training session, or series of sessions.

Adult Learning Principles

It may be that your last experience with formal learning was in school. It is important to keep in mind that adults generally learn differently than children. Some factors to keep in mind when teaching adults are as follows: (Northwest Center for Public Health Practice, 2012)

1. The material should have immediate relevance and usefulness to the learners 2. The training environment should be welcoming so that all participants feel safe to

participate 3. The training presentation should be engaging 4. The training should be respectful of the fact that the learners bring a wealth of life

experience to the room. They should be provided with ample opportunity to share that experience.

Developing Learning Objectives

It is essential to develop learning objectives which are measurable. That is the only way you will be able to assess, during and after the training, if you have been successful. Answer these three questions as you develop the learning objectives for your training session: (Northwest Center for Public Health Practice, 2012)

1. What will participants be able to do as a result of the training? 2. What are the conditions or circumstances where the participants will perform this

activity, and what knowledge or materials does s/he need to do this effectively? 3. What level of proficiency is needed to perform the task or skill successfully or

apply this information?

The SMART model can be useful. SMART objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Refer to the job skills you listed in page 11, above. Think about what learning objective you could establish for a training session to help a new volunteer develop one of these skills. Answer the three questions above.

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Instructional Methods

There are numerous key instructional methods, each of which has a specific purpose. Following are a sample: (Northwest Center for Public Health Practice, 2012)

Classroom training and lectures (low retention of information) These are good for conveying a lot of information in a short amount of time, to a large group of people. These are rarely sufficient on their own, but can be useful to introduce a topic.

Case studies and small-group discussions (good retention) These help participants discover learning points themselves and to practice skills. They are an excellent way to draw out learners’ prior experience, to help them apply that experience to new situations.

Games, Role Plays and Simulations (excellent retention) These provide a safe opportunity to create complex situations which participants can experience, and then analyze what happened. These are excellent for learning, so long as there is a debrief afterward.

In choosing instructional methods, consider what research has shown about retention of learning. After two weeks, people tend to remember only 10% of what they have read and 20% of what they have heard. The best retention comes from active participation in learning, such as discussion groups (70% retention after 2 weeks), role plays, or simulations (90% retention). (Northwest Center for Public Health Practice, 2012)

Supervision and Monitoring

Effective volunteer resource management cannot happen without performance management. Effective performance management starts with a good job description. This lets the volunteer, and you, know what the expectations are, which the volunteer’s performance can be compared to.

It is important to remember that performance management is a cooperative process between the volunteer manager and the volunteers themselves.

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Performance Management Cycle

Figure 2: The Full Performance Management Cycle (Seel, 2016)

1. Organizational Goal-Setting

Organizational goals are used to develop jobs which are linked directly to the organization’s mission, as explained earlier in this workbook.

2. Individual Goal-Setting

Individual volunteers many wish to set goals for themselves in their jobs. For example, someone volunteering to support fundraising efforts may set a goal to raise a certain amount of money. The individual goals need to be grounded in the job description, and are best set by the volunteer herself, in consultation with her manager.

3. Ongoing Supervision and Monitoring

The manager should pay attention to what the volunteer is accomplishing, and how he is doing it. It is important to point out things that he is doing well, so that he can continue doing them, and provide guidance to help him improve if necessary.

4. Ongoing Performance Reviews

A long-term volunteer deserves regular performance reviews, where the purpose of the meeting is to discuss accomplishments and needs, and to set new goals for the future. At a performance review, the manager and the volunteer can also discuss any training needs which would help the volunteer be more successful in her role, or help her grow into new roles if desired.

Organizational goal setting based

on mission and strategic objectives

Individual goal setting based on

the job description

Regular ongoing supervision and

monitoring

Performance review based on job

description, goals, and developmental

needs

Process improvement and links to other HR

processes

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This meeting is also an opportunity for the volunteer to evaluate the performance of her manager in providing the support and guidance necessary to be successful in the job. It is very important to ask for this feedback.

5. Process Improvement

Reflect on how volunteers are performing compared with your expectations and organizational needs. What is going well? What needs improvement? What can you do as an individual to address the areas of need? What needs to happen at an organizational level to empower and enable volunteers to perform at their best? This reflection can feed into improvement of HR processes, and to clarification of organizational goals.

Retention

(Philips, Little, & Goodine, 2002)

Although volunteers have a broad range of good ideas about retention, there is considerable agreement on the top three factors. A fourth factor was identified as important to specific volunteers.

Show appreciation and respect for volunteers

Saying thank you and showing volunteers that they are valued on an ongoing basis is probably more important than holding a splashy event once a year.

Provide meaningful and varied volunteer experiences

This includes providing a chance for volunteers to try out different things within the organization in order to find their niche, offering new and varied experiences and responsibilities that involve testing different skills and learning new things, providing training and other means of personal development, establishing clear expectations at the outset and checking in on these from time to time, and not asking volunteers to do the work of staff.

Communicate with and be responsive to volunteers

This ranges from providing information through newsletters to involving volunteers in program and activity planning. As one volunteer put it, “In general, I think communication is key — volunteers should know exactly what is expected of them, share in the planning, understand the overall purpose of the activity, and have input into decision making, although not actually control the decisions.”

Provide staff and social support, and social experiences

Staff and social support, although mentioned much less frequently, was important to a particular group of volunteers: retirees. For this group, volunteering is a valued way to make new friends and have the ongoing social contact they used to enjoy at work. Creating opportunities for these volunteers to get together in a social context, giving them the opportunity to discuss their experiences, and inviting them to events are key aspects of retention.

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Recognition

Recognition is defined as “formal and informal favourable attention given to an individual to provide a sense of appreciation.” (Stillwell, Culp, & Hunter, 2010)

Volunteer recognition needs to be embedded in your volunteer management practice. Following are just a few examples of practices from the Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement (CCVI) Audit which relate to volunteer recognition (Volunteer Canada, 2006)

A budget is allocated for volunteer involvement

Adequate space and equipment are allocated for volunteers to perform their assignments

Input from volunteers is welcomed and solicited for the organization’s planning and evaluation

The organization’s planning process incorporates volunteer involvement

The organization has a clearly designated individual with appropriate qualifications responsible for the volunteer program

All of the above confirm the value of volunteers to the organization, which is a crucial component of recognizing their importance.

How do people want their efforts recognized?

Research shows a gap between how organizations are recognizing volunteers and how volunteers want to be recognized. It is important, however, to understand that everyone is different. Really, the best way to know how your volunteers want to be recognized and thanked, is to ask them what would be the most meaningful to them.

Figure 3: The Volunteer Recognition Gap

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Fomal letters of reference or recognition

Informal get-together for volunteers

Communicated impact of work directly tovolunteer

Held a banquet or other formal gathering

Thanked in person on an ongoing,informal basis

The Volunteer Recognition Gap(Volunteer Canada 2013)

Organizations Volunteers

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How do you currently thank your volunteers? Is it how they want to be thanked? How do you know?

Achieve Ontario

Certified users on the Achieve Ontario system can produce professional certificates of experience for volunteer work, which can be included in an application portfolio for work or school. See Appendix E for a sample certificate.

Volunteer Ottawa offers certification training, which is free for VO members. Learn more by visiting the Achieve Ontario website: http://prebontario.ca/.

Volunteer Recognition Ideas

Here are some ways to thank volunteers for their valuable contribution to your

organization. (Volunteering Australia)

Put a check mark next to things you already do. Draw an arrow next to 2 things you do not yet do, but will try to implement in the

next 3 months.

National Volunteer Week ideas

Give a certificate to commemorate anniversaries of involvement

Hold a special “thank you” social function in honour of volunteers

For long-standing volunteers, collect coins in the amount of hours contributed,

place them in a vase tied with a nice ribbon and present to them at a special

event

Planning ideas

Match the volunteer’s desires with the organization’s needs

Develop a volunteer policy for your organization

Provide a clear role description for every volunteer

Provide car and bike parking for volunteers

Devote resources (time and money) to volunteer support

Maintain Occupational Health and Safety standards

Provide the opportunity for volunteers to take a leave of absence

http://prebontario.ca/

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Things to do every day

Greet your volunteers by name

Be honest at all times

Give volunteers a real voice within the organization

Tell volunteers how their work has contributed to the organization’s mission

Value their input

Encourage volunteer participation in planning that affects their work

Ask volunteers for ideas of how the organization can show it cares

Enable volunteers to grow on the job

Review the progress of volunteers on a regular basis

Give opportunities for volunteers to debrief, especially if they work in stressful

situations.

Provide meaningful and enjoyable work

Supervise volunteer work

Set up a volunteer support and mentoring group

Solicit volunteers’ input before imposing new policies and procedures

Some tips that may involve a slight cost

Provide excellent training and coaching (PRO TIP: Volunteer Ottawa has excellent

training courses, at very reasonable prices. Volunteers who work for our member

organizations qualify for the member rate on all training.)

Reimburse out-of-pocket expenses

Include volunteers in coffee breaks

Provide free refreshments during coffee and lunch breaks

Nominate your volunteers for VOscar awards

Annual or one-off ideas

Conduct an exit interview when a volunteer leaves

Feature your volunteers at special events throughout the year

Present special awards for 1, 3, 5, 10, 15 and more years of service

Nominate a volunteer of the month, put up their picture in your office in a public

place and send it to the local newspaper

Your own ideas

_______________________________________________________

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References

Ellis, J. (2005). Best Practices in Volunteer Management: An Action Planning Guide for Small and Rural Nonprofit Organizations. Retrieved from Volunteer Yukon: http://www.volunteeryukon.ca/uploads/general/Best_Practices_Volunteer_Management.pdf

Ellis, S. J. (1996). The Volunteer Recruitment Book. Philadelphia: Energize.

McClintock, N. (2004). Understanding Canadian Volunteers: Using the National Survey of Giving, Volunteering, and Participating to Build your Volunteer Program. Retrieved from Imagine Canada: http://www.imaginecanada.ca/sites/default/files/www/en/giving/reports/understanding_volunteers.pdf

McCurley, S., & Vineyard, S. (1988). 101 Tips for Volunteer Recruitment. Downers Grove, IL: Heritage Arts Publishing.

Northwest Center for Public Health Practice. (2012). Effective Adult Learning - A Toolkit for Teaching Adults. Retrieved from University of Washington: https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/evaluation/documents/effective-adult-learning-a-toolkit-for-teaching-adults

Philips, S., Little, B. R., & Goodine, L. (2002). Recruiting, Retaining, and Rewarding Volunteers: What Volunteers Have to Say. Retrieved from http://hcgn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Recruiting-Retaining-and-Rewarding-Volunteers-Canadian-Centre-for-Philanthropy.pdf

RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service. (n.d.). Where to Look for Volunteers. Retrieved April 4, 2017, from Service Leader: https://www.serviceleader.org/content/%E2%80%A8where-look-volunteers

Seel, K. (2016). Volunteer Administration: Professional Practice (3rd ed.). (K. Steel, Ed.) Canada: Lexus Nexus Canada.

Sinha, M. (2015, November 30). Volunteering in Canada, 2004 to 2013 (Publication # 89-652-X). Retrieved from Statistics Canada: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-652-x/89-652-x2015003-eng.htm

Stillwell, M., Culp, K., & Hunter, K. (2010). The Volunteer Recognition Program Model: Providing Volunteer Recognition Throughout the Year. Journal of Extension, 48(3). Retrieved from https://www.joe.org/joe/2010june/tt2.php

Turcotte, M. (2016, April 15). Volunteering and Charitable Giving in Canada (Publication # 89-652-X). Retrieved from Statistics Canada: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-652-x/89-652-x2015001-eng.htm

Volunteer Canada. (2001). A Matter of Design: Job design theory and application to the voluntary sector. Retrieved from Volunteer Canada: https://volunteer.ca/content/matter-design-job-design-theory-and-application-voluntary-sector

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Volunteer Canada. (2006). The Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement: An Audit Tool. Retrieved from Volunteer Canada: http://volunteer.ca/content/canadian-code-volunteer-involvement-audit-tool

Volunteer Canada. (2012). 10 Steps of Screening Pamplhet. Retrieved from Volunteer Canada: https://volunteer.ca/content/10-steps-screening

Volunteer Canada. (2012). The Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement: Values, Guiding Principles, and Standards of Practice. Retrieved from Volunteer Canada: https://volunteer.ca/content/canadian-code-volunteer-involvement-2012-edition

Volunteer Canada. (2013, October). 2013 Volunteer Recognition Study. Retrieved from Volunteer Canada: https://volunteer.ca/content/2013-volunteer-recognition-study

Volunteer Halton. (n.d.). Sample Volunteer Job Description. Retrieved April 4, 2017, from Volunteer Halron: http://volunteerhalton.ca/vh-agencies/agency-resources/272-volunteer-halton-sample

Volunteer Ottawa. (2016, October). New Canadians in the Non-Profit Sector: Report on Best Practices in Recruiting, Engaging, and Retaining New Canadian Volunteers. Retrieved from Volunteer Ottawa: http://www.volunteerottawa.ca/_Library/_documents/11-03-_New_canadians_eng.pdf

Volunteer Ottawa. (2016, May). The Growing Wave of Senior Volunteers: Best Practices in Recruiting, Engaging, and Retaining Senior Volunteers. Retrieved from Volunteer Ottawa: http://www.volunteerottawa.ca/_Library/_documents/2016-11-02_Best_Practices_Seniors.pdf

Volunteer Ottawa. (2016, November). Volunteers with Disabilities in the Non-Profit Sector: Report on Best Practices in Recruiting, Engaging, and Retaining Volunteers with Disabilities. Retrieved from Volunteer Ottawa: http://www.volunteerottawa.ca/_Library/_documents/Best_Practices_Disabilities_edited_Sue-2.pdf

Volunteering Australia. (n.d.). 101 Ways to Recognize your Volunteers. Retrieved from Volunteering Australia: https://volunteeringaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/VA-Managers-101-Ways-to-Recognise-Your-Volunteers.pdf

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Appendices

23


Appendix A: Volunteer Program Audit

The Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement (CCVI) is a framework for involving volunteers in all levels of an organization, including volunteers working in leadership, direct service, and virtual roles.

The CCVI consists of 14 standards, which are further subdivided into elements. The 14 standards are in this appendix. The full audit can be found online.

ELEMENT OF VOLUNTEER

RESOURCES MANAGEMENT Does your organization have the following?

Check one:

Measurable evidence Currently in place to

a large degree

Currently in place to

some degree

Not currently

being done

Not applicable

or not relevant

Written statement on the role of volunteers in supporting or achieving the mission

Policies and procedures for your volunteer program

A qualified person designated to manage the volunteer program.

A volunteer screening process which is communicated and consistent.

Meaningful volunteer assignments reflecting a variety of opportunities.

24


ELEMENT OF VOLUNTEER

RESOURCES MANAGEMENT Does your organization have the following?

Check one:

Measurable evidence Currently in place to

a large degree

Currently in place to

some degree

Not currently

being done

Not applicable

or not relevant

Volunteer recruitment and selection reaching out to diverse community sources.

Orientation and training provided for all volunteer positions.

Appropriate supervision is provided with the ability of the volunteer to give and receive feedback.

Volunteers are welcomed and treated as valuable members of staff

The contributions of volunteers are regularly acknowledged in formal and informal ways.

Table 1: Volunteer Program: High-Level Audit (Volunteer Canada, 2006)

25


Appendix B: Function Analysis Template and Examples

(Volunteer Canada, 2001)

Organizational Mission

Organizational Functions

1.

2.

3.

4.

Components

Function #1:

a. component #1

b. component #2

c. component #3

Function #2:

a.

b.

c.

Function #3:

a.

b.

c.

Function #4:

a.

b.

c.

Table 2: Function Analysis Template

Fill out the Component Analysis Template for each component identified above, to break each one down into tasks.

Component

Tasks

1.

2.

3.

4.

Table 3: Component Analysis Template

26


Organization Health Care Organization (Large organization, huge staff, many

volunteers)

Community Food Bank (medium-sized organization, some

staff, some volunteers)

Soccer League (small

organization, no paid staff, all

volunteers)

Mandate To eradicate a specific illness

and promote quality of health

To provide good food to people

in need of assistance

To teach kids to play soccer; to

promote healthy activity and

good sportsmanship

Functions Research

Program Development

Public Relations

Fundraising

Acquiring food from stores

Organizing the promoting

community-based food drives

Soliciting donations of money

Distributing food

Recognition and awards

Registration

Fundraising

Game scheduling

Officiating

Components Components of Fundraising

Direct mail

Donor recognition

Corporate awards night

Donor support

Corporate development

Components of Distributing

Food

Fill the food requests

Make sure shelves are

stocked

Communicate needs to office

Train volunteers

Components of Game

Scheduling

Plan the schedule

Book the field

Organize finals

Tasks Tasks for organizing

Corporate Awards Night

Oversee awards committee

Organize entertainment

Make arrangements for the

dinner

Sell tickets

Promote the event

Solicit prizes

Tasks for making sure

shelves are stocked

Keep inventory

Receive foods and stock

shelves

Review client needs and pass

on the information to the

solicitation team

Organize food for distribution

Tasks for planning the

schedule

Review teams

Determine dates

Coordinate finals

Table 4: Functions and Components: Three Examples

27


Appendix C: Job Description Template and Example

(Volunteer Halton, n.d.)

Job Title Example: Community Companion Volunteer

Major Objectives 1. Establish a friendly relationship with an adult with multiple disabilities 2. Explore the community to encourage independence

3. Provide support during community activities

Major Responsibilities 1. Spend 2 hours per week doing any activity you and your peer/friend choose; seek pre-approval

from peer/friend's case manager. 2. Support and encourage your peer/friend in performing activities in collaboration with other

providers. 3. Provide ongoing communication to case manager and other team members 4. Terminate relationship with peer/friend when you can no longer volunteer

Necessary Qualifications 1. Transportation (by personal car or bus) is necessary. 2. No experience with developmental disabilities or mental illness is required.

Training/Preparation provided 1. Attend training session given by the Area MH-DD-SA 2. On-going support is provided by Case Managers, Volunteer Task Force and residential staff. 3. A background check is required, this will include a drug screening, criminal check and a DMV

check. Volunteer cannot begin working until all information has been received and approved by the area program.

Time/Place work needs to be done 1. 2 hours per week is required, additional time is at your discretion. 2. Plan your schedule in conjunction with case manager and peer/friend. 3. Explore or attend events in your community or at places you and your peer/friend want to

attend.

Length of commitment 6 months is required.

Supervision On-going support is tailored to each volunteer's needs

Supervisor’s signature Table 5: Job Description Template with Example

28


Job Title

Major Objectives

Major Responsibilities

Necessary Qualifications

Training/Preparation provided

Time/Place work needs to be done

Length of commitment

Supervision

Supervisor’s signature Table 6: Blank Job Description Template

29


Appendix D: Statistics Regarding Volunteerism in Canada

This appendix shows results from a survey conducted by Statistics Canada every three years since 2004. The 2013 results are the most recently published.

The following figure shows where people gave their time in 2013. The biggest beneficiaries of people’s energies were social services and sports organizations.

Figure 4: Where People Volunteer

Volunteers gave an average of 154 hours each in 2013. However, if we dive in to that data a bit, we see that some superstar volunteers donated far more than that, while the bulk of volunteers completed much shorter assignments.

0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18% 20%

Social services

Sports and recreation

Religion

Education and Research

Development and housing

Arts and culture

Health

Universities and colleges

Law, advocacy and politics

Hospitals

Environment

Grant-making, fundraising

International

Business/ Professional Assoc.

Percentage of total volunteer hours (2013)

Where people volunteer(Sinha, 2015)

30


Figure 5: Top volunteers and hours contributed

Figure 6: Volunteer Contributions by Age Cohort

What this means: youth volunteer in greater numbers but older adults donate the greatest number of hours. Volunteer rates have been consistent for 10 years.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

1 to 53 hours 54 to 168 hours 169 to 371 hours 372 hours ormore

The top 10% of volunteers contributed over half of all volunteer hours in 2013

(Sinha, 2015)

% volunteers % total hours

0

50

100

150

200

250

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Ave

rage

nu

mb

er

of

ho

urs

in 2

01

3

% o

f p

eo

ple

wh

o v

olu

nte

ere

d

Age cohort, years

Volunteer Contributions by Age Cohort(Sinha, 2015)

2013

2010

2007

2004

Average number ofhours (annually)

31


Figure 7: Volunteers' Education Levels

What this means: People with higher levels of education volunteer in the greatest numbers, and also donate the greatest number of hours per year.

Figure 8: Volunteers' Employment Status

What this means: People who are in the labour force volunteer in greater numbers, but people who are not, donate a greater number of hours per year.

100

120

140

160

180

0%

15%

30%

45%

60%

75%

Less t

ha

n h

igh

sch

oo

l

Hig

h s

ch

ool

dip

lom

a

Post-

se

co

nd

ary

dip

lom

a o

rce

rtific

ate

Univ

ers

ity d

eg

ree

Ave

rage

nu

mb

er

of

ho

urs

in 2

01

3

% o

f p

eo

ple

wh

o v

olu

nte

ere

d

Volunteers' Education Levels(Sinha, 2015)

2013

2010

2007

2004

Average number of hours(annually)

100

120

140

160

180

200

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Em

plo

ye

d

Un

em

plo

ye

d

Not in

the

labo

ur

forc

e

Ave

rage

nu

mb

er

of

ho

urs

in

20

13

% o

f p

eo

ple

wh

o v

olu

nte

ere

d

Volunteers' Employment Status(Sinha, 2015)

2013

2010

2007

2004

Average number of hours(annually)

32


Religious Participation:

59% of volunteers attend a weekly service. People who attend a service weekly donated an average of 202 hours annually, which is more than average.

What this means: people who practice a faith volunteered in greater numbers, and for more hours, than those who do not

National origin:

45% of volunteers were born in Canada and 38% were born outside of the country. National origin does not really affect the number of hours given.

What this means: people born in the country volunteer a bit more.

33


Appendix E: Sample Achieve Ontario Certificate

34
