Volunteer Management
June 15, 2011
Northland Foundation
Strengthening Communities
Agenda
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Welcome
Overview and Expectations
Complete Assessment
Key Attributes
Best Practices
Volunteer Manual
Why
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Personally asked
Affiliation with the organization
Personal connection to mission
Enjoy type of work
Want to learn new skills
Want to meet people
Motivate
• Affiliation
– Personal interaction, works to make friends
• Achievement
– Works toward goals, seeks responsibility, sticks to
tasks until done
• Power
– Impact and influence others, work alone or group,
responds to needs of people or programs
Types of Volunteers
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Long term
Short term – episodic
Family
Student
Internships
Virtual Volunteers
• 40% stop due to poor management practices
– Poor use of time
– Not use skills or talent
– Tasks not clearly define
– People say often family or personal reasons
60% of nonprofits
adopted nine volunteer management
practices to some degree
– Best practice most often used is supervision and
communication
Nine Practices
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Supervision and communication with volunteers
Liability coverage for volunteers
Screening and matching volunteers to jobs
Regular collection of information on volunteer
involvement
Written policies and job descriptions for volunteers
Recognition activities
Annual measurement of volunteer impact
Training and professional development for volunteers
Training for paid staff in working with volunteers
What do we not do so well
• Preparing for Volunteers
– Inventory of tasks and skills
– Screening and matching
– Training of staff
• Working with Volunteers
– Orientation and Training
– Measuring Impact
– Recognition of Volunteers
PREPARING FOR VOLUNTEERS
We Think
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Find someone to work with the volunteers
Create job description (maybe written down)
Recruit and assign volunteers (grab and go)
Say thank you at end of shift
Wonder why we do not retain volunteers
Better Approach
• Develop the philosophical base for why
• Articulate the principles
• Train the staff – engage and train
Develop the Philosophy
• Philosophical Base
– Fundamental assumptions behind volunteering
– Align with organizational priorities
– Sets the direction for the volunteer program
• Principles Of Volunteering
– Core values about volunteering in organization
Child Care Philosophical Base
Mission
Parenting Role
Models
Connections to
Potential Donors
Love and Nurturing
Children in stable
environment
Caring for children
Seeing and
connecting to
children
Holding, caring,
and love
Achieving
developmental
milestones
Modeling parental
and grandparent
behavior
Impact on children
– seeing the impact
themselves
Consistent people
creates impact on
child
Supporting staff
roles in teaching
Learning by doing Giving back to the
center
Interaction among
generations creates
emotional bonds
Demonstrating how
to show love and
nurturing behavior
to children
Seniors connecting
to kids for senior
health
Learning
environment with
interaction with
teacher each day
Contribution to
something that has
value and impact
Creating supportive
environment for
families in crisis
Principles
• We believe that children and families need a
loving and supportive environment for their
day care.
• The interaction of seniors, children and their
parents benefits everyone.
• We respect the diversity of generations with
each having their own attitudes and beliefs.
• Loving care can be demonstrated to our
parents.
Training of Staff
• Volunteers ineffective without the infrastructure
appropriate
– Key is support by paid staff so time not wasted
– Forms
– Orientation Basics
• Formal training of staff – how to work with volunteers
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Purpose
Goals
Policies – Volunteers as Guests
Expectations
Preparing for the Volunteer
• Screening and matching
– Assessment and inventory of tasks, skills and
expectations
– BE CLEAR
• Create job description
• Be clear on skills
• Create volunteer inventory form
Position Description
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Title
Purpose/objective
Location
Key bulleted list of responsibilities
Qualifications
Time Commitment
Training/Support Provided
Benefits
Supervisor and contact information
Recruitment
• Need a strategy
– Personal Ask
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Web site
Social Media – facebook and twitter
Centers
Partnerships
Networking
WORKING WITH THE VOLUNTEER
Making the Match
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Application
Interviewing (Inventory Done)
Screening
Matching the volunteer, the skill and the task
Set the initial expectations
Communication
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Be Prompt
Be Clear
Share Knowledge – impact
Be personal
Be reliable
Think three emails and one phone call
Communication
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Organizational Climate
Organizational Structure
Reward
Warmth
Conflict
Identity
Volunteer Training
• Three type of Training
– Orientation
– Training (5 minute – 2 hour)
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Mission
Goals
Services
Role – tasks to be completed
– Ongoing Training - Development
Orientation
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Reduce anxiety
Limit Turnover
Save Time for Program Staff
Develops realistic expectations
Sets positive attitudes
Increase volunteer satisfaction
Tips
• Most important information first
• Emphasize people as well as policies and
procedures
• Partner new ones with experienced ones
• Age appropriate and sensitive to diversity
• Promote exchange and questions
• Okay not to know it all – get back to you or
discussion
Policies and Procedures
• Short
• Booklet
• Long Manual
• Policies tell people what to do
• Procedures tell them how to do it
Policies
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Why you involve volunteers
Role descriptions
Recruitment and selection
Relationship between volunteers and staff
Relationship between volunteers and client
group
• Confidentiality, respect, diversity
Policies….
• Training and development
• Working conditions
– Dress code
– Name badges
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Recognition
Support and supervision
Expenses
Insurance
Dealing with Problems
Policies
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Written in present tense
Clear, concise language
External audience
Approved by management - board
Important Concepts
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Staff and volunteer have to work together
Mutual beneficial relationship for both
Skills and Task must match
Make it a valuable experience – your image
is at stake
• Other
– Welcoming Culture
– Resources to Support
– Volunteers to Recruit Other Volunteers
Recognition
• Recognition
– Say thank you
– Simple thank you gifts – during event
– Appreciation events
• Volunteer of the Day, Year, etc
– Align with organization
Newsletter
Annual report
Retention Musts
• Retention Goal most impacted by:
– recognizing volunteers
– providing training and professional development
– screening volunteers and matching them to
organizational tasks
Challenges
Volunteer Perspective
1. Time
2. Responsiveness – Now
3. Technology
4. Generational Expectations
5. Dedicated staff resources
Challenges
• The Big Shift
– Encore Volunteers
– Skill based Volunteers
• Funding
– Resources for infrastructure and management of
volunteers
• National leadership and infrastructure
PLANNING WORKSHEETS
The Future
Our choice as citizens
• Pay more taxes
• Go without the service
• Volunteer
Resources
• Interest self assessment
http://handsonmwv.org/docs/Interest_Self_Assessment_Exercise.pdf
• Resource Web Site
http://www.energizeinc.com/art.html
Points of Light Foundation
Hands on Network
• Volunteer Management Best Practices
http://blog.theregistrationsystem.com/wpcontent/uploads/2010/04/IFEA-Volunteer-Management-BestPractices.pdf